CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Our successful existence in the
contemporary world means the ability to solving numerous problems and
making countless choices. Fast changes around us show that the number of
choices to be taken grows daily. Some of such choices are about friends
to move with, types of school to attend, programmes of study and choice
of career. Career has been defined as the total pattern of one’s
activities held during a person’s life-time (Natalie, 2006). According
to the Webster’s international dictionary (1998) career stresses an
individual’s achievement or advancement in a particular career. Career
is a life work. Career is a lifelong experience, which enables
individuals to earn money or to get all his or her needs provided. The
individual who has the career may be able to live a good and a
fulfilling life. Such an individual is able to raise a healthy family
since with a good career choice all may go well for such an individual.
These and many things show how relevant a career is in the lives of all
humans. The need for career choice then becomes quite obvious. Indeed
career choice is as important as choosing a life partner since it is
also a lifetime process. Just like becoming miserable when the wrong
marriage partner is chosen, one can also become very unhappy if ones
career is not well planned (Bedu–Addo, 2000).
With a career choice in mind, a student
can send application letters to companies even before school is
completed. This may make it easy for such a student to look for a career
because the student has an idea of where to go with an application
letter and not to roam from every company looking for any vacant
position.
According to Hewitt (2010) most people
are influenced by careers that their parents favour in order to avoid
conflicts in the home. In the same vain, Taylor (2004) revealed that
children may choose what their parents desire simply to please them.
This makes the youth confused as to why parents still see them as kids
and incapable of making their own decisions. Such an individual enters
this career for the parents denying the self which may render the
individual incomplete in the career. Other choose career because of
financial and social status while academic performance in another
factors in career choice. These social dynamics has greatly influenced
the choice of career among students all over the world.
Social dynamics can refer to the
behavior of groups those results from the interactions of individual
group members as well to the study of the relationship between
individual interactions and group level behaviors. Like system dynamics,
social dynamics is concerned with changes over time and emphasizes the
role of feedbacks (Sterman, 2000). However, in social dynamics
individual choices and interactions are typically viewed as the source
of aggregate level behavior, while system dynamics posits that the
structure of feedbacks and accumulations are responsible for system
level dynamics (Sterman, 2000). Because social dynamics focuses on
individual level behavior, and recognizes the importance of
heterogeneity across individuals, strict analytic results are often
impossible on how one individual affects the behaviour of one another.
Social dynamics of career choices has taken various dimensions 1.e.
students has influenced the behaviour of each others in several ways
towards a particular career choice, for example many undergraduate
students in sciences has ended up being musician because of behavioral
influences from peers, hence this study among University of Lagos Final
Year students. The University of Lagos – popularly known as Unilag, is a
federal government research university in Lagos State, southwestern
Nigeria.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Primarily, the social support system of a
student is made up of parents, relatives, siblings, peers, teachers and
counselors. As we can see, there are many opportunities or paths to be
explored by final year undergraduate students. Final year student of a
university will only have accomplished choosing a career if a complete,
thoughtful, education decision was made, evaluating all of the social
factors possible in career choice process. Peers and parental influences
with the perceived social elevation attached to some professions have
been the dominating factors and determinants to consider in the social
dynamics of career choices of students. For example, entrepreneurship
studies has always been chosen by fewer students in Nigeria, this course
is considered very important to the development of any nation, this
will have serious impact on the development of the nation since the
course is considered unattractive by prospective students. Several
studies have been carried out on career choices of undergraduate
students, but there have been no studies on the social dynamics of
career choices among students. This led to the decision of the
researcher to embark on this study.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The general objective of this study is
the analysis of the social dynamics of career choices among university
of Lagos final year students and the following are the specific
objectives of this study:
- To examine the social dynamics of career choices among University of Lagos final year students.
- To examine the influence of parent on career choices among University of Lagos final year students.
- To examine the influences of peers on career choices among University of Lagos final year students.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- What are the social dynamics of career choices among University of Lagos final year students?
- What is the influence of parent on career choices among University of Lagos final year students?
- What are the influences of peers on career choices among University of Lagos final year students?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The results from this study will be
useful for the students, their parent/guardian and the policy makers on
education in understanding the social dynamics of career choice among
undergraduate students. We live together as individuals in our various
societies, individuals interact with each other, through this, they have
influence each other as social animals. This study will educate on how
these interactions (either with peers or parents etc) have influenced
the career choices of undergraduate students in Nigeria.
This research will be a contribution to
the body of literature in the area of the social dynamics of career
choices among students, thereby constituting the empirical literature
for future research in the subject area.
1.6 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This study is limited to the final year
students of the University of Lagos. It will also cover the social
dynamics of career choice among the final year students.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Career: an occupation or profession, especially one requiring special training, followed as one's lifework.
Choice: a job that is selected as one's favorite or the best.
Social: of or relating to society or its organization.
Counseling: give advice to (someone).