UTILIZATION OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING AS A SUPPORT SERVICE FOR ENHANCING STUDENTS' PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN, ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The study investigated the utilization of guidance and counselling as a support service for enhancing students' personnel administration in public secondary schools in Anambra State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study.  The research design adopted for this study was a descriptive survey design.  The study covered the 262 public secondary schools in the six education zones in Anambra State.  The sample of the study consisted of a sample of 550 respondents (100 principals and 450 teachers) in public secondary schools in the six education zones in Anambra State. The instrument for data collection was the researchers’ developed questionnaire. The face and content validity of the instrument were established by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was determined using a trial – test conducted in Enugu State. The Cronbach-Alpha method which yielded overall average reliability estimate of 0.80 which showed that the instrument was reliable. The researchers collected the data with the aid of five research assistants.  The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while t-test statistics was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Constraints identified by the study amongst others include disgruntled, frustrated and unrealistic individuals plagued the society, lack of students exposure to available opportunities in the society, lack of knowledge on subject combinations leading to a job, lack of training and personal qualities needed for several jobs, lack of career prospects and learning prospects, lack of career guide that provides information on courses, occupation and career paths.  The study also found out that helping students choose their career, according to their interests, skills and the available employment opportunities, self -assessment in relation to their chosen subject of study, access to information about various occupational structures and requirements are among the strategies to enhance effective Guidance and Counselling as a support service in public secondary schools. Based on the findings, the study recommends that counseling services be established in all schools and colleges to enable students achieve their overall development.