SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS AS A PREDICTOR OF ADOLESCENTS’ CAREER DECISION MAKING DIFFICULTIES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE-NIGERIA

Abstract

The study adopted correlational research design to investigate socio-economic status as a predictor of adolescents’ career making difficulties in secondary schools in Anambra state. Two research questions and one null hypothesis guided the study. The population comprised all the 8,498 senior secondary school III students (SSS III) in all the 261 public secondary schools in Anambra State. The sample size for this study consisted of 1,125 SSS III students drawn through proportionate stratified sampling technique.  The instrument used for the study is titled “Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire-Revised (CDDQ) by Gati and Saka (2001) (Adapted). Also, the demographic section was used to determine the socio-economic class the students belong to. The instruments were validated by Specialists in Education. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach alpha and an alpha coefficient of 0.78 was obtained. Instrument for data collection was administered by the researchers with the aid of 6 research assistants. The result of the study revealed among others that there was weak relationship among socio-economic status and students’ career decision-making difficulties in secondary schools in Anambra State. Based on the findings the researchers’ recommended that Anambra state government should actively promote scholarship opportunities and financial aid resources to support students from low socio-economic backgrounds in pursuing higher education and career aspirations among others.