| Abstract: | A study of the patterns of vocational choice and aspiration of a group of postprimary schools in Nigeria, using a questionnaire schedule, revealed a durable and early crystalization of vocational decision and commitment. Excepting the girls, socio-economic status of the students had little influence on their level of vocational aspiration. These results are in contrast with the findings in many studies conducted in some industrialized Western societies which reveal the tendency for students in these societies, to defer vocational decision and commitment as long as possible, and also the effect students' socio-economic background has in conditioning their level of vocational aspiration. These differences in vocational behavior between these Nigerian students and their Western European counterparts are explained in terms of socio-cultural differences and differences in levels of technology, industrialization and economic activities. On the whole, the location of schools in rural areas has the effect of lowering the vocational aspiration of students in them. |
