PARENTAL INFLUENCE ON THE CHOICE OF CAREER AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
ABSTRACT
The study was carried out to identify parental influence  on the child's learning and his future life, endeavour of student in Porth harcourt  Local Government Area of Rivers State. A student population of 50 student drawn from five Secondary School in Porth harcourt Local Government Area randomly selected was used for the study to each student questionnaire was administered and answer offered were collated and analysed. The result obtained from the study show that, illiterate parents have little or no time to their children's education children from educated home background show more interest in education lack of motivation and parents forcing them to do their will. It was also found out that only few students are interested in their parent's occupation. Discoveries from the study reveals that illiterate parents have no interest in their children academic growth, parents are not a factor influencing the choice of career among their children. Furthermore, there is no significant different between children from educated home towards Education of given the necessary motivation.  This is due to the fact that a consideration number of children live without parental support, as in orphans, children living in the streets, displaced and refused children who on account of the poverty of their parents are subjected to inhuman and sadistic ordeals.  This reduces their desire to learn as it happens frequently in Porth harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State.
  CHAPTER ONE
1.1       BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Career play a very fundamental and significant role in the life of the individual not only because they determine the pattern of income but also because they affect the individual personality and concepts in life, career therefore is a choose pursuit, life work or success in one's profession occupied by a person throughout his/her lifetime.  In a nutshell, career is the totality of work one does in his life time and is person centred it is of utmost importance to every individual as he or she prepares for the future.
        Career choice is something very hard to decide, especially as his life will depend on it. Her (2003) indicated that, career is the totality of experience through which one learns about and prepares to engage in work as part of his way of living ' Splete (12001) Stress career is an enjoying process that occurs over the life span and includes homes, schools and community. Every human being needs to do one job or the other to help contribute his quote to the development of the country.
        Ipaye (2000) refers to the need for one to discuss with one's peer school counsellors, parents and teachers on the need to choose a life span work as “career convention” or “career conference”. However, career convention according to him is an instrument of career information. This occurs for a number of reasons, which includes:
1.           To stimulate career thinking and widen occupational horizon.
2.           To focus attention on particular jobs in order to help an individual crystallizes his preference.
3.           To create a situation in which parents can on one hand meet employers and discuss the opportunities they offer and on the other hand meet the career teachers or career officers with whom they can exchange views.
Work experience during industrial training or those experiences acquired during vocational education also aids the students in choice of career. This is a techniques in which students do job under realistic conditions without payment this may help them choose a career to that effect.
        James (2004) Observes that the influence home has on the child's learning is the fundamental concepts of life.   This cause and most of the habits and basic adjustment were established during pre-school years. The highlights the fact that home and parents occupy the most important position in the child’s education. It should be stressed that work experience is not an attempt to find job for the students but an attempt to widen the horizons of students and ease the ultimate transition from school to work. This is usually based on the information given to the school by the parents, such guidance and information are necessary because most school children are adolescents and are controlled by double standards, hypocrisy, truancy, materialism, dishonesty etc. .
        The factor that may influence choice of career includes.
-              Socio-economic factors
-              Personal or family factors
-              Cultural factors, which include schools, peer group, age and work experience. Parental influence on choice of career has both negative and positive effect. This is due to the following factors
-              No usual hazards to health
-              Assured steady income
-              Certainty of continued employment
-              Career or occupational satisfaction
-              Prestige
-              Social rewards.
To increase students interest and ability to use his hands and brains, the parents, must be involved to give desired assistance/guidance to the students.  
1.2       STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
This research is based on parental influences on the choice of career among secondary school students in Porth harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State. The parents may desire what they think is good or best for their ward.
This may affect the child positively if the child can cope with it but negatively when such a child has other things in mind, which he/she wishes to do. The result of this is that the child may not concentrate on the parents needs and so may not adjust positively towards the career. This sometimes leads to students waywardness, secrete cult involvement, armed robbery and so on. The child may not cope with the parents continual force against his/her will.  
The world is marking such drastic demand upon the coming workers every truthful man and woman every teaches and reflecting parents is planning way to fit the students for the life and needs of this new century. This statement which is still relevant today was written by Mejer Bloomfield in his book ‘finding ones place in life in (2007) since the early 2000 career development or vocational guidance at it was then known has increasingly gained more and more attention and respect in essence career counselling is a specialty within the profession of counselling one that fosters vocationally development and work adjustment of individual abilities interest and goals with the work roles structured by the community and occupation organised by companies and assist a developing and deciding individual to make suitable and viable choice why examine the factors affecting career choice on senior secondary school students, in the past and even now for many. It was assumed that on individual going through late adolescent would be developing their independence and slowly eliminating his or her family’s constraints as he or she formed his or her own identity into the larger word in effect the person would make career decision based on his or her own interest research and occupational goals with limited influence from others. Infact even when young adult move away from home, their family will likely still have a strong influence upon them on two significant life events marriage and their career.    
1.3       PURPOSE OF STUDY
The main purpose of this study is the attempt to find out parental influence on the choice of career among students in Porth harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State.
It will as much as possible, try to find out to what extent, the influence of the parent will play on the students choice of career, and whether the influence will always aid the students positively or negatively.
It will also focus on how processing techniques. Learned from  family system can lead to effective career counselling research concerning the impact of a family social economic status has ultimately divided this lack of consensus is partially during 60 the limited research in this particular are as it is rarely the main focus of the students. (Brown, 2001) but also because of the lack of detail given by the researcher about their participants.  
1.4       RESEARCH QUESTION
The research question which the study attempt to verify are as follows:
1.   Do you always desire most things your friends do?
2.   Is student’s choice of career influenced by their peer group?
3.   Does career choice affect the academic performance of students?
4.   Is your choice of career based on your interest and value towards that career?
5.   Illiterate parents have no influence on their children’s choice of career?
1.5       SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
The importance of this researcher work is to find to what extent the influences of the parent will affect the student choice of career and the attendance performance of students on the subject that would heard them successfully toward this occupation or job as a life span endeavour.
1.           It will enable the research give recommendations to the parents about their children’s response to the advice five to them.
2.           It will enable the researcher make concrete recommendations to the government about the choice of career among students especially now that the rate of unemployment is high.
3.           It will enable the researcher to make recommendation to school administrators.
4.           The findings will also enable the researcher made recommendations for further research on the issue of career prospects.
5.           It will enable the peer and the students community to have an impact on the youth adult expectation and perception of vocation.