ATTITUDE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TOWARDS CAREER CHOICE IN CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Career choice is a complex decision for students since it determine the kind of profession that they intend to pursue in life. As students try to make career choice, while in secondary school, they face problem of matching their career choices with the abilities and school performance. In Akure South Local Government Area, every year senior secondary three students (SS 3) make career choices before sitting for their final examination (SSCE), however; the numbers of students writing Christian Religious Knowledge are not many as compared to science related subjects such as Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology among others. This work therefore examined the attitude of secondary school students toward career choice in Christian Religious Studies in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State. The population of the study comprised all secondary school teachers and students in secondary schools in Akure South Local Government of Ondo State. The research adopted purposive sampling techniques to select 100 Christian students and teachers from 10 secondary schools in Akure South Local Government of Ondo State. Findings shows that students’ interest influence their attitudes towards studying CRS in higher institutions. Findings shows that teaching methods influence students’ attitudes towards studying CRS in tertiary institutions. That societal perception influence students’ attitude towards career choice in CRS. That parents influence students’ attitude to studying CRS in tertiary institutions. The following recommendations were made: Government should make CRS course a compulsory course across all levels of education. CRS should be made a mandatory for all students who wish to apply for any course of study in higher institution. There should be training and retraining for CRS teachers in secondary schools. Only professional teachers should be allowed to teach CRS in secondary schools. Parent should encourage their wards to pick a career course in CRS. The government should make CRS very attractive by ensuring a better pay for students who make a career out of the course