MASENO UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, DEPARTMENT OF

SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY

CAREER PLANS AND ASPIRATIONS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL

STUDENTS IN KENYA: THE CASE OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS
IN RONGO AND URIRI DISTRICTS, KENYA.

GEORGE EVANS OWINO (B.A., M.A.)

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR
OF PHILOSOPHY OF MASENO UNIVERSITY

MAY, 2009
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DECLARATION

This proposal is my original work and has not been presented for a degree
in any other University.

Signature_______________________ Date______________________________

Owino, George Evans Odero, M.A.

This proposal has been submitted for the review with our approval as
university supervisors.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION.....................................................................................................................ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................................iii
ACRONYMS............................................................................................................................v
ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................vi
1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................1

1.2 Statement of the Problem.................................................................................................3

1.3 Objectives of the Study....................................................................................................4

1.4 Research Questions..........................................................................................................5

1.5 Justification of the Study.................................................................................................5

1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study.................................................................................7

1.7 Originality and Contribution of the Study.......................................................................7

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW.....................................................................10

2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................10

2.2.1 Career Aspirations and Plans of Secondary School Students.....................................11

2.2.2 Reasons for choice of career options among secondary school students...................13

2.2.3 Perceptions and attitudes of students towards available careers................................14

2.2.4 Factors related to educational, post-graduation and career intention of students ......15

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY...........................................................................18

3.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................18

3.2 Research Design............................................................................................................18

3.3 Study Population............................................................................................................18

3.4 Variables/Categories of Analysis.................................................................................19

3.5 Sampling Techniques and Sample Size.........................................................................20

3.6 Methods of Data Collection...........................................................................................21

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3.6.1 Validity and Reliability...........................................................................................22

3.7 Pilot Study.....................................................................................................................23

3.8 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................23

3.9 Ethical Considerations...................................................................................................25

APPENDICES........................................................................................................................29
A1: Tentative Chapterization...............................................................................................29

A2: Study Timeline..............................................................................................................30

A3: Budget for the Study.....................................................................................................31

A5: Consent Form................................................................................................................46

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ACRONYMS

AIDS : Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

CBS : Central Bureau of Statistics
FGDs : Focus Group Discussions
HIV : Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus
NACC : National Aids Control Council
NAP : National Academy Press
NASCOP : National Aids and STIs Control Programme
PRB : Population Reference Bureau
SPSS : Statistical Package for Social Sciences
STIs : Sexually Transmitted Infections
UNAIDS : United Nations Aids Agency
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ABSTRACT

The literature review will document outputs of various research efforts

with regard to the age at first sex, the contextual and personal factors
associated with the incidence of first sex and subsequent sexual
behaviour. The study will adopt a mixed method research design involving
the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data in the context of a
cross-sectional survey. Analysis shall be univariate, bivariate and
multivariate to bring out any relationships among the observed
interactions. Analysis shall by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS).
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CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND

1.1 Introduction

Career choice or selection is one of the most important decisions in life that
all people irrespective of race, creed, and political conviction will have to
make at a fairly early stage in one’s life. Since we are defined in society by
what we are in terms of our occupations, one’s career then becomes a very
important source of a person’s identity. Indeed, deciding on ones life course
is a process that must of necessity happen early in life if one is to make any
useful impact to himself, family and to society at large. The life work actually
helps to shape a person’s identity as well as ones creativity and mastery.
The choice of an occupation may determine one’s employment status
(Hoppock, 1967). In some instances, based on occupational choices, one can
be either in irregular employment or in one that is both stable and secure.
Whereas some careers become vulnerable and may lose jobs during
economic downturns, others may even increase at such times (Hoppock,
1967).

One’s choice of occupation may also determine the extent to which they can
be considered as being successful or failures. Different occupations have
different demands and success is determined by ability to deliver results.
Therefore if one chose a career for which one is not suited, instances may be
when he is not able to deliver and thus be a failure. Work is not just a matter
of earning a living. Since it may be a life-long commitment, it is imperative
that one enjoys his work. If one is in a job he does not enjoy and is forced to
just go through the motions for the sake of earning a living, the life will
indeed be miserable (Hoppock, 1967). Therefore it is essential for one to
gauge their emotional and psychological fitness and disposition for a
particular job.

Other aspects of a person’s life may also be determined by ones occupation

since it gives structure to a person’s life. It may for example influence where
 2

one will live, the kind of company one will keep, place where the children will
go to school and the frequency with which the family may move from place
to place (Hoppock, 1967). Other issues that may be influenced by one’s
occupation include values, ideals, standards and how a person will conduct
himself or herself in every day life. The amount of time one can spend with
his family as well as the social and economic status of his family will similarly
be impacted by his career choice. For instance, the life chances of a doctor
or a lawyer compared that of a cleaner or photographer will be quite
different. Ones occupation also provides a social circle or network within
which one can operate and define his life.

The importance of work cannot be overemphasized since through it one is

able to provide the basic necessities of life such as food shelter and clothing
and other higher level needs such as those of self-actualization. Moreover, it
provides a sense of purpose, self-fulfilment, challenges and development
(Baruch, 2004).

At the societal level, career choice will determine how a country will deploy
its manpower. The choices of individuals if not well synchronized may land a
society in a crisis if for example more people trained for scarce positions or if
not enough people trained for critical sectors such as nurses, teachers,
doctors, engineers and other professional categories. Occasionally in Kenya,
we have witnessed instances when too many teachers have trained to teach
specific subjects until there is an oversupply then people switch to another
crisis subject again until it is flooded before moving on to another area.

The significance of understanding adolescents’ acquisition of work-related

information depends, in part, on the assumption that their attitudes and
beliefs will carry over into their adult work experiences. It is argued that
parents and others play a large role over a long period in helping young
adults create their unique meanings of work. Similarly, there is much
evidence that socialization processes that begin in childhood strongly
 3

influence attitudes, beliefs, and cultural orientations in adulthood and that

adolescence is a critical or formative period in development (Levine and
Hoffner, 2006).

During adolescence the first career-related decisions are made. Adolescent

students, for instance, have to make decisions about the choice of courses in
high school or about their studies in higher education. However, career
decision making is a complex process, and some adolescents may encounter
difficulties that prevent them from making a career decision or that lead to a
less-than-optimal decision. With regard to the decisional process of choosing
studies in higher education, deficiencies in the way the choice was made
may increase the risk for dropout in higher education or for other problems.
Because these problems may imply reduced educational and vocational
opportunities in the long run, it is important to be able to assess this
decision-making process and problems occurring in it in a valid way
(Germeijs and Verschueren, 2006).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The career development process of secondary school students is an

important phenomenon not only to the students but to the society as a
whole. As such, it is a process that needs to be undertaken with full
awareness of one’s potential and available career options. Similarly, career
planning is vital for workforce development in any society. However, there
seem to be no deliberate and well coordinated efforts to guide students on
how to better prepare for careers in future. Much of the work of deciding
what youth will be in the career world has been left to chance, yet secondary
schools and adolescence provide a good window of opportunity for preparing
the youth for this important phase of life.

Moreover, little is known about the occupational plans and aspirations as well
as the career development process and choices of youth in secondary
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schools in Rongo district. Little research has been done to document these
issues. It is with this in mind that this study has been designed to help in
filling this gap by providing information on the career plans and aspiration of
secondary school students in Rongo District. The purpose of this study,
therefore, is to provide information on the career occupational plans,
aspirations and the factors that are significantly associated with those
intentions.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

General Objective: The general objective of the study is to identify career

intentions and aspirations of students attending Public Secondary Schools in
Rongo and Uriri Districts, Kenya.

The specific objectives of the study are to:

1. Determine the sex, school type and socio-economic differentials in
career intentions of students attending secondary schools in Rongo
and Uriri Districts.
2. Determine the sex, school type and socio-economic differentials in
reasons students give for occupational aspirations and plans of
secondary school students in Kenya;
3. Identify sex, school type and socio-economic status-differentials in
work values and goals among secondary school students
4. Identify the sex, school type and socio-economic differentials in the
perceptions and attitudes of students attending secondary schools in
Rongo towards available career opportunities.
5. Determine the extent to which career intentions relate to occupational
categories with opportunities for growth and expansion.
6. Determine the factors significantly related to the educational plans,
post-graduation plans and career intentions of students attending
secondary schools in Rongo district.
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1.4 Research Questions

In order to realize the objectives of the study, several questions relating to

the objectives have been formulated. The study will seek to answer the
following research questions
i. What are the demographic characteristics of the students?
ii. What are the educational aspirations of the students?
iii. What are the post-graduation plans of the students?
iv. What are the sex, school type and socio-economic differentials in
career intentions of the students?
v. What are the sex, school type and socio-economic differentials in
employment preferences of the students?
vi. What are the reasons for the educational plans for the students and
the sex, school type and socio-economic differentials in those plans?
vii. What are the reasons for the career intentions of the students and the
sex, school type and socio-economic differentials in those intentions?
viii. How do the work values and goals of both male and female students
differ?
ix. Who or what institution has the most important influence on the career
intentions of the students?
x. What are the perceptions and attitudes of secondary school students
towards available career options?
xi. What are the occupational categories for opportunities for growth and
expansion?
xii. To what extent are students’ career intentions reflective of the
occupational categories with opportunities for growth and expansion?
xiii. What factors are significantly related to educational plans, career
intentions and post-graduation plans of the secondary school students?

1.5 Justification of the Study

Youth unemployment is a serious concern in Kenya today and is often linked

to increase in the rates of crime and involvement with criminal gangs.
Indeed, youth unemployment was part of the factors advanced in
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explanation of post-election violence that engulfed the country after the

disputed presidential elections of December 2008 (Republic of Kenya, 2008).
According to this report, youth unemployment is to the extent that about 2
million youth are unemployed.

Career decision making and choice are important factors in determining the
eventual occupations that youth will settle for. A good proportion of qualified
youth may be unemployed not because of lack of opportunities but because
of lack of fit between their qualifications and existing job opportunities. This
study will seek to compare the career choices and intentions of secondary
school students with existing employment opportunities to identify any fit or
lack of it. The results of such an effort may be useful in orienting youth
career decision making processes and specification towards occupational
categories that are experiencing growth and expansion within and without
the Kenyan economy.

Since no study of this kind has been conducted within Rongo District, this
study will provide a good opportunity to make such information available.
The knowledge of career choices and intentions of youth will contribute
significantly to the literature on youth career decision making processes and
factors that significantly influence those processes. This information will be
useful in providing a body of literature for reference and for guiding future
research into this area.

Additionally, information on the kind of career of career choice students have

can be useful as a basis for formulating interventions geared towards
revamping career guidance programs in secondary schools and training
programs targeting communities and parents to enable mentor the youth in
their journey of career development. Similarly, it can lead to development of
appropriate information sources for reference to the students. It may be that
the career programmes in secondary schools are no longer relevant, non-
existent or are not implemented. The study would provide information on
such a programme with a view to reviewing it.
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1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study will be limited to a study of secondary school students in Rongo

and Uriri Districts of Nyanza province and as such, its generalizations to
other parts of the country will have to be done cautiously. It will be limited to
a specific time and place and as such, there will be no attempt to look at
trends since the study is cross-sectional and not longitudinal. It will also be
limited to the responses of the students who will be relied upon to proved
accurate information. As such, the reliability and accuracy of the study will
be limited to the extent that the students provide accurate and honest
responses.

1.7 Originality and Contribution of the Study

The originality of the study is that it will gather original data from students in
Rongo and Uriri Districts. It will also be unique in the way data will be
analysed. The research will try to analyse the findings to glean information in
ways that have not been done before in Kenya in this particular area of
study. Similarly, value has been added in that the study will try to relate the
finings of the study to the labor market whereby the choices/intentions of
students will be compared to various occupational categories. The effort will
be to compare those choices to see whether they are in keeping with trends
in terms of sectors promising growth and expansion in terms of manpower
needs.

Proposed Theoretical Framework

One of the theories to be considered is the self-concept theory of Donald

Super (Santrock, 1996) that proposes a five stage process of career
development. These are the crystallization stage (14-18 years); specification
stage (18 – 22 years); implementation stage (21 – 24 years); stabilization
stage (25 – 35 years) and finally, the consolidation stage (above 35 years)
(Santrock, 1996; Steinberg, 1993).
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The other proposed theory is Hollands’ personality type theory that focuses
on various personality traits and values as key influences in career choice
and development. He views various career choices as reflections of various
personality types. In this sense, individuals choose careers that will allow
them to remain themselves. The theoretical framework seeks to match
certain personality types with vocations that will allow for people to express
themselves. Finally, since both theories focus mostly on the personality
traits, interests, and values while ignoring broader social issues, models that
take such factors into account like the family, peers, schools and the broader
society will be incorporated (Santrock, 1996; Steinberg, 1993).

The theoretical models to consider also include the social cognitive career
theory, the status-attainment theory and the symbolic interactionist model
as propounded by George Herbert Mead.

6
Person Inputs Contextual Influences Proximate
Predispositions to Choice Behaviour
Gender Self-Efficacy
Race/Ethnicity
Expectations
Disability
Health Status

Interests Goals Actions

Learning
Experiences
Background
Contextual
Affordances
Outcome
Expectations

Source: Lent, B. (2007).

Social Cognitive Career Theory’s Complete Interest and Choice Model with
Person and Contextual Factors.
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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This study has been designed to provide information on the career

aspirations and plans of secondary school students in Rongo district. This is
because a career is a very important facet of one’s life and will actually
dominate the greater portion of his adult life. Careers also become part of a
person’s identity and as such, it needs to be well thought out and planned.
Being such a very important aspect of our being, it should be a well guided
process. This study will investigate the career aspirations of secondary
students in Rongo with a view to discovering whether it is the product of
chance or a deliberate process that has clear goals and objectives.

The objectives of the study are to:

a) Determine the sex, school type and socio-economic differentials in

career intentions of students attending secondary schools in Rongo
and Uriri Districts.
b) Determine the sex, school type and socio-economic differentials in
reasons students give for occupational aspirations and plans of
secondary school students in Kenya;
c) Identify sex, school type and socio-economic status-differentials in
work values and goals among secondary school students
d) Identify the sex, school type and socio-economic differentials in the
perceptions and attitudes of students attending secondary schools in
Rongo towards available career opportunities.
e) Determine the extent to which career intentions relate to occupational
categories with opportunities for growth and expansion.
f) Determine the factors significantly related to the educational plans,
post-graduation plans and career intentions of students attending
secondary schools in Rongo district.
In this section, a review of relevant literature will be conducted to learn what
has already been done in the area of career aspirations and plans of
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secondary schools students and the significant factors related to them.

Specifically, the review will focus on the following thematic areas:

i.) Career aspirations and plans of secondary schools students;

ii.) Reasons for choice of career options and plans of secondary school
students
iii.) Identify sex-differentials in work values and goals among
secondary school students
iv.) Perceptions and attitudes towards various career options;
v.) Areas offering opportunities for growth and how the career aspirations
relate to these choices;
vi.) Factors significantly related to aspirations, plans and attitudes towards
available career options.
The literature review will be organized in terms of researches done globally
and locally with a view to relating findings from the three major regions of
the developing world, that is, Latin America, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
(SSA). Besides looking at the themes that form the objectives of the study,
review will also look at the theoretical frameworks, the sampling procedures,
sample sizes and research designs used to conduct the studies. In all cases,
the studies reviewed will be looked at in terms of the implications they may
have for the present study.

2.2.1 Career Aspirations and Plans of Secondary School Students

Students in secondary schools have various career aspirations and plans that
they would wish to pursue soon after high school and also occupational goals
for the long-term. Whereas some would wish to proceed with high education
at either both middle level colleges and universities, others would wish to
enter into the job market immediately. In a study of 232 form three students
from Kereri and Nyabururu girls secondary schools in Kisi District, Obonyo
(1994), more than half (56%) intended to proceed to university, 38 percent
middle level colleges and 6 percent (7 for Kereri) would opt for direct
employment. In a similar study by Kibera (1993), more students from well
staffed and better equipped schools preferred university education whereas
 12

the others preferred training for jobs. She also found out that students
generally do not prefer salaried employment immediately after school even
though those who were in public non-national and private schools would
favour the salaried jobs option than their national school counterparts.

Another important aspect of occupational aspirations is the type of job

students would prefer. Results available from previous research tend to
suggest that secondary school students would like to associate with high
status careers. According to jobs they have listed, the most popular
occupations are law, medicine, and managerial positions. For instance,
Oladejo (1977) and Kibera (1993) proceed to that generally, most students
would not wish to enter into either unskilled, semi-skilled or artisan related
jobs. They have high expectations and would opt for professional or
occupational categories as opposed to the semi-skilled cadres.

With regard to career expectations, the most important careers for the
students in both schools were nursing (32 percent for Nyabururu and 30
percent for Kereri) followed by medicine (23; 13); teaching (2; 16); law (14;
8) accountancy (10; 6) and secretarial (2;8) (Obonyo, 1994). Another study
conducted in Nigeria (Oladejo, 1977) revealed that 81.3 percent out of a
sample of 353 students aspire to pursue higher education while only 27 or
6.5 percent aspired to enter the labor market. Twenty five or 5 percent
expressed a desire to enter the labour force and continue with further
studies on a part time basis underscoring the importance the group attached
to further studies.

Similar findings in a study conducted among secondary school students in

Kisumu municipality on perceptions of career aspirations involving a sample
of 237 male and 238 female students, the importance of disciplines like law
and medicine again comes to the fore. Among male students, the most
important career options were law (21.1%), medicine (15.2%), engineering
(15.2%), and teaching (7.2%). The least important among males were design
(1.3%), architecture (1.7%) and computer engineering (1.7%). Among female
students, medicine was the most preferred option attracting 24.4 percent of
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all the female pupils. The others are law (13%), nursing (12.2%), journalism
(11.3%), accountancy (9.2), teaching (8.8%) whereas the least favored are
aviation (0.4%), computer engineering (0.4%) and architecture (0.8%).

Nyanjom, (2007) obtained findings that reflect nearly the same findings as
the foregoing studies. According to her research whose purpose was to
investigate the extent to which career guidance services provided in
secondary schools influenced student career choices, the top five preferred
occupations were medicine 33 percent, teaching 31 percent, business
management 27 percent, law 22 percent and engineering 14 percent. The
total sample size was 1030 students. It can be concluded generally that the
students prefer medicine, law and teaching across the board whereas the
majority also tend to disfavor architecture and computer studies which
actually appear in the low rank category.

2.2.2 Reasons for choice of career options among secondary school

students

In this section, review is done to document what has been discovered with
regard to the reasons why the students in previous researches have chosen
the specific occupations and also their plans immediately the complete
secondary school. According to Nyanjom (2007), among the students who
preferred employment after school, the main reasons were due to the fact
that they lacked capital for starting a business (36.7%), prospects of being
promoted to higher grades (23.3%) and the opportunity to earn allowances
(15.4%). In a study by Obonyo (1994), those who wanted to go to
employment immediately after high school talked about the need to support
their parents and siblings and also being tired of further studies. They
needed a break from academic work.
Those who desired to proceed to tertiary education talked about influence
from home, expectations from parents, role modeling by their older siblings
and also the need to have a brighter future (Obonyo, 1994).
In a study by Nyanjom, (2000) besides reasons relating to whether they
intended to proceed with higher education or go into employment, the
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students also provided reasons for choosing specific career options. These
reasons mentioned cut across and were synthesized from the responses by
students irrespective of career choice. Among the most important reasons
for choice of a particular career, they students mentioned the possibility of
further studies 60 percent or 844 students. The other important reason was
job security with more than half of the respondents (51.3%) choosing this
option. Other reasons included the need to use special talents (44.8%), the
fact that the occupation is interesting (40.4%) opportunity for creativity
(32.6%), opportunity to work with others (27.7%), ease of availability of free
time (11.7%) and absence of supervision (6%).
Additionally, Nyanjom (2007) documented some interesting findings that
arose for various specific careers. Among those who wanted to do medicine,
the main motivations were the desire to help save lives, prestige and the
availability of employment opportunities after graduation or marketability of
the course. Among those who chose teaching as a career, the unique
reasons were to help reduce illiteracy and help promote the progress of the
country. Those who opted for business or entrepreneurship mention the need
to be self-employed, their good performance in business oriented subjects
and the realization of a life dream (Nyanjom, 2007). Furthermore, those who
wanted to be lawyers in future talked about the prestige that comes with
legal qualifications as well as encouragement from family members. Finally,
those who would go into engineering also talked about the passion for
mathematics and physics, the fact that engineering is interesting and
encouragement from family and relatives. (Nyanjom, 2007).

2.2.3 Perceptions and attitudes of students towards available

careers

Engineering also talked about the passion for mathematics and physics, the
fact that engineering is interesting and encouragement from family and
relatives (Nyanjom, 2007).
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2.2.4 Factors related to educational, post-graduation and career

intention of students

There are various factors that have been identified to relate significantly with
the educational, post-graduation and career intentions of secondary
students. Among these factors are gender, age, parents’socio-economic
status (SES), parents’ occupation, school type, performance in examinations
and perceived self-efficacy. Some of these factors are discussed below.
Gender
Among the factors that relate significantly to career aspirations, gender is a
prominent one. In a study by Obura (2007), female students were more
inclined towards biological science whereas male students were had a
leaning towards the physical sciences. Whereas medicine, law and nursing
were more popular among female students, laws medicine and engineering
were more popular among the male students. Less popular were design,
architecture, and computer science. There also appeared to emerge gender
stereotyping of some careers. Whereas subjects such as nursing and
journalism were stereotyped as predominantly female, engineering,
architecture, aviation, business, computer science and armed forces were
perceived as being male careers. The most stereotyped courses however
were nursing and engineering which were considered female and male
domains respectively whereas those considered gender neutral were law,
design, medicine and teaching.
Further, Obura (2007) reports that 59.7 percent of males hoped to join
careers that were considered stereotypically neutral compared to 63.8
percent for females. Females who reported interest in careers that were
stereotyped as feminine were nearly four times more than males who
considered joining the same careers.
Kibera (1993) also had interesting findings with regard to gender and career
and educational aspirations. In mixed schools, a comparison between male
and female students, the latter were found to have both low educational
expectations and career aspirations compared to the former. Whereas the
males preferred to proceed to university, the females would rather opt for
 16

job training. Males were also more likely to prefer professional jobs
compared to females who preferred clerical jobs. Similar findings were
obtained by Oladejo (1977) who revealed that among students who
preferred construction related careers, 31 males against 3 females aspired to
do architecture; 40 males against 4 females engineering. For those who
preferred medical related courses, 45 males compared to 10 females desired
to enroll in medicine whereas only 5 females and no males were considering
joining nursing. Therefore, even though the data clearly revealed a
disposition of secondary students towards professional categories, there
were clear gender differences (Oladejo, 1977).
Age
Age is another important factor considered as a source of difference in the
career intentions and educational aspirations of secondary school students in
Rongo and Uriri Districts. In terms of comparing the students based on age,
Kibera (1993) found out that younger students prefer university education as
compared to older ones who prefer to train for jobs. Salaried employment
and self employment, even though identified by Kibera (1993) as generally
less favoured are also more likely to be preferred by older students
compared to younger ones. Other materials reviewed, especially local
materials did not have age as an important predictor variable.

School Type
The type of school seems to influence career choice and educational plans of
secondary school students in that students from well staffed and well
equipped schools tend to have preference for university education compared
to their counterparts from well less well endowed schools. For instance,
Kibera (1993) found out that there were differences in students’ career
choice based on the types of schools they attended. Even though secondary
school students in her study generally preferred to proceed with higher
education as opposed to enter into employment, when type of school is
controlled for, those in public non-national and private schools tend to have
more preference for salaried employment compared to those in national and
 17

Harambee schools. Similarly, controlling for whether the schools is boarding

or day school reveals that borders preferred university education compared
to non-borders who preferred to train for jobs (Kibera, 1993).
The non-borders or day scholars also had greater inclination towards salaried
employment and self-employment. Comparison between single sex and co-
educational schools also reveal some differences. Slightly higher proportions
of students from coeducational schools tended to prefer self-employment as
opposed to those in same single sex schools, irrespective of their gender.
 18

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter presents a discussion on the research design, the site of the
study, the study population, the units of analysis, sampling techniques and
sample size, the methods of data collection, data analysis and ethical
considerations. Methodological assumptions and limitations will also be
discussed.

3.2 Research Design

The study design will be a cross-sectional social survey which shall be

interested in collecting data on the situation of students’ occupational plans
and aspirations. It will not be able to investigate any time influences on
career intentions. The cross-sectional survey is chosen because it is more
appropriate in natural settings such as where I will conduct my study thus
increasing the external validity of the study (Frankfort-Nachmias, 1996).

The study design is designed to allow for a mixed method explanatory

approach in which an attempt will be made to explain the phenomenon of
occupational plans and aspirations of secondary school students in Rongo
district (Robson, 2002). The mixed method explanatory design is selected
because of the nature of information to be collected which requires that
there are multiple sources with each source reinforcing the other. The
explanatory design will aid in explaining any patterns observed, and identify
any relationships between aspects related to the topic of study. The
approach will utilize both fixed and flexible designs allowing the use of varied
methods to facilitate collection of both qualitative and quantitative data. The
flexible aspect of it will be in-depth interviews and focus groups whereas the
fixed design will utilize both the structured questionnaire and attitude scales.

3.3 Study Population

The population of this study will be all secondary students in both day and
boarding secondary schools in and Rongo and Uriri Districts. However, the
 19

accessible population will be those from the selected public schools for this
study. The selection of schools shall be by Stratified random sampling.
Rongo and Uriri districts have a total of 53 secondary schools of which 46 are
public and 7 private. Of the public schools, there are ten (10) boys’, five (5)
girls’ and 31 mixed secondary schools. The total enrolment is 14,318
students of which 4,428 or 31% are female and 9,890 (69%) are male
(District Education Office, Rongo, 2008).

Public schools account for 92 percent of total enrolment in secondary schools

in Rongo district. The public school enrolment in the district stands at 13,141
with that boys’ standing at 8,713 and 4,428 girls. (Ministry of Education,
2008). This information can be summarized in Table 1.

Table 1: Enrolment by District and Type of School, 2008

Owners Type of Scho Enrolment

hip School ols Mal Fema Total
e le

Public Mixed 31 3,50 1,983 5,48

0 3

Boys 10 5,21 0 5,21

3 3

Girls 5 0 2,445 2,44

5

Private All 7 699 478 1177

Total 53 9,41 4,906 14,3

2 18

Source: District Eduction Office, Rongo District, 2008.

3.4 Variables/Categories of Analysis

The categories/units of analysis shall be individuals and also groups based on

gender, type of school and categories of variables. The independent
variables for the study shall be various social, personal factors, and
 20

demographic characteristics such as age, gender, residence, religious

affiliation, religiosity, parents’ educational attainment, socio-economic
status, parental discipline, and parental strictness. These factors will be
considered as determining occupational intentions and choices. The
dependent variables shall be work related values, perceptions about various
occupations, Occupational aspirations, career knowledge, and perceptions
about gender division of occupations among other variables. The units of
analysis shall be the individual person.

3.5 Sampling Techniques and Sample Size

Systematic random sampling method shall be used to select a representative

sample of schools and students to participate in the study. The sampling
frames for the schools shall be the list of schools obtained from the local
Ministry of Education offices. Class registers shall be the sampling frame for
getting the students in sample schools. The schools to be selected shall be of
three categories: mixed day, boys boarding and girls boarding secondary
schools. The three categories are likely to provide both a gender dimension
to occupational plans and aspirations as well as a variety in terms of social
contexts that can influence career choice. Appropriate guidelines shall be
used to select the sample size for the study.

A proportionate stratified random sampling method will be used to help

select a sample from which respondents will be drawn. The sample shall
proportionately represent boys’ secondary schools, girls’ secondary schools
and mixed secondary schools. The mixed secondary schools will also be
stratified by gender to ensure proportionate representation. Within the
schools, the students to participate will be selected at random from form two
and form four students. A Stratified random sample will be selected because
sampling theory shows that it can be more efficient than simple random
since “for a given sample size, the means of stratified samples are likely to
be closer to the population means” (Robson, 1993:262). The total sample
 21

N
size shall be 398 students based on the equation n = 2 . The level of
1 + N ( e)
precision shall be taken to be ±5 with the confidence or risk level being 95%
and the degree of variability assumed to be 0.5. An additional 30% of n will
be added to the sample to cater for nonresponses.

3.6 Methods of Data Collection

Both Qualitative and quantitative data shall be collected. The instruments for
data collection will be a self-response structured questionnaire to collect
data from students; in-depth interview, with key opinion leaders, teachers
and parents; and Focus Group discussions to collect data from students and
community members. There will be document review especially of
government documents. Case studies of some students shall also be
collected to provide an in-depth understanding of the process of developing
career intentions of secondary school students in Rongo District, Kenya.

The self-response questionnaires will be used to get information on personal

characteristics, occupational plans and aspirations as well as basic
demographic and socio-economic characteristics of respondents. Instruments
for the collection of data will be developed through adaptation of already
existing measures where these exist and creation of new ones where none
exist or where those that exist are inadequate.

Permission to conduct research shall be sought from the relevant

government departments with the help of the School of Graduate Studies
(SGS). The researcher shall liaise with the Ministry of Education in Rongo
District to select the schools where the study shall be conducted. The
principals in such schools shall be consulted and their consent sought to
carry out research in their schools. Participation shall be by informed consent
and only those schools that provide their consent shall be included in the
study. The students in the schools shall also participate by informed consent.
Data shall be collected by use of research instruments as outlined in the
instruments section. The research shall recruit the services of research
 22

assistants who will help with the process of administering the instruments.
Before embarking on the exercise, there shall be thorough training for the
assistants and consultation between the researcher and the research
assistants. Data collected shall be clearly grouped based on the schools and
they will be reviewed for any anomalies so that any corrective measures can
be undertaken as quickly as possible. Each category of school shall be
allocated a quota of the total sample and it is from these that information
shall be collected.

Data from key informant interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) shall
be recorded in notebooks and if permission is granted on audio tape. The
demographic characteristics of participants in FGD will be recorded in a
separate sheet and as much as possible, responses shall be tied to the
respondents’ characteristics. FGD and in-depth interview guides will be
developed which collect answers that are relevant to the study.

3.6.1 Validity and Reliability

Reliability of the data collection process shall be ensured by use of

standardized questionnaire items. Most of the questions used in this regard
will be adapted from the literature and methods of similar researches. Since
most of the data collection tools shall be from existing tools, the process will
be reliable. Similarly, to ensure that respondents answer the same questions,
a self-response questionnaire shall be administered and instructions given. In
cases where interviews and FGDs are conducted, attempts will be made to
ensure that standard guides are used and used consistently with all
interviews and focus groups. Use of predetermined and well documented
procedures coupled with adequate training of research assistants will ensure
consistency. The clear documentation of procedures used will ensure that
the research can easily be replicated in other areas or at different times
(Burton, 2000).

Validity will be ensured by use of already existing instruments. Prior to

deciding on items to be used in data collection, extensive literature review
 23

has been conducted to ensure that what the study finally adopts has been
used elsewhere and is generally agreed to measure the concepts under
consideration. Internal consistency will be ensured by use of several items to
provide responses to the same variable where such a procedure is possible.
With regard to content validity or the degree to which the concepts tested
are adequately measured, multiple indicators as well as existing instruments
will be used (Burton, 2000).

3.7 Pilot Study

Before a pilot study with a sample of similar characteristics as the study

population is conducted, the instruments will be pretested with colleagues in
the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and other departments. It will
also be pretested with the students in the department.

A pilot study will be conducted before actual research is done to test the
instruments in terms of their relevance, simplicity, length of time taken to
complete them and whether they are capable of yielding the required
outputs. The pilot study will also provide an opportunity for the researcher
and his assistants to understand and internalize the process of data
collection with regard to the study. Any challenges to the study will be
documented and important lessons will be learnt with a view to making the
real study more efficient. The pilot study will be done with similar
populations to the target population. It shall be done in secondary schools in
and Rongo districts which are not part of the study. The outputs from the
pilot study will be analyzed and examined for any need for changes to be
done. If the outcome is satisfactory, then preparation shall be made to
conduct the real research.

3.8 Data Analysis

Data will be coded, through creation of a codebook and entered directly into
the analysis software, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
version 16.0. The created data set will then be cleaned for potential coding
errors or those arising from entry before embarking on analysis. An initial
 24

exploratory analysis of the data set will be conducted so as to get an inkling

of what is contained therein and the possible results. However, the main type
of analysis work to be done will be confirmatory data analysis where the
effort will be to seek to establish the kind of relationships hypothesized or
questions asked. People who did not respond to any particular question will
be excluded in any analysis in frequency tables. They will not form part of
the proportion of responses but the number will be indicated at the bottom
of every table.

Both descriptive and inferential statistics will be applied to both provide an

overview of the results and to provide interpretation of findings and draw
any conclusions based on information available.

Descriptive statistics will be used whereby data will be summarized in the

form of bar charts, histograms and pie charts and frequency tables where
applicable. Statistics such as mode for categorical variables and mean,
median and standard deviation for continuous variables will be presented
where appropriate based on the level of measurement so as to provide
information on the typicality of responses. Measures of association for
categorical variables namely Phi for 2x2 tables and Cramer’s V for larger
tables will be employed to determine the strength of observed significant
relationships. According to Burton (2000:397) “A value for Phi or Cramer’s V
which is close to zero is considered as a weak association. A value for Phi or
Cramer’s V which is close to one is considered a strong association.”

Inferential Statistics, mostly bivariate analysis will be done by use of cross-

tabulations and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Tests of statistical significance
shall be performed by use of Chi-square and in cases where observed counts
are less than five in any cell, the Fisher’s Exact Test will be used as a
substitute in cases of bivariate data.

In determining the covariates of occupational intentions among male and

female youth, the multinomial (multivariate) logistic regression will be
employed. The statistics generated shall include means, ranges, standard
 25

deviation and the mode. A significance level of 0.05 will be adopted for both
bivariate comparisons and multivariate analyses.

Qualitative data gathered through key informant interviews and FGDs shall
be analysed by use of incomplete

3.9 Ethical Considerations

Upon approval of the proposal by the School of Graduate Studies (SGS),

clearance to conduct research shall be obtained from the National Council for
Science and Technology (NCST). The participants to be involved in the study
shall do so with informed consent and the researcher shall commit to afford
confidentiality and anonymity of the respondents. The study findings shall be
disseminated to the scientific community, study participants, NCST, the
Ministries of Education and Labor and other stakeholders.

With regard to the ethical considerations, participants will be involved based

on their informed consent. Written consent or permission shall be sought
from relevant government departments both at the national and local levels
prior to carrying out the research. The school authorities will also be properly
briefed and their consent to conduct the research sought and written
commitment obtained. The students will also be briefed on the research and
offered consent forms to sign if they agree to participate in the research.

They will be told the purpose of the research during the introductions and
formation of rapport and their participation will be voluntary and not
influenced by any means. They will opt to participate or not to participate on
their own volition. The respondents will not be deceived as to the purpose of
the research but the researcher and his assistants will deal with them
transparently and honestly, making them fully aware of the purpose and
goals of the study.

The researcher and the study will preserve confidentiality and privacy of the
respondents and that they will treat the participants with a lot of courtesy
and respect. They will not be viewed as subjects for the study but as active
 26

partners. The participants will also be accorded the right to self-

determination. The researcher shall in no way interfere with the rights or free
will of the participants including that of ceasing to participate in the research
at any time. The time of participants will be used judiciously and effectively
so as to maximize the time and achieve much with little.
 27

References:

Baruch, Y. (2004) Managing Careers: Theory and Practice. Pearson Education

Limited: Prentice-Hall, Essex.
Borchert, M. (2002) Career Choice Factors of High School Students.
Unpublished Masters Research Paper, University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Esters, T. L. Rural Korean Students’ Level of Interest and Intentions to Pursue
Careers in Agriculture Proceedings of the 2007 AAAE Research
Conference, Volume 34e
Falaye, F.V. and Adams, B.T. (2008) An Assessment of Factors Influencing
Career Decisions of in-School Youths Pakistani Journal of Social Sciences
5(3): 222-225, 2008 Medwell Journals
Frankfort-Nachmias, C., and Nachmias, D. (1996) Research Methods in the
Social Sciences (fifth edition). London: Arnold.
Kenneth J. Levine and Cynthia A. Hoffner Adolescents’ Conceptions of Work:
What Is Learned From Different Sources During Anticipatory
Socialization? Journal of Adolescent Research 2006; 21; 647.
Kibera, L.W. (1993) Career Aspirations and Expectations of Secondary School
Students of the 8-4-4 System of Education in Kiambu, Kajiado and
Machakos Districts, Kenya. Unpublished PhD Thesis of Kenyatta
University.
Nyanjom, C. O (2007), Career Guidance in Secondary Schools in Kisumu,
District, Kenya: Implications for the Curriculum. Unpublished Masters
Thesis, Maseno University.
Obonyo, M.M. (1994) Educational and Career Expectations of Form Three
Girls at Nyabururu and Kereri Schools in Kisii District. Unpublished M.Ed.
Thesis, Kenyatta University.
Obura C.A. (2007), Perceptions of Career Aspirations of Secondary School
Students in Kisumu Municipality. Unpublished Masters Thesis; Maseno
University.
Oladejo, A.A. (1977) career and Educational Aspirations of Secondary School
Students in Nigeria: An Analysis of Selected Career decision-making
 28

variables in relation to Educational Provisions and Manpower needs.

Unpublished Phd Thesis, University of Michigan.
Republic of Kenya, (2008) Report on the Causes of Post-election Violence in
Kenya. Unpublished report of the Waki Commission in Post Election
Violence.
Santrock, J. W. (1996) Adolescence: An Introduction 6th Edition. Madison:
Brown and Benchmark.
Steinberg, L. (1993) Adolescence. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Veerle Germeijs and Karine Verschueren: High School Students’ Career
Decision-Making Process: Development and Validation of the Study
Choice Task Inventory Journal of Career Assessment 2006; 14; 449.
Witko, K., K.B. Barnes, K. Magnusson and Angela, D.B. (2005) ‘Senior High
school career planning: What Students want” Journal of Educational
Inquiry, Vol. 6, No. 1 2005.
 29

APPENDICES

A1: Tentative Chapterization

1. Chapter one shall be on background information.
2. Chapter two shall deal with literature review and conceptual/theoretical
framework.
3. Chapter three shall deal with research methodology.
4. Chapter four shall deal with presentation descriptive statistics of
demographic characteristics of the respondents.
5. Chapter five shall deal with presentation of key findings and correlations.
6. Chapter six shall be on discussion of key findings.
7. Chapter seven shall be on conclusions, summaries and recommendations.
 30

A2: Study Timeline

Activity Duration Time

1 Presenting Proposal to supervisor 2 months May- June, 2009

2 Proposal Defence at Department 1 week July, 2009

3 Proposal Defence at School/Faculty 1month September, 2009

4 Submission of Proposal at Graduate

School 1 month October, 2009

5 Obtaining of Research Clearance 1 month November, 2009

6 Pilot Study 1 month January, 2010

7 Data Collection 3 months February - March, 2009

8 Data Analysis 2 months April - May 2010

9 Drafting Thesis 3 months May - July 2010

1
0 Presenting Draft Thesis to Supervisors 3 months August - October, 2010

1 Presentation of findings to
1 Department 1 week November, 2010

1 Submission of Thesis at Graduate

2 School
& External Examination 6 months Dec, 2010 - March, 2011

1
3 Thesis Defence at Graduate School 2 months April - May, 2011

1
4 Binding of Corrected Copies 2 weeks June, 2011

1
5 Graduation October, 2011
 31

A3: Budget for the Study

Major Sub-Activity Units Unit Costs in Cost in
Activity Costs Kshs. USD
$1=Kshs.
75

Proposal Communication 1500 30 45,000.00 600.00

Writing

Typing, Printing, Copying, 20 1,000 20,000.00 266.67

Binding

Travel 10 1,000 10,000.00 133.33

Sub-Total 75,000 1,000.00

Data Per diems 70 2,000 140,000.00 1,866.67

Collection

Induction of research 1
team

Accommodation 70 2,000 140,000.00 1,866.67

Travel 40 3,000 120,000.00 1,600.00

Research assistants 6 40,000 240,000.00 3,200.00

Communication 3 5,000 15,000.00 200.00

Sub-Total 655,000 8,733

Data Data Entry Clerk 4 15,000 60,000.00 800.00

Analysis

Data Analysis 1 30,000 30,000.00 400.00

Sub-Total 90,000.00 1,200.00

Thesis Communication 3 5,000 15,000.00 200.00

Preparation

Thesis Typing, Printing 20 1,000 20,000.00 266.67

and Photocopying

Thesis Binding 8 1,000 8,000.00 106.67

Travel 5 3,000 15,000.00 200.00

Per diems 20 2,000 40,000.00 533.33

Sub-Total 98,000.00 1,306.67

 32

Grand Total 843,000.0 11,240.0

0 0
 33

Research Instruments

District________________________School__________________________

Type of School________________________Form____________________________

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. When were your born (for example 1977)?

2. Gender (in case of mixed school)
a. Male
b. Female
3. In which district is the school in which you did your KCPE situated?
4. When did you do your KCPE?
5. What is the type of school in which you did your KCPE?
a. Public primary school
b. Boarding religious school
(specify_________________)
c. Private school
6. What is the highest level of education you would like to obtain?
a. Secondary
b. Post-secondary diploma (Specify area)____________________
c. University first degree (bachelors degree)
d. University second degree (Masters degree)
e. University third degree (Doctoral/PhD)
f. Other
(specify)_______________________________________________________

7. What are your reasons for your choice of the highest level of education
you would want to attain? (Mention the three most important
reasons).
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 34

_______________________________________________________________________
____
 35

8. How would you describe your family?

a. Single-Parent
b. Both-Parent Family
c. Child-headed household
d. Other (Specify)_______________________
9. What is your position among your siblings
a. Firstborn
b. Middle born
c. Last born
d. Only child
10. What is your religious affiliation
a. Catholic
b. Anglican
c. Adventist
d. Lutheran
e. Others (Specify)_____________________
11. Do you like attending religious services?
a. Yes
b. No
12. How important is Church attendance to you?
a. Not important
b. Important
c. Very important
13. How often do you go to Church?
a. Never
b. Once a year
c. Two or three times a month
d. Once a week
e. More than once a week
14. How often do you attend religious youth activities?
a. Never
b. Once a year
 36

c. Twice a month
d. Once or more times a week (specify__________)
15. Are your parents_______________?
a. Both alive
b. Only Father alive
c. Only Mother alive
d. None alive
16. Where is your normal place of residence?
a. Agricultural Estate
b. Roadside
c. Urban/Town
d. Rural (Subsistence Farm)
17. What is your mother’s highest level of education?
a. None
b. Primary
c. Secondary
d. College (Specify)_________________________________
e. University (underline the level that applies: undergraduate/first
degree, masters degree, Phd/Doctoral degree)
18. What is your father’s highest level of education?
a. None
b. Primary
c. Secondary
d. College (Specify)_________________________________
e. University (underline the level that applies: First degree, Masters
degree, Phd (doctorate)
19. What would you say is the socio-economic status of your family?
a. Poor (Low)
b. Average (Middle)
c. Rich (High)
20. What is your comment on the strictness of your parents
a. Much more easy going
 37

b. A bit more easy going

c. About the same as other parents
d. A little more strict
e. Much more strict
21. How would you comment on your parents’ discipline?
Strict
General
Relaxed
22. What is the reason for your answer about your parents discipline
above?

23. How would you describe communication with your parents?

Easy
Moderate
Difficult
24. What are your feelings about your family?
Very good
Good
Less than good
What is the reason for your feelings about your family?

25. Have your parents discussed with you career/occupation related

matters?
Yes
No
26. If yes, which parent has discussed such matters with you?
Both
 38

Mother
Father
None
27. Who else has talked to you about careers/occupations?
Teachers
Siblings (brother/sister)
Career counsellor
Pastor
Friend
Guest speaker in school
Other (specify) ___________________________________
28. What is your fathers’ occupation (e.g. teacher, doctor, nurse,
lawyer, farmer)

29. What is your mother’s occupation (e.g. teacher, doctor, nurse,

lawyer, farmer)

30. What on average do you think is your mother’s monthly income?

31. What on average do you think is your father’s monthly income?

OCCUPATIONAL ASPIRATIONS/INFORMATION

32. Have you learnt about the occupational options available to you?
a. Yes
b. No (go to question 37)
33. If you have ever heard about occupational options available to
you, which was the most important source of this information?
 39

a. Career guidance teacher

b. Visiting guest speaker (specify)____________________
c. Parent (specify)________________
d. Newspaper articles
e. Books
f. Other (specify)_____________________________
34. Is there a career guidance counselling program in your school?
a. Yes
b. No
35. If you have a career guidance counselling programme in your
school, how would you rate it?
a. Very active
b. Active
c. Moderately active
d. Inactive
e. Very inactive
36. List three subjects you like most in the order of liking
a. ____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________

37. What would you say is your subject orientation (select only one)
a. Science and mathematics related areas
b. Humanities (Arts, literature)
c. Languages (English, Kiswahili, French)
d. Social Sciences (economics, business studies, psychology,
sociology, anthropology)
e. Other (specify)_________________________________________________
38. How are the subjects you are studying relevant to your career
aspirations
a. Very relevant
b. Relevant
 40

c. Moderately relevant
d. Irrelevant
e. Very irrelevant
39. Indicate whether the following are very important (VI), important (I),
unimportant (U) or very unimportant (VU) to you. Circle one that
closely applies to you).
a. Making a lot of money ( VI I U VU )
b. Opportunities to be original and creative ( VI I U
VU )
c. Opportunities to help others ( VI I U VU )
d. Avoiding high pressure jobs ( VI I U VU )
e. Working in the world of ideas ( VI I U VU )
f. Freedom from close supervision ( VI I U
VU )
g. Opportunities for steady progress rather than
the chance for extreme success and failure ( VI I U
VU )
h. Being a leader ( VI I U VU )
i. Opportunities to work with people rather than
things ( VI I U VU )
j. Having a position that is looked upto by others ( VI I U
VU )
k. Having a relatively secure job. ( VI I U
VU )
40. How important are your studies to you?
a. Very important
b. Important
c. Moderately important
d. Unimportant
e. Very unimportant
41. How would you rate your performance in academic work in your
class
 41

a. Very Good
b. Good
c. Average
d. Poor
e. Very Poor
42. What would your parents expect you to do after high school
a. Look for a job
b. Go into self-employment
c. Go to university
d. Further training
e. Not aware
f. Other (Specify)____________________________________________
43. What are your plans after high school?
a. Proceed to University
b. Proceed to a Middle Level College
c. Start a family
d. Engage in business
e. Look for a job
f. Train for a job
g. Other (Specify)________________________________________________
 42

44. What are the three most important reasons for your plan after
high school?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_____
45. What is your dream occupation/career? Select the one that best
describes your desire
a. Medicine
b. Law
c. Engineering (which one e.g. mechanical________________________)
d. Nursing
e. Teaching
f. Piloting an Airplane
g. Accounting
h. Business
i. Architecture
j. Actuarial Science
k. An Economist
l. A Sociologist
m. A Nutritionist
n. A Journalist
o. Others
(specify)____________________________________________________
46. What are the three most important reasons for your choice of career?
a. ____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________
47. In case you do not get to join your dream career, which other three
careers would, you opt for in order of preference?
 43

a. _________________________________________________________________
_
b. _________________________________________________________________
_
c. _________________________________________________________________
48. According to you, which is the best career/occupation?
________________________
49. What are your reasons for your view that that is the best career
option?
a. ____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________
50. What would be your preferred employment sector?
a. Armed Forces (Military)
b. Civil Service
c. Parastatal Sector
d. Private Sector (specify area of
speciality)_____________________________________
e. Civil Society (NGOs)
f. Teaching Primary)
g. Teaching (Secondary)
h. Teaching (University)
i. Press (Media House)
j. International Organizations (e.g. World Bank, UN, IMF, ICC)
k. Other (Specify)______________________________________
51. What other two employment sectors would you resort if you did
not get your best choice above?
a. Armed Forces (Military)
b. Civil Service
c. Parastatal Sector
d. Private Sector
e. Civil Society (NGOs)
 44

f. Teaching Primary)
g. Teaching (Secondary)
h. Teaching (University)
i. Press (Media House)
j. Other (Specify)______________________________________
52. Why would you prefer to work in that sector (Tick three most important
reasons)
a. Higher Salary
b. Just interested
c. Respectable and prestigious
d. Security of employment
e. To share knowledge with others
f. Others
(specify)_____________________________________________________
53. Do you think males and females are capable of performing in the same
occupations equally?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Don’t know
54. Do you think there are careers/occupations that are exclusively
male
a. Yes
b. No
c. Don’t Know
55. If you think that there are occupations that are exclusively male,
please list at least five
a. _______________________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________
d. ________________________________________________________
e. _______________________________________________________
f. ___________________________________________________________
 45

56. Do you think there are careers/occupations that are exclusively

for females
a. Yes
b. No
c. Don’t know
57. If you think that there are occupations that are exclusively
females, please list at least five
a. _______________________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________
d. ________________________________________________________
e. _______________________________________________________
 46

A5: Consent Form

My name is George Evans Owino. I am doing research on a project entitled “Factors
associated with debut and sexual behavior among secondary school students in
and Rongo Districts, Kenya: A Comparative Sociological Analysis.”I am directing this
project and I can be contacted at the following address should you have any
question.

Department of Sociology & Anthropology

Maseno University, Private Bag, Maseno, Kenya.

Email: gowino@maseno.ac.ke; jauriri2001@yahoo.com

Cellphone: +254 722614878

Thank you for agreeing to take part in the project. Before we start, I would like to
emphasize that:

• Your participation is entirely voluntary;

• You are free to refuse to answer any question.
• You are free to withdraw at any time.
Further, we will undertake to ensure that the questionnaire/discussions will be kept
strictly confidential and will be available only to members of the research team.
Excerpts from interview/individual results may be part of the final research report,
but under no circumstances will your name or identifying characteristics be included
in the report.

Please sign this form to show that I have read the contents to you.

____________________________________________________ (Signature)

____________________________________________________(Name)

_____________________________________________________(Date)
 47

Please send a report on the results of the project (please circle one) Yes
No

Email address____________________________________________