Abstract

This study surveyed students' attitudes towards school counsellors in secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State. It sought to identify the counselling services available in schools, to find out how often students access them, and to establish students' attitudes to the role of counsellors in career choice. A descriptive research design was used. The respondents were 349 students and 2 counsellors, and data were collected with questionnaires and an interview guide. The study found that counselling services are available in the schools and include educational, vocational and personal-social counselling. Students had access to counselling, but counsellor characteristics and other factors limited how often they used it. Students regarded counsellors as central to the process of choosing a career. The study recommends that government, education authorities and school administrators give more attention to counselling, especially career guidance, by providing counsellors with the resources they need. It also recommends that career guidance programmes be routine in schools and that counsellors seek opportunities for skill upgrading and further training so that they remain relevant to students' needs.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

School counselling is the process of meeting students' developmental needs in academic, career, personal and social areas. Modern school counselling has grown into comprehensive and preventive programmes that attend to the whole child or adolescent. These programmes support academic, career and social-emotional development, and they help students meet their educational goals. School counsellors are also expected to address issues such as dropout prevention, career readiness and students' mental health (Bella-Awusah, Oyewole, Falaye, & Omigbodun, 2022).

Guidance is a narrower term. It refers to the process of helping people make important choices that affect their lives, such as selecting an educational or vocational path. One common distinction is that guidance helps people identify what they value most, while counselling helps them make changes. In practice the two are delivered together as guidance and counselling services in schools.

Many school counselling programmes are based on frameworks from the United States, notably the Comprehensive Guidance and Counselling Program and the ASCA National Model (Gysbers & Henderson, 2001; American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2019, as cited in Bella-Awusah et al., 2022). These models stress that counsellors should concentrate on direct services to students and avoid clerical, administrative and testing duties. Counsellors in many settings are nonetheless pulled into tasks that do not match their professional skills, such as registering students and keeping records, and this reduces time for direct services such as career guidance. Counsellor education has also been criticised for neglecting academic and career development, which can leave counsellors with outdated or incomplete knowledge of career options (Bella-Awusah et al., 2022).

Nigeria runs a 6-3-3-4 system of education: six years of primary school, three of junior secondary, three of senior secondary and four of tertiary education. School-based counselling was established in the second half of the twentieth century to promote the holistic development of students (Azu, 2010, as cited in Bella-Awusah et al., 2022). In principle it is mandatory in public secondary schools and is usually provided by a teacher-counsellor (Okocha & Alika, 2012, as cited in Bella-Awusah et al., 2022). Counsellors are expected to form supportive relationships with students, help them with educational and career choices, orient new students, supply information on career training and opportunities, refer students to other professionals and work with parents.

Practice often falls short. Bella-Awusah et al. (2022) summarise the main challenges as a lack of proper counselling facilities, the deployment of counsellors into administrative roles, high counsellor–student ratios, poorly defined counsellor roles and non-acceptance of counsellors by school leaders. Further challenges are poor funding and oversight, inadequate counsellor training and unclear licensing requirements. They add that Nigerian counsellors themselves have been reported to regard administrative duties as important functions of their role (Aluede & Adubale, 2020, as cited in Bella-Awusah et al., 2022).

Whether students use counsellors depends largely on how they perceive them. Studies from several regions show that students are more aware of academic and career guidance than of socio-emotional services, and that they use counsellors mainly for academic and career matters (Gallant & Zhao, 2011, as cited in Bella-Awusah et al., 2022). Common barriers to seeking help include ignorance about the counselling process, fear of speaking to a stranger, doubts about counsellor competence, distrust of confidentiality, stigma and a preference for family and friends (Fox & Butler, 2007, as cited in Bella-Awusah et al., 2022).

Bella-Awusah et al. (2022) examined these issues in Ibadan using focus groups with 48 adolescents. Participants saw the counsellor as an adult support system and used counselling mostly for academic purposes, such as choosing subject combinations. Barriers included negative beliefs about counselling, bad experiences, fear of what to expect and a preference for self-help or for informal sources such as peers, parents and religious leaders. Students wanted counsellors who were friendly, empathic and competent, and many objected to the dual teacher-counsellor role because of confidentiality concerns and role confusion. The authors found little career and college preparation in the services students described, and they called for national policies to guide the training and practice of school counsellors.

Choosing a career is a delicate task, and poor choices have serious consequences for individuals and the nation. These include lack of enthusiasm in a chosen field, low productivity and a lack of direction in life. Counselling is one of the main ways schools can help. Ifejiofor (2023) found in Anambra State that counselling services, such as orientation, appraisal and follow-up, affect secondary school students' career choices. The study concluded that students can make wise career decisions when proper counselling is available, and it recommended employing formally trained counsellors. Parents also influence career choice. Saidu, Magaji and Makengudu (2024) found that parental encouragement and parents' information about careers were significant influences on senior secondary students in Minna. They recommended that school counsellors organise career programmes for both parents and students.

Students' use of counsellors for career guidance therefore depends on how they perceive the counsellor's role. If students see counsellors as irrelevant or inaccessible, they miss the information and advice counsellors hold, and the benefits of the conversation that good career decisions require are lost.

Oredo Local Government Area, which includes Benin City, the capital of Edo State, has a sizeable population of secondary school students. Understanding how these students perceive their school counsellors, and how often they use counselling services, is useful for planning career guidance in the area.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Many young people leave secondary school without adequate knowledge of the careers open to them or the skills these careers require. Without structured guidance, students tend to drift through school. Some lose interest and drop out, while others make career decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate information. Students' aspirations may not match the education that their chosen careers demand. Others enter higher education without a clear goal, which can lead to wasted time and resources as they move from one programme to another.

Counselling can address this problem, but its effectiveness depends on whether students use it. Studies in Nigeria show that students tend to approach counsellors mostly for academic matters, that barriers such as distrust and stigma limit use, and that weak facilities, heavy workloads and the teacher-counsellor arrangement undermine services (Bella-Awusah et al., 2022). Evidence on how students in Oredo Local Government Area view their counsellors and the counsellors' role in career choice is lacking. This study was therefore designed to fill that gap.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective was to examine students' attitudes towards school counsellors in secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State. The specific objectives were:

1. to examine the guidance and counselling services available in senior secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area;
2. to investigate how often senior secondary school students access guidance and counselling services in their schools; and
3. to examine senior secondary school students' attitudes towards the role of school counsellors in the choice of a career.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What guidance and counselling services are available in senior secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State?
2. How often do senior secondary school students access guidance and counselling services in their schools?
3. What are senior secondary school students' attitudes towards the role of school counsellors in the choice of a career?

1.5 Significance of the Study

1. Students will gain a better understanding of how important counsellors are to their career choices.
2. Parents and teachers will see the value of early guidance on career choices and the part counsellors play in helping young people succeed (Saidu et al., 2024).
3. School administrators will be able to provide materials and conditions that support a positive counsellor–student relationship.
4. Government and employers will benefit from a better prepared workforce, which supports national development.
5. Counsellors and counsellor educators will have evidence on students' perceptions, which can inform training and practice (Bella-Awusah et al., 2022).
6. Researchers will have a basis for further study of school counselling in Edo State.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The study covered secondary school students in Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State. It examined students' attitudes to the role of the school counsellor in career choice and how those attitudes can be improved. It also considered the effect of counsellors' advice on students' choices and decisions.

1.7 Limitations of the Study

1. The study depended mainly on the responses of students and teacher-counsellors, whose answers may be influenced by the way they perceive counselling.
2. The time available was too short for an intensive and extensive study of the topic.
3. A long holiday in the study area disrupted data collection.
4. Not all of the questionnaires distributed to teachers, students and counsellors were returned.

1.8 Definition of Terms

School counsellor: A trained professional, or in many Nigerian schools a teacher assigned to the role, who provides guidance and counselling services to students (Bella-Awusah et al., 2022).

Guidance: The process of helping people make important life choices, such as choosing an educational or vocational path.

Counselling: A helping relationship in which a counsellor supports a student to address educational, vocational or personal-social concerns and to make changes.

Attitude: A student's overall positive or negative disposition towards the school counsellor and counselling services.

Career choice: The decision a student makes about the occupation or field of study he or she will pursue.

1.9 Organisation of the Study

Chapter One introduces the study. Chapter Two reviews related literature. Chapter Three describes the research methodology. Chapter Four presents and analyses the data. Chapter Five summarises the findings, draws conclusions and makes recommendations.

References

American School Counselor Association. (2019). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.). Author.

Bella-Awusah, T., Oyewole, G., Falaye, A., & Omigbodun, O. (2022). Adolescents' perceptions of school counselling in Ibadan, Nigeria. Journal of School-Based Counseling Policy & Evaluation, 4(1), 26–34. https://doi.org/10.25774/qge2-1z94

Ifejiofor, A. P. (2023). Effect of counseling services on career choice of secondary school students in Anambra state, Nigeria. International Journal of Education, Training and Learning, 7(1), 1–6.

Saidu, I. N., Magaji, M., & Makengudu, A. A. (2024). Influence of parents on choice of career among senior secondary school students in Minna metropolis of Niger State, Nigeria. Al-Hikmah Journal of Arts & Social Sciences Education, 1.