Secondary Schools Have the Extraordinary Difficult Task of Educating Today’s Youth - Arts & Humanities Assignment Help

Assignment Task

ABSTRACT

The Government of Kenya in 1992 through its national policy on education highlighted the need for guidance and counseling services in Kenya’s educational system to address the young people’s apparent lack of awareness concerning skills on how to deal with some social problems. This called for the training of teachers in the field of guidance and counseling (Republic of Kenya, 1997). This study calls for an evaluation on follow-up of what has transpired in our schools since then, for reports of rampant students? riot and property destruction have continued to feature up to this moment. The study was guided by the following objectives; nature of counseling interventions administered in schools, Attitudes of students towards guidance and counseling, Effects of guidance and counseling in reducing student’s riots and Factors that hinder effective guidance and counseling.
The study employed descriptive research design. Both primary and secondary data was collected. The study targeted 26 schools, 26 secondary school principals, 26 teacher counselors and 7,510 students. The sample size was 12 schools, 12 school heads, 12 teacher-counselors in charge of G&C departments and 96 students. Stratified random sampling and proportional allocation methods were used to sample and identify the number of schools in different stratum. Systematic random sampling method was used to sample the students involved in the study. Key informants were purposely sampled. Structured questionnaire with both open and closed questions was the main instrument of data collection. Interview guide was used to administer interviews for key informants.
The study findings reveal that most schools are offering more of group and entire school forms of G&C than individual counseling which is more superior. The study found that attitudes of students towards G&C are still negative. Findings on effects of G&C in reducing students? unrests indicate that school riots are declining as more schools put emphasis on G&C interventions. Most students concurred that G&C has helped them resolve most of the problems they face hence contributed to a positive behavior change. The study also found that there are many hindrances to effective G&C such as teacher counselors lack relevant training in counseling, high teaching work load and lack of financial support among others.
The study concludes that the remaining levels of unrests in schools are attributable to the remaining unresolved students’ problems that have not been addressed through group and entire school forms of counseling. The study recommends that schools should enhance individual counseling which is more superior, specific efforts be made to particularly improve attitudes of students towards G&C, G&C interventions be tailored to address emerging family issues and stress management among students and finally, government to work towards reducing syllabus load.

Background
Secondary schools have the extraordinary difficult task of educating today’s youth who will someday be responsible for political, economic and cultural well-being of the nation. Ideally, contentious teacher and dedicated school administration provide students with essential social and intellectual skills. With the government ban of corporal punishment in 2001 as a strategy for managing indiscipline in schools, school’s administration is left with the option of suspension, expulsion and manual work but with the emphasis on guiding and counseling the victim.

Guiding is more of directing, teaching and coaching. For example, a tour guide is someone who directs, instructs, informs and teaches. He/she should have gone through that path many times to research and has taken time to research and familiarize with the place. A tour guide instills confidence and where need be holds one’s hand; when one is hurt, he gives first aid. Counseling on the other hand is cultural. Culturally an older, more knowledgeable person, not only listened to client but he/she corrected and trained through proverbs, wise saying, folk tales and some songs and dances. Guidance and counseling has existed in one form or another since the very beginning of human civilization. People sought comfort and solace from family and close association. However, it is only in the recent past that Counseling has emerged as a component of educational system which has deep roots in the values of individual freedom, rights, dignity and worth as a human being (Narayama, 2002:2)
Guidance and counseling are two terms which are generally used interchangeably though they are different in meaning. Guidance is defined by Narayana, 2002:34 as “the assistance given to an individual in making intelligent choices and adjustment” It is concerned with promoting the civilization of one’s own potential. In other words, it helps people to solve problems, it does not solve problems. Counseling is defined by Gustard (1953) as “a learning oriented process, carried on in a simple, one to one social environment in which the counselor, professionally competent in relevant psychological skills and knowledge, seeks to assist the client by methods appropriate to the latter’s needs within the correct context of the total personnel program, to learn how to put such understanding into effect in relation to more clearly perceived realistically defined goals to the end that the client may become a happier and more productive member of the society”.

Guidance and counseling movement had its origin in Europe and the U.S.A in the 19th century but did not gather momentum until the beginning of the 20th century. The Pioneers, one of whom was Frank Parsons of Boston U.S.A concentrated on the provision of occupational information in the period between 1905 and 1909.

Later there was a move towards the use of most objective methods. Guidance in traditional African society involved educating the youth about the tradition and cultures of the community. This was done from generation to generation by the elders. The objective of the guidance was to mold the individual in such a way that he/she fitted in the society as a responsible member of the community (Mutie 1999:9).
Guidance in schools in Africa is a relatively new concept. Due to economic and social changes which in turn have resulted in the weakening of the structures of the traditional society, boys and girls in schools need to be fully guided regarding the relationship between health and the environment, life-learning skills, the knowledge and attitudes that lead to success or failure in life, for instance different vocational avenues, understanding the requirement, demands, limitations and prospects of vocational development (Narayana, 2002). In Kenya guidance is becoming increasingly important because the country is faced with many new problems requiring special psychological or social service which are peripheral to education (Mutie and Ndambuki 1999:11). The students in our Kenyan schools have not been exceptional. The Kenyan youth in our contemporary society are facing major immerging issues like HIV / AIDS, poverty, child abuse, I internally displaced people due to tribal clashes and a lot of malpractice in counseling.

Counseling assists in opening educational and vocational opportunities to students. It helps them acquire the right values and attitudes that will make them productive and useful citizen. It will also help them acquire self-esteem, a sense of identity, values and beliefs that can guide their behavior and form their characters. Lack of effective or proper guidance and counseling in schools may hinder students from discovering themselves, their potential and interest. Some students may go to school, and leave without any idea of the kind of jobs upon their “blink” future. Therefore, young people need guidance and counseling than ever before, for they are living in a considerably more complex world than it was ten years ago (Makinde, 1984:177).
In schools, if the collaboration between teachers and students is good, students learn in a practical way. Young people develop degrees of freedom in their lives as they become aware of options and take advantage of them. At its best, counseling should enable people to throw off chains and manage life situations effectively (UNESCO, 2000:10). The term counseling is used is used number of ways. For instance, counseling may be viewed as a series of definite direct contacts between a counselor and client aimed at offering the client assistance in adjusting effectively to himself / herself and the environment, as a series of intentions or as a psychological process in terms of its goals (June, 200:3-4).
The counselor must therefore go beyond mere interest in the subject and equip himself/herself with the relevant knowledge because counseling deals with complex domain of human behavior.
School heads many of whom lack leadership qualities do not make matters any easier. They often do not provide for good communication and more often than not students are left out in major decision which affects them, such as subject selection and making school rules. As a result, the students feel alienated and oppressed. They therefore find it hard to identity positively with the school rules or the prefects and this causes stress and conflicts (Ndiragu, 2000:42)

Research Questions
The research questions were;

-What counseling interventions services are given to students in secondary schools?
-What are the attitudes of students towards Guidance and Counseling in Kangundo secondary schools?
-To what extent has Guidance and Counseling contributed to behavior change and reduced levels of student riots in Kangundo secondary schools?
-What factors have hindered effective counseling in creation of a peaceful atmosphere in Kangundo secondary schools?

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