Project – The Influence of Parental Career Expectations on Students’ Career Choices: A Study of Senior Secondary School Students in Ilorin, Kwara State

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Career choice is an important developmental decision because it influences the type of education, training, occupation and professional direction an individual may pursue in later life. For young people, career development begins long before entry into the labour market, as adolescents gradually develop interests, abilities, aspirations and perceptions concerning possible occupations. Super (1990), through the life-span, life-space approach to career development, explains that career development is a continuing process involving the development and implementation of self-concepts across different life stages. The senior secondary school period is particularly important because students are increasingly expected to make decisions concerning subjects, educational pathways and future occupations. At this stage, career choices may be shaped by personal interests and abilities as well as social relationships and environmental influences, especially the family. Whiston and Keller (2004), in their comprehensive review of family influences on career development, found that both family structure and family processes can influence career-related outcomes, including occupational choice, aspirations and career development. 

Parental career expectations constitute an important aspect of the family environment within which adolescents develop their career aspirations. Parents may communicate expectations directly by advising their children to pursue particular occupations, encouraging them to select certain school subjects, discussing preferred professions or expressing expectations about educational achievement. They may also communicate expectations indirectly through their occupations, values, socioeconomic circumstances, attitudes toward particular professions and the opportunities they make available to their children. Whiston and Keller (2004) observed that parental occupation, support, attachment, warmth and autonomy are among the family factors associated with career development, although the process is complex and varies across individuals and contexts. Similarly, Dietrich and Kracke (2009) identified parents as important partners in adolescents’ career preparation and showed that career-specific parental behaviours are associated with adolescents’ career exploration and career decision-making difficulties. These findings indicate that parental expectations can form part of the social context through which young people understand and evaluate career alternatives.

The influence of parental expectations can also be explained through Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), which emphasizes the interaction between personal factors, environmental influences and career-related behaviour. Lent, Brown, and Hackett (1994) proposed that career interests, choices and performance are influenced by factors such as self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations and personal goals, while contextual factors can facilitate or constrain career development. From this perspective, parents may influence students’ career choices by providing encouragement, information, resources and opportunities, but they may also shape the outcomes students expect from different occupations. Parental expectations can therefore affect the way adolescents perceive particular careers as desirable, attainable or socially acceptable. Sawitri, Creed, and Zimmer-Gembeck (2014) found among Grade 10 students in a collectivist cultural setting that parental career expectations and parent-adolescent career congruence were associated with career aspirations and career actions, with self-efficacy playing an important role in these relationships.

The nature of parental influence may be particularly significant during adolescence because students are simultaneously developing greater independence while remaining economically, socially and emotionally connected to their families. Parents may provide career information and guidance that students cannot easily obtain independently, especially where students have limited knowledge of the expanding range of occupational opportunities. At the same time, parental expectations may become restrictive when parents insist on particular careers without adequately considering their children’s interests, abilities, values and aspirations. Dietrich and Kracke (2009) emphasized that career-specific parental behaviours can affect adolescents’ career exploration and decision-making processes, demonstrating that parental involvement is not simply a matter of whether parents are involved but also how they become involved. Similarly, Sawitri et al. (2015), using longitudinal data from 954 Indonesian high school students, found that parental career expectations predicted subsequent career aspirations and planning, while adolescent-parent career congruence and aspirations were related to later career exploration.

The Nigerian context provides additional reasons for examining parental expectations in students’ career choices. Career decisions among Nigerian secondary school students occur within a society where family relationships, educational achievement, occupational status and socioeconomic considerations can be important influences on young people’s aspirations. Parents may encourage careers that they perceive to provide economic security, social status or employment opportunities, while students may have preferences based on their own interests and perceived abilities. In a study of secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State, Odebode, Adebayo, Jekayinfa, and Aburime (2019) found that factors influencing students’ career choices included access to job opportunities, remuneration, career guidance from school counsellors, societal values, family line of work, school-subject performance and intellectual capability. The study also reported significant differences in expressed career-choice factors according to gender, class level, religion and father’s educational status. These findings demonstrate that students’ career choices in Ilorin are influenced by a combination of family, school, economic and individual factors rather than by one factor alone.

Evidence from Ilorin also provides direct support for investigating parental expectations as a specific component of career choice. Okesina and Famolu (2022) examined parental influence on career choice among 200 secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State. Their findings showed that parental encouragement to make good career decisions, parents’ provision of information about specific careers and encouragement to consider different educational and career options were significant influences on students’ career choices. The study further examined parents’ educational level, occupation and family type and found no significant differences in parental influence based on those variables. Importantly, the authors recommended meaningful career programmes that would educate both parents and students about career choice. The study therefore establishes a strong local foundation for examining parental influence in Ilorin, while the present study narrows the focus specifically to parental career expectations and their influence on the career choices of senior secondary school students.

Despite the importance of parental involvement, career choice is not exclusively determined by parents. Adolescents may negotiate parental expectations with their own interests, abilities, values, peer influences, school experiences, career information and perceptions of the labour market. Research has therefore emphasized the complexity of family influence rather than treating parental influence as a simple one-directional process. Whiston and Keller (2004) noted that family influences on career development vary according to developmental and contextual factors, while Sawitri et al. (2014) found that parental expectations interacted with adolescent-parent career congruence and self-efficacy in predicting career aspirations and actions. Nigerian evidence also suggests that students’ career choices involve multiple factors, including job opportunities, remuneration, counselling, family occupation, academic performance and intellectual capability (Odebode et al., 2019). Consequently, there is a need for a focused investigation of how parental career expectations are related to the career choices of senior secondary school students in Ilorin, Kwara State, rather than assuming that parental expectations determine students’ choices in every case. 

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Career choice has become an important concern among senior secondary school students because students are expected to begin making decisions about educational pathways, university programmes and future occupations while they are still developing their interests, abilities and identities. Poorly informed or unsuitable career choices may create difficulties when students progress into higher education or employment, particularly when their chosen field does not correspond with their abilities or interests. Super (1990) explains that career development involves the development and implementation of self-concept over the life span, suggesting that career decisions should be connected to the developing characteristics of the individual. However, family expectations, social values and economic considerations may sometimes influence students to prioritize careers that are considered prestigious or financially rewarding rather than careers that correspond with their individual preferences. This creates the need to examine the extent to which parental career expectations are associated with students’ career choices during the senior secondary school stage.

A second problem concerns the possibility that parental expectations may provide useful guidance while also creating pressure for adolescents. Parents can assist children by providing career information, encouragement, financial support and exposure to occupational opportunities. However, parental expectations can become problematic when parents insist that children pursue particular professions regardless of the children’s interests, abilities or aspirations. Whiston and Keller (2004) found that family processes such as support, attachment and autonomy are relevant to career development, while Dietrich and Kracke (2009) demonstrated that specific parental career behaviours are related to adolescents’ career exploration and decision-making difficulties. Thus, the issue is not simply whether parents influence career choices but whether the expectations communicated by parents are associated with students’ own career preferences and decisions. Understanding this distinction is important for determining whether parental expectations function mainly as guidance, pressure, or a combination of both.

Another problem is the possibility of a mismatch between parental career expectations and students’ personal interests, abilities and career aspirations. Adolescents may accept parental advice because of respect, dependence or the perceived authority of parents, even when they have different occupational interests. Conversely, some students may resist parental expectations and make independent career decisions. Sawitri et al. (2014) found that adolescent-parent career congruence and parental career expectations were associated with career aspirations and career actions, while Sawitri et al. (2015) demonstrated longitudinal relationships between parental career expectations, aspirations, planning and exploration. In Nigeria, Odebode et al. (2019) also found that students’ career choices were influenced by several factors beyond family occupation, including job opportunities, remuneration, school counselling, societal values, academic performance and intellectual capability. These findings suggest that the relationship between parental expectations and career choice requires empirical examination rather than being assumed to be uniformly positive or negative.

The central problem addressed by this study is the need for more specific evidence on the influence of parental career expectations on the career choices of senior secondary school students in Ilorin, Kwara State. Although previous research has established that parents are important participants in adolescents’ career development, and a study conducted specifically in Ilorin found significant parental influences on secondary school students’ career choices, there remains a need to examine parental expectations as a distinct dimension of that influence among senior secondary school students. Okesina and Famolu (2022) found that parental encouragement, career information and encouragement to consider different options influenced students’ career choices in Ilorin, but their study examined parental influence more broadly. The present study therefore seeks to determine whether parents’ expectations concerning students’ future careers are associated with the careers students choose, while considering expectations relating to preferred occupations, educational pathways, career success and parental support for students’ career decisions.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The main aim of this study is to examine the influence of parental career expectations on students’ career choices among senior secondary school students in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The specific objectives are to:

1. examine the influence of parents’ expectations concerning preferred occupations on the career choices of senior secondary school students in Ilorin, Kwara State;
2. determine the influence of parents’ expectations concerning students’ educational and academic pathways on their career choices in Ilorin, Kwara State;
3. assess the influence of parental encouragement and support on the career choices of senior secondary school students in Ilorin, Kwara State; and
4. examine the overall influence of parental career expectations on the career choices of senior secondary school students in Ilorin, Kwara State.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions will guide the study:

1. What influence do parents’ expectations concerning preferred occupations have on the career choices of senior secondary school students in Ilorin, Kwara State?
2. What influence do parents’ expectations concerning students’ educational and academic pathways have on their career choices in Ilorin, Kwara State?
3. What influence do parental encouragement and support have on the career choices of senior secondary school students in Ilorin, Kwara State?
4. What is the overall influence of parental career expectations on the career choices of senior secondary school students in Ilorin, Kwara State?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

The following null hypothesis will be tested at the 0.05 level of significance:

H₀: There is no statistically significant influence of parental career expectations on the career choices of senior secondary school students in Ilorin, Kwara State.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study will be significant to senior secondary school students because it will help create awareness of the factors that may shape their career decisions. The study may encourage students to consider their interests, abilities, values and career aspirations while also making appropriate use of parental guidance and advice.

The study will be beneficial to parents and guardians because it will provide information about the possible influence of their career expectations on their children’s career decisions. The findings may encourage parents to provide appropriate guidance without unnecessarily restricting students’ career aspirations.

The study will also be useful to school counsellors. The findings may help counsellors understand the nature of parental expectations experienced by students and develop career guidance programmes that involve both students and their parents.

Teachers and school administrators may also benefit from the findings. The study may provide information that can assist schools in identifying students who experience conflict between their personal career interests and parental expectations. Such information may help schools organize career education and counselling activities.

The findings may be useful to policymakers and educational authorities in Kwara State. The evidence generated may support the development of career guidance programmes that recognize the role of families in students’ career development and encourage constructive parent-school collaboration.

The study will also contribute to existing literature on career development, parental influence and students’ career choices in Nigeria. Its focus on senior secondary school students in Ilorin may provide location-specific evidence that can be compared with findings from other parts of Nigeria and other cultural settings.

Finally, the study will serve as a reference for future researchers who may investigate parental expectations, career aspirations, career decision-making, career guidance, adolescent development or related educational issues.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The study focuses on the influence of parental career expectations on students’ career choices among senior secondary school students in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The geographical scope is limited to selected senior secondary schools in Ilorin, Kwara State. The study will focus on students at the senior secondary level because this stage is particularly relevant to decisions concerning higher education, occupational aspirations and future career direction.

The content scope covers two major variables: parental career expectations and students’ career choices. Parental career expectations will be examined in terms of parents’ preferred occupations for their children, expectations concerning educational and academic pathways, parental encouragement and support, and expectations concerning students’ future career success.

Students’ career choices will be examined in terms of students’ preferred occupations, alignment of career choices with personal interests and abilities, willingness to pursue the selected career, and the influence of family and other contextual factors on the final choice.

The study does not assume that parental expectations are the only factors affecting students’ career choices. Other factors such as personal interests, academic ability, peer influence, school counselling, socioeconomic circumstances, employment opportunities, remuneration and societal values may also influence career decisions. The present study is specifically concerned with the role of parental career expectations.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Career: A person’s long-term occupational and professional pathway, including the education, training, occupations and work-related experiences through which the individual develops.

Career Choice: The decision or preference of a student concerning the occupation, profession or career field that the student intends to pursue.

Career Expectations: Beliefs or anticipated outcomes concerning a person’s future occupation, career development and employment prospects.

Parental Career Expectations: The occupations, professions, educational pathways or career outcomes that parents expect, encourage or prefer their children to pursue.

Parental Encouragement: Verbal or behavioural support provided by parents to motivate students to consider, pursue or remain committed to particular educational or career options.

Parental Support: The material, emotional, informational and practical assistance parents provide to students in the process of exploring and making career decisions.

Parental Career Pressure: The situation in which parents strongly insist, directly or indirectly, that a child pursue a particular career despite the child’s own preferences, interests or abilities.

Career Information: Knowledge concerning occupations, educational requirements, job opportunities, career pathways, working conditions and other characteristics of different careers.

Senior Secondary School Students: Students enrolled in the senior secondary school classes, particularly SS I, SS II and SS III, within the schools selected for the study.

Career Aspiration: A student’s desired or intended occupational or professional goal for the future.

Ilorin: The capital city of Kwara State, Nigeria, comprising the metropolitan area in which the selected senior secondary schools for this study are located.

Project – The Influence of Parental Career Expectations on Students’ Career Choices: A Study of Senior Secondary School Students in Ilorin, Kwara State