Strengthening Vocational Guidance and Counselling Programme in Secondary Schools: Opportunities to Assist Students in Career Decision Making Ogbuoji Sylvia N. 1 and Obioha Patricia 2 1 Department of Educational Psychology, Federal College of Education (T) Umunze Anambra State sylviaogbuoji@yahoo.com 2 Department of Educational Foundations, Federal College of Education (T) Umunze Anambra State Abstract The aim of this paper is to discuss the need to have Guidance and Counselling programme integrated into the Secondary School curriculum. Most students complete Secondary school education without a clear picture of which careers are best suitable for them. Some take up careers because their parents imposed such on them not minding if they (students) have the potentials and abilities. One s level of happiness is closely related to the type of career the person chooses, and other career development activities relating to job retention and advancement. And this requires the help of a Guidance counsellor, who will expose their students to several career activities in order to help them to successfully choose occupation, prepare for, enter into and progress in them. This paper therefore discussed the concepts of Guidance and Counselling, Secondary school education, Career development and factors that affect career choice. It also discussed the techniques to be adopted by school Counsellors for bringing occupational information to students which includes: career convention, field trip etc. Finally the study recommended amongst others that more linkages should be done between the school work and world of work through mentorship and field trip activities, online information need to be made available and strengthened in schools. Keywords: Guidance Counsellors, Career, Vocational Guidance and Secondary school Introduction One of the major goals of Education is to promote social, economic, technological and industrial needs for national development and to promote individual development and selffulfilment where Guidance and Counselling Programme is expected to play a leading role. Guidance and Counselling has been defined by many scholars; it is concerned with determining and providing for the developmental needs of the learners. The Programme focuses on holistic nature which include Education, Personal-social and Vocational. A lot of efforts have been placed on Guidance and Counselling Services, the result has been too little to bring about significant career help among the learners. Most learners complete Secondary education without a clear picture of what career are best suited for them. This is indicated by the way some Secondary school graduates continuously revise their career opportunities even 22 JEPER Special Edition Ogbuoji and Obioha
up to the time of joining the University. The few that are not lucky to join the tertiary level training ends up being wasted hence become idle. Concepts Definitions Guidance literally means to guide, direct, watch over and assist students and individuals in making choices, adjustments and solving problem they encounter in teaching and learning (Odemenam & Uwam 2009). That is to say that Guidance is a process of helping individuals to understand themselves and their world. Counselling on the other hand is a relationship in which the Counselor and the client work co-operatively and collaboratively to find solutions to problems (Ekwe & Nwamuo 2008). Guidance and Counselling Programme encompasses Education, Personal-social and Vocational. Vocational Guidance simply means a Guidance service based on psychological test and interviews to find out what career occupation may best suit a person. It can also be seen as an assistance given to an individual to make career choice based on the knowledge of his potentials. Secondary Education is a stage of education following primary school. It includes final stage of compulsory education. Ifreke, Aloysius, & Ambrose (2013) opined that it is a type of formal Education given to children who have been successful at the primary level of education and are desirous for higher or tertiary education and for a useful living within the society. They went on to say that it is where children 11 years and above spend the rest of six years of their lives as students in the JSS (3 years) and SS (3years). The junior secondary prepares students to take from the option of proceeding to senior secondary, training at vocational centres or apprenticeship schemes out of the formal school system. While the Senior Secondary takes charge of preparation to higher learning. Secondary Education is quite significant and is an instrument par excellence for national development. This can be seen by the following objectives stated by the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) which include: Provide all primary school leavers with opportunity for education of a higher level irrespective of sex, social status, religion or ethnic back ground. Equip students to live effectively to live in the modern age of science and technology. Inspire students with the desire for self improvement and achievement of excellence. Raise a generation of people who can think for themselves, respect the view and feelings of others, respect dignity of labour, appreciate those values specified under the broad National goals and live as good citizens. Provide technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for agriculture, industrial, commercial and economic development. Secondary Education is a stage of education which is geared towards enriching individual s knowledge to develop his /her personality and preparing them to undertake certain tasks and employment function essential for the transformation of the society. But it has been observed that students find it difficult making career choice because they do not understand themselves while others are being influenced by parents, peers etc and this call for the assistance of Guidance Counsellors/experts in schools. Anene & Nwankwo (1999) outlined the following as the objectives of vocational Guidance in Schools: 23 JEPER Special Edition Ogbuoji and Obioha
To increase students understanding of their abilities, interest, values and other personality traits distinct from those of others and to use the understanding to identify occupational areas which may be appropriate for them. To aid students develop an acceptable self image and realistic attitude to school achievement as necessary prelude to vocations. To help student understand the prevailing circumstances in the world of work and inculcating in them the dignity of labour. To help them identify different occupational areas that are available both in the immediate and in the more distant future, the nature and purpose of each and the direction to which each leads. To assist students develop and execute career plans which will help them in achieving their career goals by taking appropriate courses at the secondary school level or other relevant steps/training after the secondary level that will qualify them for such occupations. Developing Career-Decision Skills in Students Career covers a large part of one s life. Anameze (2009) opined that career is a broad concept which encompasses all the work activities, educational pursuit and leisure a person engages in during his working life. That is to say that an individual s career will affect their life style, friendship pattern, social relationship, leisure, attitudes and values. Career Development refers to a developmental process extending over almost the entire life span through which a person develop the capacity for and engage in work as part of their total life style (Lazarus & Ihuoma 2011). According to Campbell & Dahir (1997) Career Development is a dynamic process that requires the individuals to engage in the ongoing assessment, analysis and synthesis of information about the world of work and self. It involves establishing certain career goals and deciding what criteria will be desirable in attaining the set goals. When an individual is happily employed, there will be an increase in productivity and thus bringing about National development. In the past, the choice of career was the responsibility of the parents, older siblings, uncles, friends etc. Currently due to the trends in the world today these people can no longer perform their roles effectively and this calls for the emergence of trained Counsellors/experts who are competent enough to handle the career decisions of students. The Guidance counsellor give the students freedom of choice rather impose choice on him/her and provide students with skills, attitudes and information which they need to successfully enter labour market smoothly at whatever point they leave school (Anene, et al 1999). This is supported by Okafor (2011) who suggested that developing career-decision making skills in students will help them to leave independently and to have the learning and problem-solving skills to apply in their chosen vocations. She went on to say that it will help students to choose profession of their choice according to their abilities, skills and interest. Oniyima (2006) is of the view that skills in vocational training will help students to realize their ambitions, help students feel that they have in their communities and within themselves and productive members of the society. It will also help them to make the right career decision and to be able to face any form of challenges that may come their way. Factors that affect Career Choice Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions one makes in life. There are factors that affect the individual s choice and preference for career, preparing for it, entering it and progressing in it. Some of these factors include: 24 JEPER Special Edition Ogbuoji and Obioha
Intellectual ability: Each profession whether skilled or semi skilled requires a level of intellectual ability for the individual to enter into and perform efficiently in it. A person who possesses a lower but enters a job that requires high ability will find himself in a competitive disadvantage and will find the job dissatisfying. This implies that for one to succeed and be satisfied in a particular job, he /she must take intellectual ability into consideration and be sincere about it. Personality: Personality factors help to determine whether a person is suited for the job or not. A specific occupation may demand of its workers personality which may be different from those demanded by another occupation. This implies that an individual should consider his personality traits such as social, artistic, investigative, realistic etc in choosing a career. Interest: This plays a major role in one s choice of career. An individual s performance is closely related to his/her interest which is either expressed in words or manifested in action. One s interest will also determine the extent of personcenteredness and behaviour in any given situation. Aptitude: This gives measures of an individual trainability, his capacity and ability to learn different skills. It predicts how one can easily and quickly learn. Ipaye (1986) opined that an individual need to have a knowledge of his aptitude and if one s occupation require capacities in which one is deficient such person will become frustrated thus experience lack of job satisfaction and if on the other hand, one s capacity is more than what is required of the job, the person will have no challenges and thus become easily bored in the job. School Influence: The school helps an individual build up his education and vocation aspirations. The quality of resources (teachers, materials) and the location of the school (urban or rural) influence the occupational choices and preferences of students. The Roles of Guidance Counsellor in career-decision Making Several scholars such as Ormrod (2003), Ekennia (2014), Heward (2003) to mention a few opined that Guidance Counsellors are professional trained in psychological perspective, that typically render numerous tangible services to parents, teachers and students. It is the responsibility of a school Counsellor to bring vocational/occupational information to the knowledge of the students through certain approaches and techniques such as: Career Convention: According to Ipaye (1986) career convention is known by various names. Some call it career day, career conference, career forum, career week no matter the name, all of them have a common target. This vocational activity involves inviting people from various work places to speak to students. At such meetings, they highlight on their occupation with regard to what they do, the advantages and disadvantages of the occupation, methods of entry, salaries, work hazards promotions etc. For instance, inviting to speak on medicine, lawyer on law etc. Career convention could be organized for students on a single day or several days or weeks. The aim is to stimulate career thinking in students and also widen their occupational horizon. Field Trips: Field trips when well organized by the school Counsellor will be very useful in providing occupational information to students. Students are organized into visitations teams to various occupational centres: industries, firms, business centres and offices to expose them to the working condition prevailing in such places. Before embarking on the trip, students would be properly briefed on what information to seek 25 JEPER Special Edition Ogbuoji and Obioha
for and discussion would be held on such items after the visit. Some of the items of the information to seek for during field trip as suggested by Oladele (1987) include: qualification for entry, work environment (temperature, noise level, and co-workers interactions), nature of job (working hours, materials used), medical services, employment prospect etc. Working Experience: In this approach, students will encouraged doing certain jobs and this will create an opportunity to interact with significant persons on the jobs, ask questions, observe things and feel the working atmosphere of the place. By so doing, they would get more vivid view of different careers and occupation with the tension, stress as well as the responsibility and personality traits demanded by such career/occupation. This could be arranged for students in JSS three and SS three. Career Information Centre: This centre serves as a collection centre, for various educational and vocational information which will be of great help to students in their vocational plans; Occupational pamphlets, newspaper cut out on career/vocation, reference books, College/Polytechnics/Universities brochures; files with educational/vocational information should be conspicuously displayed in the centre in order that teachers, parents and students could benefit from it. They should be encouraged to visit the career information centre in order to get the current information and happenings in the world of education and work. Individual and Group Counselling: This is an important service rendered to all students by Guidance Counsellor, which involves regular meetings with the Guidance Counsellor either for individual students or group of students. In individual Counselling, it is a face to face interaction between the Counsellor and the student which will enable the Counsellor to use the student s interest, abilities and aptitude to develop his\ her skills for a particular job while in group counselling, the Counsellor provides useful information on the job and its challenges to a group of students. These approaches mentioned above if effectively implemented in Nigerian Secondary Schools will go a long way in meeting the students career needs, aspirations and job mobility. Students will see the reason to go into a career based on his/her ability and aptitude and not to be imposed to choose career either from the parents or the peer groups. The Way Forward Guidance and Counselling programme are not visible in most Secondary Schools; its role in shaping students vocational choices is minimal and largely unseen in many Secondary Schools. However, the following recommendations are made: Creating more awareness among students on the importance of Guidance and Counselling in their vocational aspirations. Experts in multifaceted fields should be invited to come to school regularly to talk to students on the requirements of their fields in view of the student s subject choices, promotion opportunities and scholarship. Career clubs should be organized and co-ordinated by the school counsellor like medicine, engineering, journalism etc. Online career information need to be made available and strengthened in schools. More linkages should be done between the school work and world of work through mentorship and field trip. 26 JEPER Special Edition Ogbuoji and Obioha
Conclusion Just like other aspect of education, students career development which is a lifelong process can be quiet challenging. The self concept of students may be low and this could hinder his/her performance at work. These challenges could arise as a result of cognitive deficits or other physical, psychological issues. Thus, career Counselling becomes compulsory for every students in Secondary Schools in order to succeed at school as well as work place. Guidance Counsellors assist students to have a clear picture of what career are best suited for them. Also encourage them to establish certain career goals and deciding on what criteria may be desirable in attaining the set goals by themselves. References Anameze, L. (2009). Principles and practice of Guidance and Counseling. Jos: Fab Anieh Nig ltd. Anene, M., & Nwankwo, C.A (1999). Guidance and Counseling : New Perspective. Onitsha: West and Solomon Publishing co. Campell, C.A & Dahir, C.A (1997). Sharing the Vision : The National Standards for School Counseling Programme. Alexandria V.A: American School Counselor Association. Ekennia, C. C (2014). Handbook of Counseling Psychology: Organization and Administration. Owerri : chin & chis resources ltd. Ekwe, T. & Nwamuo, P. (2008). Effective Counseling Practicum 2 nd edition. Owerri: carrer publishers. Federal Government of Nigeria (2004). National Policy on Education. Abuja: Government printer. Heward, W. L. (2003). Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education. New jersey: Merill Prentice Hall. Ifreke, U.A., Aloysius, S.N & Ambrose, B.A (2013). Implementing Fundamental Secondary Education and Youth Empowerment :A rationale for curbing Youth restiveness. National Association for the Advancement Knowledge (NAFAK). 28 (1) 42-49 Ipaye, T. (1986). Continuous Assessment in Schools. Ilorin: Ilorin University Press. Lazarus, K.U. & Ihuoma, C. (2011). The role of Guidance Counsellors in the Career Development of Adolescents and Young Adults with special needs. British Journal of Arts and Social Science.2(1)51-62 Odemalam, A. M. & Uwam, Y.A (2009). A Guide to the Establishment of model of Guidance and Counselling/ Career Centres for the Development of Nigeria University Students. Owerri : bond press. Okafor, N. C. (2011). Empowering Students with Entrepreneurial Career Choice Decision Making Skills: A Sine Qua non for Sustainable Career Development. Eastern COEASU Journal of Teacher Education. Oladele, J. O. (1987). Guidance and Counselling: A Functional Approach. Lagos :John-lad Enterprise. Oniyima, E. (2006). Basic Educational Guidance and Counselling. Warri: International publishers. Ormond, J. E. (2003). Educational Psychology: Developing Learners 4 th edition. New Jersey: Merill Prentice Hall. 27 JEPER Special Edition Ogbuoji and Obioha