| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of guidance and counseling in curbing students' indiscipline in public secondary schools in Nyeri District. The following were the specific objectives of the study; to establish the types of guidance and counseling services offered in public secondary schools, to examine the perception of students and teacher counselors towards guidance and counseling in public secondary schools, to examine the challenges encountered by secondary schools in the implementation of the guidance and counseling programme, to describe the types of facilities that were put in place by the school management for guidance and counseling.
This study employed a descriptive survey design. The target population for the study included students in public secondary schools in Nyeri District. Nyeri District had Twenty reported cases of unrest in the year 2008 the only District that had registered a decrease in unrests among other districts in Central province as compared with unrest cases in years 2000 and 2001. This study was carried out to establish whether the observed change in behaviour was influenced by effectiveness in Guidance and Counseling. Simple random sampling and stratified sampling was used to select the students and teachers. Data was collected using questionnaires. The pilot study was used to determine the validity and reliability of the questionnaires. The researcher used test¬retest technique to ascertain the reliability of data.
There is availability of guidance and counseling with (214) 89.3 percent of the students indicating availability of guidance and counseling services in their schools. The students and teachers identified three types of guidance and counseling services that were offered in their schools, these were individual, group and peer counseling. The perception of students and teacher towards guidance and counseling in public secondary schools with 86.4 percent of the students ranking guidance and counseling offered in their schools as good. Unwillingness of the students to give information with (121) 52.1 percent was a challenge that inhibited the implementation of guidance and counseling services in secondary school. (101) 43.2 percent of the students saying that counseling took place in the dinning/ multipurpose hall when for all (group counseling), counseling department office, in field and under trees, classroom and in the laboratory hall. The headteachers suggested ways of curbing unrest in secondary schools, which included offering guidance and counseling to enhance discipline and to curb school unrest. They agreed that the schools should have programmes for spiritual nourishment.
From the study, the following conclusions were drawn: students knew and appreciated guidance and counseling services in their schools. The students' perception towards guidance and counseling in public secondary schools was positive. With the students ranking guidance and counseling as good shows that they appreciated the services that were offered by the teacher counselor, peer counselors and hired counselors. They acquired quality counseling coping skills from their teachers as well as hired counselors.
The challenges that inhibited guidance and counseling services in secondary schools which included; reluctant clients on the part of students and mistrust of students towards the teacher counselors. Inadequate facilities like guidance and counseling office, books and financial limitations are all issues inhibiting guidance and counseling services in secondary schools in Nyeri district.
The following recommendations were drawn; in-service courses and clinics for teacher counselor be organised often at different levels, National, provincial and district by the Ministry of Education to keep the teacher counselors abreast with skills and techniques to deal with the emerging issues among the students. Trained counselors to be posted in secondary schools as counselors and be exempted from other roles so as to deal with guidance and counseling effectively. Counseling facilities to be availed in secondary schools for the guidance and counseling departments. Guidance and counseling be included in the curriculum planning at all levels of teacher training. To curb school unrest, dialogue should be encouraged between the students and school administration through involvement of students in decision making on rules and regulations in a school.
The researcher proposes further research in the following areas; a research to be carried out on the role of the teacher counselor in secondary school in Nyeri district and the methods used by teacher's-counselor to offer effectiveness of guidance and counseling in secondary schools in Nyeri district. | en |
