Parents' Involvement In Children's Career Choices:A Comparative Perspective Of Private And Public Secondary Schools In Uganda

Parents are primary role models in children's career construction.They are pivotal in establishing a conducive learning environment for formal and informal education goals that hold a considerable bearing on the learner's future career aspirations.Therefore,the purpose of this study was to examine the level of parental involvement in children's career choices in private and public secondary schools in Uganda.The study also sought to establish the relationship between parents' education level,socioeconomic status,and their level of involvement in children's career choices.The study was conducted in the Kampala district.It targeted form four candidates in Kampala registered for the Uganda certificate examinations premised on the assumption that the students at this level are already conscious about their future career aspirations.A purposive sampling technique was used to select schools to consider for this study,where eight schools were selected;four private and four public secondary schools.Simple random sampling was used to determine respondents out of the registered form four students from each school using the class registers,and a projection of 50 students per school(representative sample)would be selected.This research was both qualitative and quantitative,400 questionnaires were distributed,and a total of 360 were returned and considered for analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS)software to reflect descriptive statistics,T-tests and ANOVA.Results from the study indicated that parents with children in private schools exhibited significant involvement in students career aspirations compared to those of public secondary schools in Uganda.Further results showed that parents with a higher socioeconomic status and education level had more significant involvement in children's career choices than those with a lower socioeconomic status and education level.The study recommended that parents,teachers,and career guidance counselors recognize the institutional connection between families and schools for a concerted effort to groom children and prepare for future career placement in society.