SOCIAL MEDIA MODELLING, MENTORING AND PARENTAL SUPPORT AS PREDICTOR OF UNDERGRADUATES’ CAREER CHOICE

Abstract

The study examined the predictability of social media modelling, mentoring and parental support on undergraduates' career choice. Two hundred and twenty-five undergraduates drawn from Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, participated in the study. Participants comprised of 100 male and 125 female undergraduates within the ages of 20 – 31 (M = 25.69; SD = 5.39). They were selected through the convenience sampling technique. Three instruments, namely; the social media modelling inventory (SMMI), mentoring functions questionnaire (MFQ) and parental career related support scale (PCRSS) were used for data collection. The design of the study was cross-sectional survey design while data was analysed using hierarchical multiple regression statistic. Findings showed that social media modelling inversely predicted career choice of undergraduates while mentoring positively predicted career choice. However, parenting support did not significantly predict career choice. The study recommends, among others, that tertiary institution and other educations institutions should have active student advisers/counsellors who will work effectively to assist students make suitable career choices. This will help to reduce commonly mistakes that occur during career selection.