Influence Of Guidance And Counselling In Career Choice Of Secondary School Students
[EKITI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KWARA STATE]

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
    Guidance and counselling is highly fundamental in every school, because of its overriding influence on career choice among the secondary school students. Thus, guidance and counselling can be seen as an initiative and is aimed at providing career information and skills to impart life-skills to students. These life-skills empower people to use their functional skills and knowledge in the work place. Therefore, the goal of secondary school counselling is to help every student develop abilities of self-understanding, decision-making and life planning.
    However, a number of studies have been fielded on guidance and counselling. Therefore this chapter is divided into the following sub-headings:
-    Concept of career and career development
-    Factors Influencing career chouse
-    Factor Affecting Career Choices among the Students in Secondary Schools
-    Guidance and counselling in Nigeria
-    School counselling
-    Roles of counselors in career development
-    Summary of the reviewed literatures

Concept of Career and Career Development
    Career, according to Okobiah and Okorodudu (2004) refers to a variety and non-work situations which usually span through the entire life of an individuals. According to them, career is generally related to a pattern of decision, transaction and adjustments which affects one’s role in work, education, family, community development and leisure. The National Career Development Association NCDA (2003) stated that career, is the totality of work-paid and unpaid-one does in his/her lifetime. Thus, career embraces a sequence of positions job or occupations which an individual holds during his/her life time.
    Career counselling is a field of counselling which gives relevant information regarding different careers. It is a process of helping and enabling people in their career development. Career counselling helps the students to select their careers according to their choice and interests. Career counselling is selling is now being increasingly stressed as an integral part of education. According to Francis (2010), career counselling involves three steps, which are: self analysis, occupational analysis, and true reasoning or counselling to relate personal and occupational information.
    Furthermore, Tuckman (1974) sees career development as a process which enhances a person’s ability to develop and become aware of concepts about himself, develop and become aware of his environment, including occupations, and make career chouse. It is noteworthy that Tuckman’s definition included self awareness, career awareness, and career decision making.
    The National Career Development Association NCDA (2003) defined career development as the absolute conglomeration or constellation of psychological, sociological educational, physical, economic and chance factors which influence the nature and significance of work in the total lifespan of any given individual. It is processes which individuals choose a career path or occupation, continue to develop in it throughout their lives, and have several major career changes as personal needs and interests change.
    Drawing from the above definition of career development given by National Career Development Association NCDA (2003), it is obvious that there are various factors that need to be considered in the guest for appropriate career development, which has been categorized as psychological, sociological, educational, physical, economic and chance factors. A thorough study of these factors should reveal a highway towards appropriate career development.
    In career development, individuals (counselees and counselors) need to consider psychological factors such interest, prestige, personality, values, norms, self-esteem, and all other factors that could be products of the mind or mental functions of the individual. It should be understood that these factors have been impressed on the mentality of the individual from other factors but have become a part of the reasoning and mind set of the individual. For instance, an individual’s interest would either make him/her to do something or not, even if he/she has the ability to do it. These factors could be categorized as psychological factors because psychology is a person’s mentality, way of thinking or mental characteristics/features. Furthermore, a person’s way of reasoning may have been developed generally or sociologically.