Parents’ influence on career choices and academics vary among individuals, depending on the parent’s literacy.
Literate parents
Growing up with an educated parent/ward often positively impacts a child’s academic life. Most children from educated homes are usually well catered for and are guided rightly towards becoming successful academics through tools such as hiring a tutor, textbooks, reading aids, and personal tutoring from parents and elder siblings. This opportunity gives the child an edge in academics and helps ease the child through the rigours of academic life.
Similarly, as the parents and wards significantly impact the child’s academics, they also directly or indirectly try to influence their ward’s career choices, either modelled towards their career path or career choices that are trending and respectable in their society. Most individuals from homes where their parent’s jobs are career inclined often follow similar career paths.
Parents/guardians that are not literate
Children who grew up in homes where the parent or guardian is uneducated are often left on their own regarding academics. There are instances when some parents would try to guide their children through their academic journey by providing the required resources.
However, in most cases, the child is influenced by their school environment, peers, school teachers, and a personal drive to succeed academically. The academic journey of a child whose parents are not literate is more challenging. Some end up derailing, and some may not advance past a particular level(mostly secondary school).
There is a rising need to properly guide the academic journey of young children in the modern age and to seek the highest level of education available in the country.
In summary, an individual’s career choices are greatly influenced by the environment in which they are raised and the people involved in their growth process.
Had a good read.
It’s true that parents most of the time play a huge part in the career choices of their wards.
I feel there should be some kind of enlightenment for parents that are not so educated to try to give their wards the best of education and not the “Since I didn’t go to school, You won’t go to school” that’s rampant nowadays.
Awesome take here
While te take is mostly true, some non-literate parents actually go the extra mile to make sure their children get the education they did not get. That is usually met with challenges including their helplessness when some needs arise.
My parents had GCE after their secondary education which as at that time seemed like a “high-enough” qualification for them to get decent jobs.
Apparently the demands for qualification has increased from what it used to be with the number of graduates the country produces every year.
I am grateful that my parents made it a point of duty for all their children including me to get the education they never got. They got extra help in areas they could not fill due to their own incapacities.
Like someone suggested, there remains a need to sensitize more uneducated parents on the importance of education and other aids they can explore for their children to fill their incapacities.