Guidance and counseling and career development in some selected secondary schools in Kaduna metropolis

The study explores the instrumentality of Guidance and Counseling as a tool for career development among students of some selected secondary schools in Kaduna metropolis. Through integration of psychological insights into counseling practices, addressing some fundamental and complex questions of career choices and developments, among the targeted population, has been made possible. A survey research has been used, under which some senior and Junior Secondary Schools, with organized system of Guidance and Counseling services, were identified and purposively selected. Simple random sampling technique was employed to select a set of students who must have had number of encounters with their respective school guidance counselors, at different stages of organized programs. With the use of questionnaire as the instrument of data collection, the information obtained were analyzed by means of frequency tables and percentages. Having used chi-square statistics to test the research hypotheses, the findings of the study indicate that, due to the inadequacy of guidance and Counseling services in the area studied, and that where they are available students’ career choices and development were majorly guided by the prestige and the pay packages relative to different professions, family remains the dominant source of career information among others. Some useful recommendations have been provided therein.