School Counselling Services and Career Decision-Making Among SS3 Students in Osun State

This study assesses the role of school counselling services in career decision-making among SS3 students in Osun State, South West Nigeria. The transition from secondary school to tertiary education or the labour market is a critical juncture for Nigerian adolescents, yet career guidance services in public secondary schools remain underfunded and underutilised. The study employs a descriptive survey design, involving 310 SS3 students from eight schools across Osogbo and Ife North Local Government Areas. A structured counselling services utilisation questionnaire and the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire were adapted for use in the Nigerian secondary school context. Data were analysed using chi-square tests and logistic regression. Findings indicate that students who regularly accessed school counselling services demonstrated higher levels of career decision-making readiness and experienced fewer information-related decision barriers. A significant proportion of students reported unawareness of available counselling services, pointing to a gap in school-level promotion of counselling provisions. Female students showed greater willingness to seek career guidance than their male counterparts. These findings align with social cognitive career theory, which identifies information access and self-efficacy as central to effective career decision-making. The Osun State Ministry of Education is advised to increase the ratio of qualified counsellors to students in public secondary schools and mandate career guidance sessions for all SS3 students during the third term. Keywords: school counselling, career decision-making, secondary school, Osun State, guidance services.