EVALUATION OF BUSINESS POTENTIALS AND TAPPING IN HEALTH EDUCATION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CAREER CHOICES AMONG STUDENTS UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, BENIN-CITY.

ABSTRACT

This study investigated evaluation of business potentials and tapping in health education and implications for career choices among undergraduates. These factors were selected as major influencers of career in health education choice among undergraduates. The study focused on undergraduates in University of Benin, Benin-City, Ibadan. The study employed a descriptive survey method. A sample size of 255 was derived using the Taro Yamane formula from a population of 700 respondents. Primary data was collected using a self-structured questionnaire. The data retrieved from the questionnaire was analyzed using SPSS, 19.0. The results of the study were presented in tables, frequencies, percentages and mean deviation. The major findings of the study revealed that remuneration does not influence the choice of career in health education among undergraduates in University of Benin, Benin-City, Ibadan; anxiety does not influence the choice of career in health education among undergraduates in University of Benin, Benin-City, Ibadan; and occupational stress does not influence the choice of career in health education among undergraduates in University of Benin, Benin-City, Ibadan. The study recommended that teachers should be provided with better monetary and non-monetary renumerations in order to encourage more undergraduates towards career in health education choice. also, teachers should be encouraged to carry out physical and mental exercises in order to calm them and eliminate anxiety before and during teaching. In addition to this, teachers should be given occasional leaves and better educational syllable in order to minimize stress. Finally, students should be provided with career counsellors that can give them more advises to align their career choice.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

The reason behind the choice of career among undergraduate students is to provide a room, so students can select the appropriate career based on different surrounding factors in order for them to have a better and brighter future (Adamu, 2019). These factors may include salary and occupational benefits, anxiety, occupational stress, family background, academic performance, passion for study, creativity and natural skills or talents. Students are always faced with a complex and rapidly evolving society where it is difficult to get jobs whilst unemployment hinders the development of our nation, Nigeria (Utibe, 2020). Despite the efforts of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government organizations, and families, many students struggle to transition from school to work (Pilot and Regis, 2012). Researching and understanding the factors that contribute to career choice is a reoccurring topic of constant interest in Nigerian schools today.

The choice of career is a predetermined process that every individual must go through, whether educated or not. Undergraduates are exposed to career counseling and career opportunities from their first year in school until they graduate (Chai et al., 2013). The choice of career takes deep extensive research and thought, accompanied with several barriers and complications. According to a report released by Statistical bulletin of Nigeria (2019), the unemployment rate was projected to increase by 0.1 percentage points (3.4%) up to January 2020 compared to the previous year, which was 3.3% in 2017 (Statistical bulletin of Nigeria, 2019). This has hampered the economic growth and development of Nigeria, with the steady increase in level of unemployment daily. This incident can occur for many factors or reasons.

Many decisions are behind the reasons why students choose their careers. In the context of this study could be due to renumeration, anxiety that comes with the job or the stress involved in executing the job diligently. Other factors influencing career choices among undergraduates are passion, family, experience, and salary. In addition to the just-mentioned factors, gender and race can also affect which career a student can choose and be productive. Some careers have a higher percentage of a specific gender or race. Another factor that plays a significant role in the decision of an undergraduate on which career to focus on are their role models or people in their life. These role models could be teachers, parent, employers, celebrities and so on.

In the view of undergraduates, Brogen and Hiebert (2016) revealed that career choice indecision is regarded as an inability to choose a career. Newly admitted undergraduates are faced with many challenges, including adapting to higher educational standards and overseeing the transition from secondary school to Higher institution. According to Morgan and Ness (2013), many newly admitted undergraduates experience career indecision designed as a construct that characterizes the challenges undergraduates face in making career choice. Some students may be more decisive than others, but those struggling with making a career choice will find it difficult to harness the challenges faced in careers.

When undergraduates make choice of career, they may possess very little information about the chosen career. The profession may involve more brainstorming, science or stress than they are willing to work under. Undergraduates may prefer an aspect of a particular profession. Thereby, not looking deep into the other aspects of the profession (Delap, 2020). Most individuals only look at the positive prospective of a career or profession and disregarding the negative phases that may accompany the job. For instance, some student may choose to become Engineers because they love mathematics but fail to understand that Engineering is beyond just Mathematics, calculations and formulas. Another instance is that a student may decide to become a veterinarian simply because of his/her love for animals and pets, but may have little or no knowledge on how much school related work would take to become a veterinary doctor. Furthermore, undergraduates may not be open to all professions in their area of ​​interest.

Various studies have showed that career choice is an essential part of an undergraduates’ life (Authur, 2010; Hairston, 2010; Eweniyi, 2015; Douglas, 2016; and Adamu, 2019). The choice of career of a student affects how he/she will live the rest of their lives. Many undergraduates gain admission into Higher Institutions without having a foremost knowledge on what career they want or desire. Therefore, it is pertinent for a study to understand what career is before choosing a career.

Over the years, certain professions have peaked compared to other occupational fields which have also led to students choosing those professions for their careers. Some of these professions are medical practitioners, engineers, lawyers and so on (Abotsi et al., 2018). Internships, Job hunting and career fairs are some major tools that may influence the career choices of undergraduates. These tools expose students to areas within a particular profession that the student may not have been aware of.

In a study conducted by Heinz (2015) conceptual and systematic overview of related studies that examine the factors leading to peculiar choice of careers across 30 selected countries in the world. This broad research illustrated that highly valued career goals play a motivating role in the choice of the individual, and that the expectations that come with future goals plays an essential mediating role in the interconnecting relationship between planned perseverance, planned effort, intrinsic career value, ability, and desire contributes to the satisfaction in choosing a career (Eren and Tezel 2010).

Some studies have also assessed the image of career in health education choice of students and pupils in schools and colleges, based largely on opinions collected from constructed questionnaires and interviews (Babatunde, 2014; Ejike, 2016; Ahmed, 2017; Bassey, 2017 and Newson, 2018). However, no direct attempt was made in those studies to compare the views of aspirant teachers with those who did not aspire to be teachers.

Renumeration is a pay, salary or financial benefit given to an employee for services provided. According to Herzberg's theory, renumeration is essential for continuous operation and progressiveness because it contradicts the employee's disappointment. Renumerations such as salary is a basic obligation of an organization to the employee which in turn affects the employee's short- and long-term financial position for the company (Wen, et al., 2018). Renumeration is carried out when a company or organization give bonuses or increases wages, salaries, benefits, employers direct financial rewards to high achievers and other forms of payments (Pay and Benefits Magazine, February 2016).

Oyebamiji (2013) found that the dimensions of job satisfaction collectively and independently predict job performance, e.g. For example, remuneration, the quality of the relationship between supervisors and subordinates, and the opportunities for employee promotion, all of which have a significant impact on career satisfaction.

Most undergraduates make career choices based on the amount of salary attributed to a profession (Utibe, 2020). For instance, many students choose to become Petroleum Engineers simply because oil company workers are known to earn a lot of bonuses. Others go into politics due to the amount of money allocated to politicians (Utibe, 2020). In terms of teaching in Nigeria, most teachers are not paid well. Especially in public secondary schools. According to a research conducted by Moses and Obi (2020), the average salary of a primary school teacher in Nigeria is about N10,000 while the average salary of a secondary school teacher is about N20,000 to N45,000. This is the main reason why teachers go the extra mile of performing extra lessons just to balance up the payment. An undergraduate from University of Benin, Benin-City for instance may likely not graduate after four years and choose to become a secondary school teacher.

Anxiety is one of the components of emotions in human life. It is said that fear occurs when the individual is too afraid and feels unable to control their fear. Fear is also known as fear. Fear is therefore seen as a common psychological problem in people with its physical, emotional, and social manifestations (Okechukwu, 2014).

In general, we can say that anxiety has recognizable characteristics. Denga (2009) categorized anxiety characteristics such as generalized autonomic nervous system discharge, elevated blood pressure, hyperpnea, sweating and dry mouth, tachycardia, and anxiety. He posits that the persistence and severity of these traits or reactions depend on the severity and duration of the fear. High or intense anxiety can have unpredictable effects on a learner's performance or on the performance of a task. Mandler and Sarason, cited in Nurmi and Wright (2010), found that very anxious subjects in stressful situations tend to evoke self-directed reactions, which distracts their attention from the learning / memory task.

Studies of anxiety in the classroom have focused primarily on general concerns and problems faced by teachers rather than subject-specific concerns and problems. Given the definitions and conceptualization of the term fear, teaching is viewed as a stand-alone construct that causes fear.

Stress is a common element in all types of work and people deal with it in almost all areas of life. Stress has been given various definitions over the years. According to Robbins and Sanghi (2006) “A dynamic state in which an individual is faced with an opportunity, constraint, or demand related to what they want and the outcome of which is felt to be both uncertain and important”.

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 6th Edition, stress can refer, among other things, to pressure, tension, or worry arising from problematic situations in a person's life. If the occurrence of such stress is due to a job or work situation; It is known as occupational stress (Narayanan et al., 1999). He also found that stress at work is actually linked to almost every aspect of a job or work situation, extreme heat, noise and light or too much or too little responsibility.

According to Irene (2005), stress at work is a reaction pattern that occurs when the worker is confronted with work demands that are not in line with his knowledge, skills or abilities and that challenge his ability to face. From this definition by Irene, it can be seen that work stress is mainly associated with underemployment.

Stress at work is a relatively new phenomenon in the modern lifestyle. The type of work has changed drastically over the past century and continues to change with the speed of the wind. In most cases, work stress is attributed to a negative situation, such as a formal reprimand from a manager for poor performance, which can also lead to work stress. Occupational stress has drawn significant attention recently, particularly in the context or behavior of the organization (Kazini et al. 2008, Shahu and Cole 2008; Nilifar et al. 2009). Most research suggests that stress can adversely affect a person's cognitive performance and decision-making.

The relationship between occupational stress and career choice was conducted by Chandraiah and Agrawal, (2003). The study concluded that First year students faced more stress and less career decision as compared to final year students. Javeed, (2012) identified that generally whole of the selected sample was facing job stress due to the factors such as extra workloads, pressure by employers and supervisors, insufficient communication, no recognition, unjust appraisal system, poor working conditions and not up to the mark salaries and other rewards. Javeed, (2012) further indicated that job stress due to these factors leads to counterproductive work behaviors and a strong correlation exists between stress and career choice.

Regarding a specific job context Warn, (2002) conducted a research on naval officer trainees. This research showed that a general model of stress was not helpful to understand job stress and job satisfaction of employees in a specific context. Warn, (2002) recommended that other variables of stress should also be identified to assess the stress levels of employees.

Anum Khan (2013) conducted a study to assess the stress level of the operational staff of Islamic Banks. These included age, gender, organizational climate and work stress as variables used to determine job satisfaction among employees in these banks. Anum Khan et al. (2013) came to the conclusion that job satisfaction is significantly influenced by the organizational climate and work stress.

The motivation to conduct this research was based on the information gathered from previous researchers on the issue of career choice among undergraduates and issue regarding selecting teaching as a profession.

1.2 Statement of the problem

The Nigerian youth suffers from a high unemployment rate. As at the second quarter of 2020, Nigeria unemployment rate was indicated to be 27.1%. Showing that about 21.7 million Nigerians remain unemployed (Narametrics, 2020). This statistical rating has also been attributed to poor career choices among students and improper guidance by parents in the path of career because most unemployed youth in our society today were not given proper guidance by parents and guidance on career choices (Moses and Obi, 2020).

Career choice is an ongoing issue for students in today's society (Authur, 2010). For this reason, many students end up indulging in professions that are not fully suited to their skills, which leads to unhappiness and dissatisfaction with work.

Several studies show that undergraduates face a dilemma when making a career choice in their lifetime (McMahon and Watson 2015; Macgregor, 2017; Issa and Nwalo 2018; and Cherian 2019). In a study by Salami (2019) on the career choices among Nigerian undergraduates, he found out that many undergraduates made wrong career choices because of inexperience, ignorance, advice from friends, peer pressure, teachers and parents. Therefore, the concept of career choice development involves creating a career goal, career decision, career value and life roles (Herr, Cramer & Niles, 2004). Undergraduates are usually faced with the dilemma of choosing which career goal to major or develop for the future (Guerra & Braungart-Rieker, 2019). Regardless of the efforts put in by teachers, families, counsellors and agencies, many undergraduates still have difficulties in making the transition from school to work (Muthukrishna and Sokoya, 2018).

This study is carried out on evaluation of business potentials and tapping in health education and implications for career choices among students University of Benin, Benin-City.

1.3 Purpose of the study

The main purpose of this study is to examine evaluation of business potentials and tapping in health education and implications for career choices among undergraduates of University of Benin, Benin-City.

The following are the specific objectives of the study:

1. To determine the influence of remuneration on choice of career in health education among undergraduates in University of Benin, Benin-City, Ibadan.

2. To determine the influence of anxiety on choice of career in health education among undergraduates in University of Benin, Benin-City, Ibadan.

3. To determine the influence of occupational stress on choice of career in health education among undergraduates in University of Benin, Benin-City, Ibadan.

1.4 Research questions

1. What is the influence of remuneration on choice of career in health education among undergraduates in University of Benin, Benin-City, Ibadan?

2. What is the influence of anxiety on choice of career in health education among undergraduates in University of Benin, Benin-City, Ibadan?

3. What is the influence of occupational stress on choice of career in health education among undergraduates in University of Benin, Benin-City, Ibadan?

1.5 Significance of the Study

The results of this research will be important to students, teachers, administrators, parents, teachers, government officials, and employers when it comes to student career choices. Students would benefit from understanding the importance and importance of making teaching a career choice.

The study can be important to school administrators as it reveals the factors that influence student career goals. This information is helpful when planning career guidance programs. The study will also reveal where principals and secondary school teachers fail to pique students' interest in various courses, especially science. The study will also be important for stakeholders at the Department of Education to develop strategies to help educational institutions curb the problem of teaching indecision as a career choice among students.

This study will also help teachers and parents understand the essence of early care for their children and their community in relation to career choice and the role of the counselor in career success and happiness for their children / students.

1.6 Scope of the study

This investigated evaluation of business potentials and tapping in health education and implications for career choices among undergraduates of University of Benin, Benin-City. The study was carried out in University of Benin, Benin-City, Ibadan, Oyo State. Furthermore, the study focused on selected undergraduate students in the study area.

1.7 Operational definition of terms

Anxiety: Anxiety can be defined as psychological problem among people with its physical, emotional and social manifestations of fear.

Career choice: Career choice can be defined as the decisions governing the career path of an individual.

Career path: A career path is a sequence of development strategies leading to one’s career goals.

Career: A career is a sequence of roles, positions, experiences and actions related to a particular job. A career defines how you see yourself in the context of your social environment, in terms of your future plans, past successes or failures, and your current skills and characteristics.

Occupational stress: occupational stress is referred to as a psychological state of worry or pressure related to a particular job. This can also occur when a worker has so much workload.

Renumeration: Renumeration can be defined as a form of payment, compensation, benefit or bonus provided for the service rendered by a worker or employee.

Anxiety: Anxiety can be defined as the fear a teacher experiences in the process of teaching.

Undergraduate: An undergraduate can be defined primarily as a student studying for Bsc degree program in a higher institution.