CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

According to Ikekhua and Yesufu (2001) guidance and counselling service is continuously organized to assist in the development of an individual for further positive growth and development in the school. Guidance and counselling practice is an applied subset of psychology that assist an individual (counsellee) in coherent living in the society through self-actualization, self-discovering, self-orientation and meaningful adjustment values inculcated by the counsellor to the counselee (Ruth, 2012).This suggest that, guidance and counselling practice is an imperative force, which often help counselling process on the aggregate thus enhance students/individuals for self-actualization, self-awareness, and self-adjustment.

uidance and counselling practices such as employment of qualified counsellor, provision of adequate facilities, right attitude of counsellors towards students, inclusion of guidance and counselling in the school time-table tends to influence students in their patronage. In light of this Okoro (2005) opined that students tends to generate varied view as to seek/visit counselling centre due to the way/practices in which things are done. Employment of qualified counsellors tends to induce most students to patronize counselling services at secondary school.

Opia (2002) contended that when qualified counsellors are employed in the school, students would tend to find it lively in visiting the counselling unit giving the fact that, when the student visit the counselling unit, solution insight is proffered to remedy their problem. The author added that this is because the counsellor has the needed competency and required skills to carry out his counselling work effectively and efficiently. Miller (2009) found that employment of unqualified personnel often reduce productivity in an organizational setup. In the light of the above, employment of unqualified counsellor may make students not to patronize the counselling centre, due to the fact that consultation by student at the end of the day may leave their problem unresolved. Employment of qualified counsellors would ensure that adequate facilities a provided in counselling centres.

Improving on provision of adequate facilities tends to make students patronize the counselling services, this is due to the fact that most students are predispose to visit a place where the needed facilities are provided to enable a counsellor remedy a given problem of the client. In the light of the above Miller (2004) contended that when teachers improvise facilitates at the school, students are encouraged to improve in their academic. From this perspective, when counsellors provide adequate facilitates, students may likely patronage the counselling centre. According to Ruth (2012) lack of adequate facilities creates in the students a mindset not to patronize a counsellor unit at the school. The author added that provision of counselling facilities such as computers, cumulative data sheets among others create the right environment for the counsellors to perform their job effectively.

Right attitude of counsellors towards students may inculcate in the students a mind of parent-child relation in the guidance and counselling process. According to Mark (2003) right attitude of a person often induce him to make use of all available avenue to accomplish a given task at hand. Inferring from this, with the right attitude of counsellors, they may likely explore all the needed strategies and techniques to remedy students’ problems. Students are likely to patronize the counselling centre when they have difficulties at the school or at home. The said right attitude may make the counsellor ensure that time for counselling is included in the school time-able.

Inclusion of guidance and counselling in the school time-table may likely make students patronize the counselling service. According to Opia (2002), when counselling hours are included in the school time-able students may want to visit the counselling unit for their problem to be remedied at the school. Kofi (2006) opined that if school administrator includes a given course or activities in the school time-table, students are predisposed to participate in such course or activity. In line with this, students may create room in their schedule to account for counselling hours.

From the forgoing, the researcher intends to investigate the influence of improvement on the practice of guidance and counselling service on secondary school students’ patronage of counselling centre in Uyo Local Education Committee.

1.2         Statement of the Problem

Secondary school students due to improved facilities used in guidance and counselling services patronized counselling services in the last decades. Often than not when students patronize the counselling services solution insight is provided by counsellors to remedy students’ problems. This is because of qualified counsellors been employed, adequate facilities been provided, right attitude of counsellors towards student, and inclusion of guidance and counselling in the school time-able. In recent times, observation by the researcher seem to show that students tend not to patronize the counselling centres, due to the caliber of the counsellors employed, facilities available, attitude of counsellors towards students, and the availability of space for guidance and counselling in the school time-able.

This situation has continued over the years without solution in sight to remedy it. This created a platform for the researcher to investigate the influence of improving on the practice of guidance and counselling services on secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee.

1.3       Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study was to determine the influence of improving on the practice of guidance and counselling services on secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee. Specifically, the study sought to determine:

1. The extent to which employment of qualified counsellors influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee.
2. The extent to which provision of adequate facilities influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee.
3. The extent to which the counsellor’s right attitude influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee.
4. The extent to which inclusion of guidance and counselling services in the school time-able influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee.

1.4       Research Questions

            The following research questions were asked and answers were provided to guide the study.

1. How will employment of qualified counsellors influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee?
2. In what way does provision of adequate facilities influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee?
3. How does the counsellor’s right attitude towards students influence their patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee?
4. In what way does inclusion of guidance and counselling services in the school time-able influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee?

1.5    Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated and tested at .05 level of significance.

Ho₁:     Employment of qualified counsellors does not significantly influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee.

Ho₂:     Provision of adequate facilities does not significantly influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee.

Ho₃:     The right attitude of a counsellor towards students does not significantly influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee.

Ho₄:     The inclusion of guidance and counselling services in the school time-able does not significantly influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee.

1.6       Significance of the Study

            The findings of this study would be of immense benefits to students, the counsellors, the ministry of education and the government.

The study would be of immense benefit to students, in that they would be aware of means of improving on the practice of guidance and counselling services as regards their patronage of counselling services in the school.

            The finding on right attitude of counsellors towards students would assist the guidance counsellor to imbibe the right attitude in the school so as to improve on the rate at which students patronize him/her in the school.

            The study would be of immense benefit to ministry of education in that, they would be able to employ and deploy only qualified counsellors to school that are in need of guidance counsellor.

            It is anticipated that this study would be of immense benefits to the government, in that it would assist the government in area of provision of adequate facilities to the school counselling centre in order to assist counsellors in carrying out their tasks effectively and efficiently.

1.7       Delimitation of the Study

            The study was delimited to improving on the practice of guidance and counselling services and secondary school students’ patronage to the counselling centre in Uyo Local Education Committee. Specifically, the study focused on employment of qualified counsellors, provision of adequate facilities, right attitude of counsellors towards students, and the inclusion of guidance and counselling services in the school time-able as they influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in the counselling center in Uyo Local Education Committee.

1.8       Assumption of the Study

To guide the process of the study the following assumptions were made.

1. That, improving on the practice of guidance and counselling services influence secondary school students’ patronage of counselling services in Uyo Local Education Committee.
2. That, the questionnaire that will be used in the study for data collection would be reliable.
3. That, the sample used for the study was a true representation of student’s population in Uyo Local Education Committee.

1.9       Operational Definition of Terms

1. 1.      Improving: Improving is the process of getting a high quality of secondary school students’ patronage of a counselling service.
2. 2.      Practice: A way of carrying out a specific task so as to yield an expected result in a counselling centre.
3. 3.      Guidance and counselling: Guidance and counselling is continuously organised to assist in the development of an individual for further positive growth and development in the school and life.
4. 4.      Secondary school students: Secondary school students are persons studying in an institution of learning after the primary school and before the tertiary institution.
5. 5.      Counsellor’s attitude: Is the way a professional helper assists the student for meaningful adjustment in the school behaves, which may energize student to patronize him.
6. 6.      Inclusion of guidance and counselling services in the school timetable: Is a deliberate act and process in the school, were time for counselling of secondary school students are included and not patching up and scrambling for free periods in the school timetable.
7. 7.      Availability of adequate guidance and counselling facilities in the counselling centre: Is the provision of equipment/utilities in the counselling centre which may include computer sets, printer, scanner, drawer, book shelve, counsellor’s table and chair, visitor’s, one-way mirror, close-circuit television, round table and chairs, centre table and decorations, blinds on the door and windows etc. which would enhance counselling encounter.

Patronage of secondary school students to the counselling centre: Is the act of voluntarily or on referral visit of secondary school students and other staffers in school for support in the counselling centre through visiting and making beneficial gains from the centre