Students' access to career guidance and counseling in secondary schools in kakamega district, western province

Abstract

The purpose or this study was to investigate students' access to career guidance and counselling in secondary schools in Kakamega District. The study also sought to determine the importance of career guidance and counselling to students, and establish whether career teachers are trained to guide and counsel students. The study further sought to establish the problems that hinder the provision of career guidance and counselling services in Secondary Schools. The literature review was organized under various sub-headings: These were the concept or guidance and counselling, scope of career guidance and counselling programmes in Schools, placement, career guidance and counselling in Schools, Theories or career guidance and counselling and their implication for career guidance, occupational information in guidance, functions or career and educational guidance, theoretical and conceptual framework and finally -- the family environment and its influence on career aspirations and expectations of both males and females. The study used survey research design. Two sets of questionnaires were designed by the researcher and validated by lecturers in the Department of Educational Administration and Planning in the University of Nairobi. The instruments' reliability was found to be 0.78 for the students' questionnaire. Random Sampling Technique was used in selecting the study sample. The sample consisted of twelve teachers and 377 students. The questionnaire return rate was 87.8 percent. It was hypothesized that: There is no significant relationship between students' access to career counselling and their career and educational aspirations; There is no significant differences III the academic achievement of students who have access to career counselling and those who do not and; There IS no significant difference in career aspirations between Boys and Girls. A two-tailed t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test one hypothesis and Chi-Square test was used on two hypotheses. The t-test and pearson product moment correlation coefficient was used to test for significant differences between the academic achievement of students who have access to career counselling and those who do not. Chi-Square test was used to test for significant relationship between students' access to career counselling and their career and educational aspirations; and to also test or significant difference in career aspirations between boys and girls. The study established that there was no significant relationship between students' access to career counselling and their career and educational aspirations. In addition, the study showed that there is no significant difference in career aspirations between Boys and Girls. However, significant difference was found between the academic achievement of students who have access to career counselling and those who do not. The analyzed data also revealed that the guidance and-counselling unit or the Ministry of' Education was doing little in organizing seminars and workshops to acquaint career teachers on matters pertaining to career guidance and counselling and in providing necessary resource materials for career guidance and counseling purposes. It was established that the success in career guidance and counselling was mainly hindered by the teachers' negative attitude lack of information for career teachers and lack of training in career guidance and counselling skills.