Social Determinants of Occupational Aspiration of Secondary School Students with Disabilities in Southwest, Nigeria

The study examined the social determinants of occupational aspiration of visually impaired, hearing impaired and physically impaired students in integrated secondary schools in Southwest, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study determined the relationship between social variables (family influence, availability of occupational information, availability of facilities, social support and peer influence) and occupational aspirations of students with disabilities. The descriptive research design of the survey type was used in this study. The population consisted of all 1,106 students with disabilities in integrated public secondary schools in Southwest, Nigeria. The sample for this study consisted of 349 students with disabilities from 12 integrated public secondary schools in Southwest, Nigeria. The sample was selected using multistage sampling procedure. An instrument tagged “Social Factors and Occupational Aspiration Questionnaire (SFOAQ)” was used to collect relevant data for the study from the respondents. The face, content and construct validity of the instruments were determined. The responses obtained were collated and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. All the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of this study revealed that family influence, availability of occupational information, availability of facilities and social support are related to occupational aspirations of students with disabilities in integrated secondary schools. It was recommended among others that the school management should provide necessary support that will assist students with disabilities in making the right decision about occupational aspiration.

Keywords: Social Determinants, Occupational Aspiration, Students, Disabilities,