Study of Career Guidance Needs of Senior Secondary School Students in Adamawa State

Effective career guidance is essential for adolescents navigating post-secondary educational and occupational pathways, yet formal career counselling services in North East Nigerian schools remain inadequate and poorly tailored to student needs. This study assessed the career guidance needs of Senior Secondary School students in Adamawa State, North East Nigeria. A needs assessment survey design was adopted, with a validated Career Guidance Needs Inventory administered to 350 SS2 and SS3 students from eight government secondary schools in Yola North, Girei, and Lamurde LGAs, selected through multistage sampling. Data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, and mean ratings. Findings revealed that 78.9 percent of students had not received any formal career guidance at school. The most highly rated unmet needs were information about post-secondary educational options (84.6 percent), understanding personal aptitudes and interests (77.4 percent), and knowledge of occupational requirements (73.1 percent). Only 31.4 percent of schools in the sample had a functioning guidance counsellor's office. Gender differences were observed, with female students expressing stronger needs for information on non-traditional career options. Students from rural schools reported significantly more unmet guidance needs than urban counterparts (p < 0.05). The study concludes that career guidance provision in Adamawa State secondary schools is critically insufficient. Recommendations include mandatory deployment of trained guidance counsellors to all secondary schools, curriculum-integrated career education modules, and state-level career resource centres accessible to both students and parents. Keywords: career guidance, secondary school students, Adamawa State, guidance counsellor, career development needs