Assessment of Challenges facing Secondary School Guidance and Counselling Teachers in Nyamira District, Kenya

Abstract

Guidance and counselling services are part of a broader delivery system designed to enhance the    success of all learners.This study assessed different challenges that guidance and counselling teachers in secondary schools in Nyamira County encounter in providing this vital service. The study employed an ex-post facto descriptive survey design.  It was limited to 21 secondary schools: Fourteen day and seven boarding secondary schools in Nyamira County with Practicing Guidance and Counselling teachers.  Sex was not a factor in the study.  In all, there were 147 respondents (21 Head teachers, 21 teacher counsellors and 5 students from each of the selected schools). Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used in selecting the sample for the study.  Three four-point likert type scale questionnaires were used to obtain data for the study;  Secondary school students’ Questionnaire (SSSQ), Secondary school teacher counsellors’ Questionnaire (SSTCQ); and Secondary school Head Teachers’ Questionnaire (SSHTQ).  The reliability coefficient on SSSQ and SSTCQ of 0.65 and 0.67 respectively were obtained while an alpha coefficient of 0.80 was established for SSHTQ.  The data was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics and the chi-square test, using the SPSS package.  The findings indicate that there are a number of challenges facing the provision of guidance and counselling services.  These include: lack of adequate guidance and counselling training for teacher counsellors; inadequate resources; and lack of requisite support to guidance and counselling programmes among other challenges.  Recommendations made on ways of overcoming the challenges in order to improve the quality of counselling services include; a need for schools to provide basic counseling materials, a counselling office equipped with career resources and school administration endeavouring to reduce teacher counselor workload so as to have enough time to offer the guidance and counseling service.

Key words: Assessment, Guidance and Counselling, Resources, Attitude, Nyamira county.