CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Worldwide, students experience social, personal and academic problems at schools and at homes. The problems include living in distressed family, for example, where parents are separated or divorced, where conflicts occur and where disease such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Deficiency Syndrome(HIV/AIDs) are rampant. These problems negatively affect the students in their school endevours.
The problem of Adolescents in the Schools
Robinson (1991) states that ‘’Social experimentation in drugs and sexual relationship have some causalities among students”. A good number of student engage in drug, prostitution, truancy, indiscipline and other misdemeanours (Robinson 1991). The outcome of the above problems is summarized by Lines and Davies (2003), who view the school as bee hive of activities where teenage difficulties and peer group tension arise. In the light of these problems, schools should be more involved in conducting students’ need assessments and developing comprehensive guidance and counselling services (Kameam, et al 1980). Related to the above is Elkind’s (1990:17) argument that schools should move into a leadership role in dealing with the emotional and family problems of their students.
Nziramanzaga (2009) posits that because of many pressures imposed on the families, parents tend to have little time with their children to give them the necessary guidance. The parents expect the school to provide solutions to their children’s indiscipline in secondary schools.
Paisdly (2001) calls for schools guidance and counselling to be restructured so that they become responsive to the existing social economic and political realities within today’s complex and diverse society.
Research has demonstrated high prevalence of risk taking behaviour among adolescents who attend school in Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State. Okechukwu Obianugu (2010). Students in the adolescent age bracket experience rapid growth and changes, physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially (Robinson, Linderman 1991) found that rapid developmental changes occur at a time when environmental stress occur. For example parents and teachers pressures on young people to excel in school, peer pressure to experiment with drug, conflict in families or poor relationship, loneliness and pressure to make career choices are at peak.
According to Gysbers, N.C. & Henderson, P. (2001) it seems as though many educators take it for granted that students know how to succeed in life, when in fact many never learn about attitude, behaviours and other factors that contribute to success in life; and guidance and counselling services to student to cultivate attitude and behaviours leading to success in life is very important. Otwell and Mullis (1999) believe that guidance and counselling is important in schools because it increases behaviour related to achievements such as studying effectively.
In rural areas of some of the villages in Udenu Local Government, for example, many students drop out of school as a result of poor performance in academic grade and failure to adjust to high school learning situations. A student who loses confidence in his or her ability and who devalues himself lacks concentration and this leads to academic failure. Rectondoki,(2001).
Guidance Counselling and the Domains of Learning
The provision of guidance and counselling should address the following three domains of learning, namely: Personal Social, Vocational career and educational guidance and counselling.
Personal social guidance and counselling deals with self identity, social skills relationships, conflicts resolution, personal loss and other problems; Vocational career counselling includes information about course, requirements, post secondary or tertiary institutions, career path, planning, potential employers and job hunting; Education guidance and counselling provides information about educational opportunities beyond schools; promotion and achievement, learning strategies and studies and test taking skills. (Graham- Migel 1999) reiterated that comprehensive school guidance and counselling services address the development need of students in secondary schools in the three domains of learning mentioned above. It will also provide the information needed by students in order to weigh the value of the guidance and counselling services which the school offer them.
Research Questions.
The following research questions were put forward to guide the study.
i. Do secondary schools in Udenu Local Government have adequate and qualified school guidance and counsellors?
ii. Are the guidance and counselling facilities in secondary schools in Udenu Local Government Area adequate in number and quality?
iii. What are the guidance and counselling services provided by secondary schools in Udenu Local Government Area?
iv. What are the obstacles to effective guidance and counselling services in Udenu Local Government?
Scope of the study:
The research limits the topical coverage of the study to the assessment of guidance and counseling services offered within secondary schools in Udenu Local Government Area.
Definition of Terms
a. Assessment: Euvrard, G. (1996) describe assessment as any effort to gather, analyse and interpret. The study sought to access whether guidance and counselling services in the schools are as effective as expected.
b. Evaluate: Kansayara (2005) defines it as the judgement of the quality of something. In this study it is the making of judgement about the worthiness or effectiveness of school guidance and counselling services.
c. Effectiveness: Rund ell (2002) describes it as working well and producing the desired result. In this study it is the extent to which the guidance and counselling personnel’s in secondary schools in Udenu Local Government Area are accomplishing desired results.
d. Guidance: Rund ell (2002) defines guidance as advice about what one should do or how one should behave. In this study, it is a process of assisting individuals to help themselves through their own effort, to discover and develop their own potentials for personal fulfillment and social usefulness.
Summary
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