CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background of the Study

Guidance and counselling has its root in vocational guidance. During the early decades of 18th and 19th centuries, there was industrial revolution in the western world, which led to the replacement of human labour with machines, thus technological and industrial expansion. The growth of urbanization gave room to social problems. Young school leavers drifted from the rural to urban in search of jobs. And a lot of frustration was generated in the young who, because of lack of occupational information, suffering from job dissatisfaction as a result of limited career information. It was the incidence of such social pressure and ills that gave rise to a group of philanthropists who felt that the social injustice and economic mal-adjustments should be stopped.

Parson Frank (1908), established a vocational Bureau at Boston in 1908. The aim was to counsel youths seeking jobs after graduation. Frank Parson further consolidated his efforts in the development of guidance and counselling with his book “choosing a vocation” which was published after his death. According to Parson (1908), there are issues involved in the process of choosing a vocation. These, according to him include “man analysis” which involve the interest; job analysis which take account of job opportunities, requirement and employment procedures and the process in choosing a vocation is the articulation of comparison of both man analysis and job analysis. During this process, the individual makes decision, putting into consideration his abilities, aptitudes, interest and the availability of job opportunities and requirement for entry.

The modern concept of guidance programmes which is relatively new in Nigeria followed similar patterns as in the western world. The development of guidance as a formal educational service started during the late 1950s. Before then, the responsibility for guiding youths was left with the teachers who were not prepared for this function. Other sources of guidance for the youth were their elders, the churches or mosques and the adult within the community in which the student lived (Oladele, 1986). In 1959, a group of catholic sisters at St. Theresa’s college, Ibadan organized formal career guidance services for the upper class students before the school certificate examination began. Makinde (1988) noted that, the emphasis was on vocational information, awareness of the world of work, location of employment and reduction of examination anxiety.

Following the rapid changes in our society, in industrialization and uneven distribution of wealth, the catholic sisters felt the need to inform their graduating students about the world of work and to train them in human relations. With this identification of need, representatives of the various government ministries and other officials were called in to give lectures and seminars to the students on employment opportunities in their various establishments. In later years, lectures, symposia and guidance workshops were organized for subsequent graduating classes. The success of these services attracted other schools in Ibadan, Lagos, Enugu, Kano and Kaduna to start similar exercise. This led to the formation of the Ibadan Career Council in 1962. This was followed by other career councils and the leadership effort of the education officer in charge at the federal level was halted.

At the end of the civil war in 1970, there was the need to expand counselling activities and embrace not only career masters, but also counsellors in varying field. Thus, the Counselling Association of Nigeria (C.A.N) was launched on 11th December, 1976, with Professor Makinde being its first president. The Counselling Association of Nigeria has since launched its own journal “The Counselling”. Thus, there is an inevitable need for counselling in Nigerian schools at all levels of education, especially at secondary and post-secondary levels.

Lockwood (2009) stressed that student’s attitude towards guidance programme, vocation, or career is being influenced by the age, intelligence, and course of study pursued, counsellor’s attitude, environment, peer group, gender of counsellor, self-control, self-actualization, physical status, parent, principals and the teachers.

Balogun (2005) also pointed out that one of the most easily recognized shortcomings of our educational system is the inadequate or incomplete lack of guidance counsellors or services in our school system that will provide guidance and counselling services or vocational information for the students. And because of this, children seldom have formal opportunity to acquire the attitude information on the importance of guidance and counselling services and making wise vocational choices.

The primary aim of this study is to find out the attitude of students towards guidance programme in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State.

1.2  Statement of the Problem

Despite the aims and objectives of guidance and counselling services in secondary schools, most students still fail to make the right subject combination. A lot of them have personal-social problems like inability to cultivate healthy interpersonal relationship, inability to manage emotion.

In other cases, counsellors are converted to classroom teachers having little or no time for counselling activities. This suggests that most students do not benefit from the counselling services in secondary schools. The statement of the problem, if put in a question form is, what is the attitude of students toward guidance programme in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State?

1.3  Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

1. Do students participate in educational guidance programme in secondary schools?
2. What is the attitude of students towards vocational guidance programme in secondary schools?
3. What is the attitude of student towards personal-social guidance programme in secondary schools?
4. Do students regularly visit the school counsellor to be counselled for various problems in secondary schools?

1.4  Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study is to find out the attitude of secondary school students towards guidance program in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State.

Specifically, the study will examine the following areas:

1. How students participate in educational guidance programme in their school.
2. Students in vocational guidance programme
3. The attitude of students toward personal social guidance programme
4. Students’ visitation to the school counsellor for counselling on various problems.

1.5  Significance of the Study

This study will be useful to practicing counsellors, students, parents, the government and school administrators in the following ways:

The practicing counsellors, through this study would be able to assist students to develop the right attitude toward guidance programme. The counsellor utilizes the outcome of guidance programme to place students into various programmes and vocations.

The student will understand, develop self-concept and awareness, which will enhance their interpersonal relationship, capabilities and interest in their day to day activities.

On the part of the parents, it will enable them to understand the relevance of guidance programme activities in the overall development of their children.

For the government, the study will enable her to think of the appropriate things to put in place so as to improve on the working conditions of school counsellors.

Finally, school administrators will benefit for the fact that it will unveil the usefulness of guidance programmes in relation to students’ activities in the school. Furthermore, it will foster the need for school administrators to support the counsellors as well as motivate other members of staff to participate actively in any guidance activity.

1.6  Scope and Delimitation of Study

This study is aimed at studying the attitude of secondary school students towards guidance programme in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. The study is limited to five (5) schools out of 35 secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo state.

1.7  Operational Definition of Terms

Some of the terms used in this work are thereby defined operationally.

Attitude: This is a learning predisposition to react constantly in a given manner, either positively or negatively towards certain persons, objects or concepts.

Secondary School Students: An organized body of learners between the ages of 12-18 years, under the close supervision of the principal and teachers with the aim of acquiring knowledge.

Guidance Programme: A programme organized by the counsellor to cater for the various needs of students, helping them to realize their fullest potentials.

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