IMPACT OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING ON CAREER CHOICE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OREDO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

        The innovative aspect of the new secondary educational programme is the importance attained to guidance services. Every day, every one of us encounters life situations, which call for thought, opinion making, decision making and action. Some of our experiences are familiar, some novel, some are casual, some of extreme importance. Everything we do, every decision we make and course of action we take is based on our held belief, attitude and values. Students do ponder over what and how to thin, believe and behave so often what goes on in the classroom is irrelevant and remove from the red things that are going on students lives, there daily encounter with friends with strangers, with peers, with authority figures, the social and academic tasks that display their egos. The main objectives of guidance, and counselling at this level of educations is to make available psychological process of helping an individuals to achieve self-realization, self-decision, understanding and mental balance necessary to make the maximum adjustment in the school. No doubt a judicious application of guidance and counselling will foster education decisions, which might lead to a better future career. The problem of the students are regards curriculum or choice is akin to the analogy where a client or (students) is regarded as a traveler heating for a predetermined destination. On getting to a cross road he becomes confused, but luckily he find a good Samaritan (helper) who shows him the way. According to him, the Samaritan has performed the task of guidance, if the helper goes further on the requests of the traveler, the helper enumerate the likely problems, hurdles or obstacles to be encountered in the road and possible solutions, he has done the job of a counsellor. 

        The student should be seen as a traveler at a cross road who needs the help of a guide. If he is fortunate, he finds solution to his problem, otherwise he gets confused and because frustrated the more. Although school guidance and counselling is an integral part of education obtained in the western world. It is still very new in Nigeria. It has not yet gained prominence because of many factors in Nigeria until recently. As there were changes in education and social systems brought about by urbanization and industrializations. Then many of our educational started to stress the need for guidance services as an integral part of our educational system. In Nigeria, students select their subject of choice in their senior secondary school years. In preparation for the senior secondary certificate examination. The choice of their subjects is solely handled by the students without adequate information about the world of Flanayan. If secondary education is to be relevant to the needs of the students it is essentially that the students be assisted in selecting curricular at an earlier time.

1.2    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

        Some students choose subject hazardously and indiscriminately, simply because they feel they are good in themselves, without taking their desired professions into considerations, thus, at the end of their examination they have chosen the wrong choice of subject combinations. There are some also who do not know the requirement or the type of subject one could pass before being admitted for specific course such as medicine, pharmacy, law and others. 

1.3    PURPOSE OF THE STUDY                   

        The purpose of this study is to find out the impact of guidance services in secondary school students. It is also to examine the position of guidance and counselling services in Nigeria education system especially the 6-3-3-4 system of education in order to suggest solutions to the problem based on the findings of the research.

1.4    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

        Since students in secondary school are mainly adolescent, they are conscious of the fact that they are approaching adult status, yet they are unsure of themselves as a result of this, they need guidance services in order to facilitate the adolescents academic success, to help them in the better understanding of their strengths and limitations to identify reality goals.

1.5    RESEARCH QUESTIONS 

        The following research questions were raised in other to assist investigation.

1.   Do you have guidance counsellor in your schools?

2.   Did most of your school teachers have a  guide habit to the students?

3.   Do guidance counselling help to influence the students morally?

4.   Do students disregard the guidance counsellor in your school?

1.6    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

        In the research of this study, the researcher intends to cover five selected senior secondary school students in a case study of Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State with respondents made up of teenagers of senior secondary school age.

1.8    DEFINITION OF TERMS

Impact: Here, impact is strong impression or effect, of guidance and counseling on students career choice.

Career: In this contest, career simply means the sequence of occupations, vocation, job and aspiration that one goes through, throughout ones working life.  

Guidance: Guidance is derived from the word guide. It is the assistance rendered to an individual in making him or her understand himself and what is capable of doing.

Counselling: This is concerned with creating opportunity and suitable environment for the persona, social, education and vocational development. It deals with the effective side of the individual based attitudes about the value and worth of human being.

Value: value deals with the quality of being useful or important. It also belief about what is right or wrong and what is important for human in life.

Techniques: Techniques has to do with the act of improving a lot over a particular skill, especially one in which you have to learn special skills. Techniques help the students by developing morally and intellectually.