THE INFLUENCE OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING SERVICES ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OVIA NORTH EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of guidance and counselling services on the academic performance of secondary school students in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State. The study adopts the person-centered theory which is also referred to as client-centered theory propounded by Carl Rogers in the early 1940s. The design of the study was the descriptive research design. The population of the study consist of four thousand, eight hundred and seven (4,807) senior secondary schools in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State. The sample for the study was hundred (100) SS2 students and the multi-stage sampling technique was used in the study. The responses to the questionnaire items were analyses using descriptive statistics such as frequency count and simple percentage. The reliability of the instrument was established by administering the questionnaire to 20 students who were not part the study. The data collected were subjected to internal consistency using the Cronbach Alpha Statistics and a reliability coefficient of 0.82 was obtained. Respondents agreed that guidance and counselling services are present in my school, The following are the findings from the study. It was also revealed that guidance and counselling services are welcomed and popular in most of the respondent’s schools. It was also revealed that career counsellors play the roles of helping students to understand the world of work and help boost their self-esteem. It revealed that guidance and counselling is collaborative with teaching in most of the respondent’s school place of learning and that guidance and counselling has given students better academic chance to change positively. It was discovered that most counsellors are given ample opportunity and time to talk to students. Based on the finding the researcher therefore recommends that there is need to have at least one guidance-counsellor in every secondary school. There should be a constant workshop for the secondary school guidance-counsellors to learn more on counselling processes and theories.