Publication Details
Abstract
The study was set out to investigate the effect of guidance and counselling services on career decision-making processes of senior secondary school students in Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State. With two research questions and two corresponding hypotheses, the study was descriptive survey in nature. The tar get population was all students in the public secondary schools of Emohua, from which a sample of about 900 stu dents was selected with the stratified random sampling technique at 25% proportion to achieve demographic equilibrium. The instrument developed by the researcher was called "Guidance and Counselling Impact on Career Decision-Making Questionnaire (GCICDMQ)" Reliability of GCICDMQ measured using Cronbach Alpha ranged from 0.82 to 0.89 during initial test administration phase. The study questions were answered through the use of means and standard deviations, while hypotheses were tested using independent t-tests with a significance level set at 0.05. The findings revealed that counselling interventions have been highly instrumental in rendering the students towards appropriately informed careen options resulting from improved self-awareness and reliable occupational information, the focus of their interests with vocational programme, and mismatched aspirations. Important barriers known were the shortage of counsellors and irregularity in career advising sessions. Therefore, suggestions were centered on the need for more vocational counsellors, career seminars as part of curriculum activities and also in conclusion to collaborate with industries within the locality for mentor programs and embedding career guidance within regular academic schedules in an effort to fine-tune students' occupational choices. Finally, the study has confirmed the key role of guidance and counselling in helping secondary school students in Emohua develop purposeful and viable career decisions.