Factors Affecting the Career Choices of Secondary School Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Abstract

The exploration of appropriate career choice is an important landmark in the lives of secondary school students which determine their future occupations and career outcomes, having implications both for the individual students and society. The choice of careers in secondary schools is influenced by students’ personal, environmental and behavioral factors, therefore; the study aimed at the exploration of career choices of secondary school students, identification of factors affecting these choices, investigating the influence of specific career choice factors, i.e. personality, parents and family, school, socio-cultural and career outcomes on the career choice decisions of students and the development of effective strategies for career guidance of secondary school students. The study used Mixed methods explanatory sequential design for the collection and analysis of data. The population of the study was all the students, parents, teachers and heads of the 345 public sector, Higher secondary schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A sample of 1220 research participants was selected through multi stage cluster sampling technique for the collection of large scale quantitative data and a sample of 50 respondents was selected through purposive sampling for the collection of small scale qualitative data. For the collection of quantitative data the researcher developed self-constructed Likert type questionnaires and validated them through pilot testing. The quantitative data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed through the use of percentages and Chi-square statistics with the application of Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The analysis of quantitative data provided the general description of the phenomenon and identified areas which needed further explanation; therefore, Semi-structured Interview guides were prepared and administered for further exploration of the specified themes through qualitative data. The qualitative data were analyzed through transcribing data from the data sheets and identification of themes for the interpretation. Then both the data sets were merged and interpreted together. The study explored, Medical, Teaching, Engineering, and Armed forces as major career choices of secondary schools’ students and identified parents, students’ personalities, socioeconomic status, families, society and its traditions as major factors affecting the career choices of students. Regarding the influence of specific career choice factors, the study further demonstrated the significant influences of personality, parents and family, school, socio-cultural and career outcome factors on the career choices of students at secondary level. The study revealed significant gender wise differences in career choices and the influence of career choice factors on the career choices of male and female students. Medical, Engineering, Teaching and Armed forces were found as prominent career choices of male and Medical and Teaching as prominent career choices of female students. Males were more influenced by the factors of personality and females by parents and family and sociocultural factors in the choice of their careers. The study highlighted the career guidance needs of secondary schools’ students, identified the non-availability of career guidance facilities in schools and established effective career guidance strategies for career guidance of secondary level students. Keeping in view the career guidance needs of secondary schools’ students, the study recommended the provision of career guidance facilities, appointment of trained career guides, mechanism for identification of students’ interests and aptitudes for integration with their career choice decisions, development of career guidance website, the use of social media for career guidance and the active role of policy makers for the provision of career guidance facilities in secondary schools as effective strategies of career guidance for students at this level. The study also provided practical and theoretical implications of the research and identified areas for future researches.