The Extent to Which Guidance Services in Schools Help Students Choose Their Subjects in Ordinary Level Public Secondary Schools in Mwanga District, Tanzania

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which guidance services in schools help students choose their subjects in O-level Public Secondary schools in Mwanga District, Tanzania. The Rational Choice Theory guided the study and a convergent research design under mixed methods research approach was adopted. The targeted population was 1 District Secondary Education Officer, 26 heads of secondary schools, 535 subject teachers, 26 Class teachers, 2756 parents and 2756 students. A study employed stratified random, total population and snowball sampling techniques to obtain the sample size of 431 respondents. Data were collected through questionnaires and an interview guide. The content and face validity of the research instruments were ensured by MWECAU research experts. The research instruments were pilot-tested in two O-level public secondary schools. The calculated reliability coefficients for subject teachers and students in Likert items found in questionnaires were 0.832 and 0.765. The trustworthiness of qualitative research instruments was determined through triangulation. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22 and presented through frequencies, percentages and mean. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The study found that guidance services in schools, to a high extent, facilitate students to choose subjects. The study concluded that guidance services play a crucial role in facilitating students to choose subjects as the majority of subject teachers, some parents and other education stakeholders help students to be aware of the importance of making proper subject selections in relation to their combinations which will lead them into their intended future careers. The study recommends that schools should recognize the importance of guidance services. The government initiatives should, therefore, prepare qualified teacher-guidance from universities and colleges to ensure the effective provision of guidance services in schools on students' subject choices.