| dc.description.abstract | Parents get involved in the education of their children through various ways; for example, in school activities,
providing instructions on academic skills, engaging in and out of school learning activities, schooling process,
providing learning resources and relevant learning experiences. Career choice by students is critical but a
complicated task that involves a difficult process of decision making hence, parental involvement is necessary in
creating awareness on possible career paths of their children. The study therefore, sought to assess the influence
of parental aspirations on career choice among students in public secondary school in Meru County. Descriptive
survey design was used. Through stratified, systemic and purposive sampling, 460 participants comprising 377
Form Four students, 36 principals, 36 career guidance teachers and 11 form four parents’ representatives were
selected from 364 schools. Overall response rate was 92.1%. Data was collected using a questionnaire and an
interview schedule. Analysis was done with the help of SPSS (Version 24) and Microsoft Excel. Mean and standard
deviation were computed while linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between parental
aspirations and career choice. The findings highlighted the critical role of parents in the selection process of careers
of their children in public secondary. It was clear that the education level of parents is critical in informing career
choices of children. The results show moderate influence of parental aspirations on careers selected by public
secondary school students in Meru County where composite mean score is 3.35. Parents should strengthen their
role in the provision of moral support, discussing and monitoring academic progress of children at school and at
home; and rewarding them when they perform well in school, and should encourage their children to seek
information on careers and exposing them to different career options | en_US |
