The role of guidance and counseling in helping student to be well adjusted in selected secondary schools in Magumoni division, Meru-South district, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of Guidance and Counselling in helping students to be welladjusted in schools. The review of the literature related to the meaning of the two terms; Guidance and Counselling, their correlation and their significance.

Four Form Three classes from purposively sampled schools in Magumoni Division, Meru South District and four Guidance and Counselling teachers from the selected schools were involved in the study. The sampled schools were two mixed schools, one boys' school and one girls' school. These are schools that have Guidance and Counselling programmes. There 'were about 78 female students, 76 male students, two male and two female Guidance and counselling teachers who were used in the study.

A pilot study was first conducted to ensure validity of the research instrument before the actual data collection. The main research instrument used was the questionnaire, both for students and the teachers.

Tables,: frequency and percentages were used to present the data. The findings revealed that Guidance and counselling played a major role in helping students to adjust. Generally, where the service is offered, both students and teachers felt that it helped the students to change their behaviour and especially it is a main tool to control students' unrest or strikes.

The results of the present study are not generalizable because the findings were based on a small research sample comprising only form three students within a specific locality. To get more conclusive results, the researcher recommends that similar studies be replicated in a wider scope; different schools from various provinces and students drawn from different levels of learning.