AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ATTITUDE OF TEACHERS TOWARDS GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING PROGRAMMES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY: Guidance and counselling as the name implies in the mode and conduct by which an individual or a body of individual assist in the aspect of co-ordination, which lead to efficiency in a given state or policy for the up keep of the future, in a situation as it was from origination traditionally, people were guided through the use of “Ikoro” ‘Ekwe’ or what we refer to as “talking drum”. This is because, once the people hearts their sounds, everyone pays attentions, listen alternatively, because important information laws, policies and relations are usually made through such means. These traditional modes of communicating have been very successful ingredients for guidance within our society.

As a result of urbanization, and sophistication other means of guidance came into existence, such as the mass media, namely the television, the radio, the newspapers and magazines. Through these organs relevant and important information is communicated to the society are expected to be aware of their rights and wrongs and so rules and regulations will be kept. Also, within the school system, people are guided through the use of notice board, college bulletins, timetables, syllabus, magazines, bells posters and handbooks of various types. Besides, within the home children are guided through parental verbal interaction and the use of positive and negative reinforcement to ensure that order and discipline are maintained. Apart from that, when an individuals with little problems, leaves his or her home to visit a medicine man i.e. “Debia” in Jos and “baba-Ade” in Yoruba. He believes strongly that the medicine man with his charms and amulets will guide him to recovery through the instructions on how to mix and use certain concoction prepared by him. Also, people could be guided through the use of intuition.      

            Many philosophers believed that through the use of intuition skills many can achieve high philosophical standards that can guide ones attitude, values, norms and emotions. The above explanation points that guidance has been going on within our society, but revealed that such guidance aims at achievement of ones needs and desires, it further indicates that such guidance is more compulsive and regimented and so does not give room for ones cognitive restructuring or transformation of ideas. The traditional guidance has to weakness arising from modernization and industrialization. Thus, the traditional concept of guiding cannot cope with much of the complexity in our society. The deficiency in the traditional concept of guidance renders the above definition have to be given to be able to match its aims and purpose with the complexities of the modern society, especially as it relates to our school system.

            “Guidance and counselling” is a twin word that is inseparable, but for the purpose of this study, the word “guidance” originated from the Greek word guide meaning to direct, lead, guide, pilot, assist show, inform, control advice, help, teachers give fact facts and to instruct. According to Mr. Eduwen (1994) guidance is a process of assisting individuals to understand himself and his environment, while Eduwen also defined counselling as the interaction between a trained personnel (the counsellor) and a trouble individuals (the Counsellee) for the purpose of helping the Counsellee to resolve his or her problems or crisis. The history and development of guidance and counselling as a formal educational services within the system started in the late 1950s, when a group of revered sisters of the saint twenty outsiders from different works of life to advice the sixty outgoing students on the nature of the different jobs in order to direct their choice of career through the talks. Through group of twenty met regularly in the following year and decided to cater not for only schools, but for other school in Ibadan and its environs.  Later principals of school, representation from ministry of education, health, trade, industry and labour were invited to a meeting held on October 1961 to inaugurate the Ibadan career council and this later formed the nucleus of what was then knows as “The Nigerian Career Council”. As a result of the widening of the activities of the council throughout Nigeria, the name Counselling Associated of Nigeria (CAN). The organisation has been very effective in the development of guidance service in Nigeria by organizing workshops, conferences, seminars, symposium and soon, to disseminate guidance information. They published a journal called “the counsellor” currently it has led to the organizing of the guidance units by federal and state ministries of education.