CORRELATION BETWEEN CAREER CHOICE AND STUDENTS’ PERSONALITY TRAITS

CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION 1.1Background to the study Economists increasingly see personality as a type of non-cognitive skill that can have important consequences for the economic decisions that individuals make and the outcomes they achieve. This perspective has generated interest in the process of personality change. Almlund, Duckworth, Herkman and Kautz (2011) … See more

CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION 1.1Background to the study Economists increasingly see personality as a type of non-cognitive skill that can have important consequences for the economic decisions that individuals make and the outcomes they achieve. This perspective has generated interest in the process of personality change. Almlund, Duckworth, Herkman and Kautz (2011) argue that in comparison to cognitive ability, personality traits are responsive to parental behavior investments in education and policy interventions making personality change a possibility well into adulthood. At the same time, empirical studies that attempt to quantify the economic returns to personality often assume that adults’ personality traits are fixed (Heineck& Anger, 2010). The assumption is convenient because it implies that personality traits are not driven by the economic outcome under consideration. According to Buss, and Plomin, (2014) personality is conceptualized as the distinguishing characteristics that are the expression of an individual. They are an individual’s repeated patterns of behavior, emotion and temperament. Eraut, Steadman, Furner, Maillardet, Miller, Ali, and Blackman (2004) viewed career development in the light of complex processes for an individual, involving self-awareness in relation to abilities, interests, competencies and values, awareness and understanding of industry, enterprise and structures of occupation, career pathways and directions. This observation involves continually advanced or diverse activities, responsibility that is greater, knowledge that is developed, attitudes and skills that generally through a planned program of learning experiences (Eraut, 2004). Career development involves the balancing of meeting and recognising the needs of individuals and simultaneously responding to the outer forces and realities of life, reflecting the sociological interest in the choice of career and development (Vondracek, Lerner, &Schulenberg, 2019).According to Patton and McMahon (2014),, career development is a developmental process, extending over almost the entire lifespan through which individuals develop scope for and employ in work as part of their total life style. The focus of career education is to help students to examine vocational, domestic and civic outlets for developed students, the place of which is very essential in any purposeful system of education (McKee&Tew, 2013). Sound vocational planning requires that a student makes cautious vocational commitments to provide for a sense of direction and purpose through the periods of school. Mostly, individuals choice of career starts with one’s career aspirations which is followed by development of career as well as their activities that is undertaken to bring about these ends. As posited byMorrison (2005), the central features of a career involve work which one assumes doing and staying with over a period of time that an individual foresee to be positively committed rather than to be resentful of”. Career may be in law, teaching, business, professional philanthropy and others which typically involves work and way of life such that the former has implications for the makeup of the latter(Jameson, 2007).People’s prestige, status, privileges and their level of wellbeing in most communities are often associated with the work that they do. Jordan (2002), asserts that a person’s thought, aspirations, hopes, energy and sense of worth may be wrapped up in and dominated by the materials and apparatus of a person’s career. According toHaworth, Wright, Luciano, Martin, Geus, Beijsterveldt, and Kovas (2010), most people are influenced by careers that their parents favour. Others also follow the careers that their educational choices have opened for them. Some choose to follow their passion regardless of how much or little it will make them while others choose the careers that give high income. According to Kochler (2006), a career choice itself is a process of growth and a reflection of other phases of development. It requires sufficient maturity because its influence on adulthood is significant when the future of that person would be bright.The decision that individuals make are mostly based on intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Bandura, Barbaranelli, Capara and Pastorelli (2001), proposes that factors that influence the process of career development involve the individual’s personal aptitudes, where they live as well as their educational attainment. In most of the developing countries as well as other parts of the world, the philosophy of education is based on the development of individuals into an “effective and sound citizen who are fully integrated into the community” (NPE, 2004). Due to this, most nations have strongly sought and embraced innovative changes in their educational sector to satisfy the needs of their society, most importantly the need to develop individuals for the working world and also making them self-sufficient or autonomous. Education is also seen as “meal ticket” and a “launch pad” into the working world and not only impartation of knowledge (McKeown, Hopkins,Rizi& Chrystalbridge,2002).This highlights the need to make better decisions on career among immense opportunities that exists for lifelong vocations. Education therefore becomes an important function to develop the youth for their future career. Deciding on a career is an important developmental task mostly in the late adolescence as well as early adulthood (Skorikov, 2007). Being satisfied with one’s career is one of the most important aspects of an individual’s personal happiness. Career concerns occur throughout one’s lifetime. Mostly from childhood, children are exposed to their parents’ occupations, television programmes and the society they find themselves in, they become aware of the choices and opportunities of their career (Issa, &Nwalo, 2008).The opportunity that one gets to help an individual adjust to a selected career is a way of affecting an individual’s life positively. Every now and then, we encounter situations which call for thought, making a decision and taking action. Most of these experiences are familiar and others are told stories which are sometimes very significant. Decisions that we make in life are many a times based on our philosophy, values and sentiment (Facione, 2011). In choosing a course of study at the Senior High School, it is necessary that students take into consideration the programme of study they find interesting. That is, subjects that one can easily embrace and understand so that they will not encounter any difficulties in the course of their study. Students are mostly influenced by their friends in their choice of course in schools (Maringe, 2006). Career guidance and counseling programmes help students to acquire knowledge, skills and experience that are necessary to identify numerous options in order for them to explore alternatives and succeed in school. It guides the students to know them and plan well. Career itself requires some kind of trait that is to be performed successfully (Polk, 2006).Some career requires specific personality traits that are related to the attributes on the job requirements (Hussain, Abbas, Shahzad, &Bukhari, 2012). Success of career is highly relied on the compatibility between personality of the aborigine and the job trait demands and for that reason, the study argued that alignment or teamwork of these traits in consonance with the various careers can accomplish optimal ambition and result in daily life (Campbell, Eley,& McAllister, 2014). One of the principles of vocational-choice framework is Congruence or Fit. Vocational satisfaction, stability and achievement depend on the congruence between one’s personality and the environment that one works (Nauta, 2010). Congruence can be realised when the behavioural expectations of a role at work synchronise with the behavioural inclinations of specific personality type (Arnold, 2004). Therefore, if an extroverted person finds outlets for their expressive nature in the customer contact aspects of a marketing officer, congruence as defined by Holland is achieved. Traditionally, vocational-choice models have employed self-reports of personal interests as markers of occupational preferences (Sun, 2011). Meanwhile, organisational scholars have become increasingly inclined to view occupational interests as components of personality (Barrick, Mount, & Gupta 2003). Career counseling programme that help self-intentions and personality desiring needs seem to empower inhabitants to renew the uniqueness mandatory on a successful career patterns for own enhancement (Mcoetzee & Schreuder, 2002).The choice of career is one of the important choices a student has to make in determining their future plans but it has become a complex science with the dawn of information technology, as well as the emergence of post industrial revolution and the competition of job. According to Wattles (2009), industrialization and post industrialization have made it possible for a mere person to be rich so long as they have their required skills and knowledge that will impact them throughout their lives. In today’s world of competitive knowledge and continuous economic hardships, one does not have to make due planning of career but also exhaustive career research before making a good choice of career in order to fit into the evolving socioeconomic conditions (Wattles, 2009). Issa and Nwalo(2008), posit that the choice of career, course of study, subjects and successive career paths to follow is a hallucination for most university students. According to Kerka(2000), choice of career is determined by numerous factors that include personality, self concept, interest, globalization, socialization, cultural identity, social support, role model and resources that are available such as information and finance. Again Eccles (2009) also confirmed that the process of choosing a career is an easy one because it is influenced by many factors such as characteristics of people, life experience, effectiveness, performance expectation, motivation and personal goals. Some careers call for specific personality characteristics that relate to attributes on the job (Mcoetzee&Schreuder, 2002). Career need some specific unique characteristics to be performed effectively, then also career triumph is highly contingent on the agreement between personality trait and the job characteristics and this tend to generate maximum results (Roberts & Robins, 2000). Studies on occupational preference have presented evidence that occupational choice depends on personality traits (Murugesan&Jayavelu, 2017).The development of technology, industrialization and the greater diversity on labour market make career choice a more complicated and difficult process. Therefore, choice of career implies new challenges for school counsellors and educational psychologists. In order to select the most appropriate career, the individual must evaluate all opportunities. It is also thought that limited career developmental tasks increase the difficulty of making a choice in career (Bullock-Yowell, McConnell, & Schedin, 2014). Sometimes the plight of making a career choice worsens when the individual is located or situated in developing economy where there is high rate of unemployment and underemployment situation. In current competitive world of new information and continuous economic hardship, an individual is not only expected to make adequate self-investment but then again, comprehensive career information search before making a decision in career in order to adjust to the advancing socioeconomic conditions (Wattles, 2009).An individual’s success, satisfaction and joy depend on how they choose their career. Selecting a career improperly or changing ones career is surely harmful for the health of the individual psychologically. That is to say that proper career planning leads to proper career adjustment.Personality has certain relationship with career goals (Roberts & Robins, 2000). Personality influences the essential choices individuals make in life including choice of partner, education and career (Vuust, Gebaue, Hansen, Jørgensen, Møller, & Linnet, 2010).1.2 Statement of the ProblemIt is very unfortunate that many young people in Ghana are mostly eluded with their choice of career goals as well as aspirations. The opportunity to choose is also the responsibility to choose and to choose wisely. Agreeably, one should crave for a career at an early stage in life since it depends on adequate preparation and direction. The choice of career from a large and challenging array of possibilities is a problem to the youth due to the fact that more attention is given to academic performance with little information on the link between the subject chosen and future careers (Wang, 2012). Career masters have also led a number of young people to select careers because it has attractive features or it is glamorous (Kemboi, Kindiki, &Misigo, 2016). Research in the field of counselling states that, about 50% or more of students in the university experience career related problems (Herr, Cramer & Niles, 2004).The way of adjusting educational requirements with career choice has grown in complexity because the world is becoming a global village and the problem that is surrounding work such as career decision making, work adjustment and career education requires more attention than before (Pryor & Bright, 2011). A study that was done in American by Swanson (2008), proved that the choosing of careers is a national problem. The study reported that post-secondary education statistics showed 20% to 60% of freshmen class to be uncertain of their choice of career (Kemboi, Kindiki, &Misigo, 2016). University graduates in Lebanon, undertake certain paths of career that mismatch the major courses in the college. Most of them enroll in law on temporary basis until they are sure of their career paths of which they move to more convenient majors that results in overcrowding in some of the college majors. Most of them enroll in Law on temporary basis until they are certain on their path of career afterwards they shift to more appropriate majors (Abdul,Reda&Abouchedid, 2003).Moreover Muribwathoho(2015) posits that students have limited occupational knowledge as well as the narrow range of alternatives available to them. Kemboi, et al, (2016) examined the relationship between Personality Types and Career Choices of Undergraduate Students in Moi University, Kenya. The study was prompted by the fact that a lot of students make numerous changes when they are choosing their course of study before they even gain admission into the university. It was found out that many students were still in courses that were not in line with their course of study and subsequently future employment. Alkhelil (2016) also investigated the relationship between personality traits and career choice of secondary school students. The study concentrated on the way jobs were chosen and the effect of the personality traits on the process on how students see their personality traits as well as the choices they prefer. Alkhelil’s study focused on three (3) career choice; however, this present study seeks to examine six (6) career choices vis-à-vis Holland’s Model. The study showed that research roles were chosen by most of the sample without both Agreeableness and Conscientiousness so they referred that to sensitivity roles that is key to get things deduce for which others seem blind, and the opens to experience is the personality trait that can help these people to have a multi angled look for a single problem. Numerous students have no idea of their personality traits as well as the aspect of the Big Five personality traits in deciding on the individual’s major choice at the university level and also depend on the background of the family that affects the choice of career. Thedecision-making process of career choices is one of the core aspects in the life of a person (Gati, Levin, & Landman-Tal, 2019). There are different challenges faced by students in their job selection process. According to Olamide and Olawaiye (2013), one’s inability to make a good career choice has significant implications not just for themselves or their organisation, but also for the economy as a whole (Issa&Nwalo, 2008).A lot of researches have been done on career choice and personality traits in different places around the world.Notable among them are; Alkhelil, 2016; Jemini-Gashi&Bërxulli, 2017; Maree, 2020; Atli2017.Omotosho and Nyarko-Sampson (2012), found that students' career ambitions were poorly correlated with labour market patterns. Although career decision-making is less cumbersome for a few people, many people struggle with career decision-making. Studies suggest that career choice is profoundly impacted by the climate, culture and family of students (Wu, 2020). It is worth notingtherefore thatexisting research on career choice have not been nuanced to address tribes and cultures in specific geographic locations. A country may have within it, different tribes and cultural practices which may well influence career choice (Brown, 2002). It is for this reason that this study is to examine the factors influencing career choice of Ghanaian tertiary students, with particular focus on correlation between career choice and personality traits among tertiary students in the Bono region. This research will also help establish whether the findings will agree with other research already done in some other parts of the country and elsewhere, relating to career choice and personality traits.There are differences in context, culture as well as geographical location etc. which makes their conclusion not applicable to our Ghanaian context. This study was prompted by the fact that most people are in a career and they wish to be out but certain circumstances like age and others will not permit them. In view of the fact that earlier study on the subject career choice and personality traits have not been internationalized, as in global research conducted to cover all regions around the world but have been localized in the context of a country and in some cases a jurisdiction within a country, one cannot simply use such studies as a basis for planning and decision making in Ghana. The facts and the conclusions of that study may be right or wrong in the context of Ghana. It would therefore be imperative for a context base research to be done in Ghana which is further localized in a particular geographic area to arrive at a set of facts and conclusions appropriate and suitable to our peculiar circumstances. The study therefore seeks to review on an already existing literature and some of the known models of career choice and personality traits to answer the research questions and come out with a conclusion that best fits the context of the study.

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