Awareness and Perception of Secondary School Students Towards Choosing Horticulture as A Career

Abstract

This research examines the awareness and perception of senior secondary student towards horticulture as a profession in Oyo State, (A case study of Ibadan South East Local Government). One hundred (100) questionnaires were administered and all were retrieved. Purposive sampling techniques was used for data collection, and descriptive statistics such as frequency table, bar chart graph was used to analyze the objectives while inferential statistics such as regression analysis and t-test was used to test for its significance. It is revealed in the result that majority of the respondent were between 10-15years of age, also majority of the students were in SS2 which indicates the set time for them to choose a career path that would usher them into the next stage of learning. Furthermore, the gender findings revealed that 34% were male, while 66% were female. This result clearly shows that the profitability of horticulture is not gender-based. Lastly, majority of the respondents have good perceptions towards horticulture as a profession and aware of its benefits and profitability, which would result to a progressive effect on the capacity building of the horticultural sector. This s survey shows that horticulture stands the chance of having a new generation of professionals.