The Relationship Between Students’ Career Aspirations and their Academic Performance among Secondary School Students in Bungoma South Sub-County, Kenya.
- March 10, 2022
- Posted by: rsispostadmin
- Categories: IJRISS, Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue II, February 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186
Dennis Mukisu and Wilson Kiptala
Moi University, Kenya
Abstract
Career aspirations and academic performance are of ultimate importance to the learning process. When students know more about available career opportunities, they will be able to focus more on their academic performance. Despite numerous changes in policy and legislation, issues of gender equity in Kenyan Education system and labour market remain a concern of the Kenyan public. It is against this background that the current study focused on the relationship between career aspirations and academic performance among Form three students in Bungoma South sub- County in Kenya. The research was quantitative using expost facto research design. The sample size was 420 participants from 27 schools. Both stratified and random sampling techniques were used to select the sample for the study. The results from spearman rho correlation coefficient indicated a weak positive relationship between career aspirations and academic performance (rho (418) = 0.265, p < .01). Based on the findings, it was recommended that career mentorship programs should properly be integrated in secondary school curriculum to enable students acquire necessary information about the nature of jobs and develop interest in their aspired careers at an early stage. This might inform students’ subject selection, enhance their academic performance and increase chances of attaining their aspired careers.
Key terms: Career aspirations; Academic performance
Background
Career aspirations of high school students are an important determinant of educational choices which are regarded as short term and career choices which are regarded as long term (Mau & Biko, 2000). According to Hirschi (2010), the substance of who the learner is spins around how the learner needs to manage their life, yet profession direction actually stays an extremely frail part at all levels of the framework of education. According to Rukwaro (2012), career programmes in most secondary schools are attempted in a random way since educators distinguished for this reason have not been prepared hence lack professional competence in career guidance and counselling.
A number of factors do influence students’ career aspirations. This includes among others academic performance, parental influence, social economic status and gender (Goffredson, 2005). Concerning gender, Omotere (2011), contends that conventional roles of gender have had a critical influence in deciding people’s aspirations in careers. Thus, youths do wipe out professional decisions dependent on sexual orientation and esteem levels (Goffredson, 2005). According to Rukwaro (2012), many women continue to be overrepresented in careers that offer low pay, limited benefits and few opportunities for upward mobility. The reason for this disparity is still inconclusive. Apart from gender, students’ academic performance influences their career choices (Migunde et al., 2011). Good academic performance is therefore important for the successful career development of young people in this fast-changing and challenging twenty-first century (Redd et al, 2002) and it is crucial for students to seriously uphold the part played by performance in academics in enhancing or restraining their future opportunities in careers. Despite this, research has revealed that a disconnect amid aspirations in career and achievement in academics exists. For example, studies done by Gorard et al. (2012), Goodman et al. (2011) and Rose and Baird (2013) found out that evidence that interface raising desires with further developing school accomplishment is extremely thin or profoundly sketchy. To Gorard, et. al. (2012), having aspirations in career that are very high without having the option to accomplish them would contrarily impact learners by causing dissatisfactions, disappointments and withdrawal socially. This results to skewed goals or goal accomplishment paradox yet to be completely exposed and investigated by research (Rose & Baird, 2013).
