CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Guidance and Counselling can be said to be one of those social practices which the school found useful to inherit and eventually to transform and incorporate a unique segment of a wholesome educational programme. Guidance is viewed from various perspective of different people resulting in varieties of definition. Traditionally, Ipaye (1985) sees guidance as a quasi parental style of steering the chid towards behaviour or decision deemed to be his own good. This definition implies that a mature mind is one to take wise and realistic decisions on his own. Also Shetzer and Stone (1976) defined guidance as a process of helping individual to understand themselves and their world. This means that guidance is a continuous assistance to people to rediscover themselves, that is, their strength and weaknesses in order to achieve their life goals within the frame work of their environmental forces.

Furthermore, from the definition, guidance could be seen as a help given to individuals not once but from cradle to death. Such help enable the people or person to identify his life goals, means of achieving them and problems militating against his/her reaching his goals, while Oladele (1906) sees guidance as an umbrella term which refers to guiding and protecting the development of students.

While counselling according to Thompson Popper (1972) sees it as a person to person relationship in which one person helps another to solve an era of conflict, that has been hitherto resolve in this view Biocher (1966) defined counselling as helping an individual become aware of himself and the ways in which he is reacting to the behavioural influence of his environment. It further helps him to establish some personal meaning for his behaviour and to become a person who is able to handle further difficulties.

Guidance and Counselling as an educational concept, is seen as an educational programme of a school, it refers to that group of specialised services which a school provides to enrich the educational experience of each pupil (Cox, 1938).

However, the complex and sophisticated nature of an community demands on students, made it necessary to introduced Guidance and Counselling services in our educational system. This will aid to solve vocational, educational and personal-social problems of the students making them well adjusted to meet with the expectations of our time.

However, because of this complexity and sophisticated nature of our community demands on students made the nationality on education (NPE) (FME, 2004) section 9, subsection 89 (i) identified Guidance and Counselling as educational services that will facilitate the implementation of educational policy. And at the same time and the attainment of the policy goal as well as promote effectiveness of educational system. According to the policy document, the objectives of the school Guidance and Counselling programme include:

1. Provision of information to school children about career prospects. Career simply means one’s life work. According to section 4 subsection 20 (b) the secondary education shall offer diversified curriculum to cater for the differences in talents, opportunities and future roles. The school guidance programme is expected to identify aptitude of the learners or students in order to channel them adequately into their area of proficiency.
2. For effective implementation of the educational policy. School guidance programme should help to provide should help to provide information on the cognitive and more importantly that affective and psychomotor component of learners behaviour according to Igborgbor (2006) there is a gap on the effectiveness of Nigerian education on the heart of the learners. The points that Nigeria educational should be repositioned towards reconstruction of the Nigerian organism. School guidance programme is expected to provide services which will touch the heart of Nigerian. The guidance counsellor should be able to develop instruments that can evaluate the ‘heart’ and ‘hand’ of learners.
3. School guidance should seek to achieve equal opportunity by discovering learner’s difficulties and making for individual differences. The philosophy of Nigerian education as captioned on section1, sub section 4 (c) stipulates that “there is need for equality of educational opportunities to all Nigerian disabilities, each according to his or her ability.
4. School guidance programme must maximize personality adjustment of learners. It should be revealed that secondary school pupils are between the age of 11 years and 18 years. This age bracket makes the beginning and the height of adolescence. A lot of personality maladjustment is evident in the life of the adolescent. This ranges from sex life and drug usage. Its the role of school guidance programme to monitor children at this age so as to properly address life pattern of this stage.
5. Finally, guidance programme are expected to address school community life. The school counsellor plays vital role in the school P.T.A programmes. The counsellor should initiate programmes that will bring parents to witness the activities of their children and wards. Programmes like open day, P.T.A meetings, etc. Should be organised by the counsellor for the achievement of the goal of education.

Centuries ago, when formal education or schooling was introduced, there was originally no attempt made by school authorities to introduced Guidance and Counselling as part of the educational programme, before the commencement of formal or organised guidance services in Nigeria, Nigerians had means of solving their problems through what is today known as “traditional guidance”. Nigerian’s are known to be their brothers’ keepers who feel concerned in seeking means of helping one another out of problem situations. Priests, teachers, principals, elders, fortune tellers, priests, title holders and friends have been known to be instruments of helping people to overcome their social, personal, educational and occupational problems. These “guidance person” used their wealth of knowledge, the confidence on their age, experiences and status to advise the individual in his problem.

It is generally accepted that in Nigeria, the organised or formal guidance started in 1959 at St Theresa’s college, Oke- Ado in Ibadan by some Reverend sisters out of sympathy and concern for the products of their school. They felt that these secondary school leavers would have problems in seeking for admission for further studies, looking for employment and adjusting to the hard conditions in the society after living school, they saw the need for proper Guidance and Counselling for the products of their school.

Consequently, the sisters invited twenty educated people from the Ibadan community who were in different professions and therefore knew more about the emerging world of work than the students and the sisters. They were to advise the sisters on how to place sixty of their out-going students of the year in various jobs. Fifty-four out of sixty students benefited from the expert advice. Though not trained counsellors, this group of advisers later in 1962 came together to form the Ibadan career council. Some other career council of cities sprang up in different parts of the country which later merged to form the nucleus of the Nigerian career council inaugurated in 1967 with headquarters at Ibadan. The council organised series of talks, workshops, symposia and interviews for teachers, principals, education officers, school leavers and others to expose them to vocational thoughts. The activities of the council helped in small way in the growth and development of Guidance and Counselling in Nigeria.

Furthermore, when the first conscious efforts to introduce Guidance and Counselling in the school system was then centred only on the needs of the student about to graduate from high school. During that period, guidance was define as the process of assisting the individual to choose a vocation, prepare for it, and progress in it (Parson, 1909). Biocher (1966) defined counselling as helping an individual become aware of himself and the ways in which he is reacting to the behavioural influence of his environment. It further helps him to establish some and to become a person who is able to handle further difficulties. As years rolled by, the concept of guidance progressively broadened its scope becoming larger and its orientation expanding beyond concern for the vocation. As the year rolled by however, the concept of guidance progressively broadened its scope, becoming larger and its orientation expanding beyond concern for the vocational department of students. The service of Guidance and Counselling expanded to include effort at helping students, adults to their present life situation in and outside the school and to plan towards their general future students to acquire as early as possible a positive image of self through self understanding and self direction and also using appropriate and useful information, generally, this will help them to be well informed vocationally and to be self fulfilled citizens.

Formal guidance services are more than five decade old in Nigeria it is therefore, pathetic to note that Guidance and Counselling services are still not been effectively implemented in the secondary schools, because till now, it is seen in Nigeria that most school heads do not recognise and appreciate school counsellors. They feel they can fully take good care of the student’s affairs both academically, socially, emotionally and otherwise, therefore, they do not see the need for counsellors in the school system.

Nevertheless, this becomes a tremendous problem for students whoa re facing a lot of issues in terms of maladjustment, career choice, choice of subjects, etc. Because they do not have any one or a professional trained personnel and counsellors to talk to. However, even when there are counsellors, most students avoid them, they do not visit the counsellors for advice, students choose subjects on their own, and afterwards, they find themselves having problems with their grades. For example, some students who are good in art subject, find themselves in sciences because their parents want them to be in the sciences of they feel their parents would be more proud of them. This situation is a more rampart problem among our secondary school students today.

Statement of the Problem

Though practical experience, the researcher observed that students in secondary schools are still challenged with the problem of career choice, and choice of subjects for further studies. This time around it seems that the rate of secondary school drop-outs have increased, examination malpractices become the order of the day, also juvenile delinquency, drug addiction, poor school performance, alcoholism, shortage of skilled manpower from un-employment and mass movement rural to urban area and finally adjustment to school environment.              

The above mentioned problem can be easily eliminated by proper Guidance and Counselling but the first is that Guidance and Counselling services are not effectively implemented in most of the secondary schools. Therefore problem of this study is what are the factors hindering the effective implementation of Guidance and Counselling services in secondary schools in Asaba Oshimiil South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Research Questions

The following research questions will help to guide the study:

1. To what extent is inadequate funding a constraint to the implementation of Guidance and Counselling services?
2. To what does inadequate guidance facilities a constraint to effective implementation of guidance and counselling services
3. To what extent does inadequate co-operation or attitude of principals and teaches affect the effective implementation of Guidance and Counselling services?
4. To what extent does inadequate time factor affect the implementation of Guidance and Counselling services?

Research Hypothesis

1. There is no significant relationship between inadequate funding of guidance services and effective implementation of Guidance and Counselling services  
2. There is no significant relationship between inadequate guidance facilities and effective implementation of Guidance and Counselling services
3. There is no significant relationship between the attitude of teachers and principals in the effective implementation of Guidance and Counselling services  
4. There is no significant relationship between inadequate time factor and the effective implementation of Guidance and Counselling services.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to find out the constraints to effective implementation of Guidance and Counselling in Oshimili Local Government Area of Delta State. Specifically the study will investigate the following:

1. Examine if there are adequate provision of guidance facilities in secondary schools in Asaba Urban area.
2. Ascertain if there are enough trained and qualified counsellors to implement guidance and counselling services in secondary schools
3. Determine if government adequately fund the Guidance and Counselling services in secondary schools
4. To also find out whether principals and teachers have positive attitude towards Guidance and Counselling services in their schools

Significance of the Study

The findings will provide basic information on how the programme is being carried out and the attitude of teachers and principals towards the programme. The study will be of great significance to students, educators, government, parents as well as counsellors themselves.

1. As for the students, it will help them to adjust to new changes of life, be useful to themselves and society at large.
2. As for the educators, it will help them to live in peace and harmony between the authority and counsellors leading to good result and atmosphere.
3. As for the government, the study will also help them in the sense that they will be able to represent and work towards the growth of the nation
4. As for the parents and society, they will benefit a lot because the children will behave well and they well be useful to their parents and society at large. This is because knowledge is wealth, a well informed youth builds a solid and reliable society
5. Lastly, the counsellors will also benefit because they will be recognised and they will exercise their duties satisfactorily.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The scope of study is to focus on the constraint to effective implementation of Guidance and Counselling services in secondary schools in Asaba Urban area of Delta State with reference to counsellors funding, time, guidance and counselling equipments or facilities and staffs attitude to Guidance and Counselling services.

Operational Definition of Terms

Constraints to Effective Implementation of Guidance and Counselling in Oshimili Local Government area: this refers to factors that act as a barrier to the implementation of Guidance and Counselling in Oshimili Local Government Area.

Ascertain: to find out the truth or current information about something            

Juvenile Delinquency: this refers to a young person who is not yet an adult that if guilty of committing a crime.

Implementation: refers to making something that has been officially decided start to happen or be used.

Steering: refers to controlling a situation and influence the way in which it develops

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