A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING SERVICES EFFECT ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN IKENNE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literatures that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.

Precisely, the chapter will be considered in three sub-headings:

• Conceptual Framework
• Theoretical Framework
• Empirical Review

2.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Guidance and Counselling

According to Oviogbodu (2015) counselling can be defined as a number of procedures in assisting an individual to solve his problems. Counselling is more involved emotionally in the affective realm personalized learning, that is, emotions and feelings, values, attitudes. Counselling is an interaction or relationship between two or few individuals, the client counsellor relationship of trust (Geshinde 1991; Adebowale, 2012; cited in Oviogbodu, 2015). Counselling is a learning process in which a counsellor helps an individual or individuals learn, understand themselves and their environment and be in a position to choose the right type of behaviours that will help them develop, grow, progress, ascend, mature and step up, educationally, vocationally and socio personally, (Egbo, 2013). In other words, counselling is

a transformative process of helping people to learn all that are to be learnt both in and outside the School. Counselling is a person-to-person process in which one person is helped by another to develop, increase in understanding and ability to solve his or her problems. Sometimes it could involve a group of two or more persons. Consequent on the discussion it is important to highlight the benefits of Guidance and Counselling to students in the school programme. In guidance and counselling, these two words generally take on different meanings. The former refers to helping students’ whole-person development, while the latter is frequently targeted at helping students with problems. In other words, guidance work is preventive and developmental in nature whereas counselling is more of supportive, remedial work (LaiYeung, 2014). The global trend seems to have moved from a casework and remedial approach to a preventive, developmental approach in providing guidance and counselling (Gysbers & Henderson, 1994; Yuen, 2002; Lai-Yeung, 2014). Hence guidance and counselling is a very necessary therapy to school children. Guidance in schools is that area of the schools provision that is specifically directed towards helping pupils realise their full potential in preparing for adult and working life, (O’Concubhair, 1981). Akinade (2012) defines guidance and counselling as a process of helping an individual become fully aware of his/her self and the ways in which he is responding to the influences of his/her environment. It further assists him to establish some personal meaning for this behaviour and to develop and classify a set of goals and values for future behaviour.

Benefits of the School Counseling Program for Students

Prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century through academic, career, and

personal / social development.

2. Relates educational program to future success.

3. Facilitates career exploration and development.

4. Develops decision-making and problem solving skills.

5. Assists in acquiring knowledge of self and others.

6. Enhances personal development.

7. Assists in developing effective interpersonal relationship skills.

8. Broadens knowledge of our changing world.

9. Provides advocacy for students.

10. Encourages facilitative, co-operative peer interactions.

11. Fosters resiliency factors for students.

12. Assures equitable access to educational opportunities.

School Guidance Counsellors’ Areas of Work

In 1981 the Cork branch of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors produced a job description for school Guidance Counsellors listing their areas of work. The School Guidance Counsellor;

1. Counsels individual students and provides group education and vocational guidance.

2. Assists individual students with personal problems; social, emotional etc.

3. Assists with personal development.

4. Advises on study techniques.

5. Advises on job applications and interviews.

6. May engage in psychological testing and other testing.

7. May refer students to other agencies.

8. May co-ordinate a school system of pastoral care.

9. Is responsible for the compilation and availability of occupational information.

10. Enjoys freedom and flexibility in the organisation of counselling activities according to the needs of the school.

Further to this the report designated four major work areas for the School Counsellor ;

Individual Counselling; Group Guidance; Occupational Information; Psychological Testing, (I.G.C. Journal, Spring 1981).

Aims of guidance and counselling in schools

The aims of guidance and counseling service in schools is to assist the student in

fulfilling his / her basic physiological needs, understanding themselves and developing associations with peers, balancing between permissiveness and controls in the school setting, realizing successful achievement, and providing opportunities to gain independence (Heyden, 2011). The purpose of guidance and counselling therefore provides emphasis and strength to educational programs. Some specific aims of the school guidance and counselling program includes the following (Gibson, 2009 cited in Lunenburg, 2010):

To Provide for the Realization of Student Potentialities:

To all students, the school offers a wide choice of courses and co-curricular activities. A significant function of education is to help students identify and develop their potentialities. The counsellor’s role is to assist students to distribute their energies into the many learning opportunities available to them. Every student needs help in planning his major course of study and pattern of co-curricular activities.

To Help Children with Developing Problems:

Even those students who have chosen an appropriate educational program for themselves may have problems that require help. A teacher may need to spend from one fifth to one-third of his time with a few pupils who require a great deal of help, which deprives the rest of the class from the teacher's full attention to their needs. The counsellor, by helping these youngsters to resolve their difficulties, frees the classroom teacher to use his time more efficiently.

To Contribute to the Development of the School's Curriculum: Counsellors, in working with individual students, know their personal problems and aspirations, their talents and abilities, as well as the social pressures confronting them. Counsellors, therefore, can provide data that serve as a basis for curriculum development, and they can help curriculum developers shape courses of study that more accurately reflect the needs of students. Too often, counsellors are not included in curriculum development efforts.

To Provide Teachers with Technical Assistance:

Pre-service teacher training institutions typically provide very limited experience with the more technical aspects of guidance work. Thus, a need exists in most schools for assistance with guidance and counselling functions essential to the educational program. Specifically, the guidance counsellor is qualified to assist teachers with selecting, administering, and interpreting tests; selecting and using cumulative, anecdotal, and other types of records; providing help and suggestions relative to counselling techniques, which teachers can use in counselling their students; and providing leadership in developing and conducting professional development of teachers in guidance functions.

To Contribute to the Mutual Adjustment of Students and the School:

Guidance has a responsibility for developing and maintaining a cooperative relationship between students and the school. Teachers and counsellors must be cognizant of students’ needs. Students also must make adjustments to the school. They have a responsibility to contribute something to the school. A major contribution of students is that of making appropriate use of the school's resources and working toward accomplishments. Such mutual adjustment of students and school is facilitated by providing suggestions for program improvements, conducting research for educational improvements, contributing to students' adjustment through counselling, and fostering wholesome school-home attitudes.

Role of Guidance and Counselling in Schools

The roles of guidance and counselling programme is to bring about the maximum development and self-realization of human potential for the benefit of the individual and society. Makinde (1984) observes that the school counsellor is concerned with facilitating the optimum development of students. This is supported by Bennars (1994); Mutie and Ndambuki (2000) and Ndirangu (2007) who argue that the programme is supposed todevelop the learner’s intellectual abilities, develop a balanced personality and to have a complete person intellectually, spiritually, morally and socially. Guidance and counsellingprogramme is therefore aimed at assisting students to harmonize their abilities, interests and values, thereby enabling them to develop their potential fully. Self-knowledge helps one toformulate life goals and plans which are realistic. In schools, there is need for students to make proper subject and career choices after the four year course in the Universities, Six education programs in both Primary and Secondary as it relates to Nigeria education system. Borrow (1983) observes that it is the role of guidance and counselling programme to provide the students with the necessary information about the courses availability and the qualifications required for each course. Such information will assist students develop realistic self-concept according to their academic capabilities. Most secondary school students are in the adolescent stage. According to Robert and Elizabeth (1983), during this time, adolescent experience alienation which is a syndrome comprising of distrust, anxiety, pessimism, egocentrism, meaninglessness, normlessness and powerlessness. They observe that guidance and counselling is therefore needed during this adolescence stage to assist them understand their developmental stage and adjust to school life. Guidance and counselling programme also help students choose and pursue achievable careers. According to Borrow (1983) the world is highly complex and dynamic which makes career choice very difficult. He reckons that time change, people change, technology progresses and these challenges everyone to change to new ways of living and working. The students need guidance and counselling programs to inform them about various jobs and openings available, the qualification required plus the responsibilities involved and the nature of the work so that they can decide and have clear occupational goals. The programme also plays the role of intercepting and assisting disadvantaged students and also checks on school drop-out. Makinde (1984) observes that one of the roles for school counsellor is to help students who are experiencing difficulties. Students from disadvantaged families of the society have many problems and needs which, are to be dealt with in guidance and counselling programme. Lindsay (1983) argues that such students may experience difficulty in adjustment with peers, teachers and the environment thus guidance programme helps such students to adjust and utilize the guidance facilities available fully. Majority of the disadvantaged students later acquire low qualifications for the world of work. This poor achievement may even marginalize them more if guidance programme does not intervene; some may even drop out of school, thus the guidance programme is well suited for assisting the students (Ndirangu, 2007).

Counselling Services-Types and Programmes

In the findings of the research study conducted by Bolu-Steve, et al., (2017), two major types of counselling were identified, they are individual counselling (face to face interaction between the professional counsellor and the client) and group counselling (this between the professional counsellor and clients who have similar concern). Other counselling services/ programmes in schools include:

Orientation Service:

This entails acquainting new students with the academic environment. The school is usually new to the students. An orientation activity helps the students to adjust to the new environment. At this point, students are exposed to the rules and regulation guiding behavior and interpersonal relationship within the school

Placement Service:

This involves placing students in an appropriate class or school, courses, training or vocations. The counselor assist the students to choose the right subject combination in line with their traits. This process is useful in carrying out the placement of these students into science, arts, commercial or technical class. The placement programmes also assist the graduating students to choose the right course at the University.

Counselling Service:

This is a face to face interaction between the counsellor and the client who has a challenge. Counselling in schools is aimed at assisting the students to live a more productive life and self-satisfying life style. The main focus of the school counselor is to facilitate needed educational growth among the students

Information Service:

The school guidance counsellor provides the students with accurate information on educational, vocational and personal social opportunities facts that are available in order to assist the students in making informed decision and choices.

Appraisal Service:

The appraisal of an individual is the value judgment arrived at, based on the result of the assessment of various relevant characteristics of the person. It involves the collection of data, analysis of subjective and objective personal and psychological data about a student. This gives a full understanding of these students and how they can be helped.

Follow-up Service:

It consists of activities which helps the counsellor to access if the client is coping after the counselling session. This could involve visit to other places like institutions and employment establishment. Follow up services is necessary for planning and evaluation purpose.

Evaluation Service:

This helps in assessing the effectiveness of the school counselling programmes. Data gathered from the evaluation process, enable the counsellor to improve, modify or suspend any service in the programme.

Referral Service:

This is the transferring a client to another professional counsellor or agency where their problem can be appropriately handled. These services are the fundamental basis of counselling programmes. All these services aimed at improving the academic standard of secondary school students.

The Importance of Guidance and Counselling Services in Schools

The aims of guidance and counseling service in schools is to assist the student in fulfilling his / her basic physiological needs, understanding themselves and developing associations with peers, balancing between permissiveness and controls in the school setting, realizing successful achievement, and providing opportunities to gain independence (Ebizie, et al., 2016).The importance of these services are presented by Bolu-Steve, et al., (2017) as

Development of students’ potentials:

It aids in planning effective study habit which in turn, enhances students’ academic competencies.

To help students with developing problems:

Counselling services are intervention process that are effective in dealing with student academic problems and at the same time foster healthy heterosexual relationship among the students.

Decision Making:

To help students make informed decision about their education.

Individuals have to know the choices that are available in subjects, curricula, schools or colleges to determine what exactly they want to pursue. They have to know subject

combinations or options, what the subject involves in the classroom, available courses and what are the future prospects of following a particular course, available schools and colleges that offer the desired programmes, admission requirements and educational opportunities.

Development of the School's Curriculum:

The professional Counsellors, provide data that serve as a basis for curriculum development, and they can help curriculum developers shape courses of study that more accurately reflect the needs of students. Too often, counsellors are not included in curriculum development efforts.

Offer of Technical Services:

A guidance counsellor is qualified to assist teachers with selecting, administering, and interpreting tests; selecting and using cumulative, anecdotal, and other types of records; providing help and suggestions relative to counselling techniques, which teachers can use in counselling their students; and providing leadership in developing and conducting professional development of teachers in guidance functions.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

The complexity of the academic performance starts from its conceptualization. Sometimes it is known as school readiness, academic achievement and school performance, but generally the difference in concepts are only explained by semantics as they are used as synonyms. Conventionally, it has been agreed that academic performance should be used in university populations and school performance in regular and alternative basic education populations. We will point out just a few because there is a diversity of definitions. Several authors agree that academic performance is the result of learning, prompted by the teaching activity by the teacher and produced by the student. From a humanistic approach, Martinez (2007) states that academic performance is “the product given by the students and it is usually expressed through school grades” (p. 34). Fifteen years ago, Pizarro (1985) referred to academic performance as a measure of the indicative and responsive abilities that express, in an estimated way, what a person has learned as a result of a process of education or training. For Caballero et al. (2007), academic performance involves meeting goals, achievements and objectives set in the program or course that a student attends. These are expressed through grades which are the result of an assessment that involves passing or not certain tests, subjects or courses. On their part, Torres and Rodríguez (2006 quoted by Willcox, 2011) define academic performance as the level of knowledge shown in an area or subject compared to the norm, and it is generally measured using the grade point average,

Purpose Of The School Or Academic Performance

This is to achieve an educational goal, learning. In this regard there are several components of the complex unit called performance. They are learning processes promoted by the school that involve the transformation of a given state, into a new state, and they are achieved with the integrity in a different unit with cognitive and structural elements. Performance varies according to circumstances, organic and environmental conditions that determine skills and experiences. The academic performance involves factors such as the intellectual level, personality, motivation, skills, interests, study habits, self-esteem or the teacher-student relationship. When a gap between the academic performance and the student’s expected performance occurs, it refers to a diverging performance. An unsatisfactory academic performance is the one that is below the expected performance. Sometimes it can be related to

teaching methods. (Marti, 2003, p. 376). To the present, the expansion of educational opportunities in Latin America has not helped to compensate for the inequalities of a socioeconomic and cultural background. Although it is true, today millions of children and young people, previously excluded from education, enter the educational process K-12 (which term includes preschool, primary and secondary education), on average of one half does not complete it, and the other half continues highly dissimilar paths from the point of view of educational quality. In fact, among those who complete secondary education a condition to avoid the risk of falling below the poverty line in Latin America - at age 15 an average of 50% have failed to achieve a minimum proficiency in learning skills defined by the PISA assessment (Brunner, 2013). The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the results of the international PISA 2012 with the participation

of Peru among other 65 countries or territories.

School Failure

This is not tackled with exams and school systems do not improve by taking tests nonstop. Failure and success are market concepts which have never been considered in the educational world and we have to avoid the strong negative component they both imply. We observed a positivist bias that Marin (2013) describes with these words: “It is studied what fits best in the method, which is best measured, while what it is not so easily quantifiable is invisible.” In this case, PISA has the positive aspect of explicitly stating its approach, and thus it doesn’t intend to evaluate education as a whole, it doesn’t even intend to make of it assessment the most important fact in education. What is really important and useful is to define the educational goals we want to achieve, to analyze the contexts and difficulties we encounter, and to create proposals and mechanisms of action that will allow us to achieve these goals.

It is known that during adolescence remarkable physical and psychological transformations occur, especially in personality. These transformations could affect school performance; therefore, teachers must be prepared to positively channel these changes; otherwise, they might take an adverse course. Similarly, we should go for flexible teaching interactions and methods, capable of adapting to students with very different personalities. We should also consider that if impulsivity affects the ability to learn, it may only affect the individual’s crystallized intelligence, not his/her fluid intelligence. This is because first one depends more on teaching-learning processes, while the fluid intelligence refers to the ability to establish relationships regardless of prior knowledge acquired. In this regard Llorente states that improving the educational situation implies to implement, strengthen and apply in all the educational centers, all the various measures that have been proven useful when dealing with

diversity: such as splitting, individualized tutoring, the Initial Professional Qualification Program (IPQP), school activities programs, interdisciplinary and/or globalizing methodological proposals such as working in areas or projects, intervention of two teachers in a classroom at the same time, classroom organization in cooperative groups, mediation, negotiation and commitments, coordinating support teams, banks of resources and material, the lack of concentration of disadvantaged students in the same classroom or educational center.Also, a good educational monitoring system should promote a change in attitudes in teachers from certain sectors, beginning with awareness and conviction, rather than imposition. These are attitudes aimed at improving educational practices in the classroom or verification of the curriculum compliance.

2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Person-Centered Theory

This theory focuses on the human interaction between the counselor and the client. Rogers (1980) called it the Personcentered theory in order to suggest that his principles extended beyond the client-therapist relationship to encompass all human interaction. The current personcentered theory is understood as a process of helping clients discover new and more satisfying personal meanings about themselves and the world they inhabit. The student will drive towards growth, health and adjustment (Makinde, 1984). The model assumes that human interaction is only possible when certain conditions prevail. In the case of guidance and, these conditions should prevail in the counsellor’s demonstration in the counsellor-client orientation. According to Omulema (2000), these conditions include counselor’s demonstration of empathy, unconditional positive regard and warmth to the client. He notes that growth occurs in an acceptance, warm, empathetic, non-judgmental environment that allows students the freedom to explore their thoughts and feelings and to solve their own problems. Guidance and programme that lacks these characteristics culminate into poor performance of students in school. When a counsellor communicates the above conditions, those being helped will become less defensive and more open to themselves and their world and they will behave in more social and constructive ways. Many students harbor feelings of failure in academics and thus have low self esteem, but a counsellor is able to counter the feelings by working towards fostering the students, capacity to hope and believe that they are capable of overcoming academic failures they are experiencing and even end up performing their best potentialities. A conducive environment for the student should be provided and teachers should provide room for self-actualization by being friendly, loving, competent and responsible. Teacher counsellor should also help the student set goals and allow positive self recognition after attaining set goals and aspirations that will boost success in academic performance. Therefore, a good environment should be created by teacher counsellor.

Social Learning Theory

Learning is a process where behaviours are learnt or acquired from the environment. One way of learning is through social observation and imitation. This theory is advanced by Albert Bandura (1986). This theory explains delinquency as a behaviour learnt through the complex process of socialization. The theory postulates that the behaviour is reflective of people observing and imitating others and imagining the consequence of their own behaviour. The theory advocates that human behaviour is modified using learning principles to change behaviour (Omulema, 2000). The behavioural approach emphasizes that the client defines goals in behavioural terms, provide resources and encouragement in helping clients more towards goals and helps clients with different problems (Patterson, 1973). Teacher counselors can therefore apply this in students concerning their academic performance. Makinde (1984) notes that effectiveness of is assessed by changes in the specific student’s behaviour. This implies that can use behavioural to create a conducive environment for the students to modify their behaviours in order to solve their academic problems through creation of learning conditions. Teacher counselors can use behavioural techniques like self management programmes and self directed behaviours which may deal with learning, studying and time management skills in schools. This will foster the students’ academic performance. The student will drive towards growth, health and adjustment (Makinde, 1984). Therefore, a good environment created by the teacher counsellor can provide room for good self-concept that will boost success in academic performance.

2.3 Empirical Review

Formal guidance and in the world originated in Europe and the United States of America in 1900s. By 1911 an organized guidance programme in the United States of America was in place to cater for students’ needs. The emphasis was on vocational information, awareness of the world of work, location of employment and reduction of examination anxiety (Makinde, 1984). Bor, Landy, Gill and Bruce (2002) have noted that guidance and has changed rapidly and that understanding the functions of school guidance and is important. Kilonzo (1984) states that, in Kenya the concept of guidance and was introduced in late 1960’s and formalized through the Ministry of Education in 1971. Gichinga (1995) has rightly noted that, the need for formal guidance and is recognized at the present time more than ever before. In pursuit of formal guidance, the Government of Kenya has set up various education commissions that have come up with government policy on guidance and . Angaha (1987) observes that, the government of Kenya recognizes that guidance and is an essential service that must be offered to every student in schools in Kenya. The MOE has also made attempts in seeing to it that, an operational and effective guidance and programme is implemented in all learning institutions