Differential Effects of Vocational Guidance on Preferred Choice of Tertiary Education among Male and Female Secondary School Students in Rivers States, Nigeria

The study investigated the differential effects of vocational guidance on preferred choice of tertiary education among male and female secondary school student in Rivers State. The study utilized the pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental research design. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The population consist of 34,209 SS3 students in public secondary school for 2016/2017 academic session. A multistage sampling technique was used to draw 136 students identified as dysfunctional in their choice of tertiary education in three secondary schools in the three senatorial zones of Rivers State. Motivation for tertiary education preference scale MTEPS was the outcome measure used. Its face and content validity were ensured by experts in guidance and counselling while its reliability was ensured through the test re-test method for a measure of stability using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient test and it yielded a co-efficient value of r 0.93. The data obtained from the outcome measure was analysed using mean and standard deviation for the research questions and independent t-test for the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Result indicated that male and female students in the experimental group improved over their male and female counterparts in the control group in their preference for University Education. It was recommended amongst others that; male and female secondary school students should be constantly exposed to vocational guidance and counselling in order to expose them to diverse information that will enable them make more informed decisions in their choice of tertiary education.