MOTIVATION FOR OCCUPATIONAL PREFERENCE AMONG STUDENTS OF REGIONAL MARITIME UNIVERSITY ACCRA GHANA

ABSTRACT The research was aimed at determining the factors that motive the occupational preference of Regional Maritime University Students. The purpose of doing this was to use the information generated to proffer counselling information for counsellors, parents and other stake holders. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 305 undergraduate students as sample for the study using a Cross-sectional Survey Design. A standardized test; ‘Motivation for Occupational Preference Scale’ by Bakare was used to elicit information from the respondents. Data was analyzed using Independent samples t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the results revealed that in general extrinsic values relatively influence Regional Maritime University students’ occupational preferences more than intrinsic values. Both Ghanaian and international students were influenced equally by extrinsic and intrinsic values. There was also no significant sex difference in the influence of extrinsic factors. The findings also indicated that there was no significant difference in the influence of extrinsic factors on the occupational preferences of students from the different programmes but there was a significant difference in the intrinsic factors that influence the occupational preferences of students from the different programmes. The fact that came out from the findings was that, extrinsic values were relatively more important to students’ occupational preferences more than intrinsic values. It was recommended that counsellors should ensure that students view their prospective occupations realistically in terms of determining the compatibility between the individual’s values and the attributes of the preferred occupation.