LITERATURE REVIEW ON Factors Affecting the Utilization of Guidance and Counseling Services in Secondary Schools.

LITERATURE REVIEW

          This chapter is a review of some of the related studies on factors affecting the utilization of guidance and counseling services in secondary schools.

It is reviewed under the following headings:

2.1            Conceptual framework

2.2            Theoretical framework

2.3            Empirical framework

2.4            Summary of literature review

2.1     Conceptual framework

2.1.1Concept of Guidance

          Guidance encompasses a lot. It refers to the presentation of factual information to people. And virtually any knowledge person can give guidance. It deals more with problems in the cognitive domain, and feelings. According to Gonzaye (2002) a school guidance programmes refers to the range of learning experiences which a school provides in response to the guidance and needs of its students and its available resources. The guidance programme is provided in a developmental sequence, designed and maintained to assist students, to cope with their life experience. He goes further to explain that these life experience can be categorized into three (3) namely:

i.                   Personal social problems

ii.                 Educational problems

iii.              Career/vocational problems

          Bakare (1996) states that guidance refers to a more effective or prescriptive forms of assistance in which the client is given a direct advice on what to do. Some educationist believe that guidance is a broad term used to cover a number of specialist services available in schools. Such services include the information service, testing service, placement service, follow-up service, and counseling service. According to free dictionary, guidance is that form of counseling given to students seeking for advice about vocation and educational matters. Guidance is a process of helping students to achieve their self understanding and self direction necessary in making choices and moving forward so as to achieve personal goals. Guidance as a uniquely American educational innovation focuses on the complete development of individuals or students through a series of service designed to maximize school learning and stimulate career development, and respond to the personal and social concern that inhibit individual growth.

          All students needs to be guided, they need to become aware of the job opportunities open to them and how to prepare themselves for it. Therefore, by the virtue of his position, the counselor has an undeniable responsibility to face his major challenge in the counseling and guidance of students. And that is why guidance activities are usually associated with educational professionals known as “counselors”. Educational guidance is actually a co-operative enterprise involving the participation of teachers, administrators, counselors and educational specialists and parents. According to Fafunwa (1990), guidance and counseling particularly at the Junior Secondary School levels will play an important role in the educational and social growth of the students. Awokoya (2004) also felt that without academic career counseling in our secondary school system, the whole purpose of education will not be achieved.

          According to Majabi (1972), a lot have to be done as regard to lack of vocational guidance in secondary schools. He goes further to explain that most of the students leaves secondary schools with little or no knowledge of the job opportunities that awaits them. Therefore, too much works are being expected of vocational guidance.

          The incident of social vices such as: secret cult memberships, act of violence amongst students, rapes, high level of school dropout, examination malpractice, sex scandals, and other delinquents activities in the school system, makes it necessary for guidance and counseling service to be vigorously encourage in the secondary school services.

2.1.2  Concept of Counseling

          The term counseling       is subjected to varieties of definitions. This is because, several authors have given several definitions about counseling depending on how they viewed it. This concept of counseling tries to look at various ways different authors viewed and defined the word counseling.

          Counseling has been used to donate a wide range procedures which includes giving advice, encouragement and information given. Hahn and Maclean (1986), counseling is a professional assistance which takes place in a-one-to-one relationship between an individual troubled by problems with which he cannot cope alone, and a professional worker whose training and experience have qualified him/her to help others reach solution to various types of personal difficulties. This definition also sees counseling as a helping activity organized and designed, to assist the clients in their problem situation and decision makings.

          Gesinde (1991), on his own part, views counseling as an in-depth interaction between two or more individuals with the intention of assisting the client to better understand himself in relation to his or  her present and future problems. The interaction that takes place between the client and the counselor is so intense and of high equality, that the end product is a change in behaviour due to the learning process that had taken place during the counseling interaction. This is why Gesinde (1991), further explained that counseling deals with effective, realm, which involves feelings, emotions, attitudes, and not just simple ideas.

          Shertzer and stone (1996), viewed counseling as a process of helping individuals to understand themselves and their world. This process thus involves series of actions aimed at helping the individual in decision making, understanding his/herself, and also adjusting to his environment. In otherwords, counseling is a continuous process of aiding an individual to solve his problems through the medium of interview. Sherter and Stone (1996), further maintains that rapport must exist between the counselor and the counselee during and throughout the counseling section. The counselee should feel the desire for help and therefore approach the counselor for assistance, and on the other hand, the counselor should show a deep understanding, respect and willingness to be of help or to offer assistance to the client.

          Okon (1984), defined counseling as a learning process in which individuals learn about themselves (personal characters), their interpersonal relationships, their attitudes, values and behaviors that helps them in their development. Therefore, the client entering into counseling, learn through the process his personal attributes that are assets to his development in any area of undertaking. And for such a learning to take place, there must be what Rogers called “Positive Regard” towards the client and the counselor and the relationship must be cordial enough to produce such a facilitating learning.

          Despite that counseling is essentially democratic, the assumptions underlying its practices are: first, that each individual has the right to shape his/her own destiny. Secondly, that the relatively mature and experience members of the community are responsible for ensuring that each person’s choice shall serve both his own interest, and those of the society. It is implicit in philosophy of counseling that these objective complementary rather than conflicting and that the work of those who guide children, clients, or young people is not to affect a compromise between the requirements of individuals on others. Rather, it is to orient the individual towards the opportunities afforded by his environment, that can best guarantee the fulfillment of his personal needs and aspirations. Hence, counseling is curative and preventive in nature, and it helps to go in accordance to the normal cause of student growths and development. Through the process of counseling, one is helped to overcome his developmental problems, find meaning to his life, and learns about the decision making processes. In all, counseling is usually more effective, personal and initiated, open-ended, private and confidential. It is client initiated and involves more personal interaction and large emotional investment by both the counselor and the counselee.

2.1.3  Concept of Attitude

          The concept attitude, occupies a very favoured position is the study of psychology. Gordon Allport and G. Murphy (1974) considers it the central concept in the field. Various textbooks have indicated its usefulness in the advance of the science, and the literature revolving around “attitudes has grown in the past 20 years to voluminous proportions. Yet the concept, despite its key position, is marked by considerable confusion.

          Allport and Murphy (1984), further states that attitude is a process of individual consciousness which determines real or possible activity of the individual in the social world. Some psychologists have defined attitudes as a learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way. This can include evaluation of people, issues, objects or events. Such evaluations are often positive or negative, but they can also be uncertain at times. For example, you might have a mixed feelings about a particular person or issue. They goes further to say that several different components makes up attitudes and the components are:

i.                   Emotional component: How the object, person, issues or event makes you feel.

ii.                 A cognitive component: Your thoughts and beliefs about the subject.

iii.              Behaviour component: How the attitude influences your behaviour or action.

          Gordon Allport (1988), views attitude as an expression of favour or disfavor towards a person, place, thing or event. He further maintained that attitudes are the most indispensable concept in psychology.

          Eagly and Chaiken (2000), defines attitude as a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavor. This definition of attitude allows for one’s evaluation of an attitude of object to vary from extremely negative to extremely positive, but also admits that people can also be conflicted or ambivalent towards an object. This means that sometimes we might express both positive and negative attitude towards the same object.

          Carl Jung (1971) defines attitude as the readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way. Daniel Katz (1990), states that attitude can serve instrumental, adjustive, or utilitarian, ego defensive, value expressive or knowledge functions. In the functional view of attitude, he suggests that in order for attitudes to change, persuasion appeals must be made to function that a particular attitude serves for the individual.

2.2     Theoretical Framework

2.2.1Theories in Guidance

          An old adage proclaims, “a theory without practice is meaningless, but a practice without theory is blind”. This section tries to provides a critical introduction to tradition and new theories in careers guidance, together with the criteria with which to access them. As the practice of careers guidance has become more established, policy requirements in the develop countries, UK and USA have increased its range of clients and tasks. Varied and complex demands on services have produced questions about how to deal with the challenges associated with guidance and the answers increasingly being sought in career theory.

2.2.2  The traditional Theory

          The traditional theory was developed in the early 1990s by kidd et. al. This  theory is found to be influential on guidance practice, critique and folders. It comprises sections on matching, developmental, occupational allocations, social learning, psychodynamic and community interaction approaches.

2.2.3  The Matching Theory (Trait Factor)

          This theory was developed by Carl Jung (1956) according to him, based on differential psychology, these approaches assumes that guidance is essentially about a process of rational decision making in which clients are asset by the expert practioners (counselors) and then matched to the best fit opportunity. It follows that the provision of information about the client and the world of work, will result in behaviour change.

2.2.4  Developmental Theory

          Developmental theories emphasis the emergence of successive choices and their patterning throughout the life span in contrast with other theories which focus on the determinants of a particular choice at the time of entry into training or into the labour market, Olayinka (1979). Developmental theories stress that the decision that culminate selection of a particular occupation are arrived at, a number of different points in the individuals life span and that they constitute a continuous process which starts in childhood and terminates at the early adulthood. Theorist in this group includes Super, Ginzberg, Tiedman, and O’ Hard.

2.2.5  Actual or Parsons Theory

          This theory was championed by Frank Parson, and he is regarded as the founder of the vocational guidance movement. He developed the talent matching approach, which was later developed into the trait factor theory of occupational choice. Parson states that occupational decision making occurs when people have achieved, “an accurate understanding of their individual traits, (i.e. aptitudes, interest and personal abilities) a knowledge of Jobs and the labour market, rational and objective judgment about the relationship between their individuals trait and the labour market. This three part of parson’s theory (aptitudes, interest, and personal abilities) still governs most current practice. The trait and factor theory of parson operates under the premise that; it is possible to measure both individual’s talents and the attributes required in a particular job. It also assumes that people may be matched to an occupation that is good fit to them. Parson suggests that when individuals are in a job best suited to  their abilities, they performed best and their productivity is highest. In his book “choosing a vocation”, Parson maintains that personal counsel is fundamental to the career search. In particular, he notes seven stages for a career counselor to work through with clients:

i.                Personal data: Create a statement of key facts about the person, remembering to include every fact that has bearing on vocational problems.

ii.              Self analysis: A self examination is done in private and under the instruction of a counselor. Every tendency and interest that might impact on the choice of a life work should be recorded.

iii.           The clients own choice and decision. This may show itself in the first two stages. The counselor must bear in mind that the choice of vocation should be made by the client, with the counselor as a guide.

iv.           Counselor’s  analysis: The Counselor tests the clients decision to see if it is in line with the main quest.

v.              Outlook on the vocational field: The counselor should be familiar with industrial knowledge such as list and classifications of industries and vocations, in addition to location of training and apprenticeships.

vi.           Induction and advice: A broad minded attitude coupled with logical and clear reasoning are critical at this state.

vii.         General helpfulness: The counselor helps the client to fit into the chosen work, and to reflect on the decision.

          Much of Parson’s work still guides career counseling today, though it is not without criticism. Matching theory assumes a degree of stability within the labor markets. However, the reality is that the market’s volatility means, individuals must be prepared to change and adapt to their circumstances.

2.2.6  Theories in Counseling

          There have been several theories develop, which have been used and applied by counselor practitioners in the last four decades. The three (3) major theories include: person-centered theory, attachment theory and cognitive behavioral theory.

2.2.7  Person-central Theory

          Person-centered theory of Rogers (1957), places great emphasis on the process of experiencing, making meaning of things as they appear. Therefore, supporting, the belief that each individual has an inner strength as well as the power for personal growth. This strength could be found within therapy through three (3) core conditions; congruence, empathy, and unconditional positive regard. The actual relationship of therapists and clients is important to achieve therapeutic success. Therefore, this theory has been mostly effective in therapies which involves helping people who are going through life transaction and emotional trauma.

2.2.8  Cognitive Behavioral Theory

          The cognitive behavioral theory was developed by Rogers (1957), it was developed out of the two existing theories “the cognitive theory, and the behavioral theory”. An underlying principle of this theory is that all behavior is learned and can also be unlearned.

          Therefore, in the theory of cognitive behavioral approach, individuals are encouraged to recognize the ways in which they behave and this theory encourage and guide clients to behave in a unique and more acceptable ways.

2.3     Empirical Framework

          Many factors have been noted by different authors and researchers as factors affecting the utilization of guidance and counseling services in secondary schools. Some of the factors identified are under the following sub-headings:

i.                   Students ignorance towards utilization of guidance and counseling services in secondary schools.

ii.                 Attitude of principals toward guidance and counseling services in secondary schools.

iii.              The influence of counselors gender toward utilization of guidance and counseling services in secondary schools.

iv.              Provision of facilities and limited financial resources

v.                 Academic freedom

          According to Olayinka (1994), the Nigerian youths and students have been responsible as part of the problem affecting the utilization of guidance and counseling services in our secondary schools. Olayinka (1994), states further that our secondary school students are two ambitious and impatience and this is highly reflected on the unrealistic career choices they make. Their choices are unrealistic because it is not based on one’s capabilities and interest, or on any information on job requirements, rather their focus are on the so called prestigious occupations that the student feels will make him very rich and popular in the society. Since the student does not acknowledge the important of guidance and counseling and his choice of career was not guided based on his ability and interest most of the students ends up in untold hardship and frustration as chances of failure is very high at last. Therefore, guidance and counseling service should be well organized, becomes necessary, as this will help the students to make realistic career or educational choices based on their abilities and interest as well as realizable goals and aspirations. Vaughan (1990), observed that there seems to a residue of ignorance in our schools about the important of guidance and counseling and its wider implications. He maintained that the important of steps to take towards improving the services is to inform students properly of the importance of the service. Williams (1983), disclosed that some secondary schools have career master as well as guidance team, yet students are ignorant of their services. According to Williams, most of the secondary schools have career masters, many have a vocational team, and all claim to help their students in planning a future career, yet many of the students are unaware of the important of the service or unable to use them. He suggested that career masters and the qualified counselors should endeavor to make their impact and usefulness of their service felt and known to the students through proper and cordial relationship and communication.

          Hopes and Hayes (1992), blamed students for their inabilities to make suitable choices on the information about guidance and counseling services. According to him, if a student has an adequate information about guidance and counseling, his occupational and educational horizons would have broadened sufficiently for him to make a more suitable choice. He maintained that every effort should be made, to make a student realize the important of guidance and counseling services in their schools. The practice, he concluded would help the counselor to get across to the counselee, how he regards him and how help is to be provided. Furthermore, the counselor should devote his attention to the counselee, begin where the counselee wants him to begin, try to catch and communicate the feelings that the counselee is expressing. Uba (1993), observed that for a successful execution of individual counseling among students, the school counselor should posses a good personal trait. The counselor must be cheerful, humorous, highly intelligent, diligent, tactful, and resourceful. He must have students interest at heart and regard each client as a unique individual. He went further to say that the counselor must have a warm personality and must be ready to establish rapport with his client before, and throughout the counseling section. He must be able to establish cordial interpersonal relationship with his client by showing congruency, empathy, positive regard, confidentiality, and unconditional positive regard with clients before and during counseling, sufficiently for him to make a more suitable choice. He maintained the every effort should be made to make students realize the important of guidance and counseling services in their schools. Gesinde (1976), emphasized that our education would be more meaningful and relevant, when students are exposed to the guidance and counseling services. According to him, career awareness through guidance and counseling will make students more familiar with world of work as a basic respectable and necessary part of life. If students are informed on what lies after the secondary school, it would improve their understanding of the relationship between education and vocation. Downing (1998), observed that students are ignorant of the usefulness of guidance and counseling services in their secondary schools. He said that paramount to a successful counseling service, is by keeping students and faculty informed on the nature of the counselors work ad positively inclined towards it. Also, the benefits to be gain by students and teachers, and moreover, how the service can contribute to the total educational programs in the school should also be emphasized. Jones et al. (1963) observed that one of the problems affecting the utilization of guidance and counseling service in secondary schools is that students are sometime restricted from visiting the counselors’ office as they desire and having themselves familiar with the counseling service in other that they might avail themselves of the service. A number of practices have been developed, to make the nature of counseling services known to students, parents, teachers and administrators, especially the counselor may present programs at school assemblies, before parents meeting in school or in a departmental meetings. They also went further to say that students needs to become acquainted with the person (counsellor), not as figure standing before them in an auditorium, or classroom in a sequence slide that shows a smiling face but no action. An interim step he suggested is to have teachers send small groups of students to see the counselor for a “get-acquainted” visit of a few minutes duration. If the counselor is new to the school, this will help the students to know the counselor better. But if the counselor is an experience, old counselor in the school, this will help to provide opportunity for the counselor to carry on an orientation to the students. Conversation during this time is mainly and should focus upon the purpose of the counseling, how the counselor might assist them and what resources the counselor has at his disposal.

2.3.1  Attitude of Principals towards Guidance and                                Counseling Services

          Attitudes of the secondary schools principals towards guidance and counseling is another factor affecting the utilization of the service in most of the secondary schools. Some of the school principals are of the opinion that counselors are not good match for them in the school. Some of them see counselors as threat, believing that the counselor has come to take their roles of counseling students. They therefore poison the minds of the students against the counselor and even the counseling service. Some principals even go to the extent of punishing students when they find out that they have been going out for counseling. According to Mc-Clary (1998), some of the principals refuse to refer students for counseling. The principals’ views the guidance counselors as personal threat, thinking that the counselors are spies or an ally to the students. In that way, the principal will not understand that all students need counseling in all aspect of their life. According to Celestine (2002), principals are particularly charged with the responsibility of fostering the right atmosphere for child growth and development, and counseling. Mbithi (1984), states that the secondary school principal should be held responsible in case of the failures of any activity, or guidance and counseling service in the school.

2.3.2  Academic Freedom of Counselors towards Utilization                            of Guidance and Counseling Service

          Another factor hindering the utilization of guidance and counseling services in secondary schools is the condition of service of counselors. In most of the secondary schools, counselors are charged with the responsibilities of being a classroom teacher as well as a counselor at the same time. As a matter of facts, the counselors work is now in two dimensions and the teaching dimension, carries the heavier weight (i.e. workload), compared to the counseling job he was trained and employed to do. In some of the schools, the counselor is expected to teach, counsel, and also performs some administration functions, Barmer (2000).

          The school time table is another barrier to the guidance and counseling service. Most of the secondary schools do not have a fixed time allotted for counseling. Some don’t even have time for counseling in the school time table, especially our so called government secondary schools.

2.3.3  The Influence of Gender towards Utilization of                                      Guidance and Counseling Service

          According to Wikipedia dictionary (1990), gender simply refers to the act of being male or female. Gender plays a vital role in utilization of guidance and counseling service in secondary schools. In some of the secondary schools where the school counselor is a male, most of the female students feel so shy and unsecured in visiting the counselor’s office. They always have the feelings that the male counselor is not of good match to them and in that case, they hide their feelings and problems away from the counselor and sometime they choose not to visit the counselor at all. Chikwe and Ekechukwu (2009), states that in some cultures, men are believe to be superior and have more right and control over the women, and the notion of their masculinity linked to dominance, honor of aggression. Onyekuru and Thompson (2012), states that children born in this type of family or culture always despise their female counselors or teachers. The male student from this type of cultural background finds it so difficult to relate well with the female counselors. The male students look at their female counselor to be inferior and unqualified to counsel or guide them in their educational, vocational or personal social problems. The male students sometimes go to the extent of being hostile and aggressive to the female counselors.

          Chikwe and Ekechukwu (2009), go further to state that, to ensure utilization of guidance and counseling services, in the secondary school, the counselor has various roles to play. They maintain that the counselor should create awareness of the important of guidance counseling to the school. The counselor should also develop some personal safety plans. Also the counselor should make the students to understand that gender has nothing to do with counseling service.

2.3.4  Limited Financial Resources and Provision of                               Facilities

          Lack of sufficient funding to guidance and counseling activities has retarded the achievement of some of its goals. Most often, there is no budget allocation to purchase equipments and appraisal instruments. Without funds, it will be very difficult for the counselor to do his job effectively. Therefore, funds should be made available in order to facilitate the proper utilization of guidance and counseling service. There is always a need for the counselors office to be properly screened from outside interference, and it should be a relaxing one. But most of the time; this cannot be achieved because of lack of funds. For effective guidance and counseling administration a network files, jackets, books and mini references library is also needed. Also consultant cards, tape recorders, cassette players, record folders, psychological test instruments or materials, sitting facilities and stationeries needs to be provided, and all these mentioned above required a large sum of money for the utilization of guidance and counseling service.

          Guidance and counseling is a helping profession that needs a conducive and separate room so as to ensure privacy and effective utilization of the service. Aylin (1998), in his finding, states that the lack of facilities is among   the major factors affecting the utilization of guidance and counseling service. He further maintained that most of the students that comes for counseling are so shy to say out what their problems is, especially when other students are standing close, or when in an open areas where everyone passing can see or hear what they (client) is telling the counselor.

2.4     Summary of Literature Review

          It have been noted from the conceptual work that guidance and counseling, from the definition one can be able to know that it is an aspect of learning that is very important to every student as it deals with both cognitive problems, education problems, vocational problems, and personal social problems, (Gonzaya 2002, Awokoya 2004, Shertzer and Stone 1996). From the theoretical aspect, one can easily identify that the theories guiding guidance and counseling makes it very easy for a counselor to identify and understand how an individual or client can be helped in his or her problem (Jung 1956, Olayinka 1979). The empirical aspect of the literature entails of the various ways many authors and researcher have contributed in finding solutions to some of the factors affecting the utilization of guidance and counseling service. The researchers noted some of the factors hindering the effectiveness of counseling service, and also suggest some ways to tackle the problems. It also looks into the way students, principal etc views counselors. The important and usefulness of counseling service was not left out on this chapter. The study discovered that student’s ignorance to the usefulness of guidance and counseling service has been a serious problem in administering effective counseling service.