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Influence of Social Environment on Career Choice

The document discusses factors that influence students' career choices, specifically focusing on the role of social environment. It defines social environment as all effects of human interaction, including family, religion, education, peer groups, and politics. Career choice is shaped by both intrinsic factors like personality and interests, as well as extrinsic social and environmental influences. The document provides background on defining careers and the importance of career choice for students' future success and satisfaction.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
180 views23 pages

Influence of Social Environment on Career Choice

The document discusses factors that influence students' career choices, specifically focusing on the role of social environment. It defines social environment as all effects of human interaction, including family, religion, education, peer groups, and politics. Career choice is shaped by both intrinsic factors like personality and interests, as well as extrinsic social and environmental influences. The document provides background on defining careers and the importance of career choice for students' future success and satisfaction.

Uploaded by

mbabit leslie
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

UNIVERSITY OF BUEA

FACULTY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF


EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT AND ITS INFLUENCE ON STUDENTS


CAREER CHOICE

CHAPTER ONE

SUBMITTED BY: ACHENKENG DOROTHY AKAMIN – ED18P204

SUPERVISOR: DR. YARO LOVELINE

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Page |1

Introduction

Career choice is one of the most important choices that an individual especially a
student has to make. Career choice is vital because it could determine whether or
not an individual is going to be successful in life. It also determines the kind of
friends and companions a person will keep, business associates, recreational
activities, opportunities, salary status, where a person will live and our style of
living generally. Ogueze (2008) maintained that proper choice of career leads to
success and happiness and is indeed a prerequisite for self-actualization. A major
turning point in adolescents’ lives involves the career choice that they make while
in secondary school (Natalie, 2006). Natalie further contended that career choice,
frequently, is viewed by family and community as a mere start to workplace
readiness; however, this decision plays a major role in establishing youth in a
career path that opens as well as closes opportunities.

In Cameroon like anywhere in the world, career choice has become a complex
science with the advent of information technology, the emergence of post
industrial revolution and job completion. At the secondary school level, a student
should have knowledge of what he or she wants to do in the future. This, in turn,
inform the kind of subjects to select at the senior level, and subsequent senior
secondary school certificate examinations such as Ordinary level , Advanced level
and so on.

The younger generation is the future of any nation. As such, their occupational
choices should assist them to develop the knowledge, skills and attitude needed to
successfully examine their lives, while exploring and evaluating a wide range of
career options to attain goals in the future.
Page |2

Career choice is an exercise that is carried out under the influence of certain
factors. According to Kerka (2000), career choice is influenced by multiple factors
including personality, interest concept, cultural identity, globalization,
socialization, role model, social support and available resources such as
information and finance. Bandura, Barbarenelli, Capara and Pastorelli (2001)
stated that each individual undertaking the process is influenced by factors
including the context in they live in, their personal attitudes, social contact and
educational attainment. According to Hewitt (2010), factors influencing career
choice can either be intrinsic or extrinsic or both. Hewitt further stated that most
people are influenced by careers that their parents favour; others follow the careers
that their educational opportunities have opened for them. Some individuals’ career
choices are also influenced by the significant others through social support from
peers. In a study by Natalie (2006), young adults, through interaction within the
context of the family, school and community, learn about and explore careers
which ultimately lead to their career choice.

Youth career decision-making is required to go through a process of understanding


by defining what they want to do and exploring a variety of career options with the
aid of guidance and planning (Porfeli and Lee, 2012). Proper handling of the
process affirms individual identity and fosters wellbeing, job satisfaction and
stability (Kunnen, 2013).

This chapter comprises the background to the study which involves historical,
theoretical, conceptual, contextual background, statement of problem, objectives of
the study, research questions, research hypotheses, justification of the study,
significance of the study, scope and delimitation of the study, and operational
definition of terms.
Page |3

Background of the study

Conceptually, Environment is a term which has many connotations. It has physical,


economic, social, and cultural dimensions. From an environmentalist perspective,
it is defined as the sum total of all social, biological, chemical, and physical factors
which compose the surroundings of man.

Olatunji, (2003) argues that we have three types of environments, namely: The
Natural Environment, the Biological Environment, and the Social Environment. He
claimed that the Natural environment is made up of man’s surroundings which are
the product of natural processes. It consists of such natural phenomenon as air,
water, land, mountains, rivers as well as climate and its elements. Thus, the natural
environment has some influence on man as determined by weather condition,
source of income and mode of living. The Biological environment includes all
living things, plants, animals including man himself and micro- organisms that
surround man in an area. These living things are interdependent on each other and
they ultimately depend on the natural environment for survival. The Social
environment refers to all effects of man’s interaction with man in the process of his
living in the natural environment. Social environment includes all the patterns of
social relationship and groupings as well as the educational, recreational, religious,
technological, cultural, and economic opportunities created by man in the
environment for use of mankind. Social environment include people or groups of
people that influence a student’s choice to enter a given field of study. According
to Simons, attitude is a behavior that will lead to certain outcomes, and social
pressure is the “belief that specific individuals or groups approve or disapprove of
the behavior” (Simon, 2003).
Page |4

From the foregoing, the research carried out by Olatunji (2003) showed that the
social environment is significant, since it looks into social concepts such as the
family, religion, education, peer group and even political group. Therefore, it will
be more suitable to carry out this research in light of Olatunji’s (2003) definition of
social environment.

A career, according to the business dictionary (2016), is defined as the progress


and actions taken by a person throughout a lifetime, especially those related to that
person’s occupations. It is often composed of the jobs held, titles earned and work
accomplished over a long period of time, rather than just referring to one
occupation. Dictionary.com (2016) defined career as an occupation or profession,
especially one requiring special training, followed as one’s lifework. It also means
a person’s progress or course of action through life or through a phase of life, as in
some profession or undertaking. However, various careers differ in terms of the
requirements for entry into them; in terms of subjects’ combination, aptitude,
abilities and personality traits which should be considered and assessed before an
individual can be said to be qualified to enter specific careers (Onoyase &
Onoyase, 2009). Popoola (2004) refers to career as a job or profession for which
one undergoes regulated education and training over a period of time and which
one intends to follow for the whole of one’s life. It is thus a chosen pursuit, life
work and success in one’s profession. A career is now broadly defined as the
unfolding sequence of a person’s work experience over time (Arthur, khapover &
Wilderom, 2005) or in more detail as` the sequence of employment related
positions, roles, activities and experiences encountered by a person (Amoid, 2001).
Collinsdictiionary.com defines a career as the job or profession that someone does
for a long period of their life e.g. lawyer, teacher, doctor, artist, counsellor and so
on.
Page |5

When experts talk about career choice, they are usually referring to someone
deciding what he/she wants to do to make a living (Dawn, 2013). A career choice
is the process of determining a field of learning that requires certain knowledge
and skills, acquired through a specific educational program which results in a
certificate or degree attesting to your accomplishment (Powers, 2013). Since the
average person works 45 to 50 years in his or her lifetime, finding a satisfying
career and not just a job is important. Career choice has therefore become a
complex task today as one has not only to make the career planning but also to do
an exhaustive career research before making career choice so as to adjust with the
evolving social economic conditions (Wattles, 2009).

According to Kerka (2000), career choice is influenced by multiple factors which


include personality, interest, self-concept, cultural identity, globalization,
socialization, role model, social support and available resource such as information
and finances. Hewitt (2010), suggested that most people are influenced by career
that their parent favour, others follow the career that their educational choice have
opened for them, some choice to follow their passion regardless of how much or
little it will make them; while others choose the career that gives high income.
McQuaid and Bond (2003) cited that student perception of being suitable for
particular jobs also has been found to be influenced by a number of factors which
include ethnic background, years in school, level of achievement, choice of science
subject, attitudes and difference in job characteristics. However, research show that
the choice of career among secondary school student is determined by a
combination of personal abilities, personality type and other factors (Okafor,
2012). This is why Onayase & Onayase, (2009) suggested an investigation into
other factors which include some environmental factor such as family background,
school environment, religious and peer group influence. Career according to
Page |6

Cambridge Advance Learner’s Dictionary (2005) refers to ‘‘job or series of job


that you do during your working life’’. Thus, choosing a career, simply means
choosing a life job. However, all career have their subject requirement, personality
characteristic and personal abilities while are supposed to be fully assessed before
individual can be deemed to be qualified to go into specific career (Onayase &
Onayase, 2009). Career choice is influence by multiple factors include personality,
interest, self- concept, identity, globalization, socialization, role model, social
support and available resources such as information and finance (Kerka, 2000).
Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, Pastorell, 2001) cited that each individual
undertaking the process is influenced by several factors including the context in
which they live in, their personal aptitudes, social contacts and educational
attainment. Hence, factors that influence career choice can either be intrinsic or
extrinsic or both. Most people are influenced by career that their parent favour,
other follow the career that their educational choice have opened for them, some
choose to follow their passion regardless of how much or little it will make them
while other choose careers that give high income. Student percept of being suitable
for particular jobs also has been found to be influence by a number of factors
including ethnic background, year in school, level of achievement, choice of
science subject, attitudes and differences in job characteristic(McQuaid and Bond,
2003).

Historically, before the late 19th century, little was available in the form of career
guidance for those looking to find a job. Back then, career guidance was known as
vocational guidance. Most work prospects developed from close community
contacts such as family, friends and perhaps church. The turn of the 20th century
saw a rise in immigration, resulting in an increased need for a more organized
effort to help people find jobs. The Vocational Guidance Movement was the
Page |7

precursor to career counseling. It begin in 1907, when the founding father of


vocational guidance, Frank Parsons, created the first methodology of career
guidance. In 1908, he began the Vocational Bureau of Boston, with a mission of
aiding people to discover what careers were available. His theories were rooted in
first improving working conditions, then focusing on the individual workers' needs.
Parsons' methodology focused on making people more in tune with their skills and
interests, thus leading to the right fit for a career. The mid-20th century brought
several changes to the work force and with it, some changes to the career
counseling industry. With the end of World War II, more women and veterans
were in the work force with higher education levels. Technology development
increased, opening new types of jobs and demand for certain skills. Though the
types of jobs have changed considerably in the past century, some of the
fundamentals of career guidance remain. The central themes continue to be
developing an awareness of personal skills and interests, and learning about career
opportunities and requirements. However, career guidance today is seen as an
ongoing process. Age is no longer the driving force it once was, and that has been
brought an increased focus on the self at work and work-life balance (Forneris,
(2020).

Theoretically, this study will be guided by Lev Vygotsky socio-cultural theory


(1978), Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) by Robert W. Lent, Steven D.
Brown, and Gail Hackett ( 1994), Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory(1977)

Vygotsky takes a different approach to Piaget’s idea that development precedes


learning. Instead, he reckons that social learning is an integral part of cognitive
development and it is culture, not developmental Stage that underlies cognitive
development. Because of that, he argues that learning varies across cultures rather
Page |8

than being a universal process driven by the kind of structures and processes put
forward by Piaget.

Zone of Proximal Development: He makes a big deal of the idea of the Zone of


Proximal Development in which children and those they are learning from co-
construct knowledge. Therefore, the social environment in which children learn
has a massive impact on how they think and what they think about. Their social
environment contains all the cognitive/linguistic skills and tools to understand
the world. Vygotsky talks about Elementary Mental Functions, by which he means
the basic cognitive processes of Attention, Sensation, Perception and Memory. By
using those basic tools in interactions with their sociocultural environment,
children sort of improve them using whatever their culture provides to do so. In the
case of Memory, for example, Western cultures tend towards note-taking, mind-
maps or mnemonics whereas other cultures may use different Memory tools like
storytelling.

What are crucial in this learning theory are the ideas of Scaffolding, the Zone of
Proximal Development (ZPD) and the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO).

More Knowledgeable Other: The MKO can be (but doesn’t have to be) a person


who literally knows more than the child. Working collaboratively, the child and the
MKO operate in the ZPD, which is the bit of learning that the child can’t do on
their own. As the child develops, the ZPD gets bigger because they can do more on
their own and the process of enlarging the ZPD is called Scaffolding.

Vygotsky Scaffolding: Knowing where that scaffold should be set is massively


important and it’s the MKO’s job to do that so that the child can work
independently and learn collaboratively. For Vygotsky, language is at the heart of
Page |9

all this because a) it’s the primary means by which the MKO and the child
communicate ideas and b) internalising it is enormously powerful in cementing
understanding about the world. (Stevens-Fulbrook, 2019)

With respect to this study this theory support the fact that when students encounter
difficulties in learning, problem solving or even decision making like making
career choices they turn to significant others or more knowledgeable others for
guidance and directives.

Robert W. Lent, Steven D. Brown, and Gail Hackett developed what they would
later call the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) from 1981 to 2002, using
Bandura's social cognitive theory and other career theories as a basis. These
researchers were primarily concerned with, "the process of interest formation,
career selection, and performance (Hackett, 2013). SCCT looks into how learning
experiences (and contextual factors) influence and guide behavior towards a
particular career, taking into account how abilities, values, and interests interrelate
while maintaining the point of personal agency a person exercises in their own
career development (Lent, Brown, Hackett, 2002). 

The Social Cognitive Career Theory, or the Social Cognition Career Theory,
purports that a person's career choice is influenced by the four major sources of
developed beliefs that is refined over time. These four sources are: a) personal
performance accomplishments; b) vicarious learning; c) social persuasion, and d)
physiological states and reactions. Throughout a person's life, he or she reinforces
self-efficacy through success and develop goals. People form interests that last
over the lifetime through experiencing positive outcomes and personal competency
(self-efficacy and outcome expectation). When a person has low beliefs in her/his
P a g e | 10

own personal competency, then that person will avoid that activity (Contactpoint,
2015).

This theory supports the study in that, it defends the fact that students choice of
career is not only a function of their ability, performance or belief but also a
product of interactions with environmental especially the social environment.

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) started as the Social Learning Theory (SLT) in the
1960s by Albert Bandura. It developed into the SCT in 1986 and posits that
learning occurs in a social context with a dynamic and reciprocal interaction of the
person, environment, and behavior. The unique feature of SCT is the emphasis on
social influence and its emphasis on external and internal social reinforcement.  
SCT considers the unique way in which individuals acquire and maintain behavior,
while also considering the social environment in which individuals perform the
behavior. The theory takes into account a person's past experiences, which factor
into whether behavioral action will occur. These past experiences influences
reinforcements, expectations, and expectancies, all of which shape whether a
person will engage in a specific behavior and the reasons why a person engages in
that behavior.

The goal of SCT is to explain how people regulate their behavior through control
and reinforcement to achieve goal-directed behavior that can be maintained over
time. The first five constructs were developed as part of the SLT; the construct of
self-efficacy was added when the theory evolved into SCT.

1. Reciprocal Determinism - This is the central concept of SCT. This refers to


the dynamic and reciprocal interaction of person (individual with a set of
P a g e | 11

learned experiences), environment (external social context), and behavior


(responses to stimuli to achieve goals).

2. Behavioral Capability - This refers to a person's actual ability to perform a


behavior through essential knowledge and skills. In order to successfully
perform a behavior, a person must know what to do and how to do it. People
learn from the consequences of their behavior, which also affects the
environment in which they live.

3. Observational Learning - This asserts that people can witness and observe a
behavior conducted by others, and then reproduce those actions. This is
often exhibited through "modeling" of behaviors.   If individuals see
successful demonstration of a behavior, they can also complete the behavior
successfully.

4. Reinforcements - This refers to the internal or external responses to a


person's behavior that affect the likelihood of continuing or discontinuing
the behavior. Reinforcements can be self-initiated or in the environment, and
reinforcements can be positive or negative. This is the construct of SCT that
most closely ties to the reciprocal relationship between behavior and
environment.

5. Expectations - This refers to the anticipated consequences of a person's


behavior. Outcome expectations can be health-related or not health-related.
People anticipate the consequences of their actions before engaging in the
behavior, and these anticipated consequences can influence successful
completion of the behavior. Expectations derive largely from previous
experience.   While expectancies also derive from previous experience,
P a g e | 12

expectancies focus on the value that is placed on the outcome and are
subjective to the individual.

6. Self-efficacy - This refers to the level of a person's confidence in his or her


ability to successfully perform a behavior. Self-efficacy is unique to SCT
although other theories have added this construct at later dates, such as the
Theory of Planned Behavior. Self-efficacy is influenced by a person's
specific capabilities and other individual factors, as well as by environmental
factors (barriers and facilitators). (Boston University, 2019)

This theory relates to this study in that looking at the concepts of observational
learning and reciprocal determinism, career choice determined by students is a
product of dynamic and reciprocal interaction of person (individual with a set of
learned experiences), environment (external social context), and behavior
(responses to stimuli to achieve goals).

Contextually, according to Nwagu(2007) the African student is a man of two


worlds. The first is his traditional society which is basically illiterate, rural and
agricultural. The second is a westernized environment characterized by city life in
the midst of an educated elite and a comparatively modernized mode of existence.
As a matter of fact, most modern novels written by African authors have as their
main theme the exposition of the conflicts generated by efforts to reconcile the
traditional and the western values in a typical developing society. Undoubtedly,
vocational attitudes have roots in our emotions and the social influences,
traditional and modern, which impinge upon us. They also rest upon cognitive
foundations which affect our values and these in turn help to determine our
aspirations and choices. This why Bem sees a value as a primitive preference for or
P a g e | 13

a positive attitude toward certain end-states of existence or certain broad modes of


conduct. The implication is that though African, American and European students
may have vocational aspirations which are on the surface similar in many respects,
the reasons for their choices may differ widely according to the values of their
societies.

Really, the area of guidance and counselling has been to a great extent neglected in
school practice and administration throughout the continent. A possible ex~
planation of the situation may be the philosophy of education which has for long
prevailed in most African countries. With the great need for educated and skilled
man-power for the development of the newly independent African nations, the
secondary schools, especially the highly selective secondary grammar schools,
thought that their main task was to get students successfully through end of
secondary schooling external examinations. For example, a good performance in
West African or East African School Certificate examinations made a candidate
eligible for entry into many jobs and for admission into the universities. Moreover,
schools were judged by society according to the performance of their students in
these examinations. Very few vocational skills are taught, and the teachers
concentrate on bringing the students to the informational level set in the school
syllabuses prepared by the external examination boards. The few technical and
commercial secondary schools are ill-equipped and staffed to do a good job while
most of their students are those considered not good enough for the grammar
schools (Nwagu,2007).

In the schools, therefore, emphasis is on the acquisition of facts and theoretical


generalizations without specific attention and reference to the social context in
which the students are living and by which they are directly influenced. Nobody
assumes any responsibility for guiding the students in their selection of vocations
P a g e | 14

and further education. One can presume with a certain degree of certainty that the
people consulted helped to influence students' attitudes towards various
postsecondary educational programmes and occupations. It is usual for parents to
discuss with children their educational and vocational future in order to arrive at
decisions which reckon with the limited educational and employment opportunities
in the country and the socio-economic circumstances of the family. What therefore
happens is, that secondary students often make important decisions about their
future education and careers without adequate information, and without any
organized counselling and guidance assistance from the schools they attend. This
situation throws into question the realistic nature of the vocational aspirations and
expectations of African students(Nwagu,2007)..

If the indiscriminate way African students apply for admission into the universities
is a good indicator of how they seek for jobs in the employment market, then their
lack of basic information on the possibilities open to them has a disastrous effect
on their aspirations, chances and opportunities. An ameliorating factor may be that
student's interests may be modified later on by re-education. The problem in
Africa, however, is that over 90 per cent of those who go through secondary
schools never have another opportunity for more formal education while non-
formal educational opportunities are near zero. Consequently, there are seldom any
chances of retracting errors of decision and choice made at the end of students'
secondary education (Nwagu, 2007).

In Cameroon, guidance and counselling can be traced back to the 1940s, with an
in-service unit in counselling opened in the Public Works Department (Ndongko &
Leke, 2000). It however underwent a series of changes in naming, for instance in
1949, it was called the Centre for Psychological Counselling and Vocational
P a g e | 15

Choice (C.P.C.V.C.). In 1963, this name changed from C.P.V.C to the Service of


Vocational Guidance and Psychological Studies of Labour Problems. It was thus
placed under the Secretariat for Labour and linked to the focal point of Secondary
Education, where it is well rooted up to this moment. The focal point of
counselling in Cameroon has been to enable students understand and accept who
they are, so that the innate talents can be discovered and used efficiently to make
life more meaningful.

Statement of the problem

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions a person will ever make.
Unfortunately, many people make career choices without adequate guidance. The
importance of career guidance also holds true for students who are choosing a
school for furtherance of their education and ultimately choosing their major. A
major turning point in adolescents' lives therefore, involves the career choice that
they make while in school and especially high school. Frequently, it is viewed by
family and community as a mere start to workplace readiness. However, this
decision plays a determinant role in establishing youth in a career path that opens
as well as closes opportunities, particularly, given the differences in the social and
economic context of university-bound versus work-bound adolescents.

In every country, particularly Cameroon and Buea to be specific, youth face the
challenge of deciding on a career path and beginning their professional lives, often
while traversing a fragile and constantly changing labour market. Though having
an education and in-demand skills are crucial components, youth need more to
achieve enduring success. They need to know how their economy is growing and
evolving, and how this impacts the job scenery. They need to understand how the
P a g e | 16

available career options relate to their own interests and talents. And they need to
develop the vital skills that employers seek, while gaining relevant experience for
the workplace. Effective career guidance addresses these issues, helping youth to
make confident, tailored, informed, and insightful career choices. Unfortunately
most students in Buea do not consider career guidance as a significant issue (they
don’t visit or take advantage of the counselor). They turn to their social
environment that is family members, peers, teachers and the media. Hence, they
have no or very little realization about the importance of career guidance. They get
into careers without a thought about career guidance; meanwhile, career guidance
is a very imperative aspect of life today. At this point, one would want to know
how the social environment the impact of social environment on career choice of
students.

Objectives of the study

General objective

The general objective of this study is to examine how social environment ( the
family, school and social media) influence student career choice in Buea
municipality.

Specific objectives

The specific objectives of this study are to find out how:

 Family influence career choice of students in Buea Municipality.


 The school influence career choice of students in Buea municipality.
 The social media career choice of students in Buea municipality.

Research Question
P a g e | 17

General research question


The general research question of the study is: In what ways does the social
environment (family, school and social media) influence the career choice of
students?
Specific research question

The specific research questions of the study are;


 Does the family influence the career choice of students in Buea
municipality?
 Does the school influence the career choice of students in Buea
Municipality
 Does the social media influence the career choice students in Buea
Municipality

Research Hypothesis

General research Hypothesis


H0 Social environment does not influence the career choice of students in Buea
municipality
H1 Social environment significantly influence the career choice of student in Buea
Municipality

Specific Research Hypothesis

H0 The family does not influence the career choice of students in Buea
municipality.

H1 The family significantly influences the career choice of students in Buea


municipality.
P a g e | 18

H0 The school does not influence the career choice of students in Buea
municipality.

H1 The school significantly influences the career choice of students in Buea


municipality.

H0 The social media does not influence the career choice of students in Buea
municipality.

H1 The social media significantly influences the career choice of students in Buea
municipality.

Justification of the study

Career choice is a significant issue in the developmental live of youths because it is


reported to be associated with positive as well as harmful psychological, physical
and socio-economic inequalities that persist well beyond the youthful age into an
individual's adult life (Robertson, 2014; Bubić and Ivanišević, 2016). The
complexity of career decision-making increases as age increases (Gati and Saka,
2001). Younger children are more likely to offer answers about their ideal career
which may represent their envisioned utopia and phenomenal perceptions about
what they want to do when they grow up (Howard and Walsh, 2011). As children
get older, they are more likely to describe their career choice as a dynamic
interplay of their developmental stages and the prevailing environmental
circumstances (Howard and Walsh, 2011). Youth career decision-making is
required to go through a process of understanding by defining what they want to do
and exploring a variety of career options with the aid of guidance and planning
P a g e | 19

(Porfeli and Lee, 2012). Proper handling of the process affirms individual identity
and fosters wellbeing, job satisfaction and stability (Kunnen, 2013).

Considering the importance of proper career guidance in shaping the future and
destiny of our students and how relevant it is to the nation , national economy and
development of the country very little have been written on this topic on the
Cameroonian scene in general and Buea sub- division in particular. Such a study
will contribute to the body of knowledge on this topic on the Cameroonian scene in
general and Buea in particular with much quality and clarity bringing out the extent
to the social environment influences the career choice our students. The researcher
hopes that this study will enable stakeholders in education to invest time, energy
and resource to ensure that students make the right choice of career for a fulfilled
and satisfactory life which will make them not only useful to themselves and
family but productive members of society.

Significance of study

This research work will serve as a source of information through theories and
literature to school administrators, guidance counselors, parents and students.

School administrators through this study will ensure that students appreciate and
take advantage of the guidance services in their school and also or organize events
and for a where students can learn how to properly make career choices.

Guidance counselor will benefit from this study in that they will put in their all to
publicize and promote their services in schools, sensitizing students on the place of
their service in their life and career
P a g e | 20

Parents going through this study will encourage and mobilise their children to take
advantage of qualified career guidance personnel and guard against taking help
from other source that provide unformed choice and directives.

Students will benefit in that they will guard against making uninformed choices
and take advantage of guidance services in their schools manned by well informed
and qualified professionals.

Scope of the study

Geographically this study will be carried out in Buea , South West Region. My
focus is on some selected secondary schools in Buea municipality. Social
environment is operationalized in this study as the school, the family and social
media and career choice as the different occupations in the society undertaken for a
significant period of a person's life and with opportunities for progress.
Theoretically this piece of work is based on three theories, Lev Vygotsky socio-
cultural theory (1978), Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) by Robert W. Lent,
Steven D. Brown, and Gail Hackett ( 1994), Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive
Theory(1977) and Methodologically the survey research design will be used with
questionnaire as instrument for data collection.

Operational definition of terms.

Social environments: Social environments encompass the immediate physical


surroundings, social relationships, and cultural milieus within which defined
groups of people function and interact (Barnett and Casper, 2001)
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Career: A career is a person's usual or principal work or business, especially as a


means of earning a living; vocation(Dictionary.com, 2020)

Career choice: Career choices result when individual aspirations and preferences
are reexamined in light of the constraining forces imposed by the social
environment in which that individual lives. It is possible to differentiate several
levels of career choice based upon the degree to which that choice has been sub-
jected to the limitations of societal constraints. (Career research, 2020)

Family: A family is a group of two people or more (one of whom is the


householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such
people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one
family (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014).

Social media: Web-based applications which provide functionality for sharing,


relationships, group, conversation and profiles (Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy,
& Silvestre 2011)

School: A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces


and learning environments for the teaching of students (or "pupils") under the
direction of teachers.(definition.net, 2020)
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