Predictors of Science Career Aspiration Among Senior Secondary Students in South West Nigeria: A Multi-School Study

This study investigated predictors of science career aspiration among senior secondary students across the South West geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Understanding the factors that propel or constrain students toward science career trajectories is fundamental to designing interventions that expand the scientific and technical workforce. A descriptive predictive design was employed. A stratified sample of 600 SS3 students was drawn from secondary schools across Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo States. Instruments included a Science Career Aspiration Scale, a Science Self-Efficacy Inventory, a Parental Influence Survey, and a Teacher Mentoring Quality Scale. All instruments were validated with reliability coefficients above 0.78. Structural Equation Modelling was used to identify direct and indirect predictors. Results revealed that science self-efficacy was the strongest direct predictor of science career aspiration, followed by teacher mentoring quality and parental science-career support. Gender moderated the self-efficacy pathway, with female students requiring higher self-efficacy thresholds before career aspiration effects materialised. Socioeconomic status showed indirect effects mediated through self-efficacy. The study fills a geographic gap in the Nigerian science career literature and recommends targeted self-efficacy interventions, teacher career mentoring training, and parent engagement programmes in the South West's secondary schools. Keywords: science career aspiration, self-efficacy, South West Nigeria, teacher mentoring, secondary students.