Popularity and unpopularity factors, and their relationship to academic achievement among standard three children in Thika municipality, Kenya

Abstract

The research study looked at the types of guidance and counselling services provided in secondary schools. It focused on the structure and content of the programme in terms of the manner in which it was conducted, methods and approaches used, personnel involved in guidance counselling and programmer’s influence and impact on institutions' discipline and harmony. The study found that on the whole guidance and counselling is established and operational in schools and that students considered the programme helpful. Heads of institutions were supportive of theprogramme but its strength depended to large extent on the caliber and commitment of the guidance counselling department personnel. Teachers carried out guidance counselling with a certain degree of proficiency; however, they were constrained by inadequate training, and lack of adequate resources, which included print materials and formal school/official guidelines on guidance counselling. The study also found that lack of teachers' selection and appointment criteria affected the quality of personnel appointed to the guidance counselling department selection tended to more subjective than objective. Lastly but not least, the study found that lack of time to provide counselling influenced the quality and tempo of counselling services at the institutions.