This project examines current careers education and guidance being delivered in secondary schools and determines whether it is relevant and helpful for students during their decision making process by asking the students directly. The role of Careers Advisors is also investigated, the prescribed careers education curriculum examined and their professional qualifications considered.
A qualitative study method was chosen and involved the use of a questionnaire for Careers Advisors, a focus group for Year 13 students, and semi-structured interviews for Year 13 students and those two years post-school.
The findings highlight the very complex nature of careers education and guidance and show there are marked differences in terms of what the students and post- students think they need in order to make informed career decisions and what the Careers Advisors are willing and able to deliver within the secondary sector. Also that students and parents should be consulted as part of any careers education programme and their individual circumstances considered. The study highlights variances within the qualifications of Careers Advisors and careers education curriculum delivery across schools.
This raises a number of implications for Principals, Deans, Careers Advisors and policymakers including the value of consulting students and offering holistic careers education where the student is placed at the centre, the importance of work experience and allowing broad exposure to as many career fields as possible, placing more emphasis on careers education in Year 9 and 10, and educating parents as part of the careers process. The professional qualifications of Careers Advisors and consistent delivery of the curriculum should also be of concern.
Keyword:Careers, Education, Students
CERTIFICATION……………………………………………………………………………………………. i
APPROVAL PAGE…………………………………………………………………………………………. ii
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………………….. iii
DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………………………………. iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………………………………………. v
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………………. vi
LIST OF FIGURE…………………………………………………………………………………………. viii
LIST OF APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………………… ix
CHAPTER One general introduction…………………………………………. 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………. 1
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM…………………………………………………………… 2
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES………………………………………………………………………… 2
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT………………………………………………………… 3
1.5 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT………………………………………………………………………. 3
1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS………………………………………………………………………… 3
CHAPTER Two literature review………………………………………………… 4
2.1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………. 4
2.1.1 AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF CAREERS EDUCATION IN NIGERIA 6
2.1.2 POLICY DEVELOPMENT……………………………………………………………… 7
2.1.3 STUDENT VOICE AND CONSULTATION WITHIN EDUCATION.. 7
2.2 ANALYSIS OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM………………………………………………. 9
2.3 STUDY OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM…………………………………………………….. 9
2.4 PROSPECTS OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM………………………………………….. 10
CHAPTER Three SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN………………………… 12
3.1 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………….. 12
3.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM……………………………………… 12
3.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………….. 14
3.4 SYSTEM DESIGN…………………………………………………………………………………. 15
CHAPTER Four SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION, RESULTS AND DOCUMENTATION 19
4.1 INTRODUTION……………………………………………………………………………………. 19
4.2 SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMETATION…………………………………………. 19
4.3 SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION………………………………………………………………. 20
4.3.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS…………………………………………………………. 20
4.3.2 SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS……………………… 20
4.3.3 OPERATIONAL INSTRUCTION………………………………………………….. 21
4.4 FUTURE WORK…………………………………………………………………………………… 21
CHAPTER Five SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 22
5.1 SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………………………………… 22
5.2 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………………… 22
5.3 RECOMMENDATION………………………………………………………………………….. 22
references………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
Figure 3.1 Homepage Screen Design………………………………………………………………. 15
Figure 3.2 Output Design Screen…………………………………………………………………….. 16
Figure 3.3 Login Table Screen………………………………………………………………………… 17
Figure 3.4 Register Table Screen…………………………………………………………………….. 18
Figure 3.5 User Setting Table Screen………………………………………………………………. 18
Figure 3.6 Notification Table Screen……………………………………………………………….. 18
Appendix A PROGRAM FLOWCHART…………………………………………………………… 25
Appendix B PROGRAM CODING………………………………………………………………….. 26
Appendix C PROGRAM OUTPUT………………………………………………………………….. 30
CHAPTER One
general introduction
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Careers education and guidance within secondary schools has historically been given low priority and funding when compared to other curriculum areas. Often there is only one Careers Advisor in a secondary school who is tasked with delivering school-wide and timely careers education and guidance to all year levels. Traditionally the Careers Advisor has moved from a classroom teaching role into careers education with no specific training or background. The Ministry of Education mandated compulsory careers education and guidance for all students from Year 7 to 13 from 2000. However a handbook outlining curriculum guidelines was not published until 2003 and then revised in 2008.
The handbook was written by „experts‟ in the field and students were not consulted even though they were the main stakeholder. Given that careers decision making is individual, and linked to personal circumstances and frames of reference owned by teenagers, it would be useful to consult with them directly. This would ensure the careers education they are receiving is relevant and current and that it can be applied to their lives and futures to create lifelong learners and competent career managers within a globalised world. It would also be helpful to examine the knowledge, qualifications and delivery techniques of Careers Advisors to see if students are receiving the best careers education and guidance possible with the limited resourcing made available to careers staff.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study was motivated by my work as a Careers Advisor in secondary schools over eight years and realising how poorly regulated the profession was and what little priority many school boards who govern the school and principals who run the day to day operation of the school place on this important curriculum area, resulting in huge variances in what is being delivered to students across secondary schools in New Nigeria. I have also been a strong advocate of student voice and social justice linked to democracy. This interest developed through my work with „at risk‟ youth who were disengaged and failing at school, labelled accordingly, and who generally felt they had no voice or power at school. In my experience, once a personalised career plan was developed and some genuine interest shown, these students turned their attitudes and lives around, started achieving at school and mostly went on to become successful workers and citizens of their communities.
The new developed system for computerized career guidance information management system is simple without complexities. The Existing system problems includes:
- An Existing system was manual.
- Time consuming as data entry which include calculations took lot of time.
- Searching was very complex as there could be 100’s of entry every year.
- The proposed system is expected to be faster than the existing system.
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project is to develop a system that can handle and manage the activities involved in a career in an efficient and reliable way.
The objectives are:
- Designing a computerized career guidance information management system which would help evacuate the problem faced in manual career guidance.
- Implementing the system.
- Evaluating and testing the performance of the system.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
The main significance of this project is to develop a computerized system that will manage the activities in career guidance information management system thereby providing easy access of the advice usage for students and users of this application; it will also help students keep track of career information etc. This system will also provide electronic means of storage and help student keep track of career guidance information.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
This research examined what the students themselves thought about the careers education and guidance they received at secondary school as they prepared to transition from school in their final year. The students were also consulted on any areas where they thought there could be improvement to make the education they received more relevant and to better assist them with their future career decision making. This was achieved by hosting a focus group of Year 13 students from one secondary school and then running a series of semi-structured interviews with Year 13 students from two different schools.
The study also consulted students who had left secondary school two years prior using semi- structured interviews to examine what they gained from the careers advice they received at school, whether it had been relevant and resulting in good decisions and whether it would equip them for lifelong learning and robust future career management. The students also had the opportunity to identify opportunities for future improvement within careers education and any areas they felt were missing when they were making their decisions.
1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS
The following are some of the terminologies used in the project work
- Computerization: Introduction of the use of computer in an application area by writing a program that will suite the work.
- Licensing officer: is a person who register in the licensing office
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