AN EXAMINATION ON THE IMPACTS OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND TRANSITION RATE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

Guidance and counseling is a professional discipline that encompasses a wide variety of activities and services intended at supporting people in better understanding themselves, others, and their educational environment, as well as developing the ability to change appropriately. Individuals confront issues, obstacles, and conflict situations as they go through life stages and educational achievement. According to Braddock and Barake (2011), the objective of guidance and counseling in schools is to enhance academic performance, to create good study attitudes and habits, to boost the acquisition and application of conflict resolution skills, and to lower school dropout rates. According to Herman and Hannah (2009), guidance and counseling services are intended to assist persons experiencing psychological distress in changing their behavior willingly and enabling them to make good future choices, clarifying their thoughts, perceptions, attitudes, and aspirations. The fundamental goal of a guidance and counseling department at a school is to offer a comprehensive range of personnel services to students. Denga and Almone (2011) defined these services as a "cluster of institutionalized educational services created by the school to help students in achieving the self-knowledge or self-understanding essential for them to fulfill their maximum potential for self-development and self-realization." These services include student assessment, information, counseling, placement, orientation, referral, follow-up and evaluation, and research. Appraisal services include the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data about pupils in order to help them better understand themselves. Additionally, it provides counsellors and significant others with insight into kids' strengths and limitations. The information service is geared on providing students with vital information in the areas of education, employment, and personal and social development. This knowledge is critical because it enables kids to make sound life choices (Denga & Almone, 2011). Counseling is a one-on-one encounter between a counselor and a student in which the student is aided in overcoming hurdles to academic, career, personal-social, and other life needs. The placement service's mission is to help students in transitioning to the next stage of growth, whether in school or on the work. The orientation program is aimed to acclimate new students to their surroundings. It is the process of introducing a person to a work or learning scenario and teaching him on the applicable rules, regulations, and obligations as a means of acclimating him to the new environment. The referral function enables the school counselor to recommend instances that he or she is unable to manage to experts such as clinical psychologists, medical practitioners, and others. The follow-up and assessment service is intended to discover the degree to which the school's earlier guidance program is accomplishing the goals for which it was developed, as well as to monitor students' development in their jobs. Academic performance refers to a student's ability to successfully complete assigned activities and studies (Scortts Maline 2012). According to Ward, Stocker, and Murray-Ward (2006), academic performance refers to the consequence of education; the degree to which a student, teacher, or institution achieves its educational objectives. Academic performance is defined as the capacity to learn and recall information, as well as the ability to transmit one's knowledge vocally or in writing (Answers, 2010). Academic performance is a term that refers to the degree to which pupils have mastered the goals of the topics they study in school. Academic performance in school subjects, particularly mathematics and English language, has been found among secondary school pupils (Aremu and Sokan 2003). Secondary school students' low academic performance may be attributed to a range of causes, including student incapacity to manage their time, peer influence, and familial problems. Parents, instructors, curriculum specialists, professionals, and assessors have voiced grave worry over pupils' declining performance on public tests. Guidance also assists kids in building good study habits, motivation, detecting learning or subject-related challenges, recognizing the value of school years in life and the future, developing skills, the proper attitude, and interests to aid in job selection. Thus, guidance and counseling contribute to each student's entire development. This demonstrates the need of every teacher developing into a guidance-minded educator as they carry out their responsibilities with the goal of making a difference in their students' lives. Thus, the purpose of this research was to determine the effect of guidance and counseling on secondary school students' academic performance and transition rate.

1.2 Statement of the problem

The Federal Government of Nigeria required in its 2004 National Policy on Education that all states include guidance and counseling programs into their school curricula. Yet one is dismayed at the sluggish pace with which the majority of state governments have implemented this critical education policy. This is shown by the fact that just 70 of the state's 2001 public secondary schools are required to have professional guidance counselors (Aremu and Sokan 2003). Inadequate academic performance among secondary school pupils is cause for worry, since it has a detrimental effect on different programs. It is alarming for stakeholders to watch pupils continue to do badly academically despite the multiple ways in which they are steered by their instructors or parents. This seems to be due to the students' unwillingness to follow established norms and regulations. Despite the availability of guidance and counseling services in both households and schools, there is still a high level of indiscipline among pupils, which has an impact on their academic achievement.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The general objective of the study is to examine the impact of guidance and counselling on the academic performance and transition rate of secondary school students. Specifically, the study seeks to:

i.          To ascertain the availability of guidance and counselling services in secondary schools.

ii.        To find out the benefit of guidance and counselling services on students’ academic performance.

iii.      To examinethe influence of guidance and counselling services on transition rate of State students to higher institutions.

iv.      To examine the extent at which students uses the guidance and counselling services in secondary schools.

1.4 Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for the study

i.          Is  there an availability of guidance and counselling services in secondary schools?

ii.        What is the benefit of guidance and counselling services on students’ academic performance?

iii.      What is the influence of guidance and counselling services on transition rate of State students to higher institutions?

iv.      What is the extent at which students uses the guidance and counselling services in secondary schools?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study will be significant to the ministry of education as it will guide the government for adequate plans and budgetary allocations for effective guidance and counselling services in secondary schools. It will also help them to recognize the need for training and recruitment of more professional counsellors into the schools.

This study will be of benefit to the school administrators, the findings of the study will enable them appreciate the importance of guidance and counselling services in the schools thereby giving the counselors all the necessary support they need to discharge their counselling duties effectively.

The study will be significant to the academic community as it will contribute to the existing literature.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The study will` ascertain the availability of guidance and counselling services in secondary schools. The study will also find out the benefit of guidance and counselling services on students’ academic performance. The study will further examine the influence of guidance and counselling services on transition rate of State students to higher institutions. Lastly, the study will examine the extent at which students uses the guidance and counselling services in secondary schools. Hence the study will be delimited to Osun State

1.7 Limitation of the study

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, and interview), which is why the researcher resorted to a moderate choice of sample size. More so, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. As a result, the amount of time spent on research will be reduced.

1.8 Definition of terms

Guidance and counselling: an advice or a relevant piece of information provided by a superior, to resolve a problem or overcome from difficulty

Academic performance: the measurement of student achievement across various academic subjects

Transition rate: a key property of a multi-state stochastic system

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