Critical Discourse Analysis of Gender Representations in Career Guidance Materials Used in South East Nigerian Secondary Schools

Career guidance materials function not only as informational tools but as ideological texts that reproduce or challenge gendered career norms, with significant implications for students' vocational identity formation. This study applied critical discourse analysis (CDA) to examine gender representations in career guidance materials used in secondary schools in South East Nigeria. A qualitative document analysis design was used, analysing 42 career guidance textbooks, pamphlets, and curriculum guides currently in use across Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia, and Ebonyi States. Fairclough's three-dimensional CDA framework was applied, examining textual, discursive practice, and social practice dimensions. Findings revealed systematic patterns of gendered occupational stereotyping, with female-directed materials consistently emphasising nurturing professions such as nursing and teaching, while male materials centred on engineering, business, and law. Language analysis revealed differential frequency and quality of agency attributed to male and female career exemplars. Ideological assumptions embedded in occupational descriptions reflected historical patriarchal norms that constrain female vocational imagination. Critically, materials produced within the last five years showed only marginal improvement in gender balance. The study provides an original discursive critique of guidance materials as gendered ideological artefacts and makes a methodological contribution by applying CDA to Nigerian guidance curriculum research. Recommendations included a national review and re-authoring of career guidance materials with gender-equity criteria and counsellor training in critical gender-aware guidance practice. Keywords: critical discourse analysis, gender representation, career guidance materials, South East Nigeria, counselling curriculum.