Assessment of Relationships between Students’ Counselling Needs, Class Levels and Locations: A Benue State Technical Colleges Study

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the relationships between students’ counselling needs, of technical college students in Benue State. It also assessed the relationships on the area of class level and location. A multiple sampling design reflecting stratification by gender, class level, location and type of school ownership was applied in selecting two hundred and eighty-six participants drawn from three technical colleges randomly selected from Technical Colleges in the State. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviations) were used to answer the three research questions that guided the study while inferential statistics (z-test, ANOVA and New Duncan Multiple Range Test) were used in testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of confidence: The Inventory (adapted) was a 46 item, four-point rating scale classified into four broad need areas: A- Social Relationship problems; B- Problems about the Future; C- Academic and Study problems and D- School Adjustment problems. The respondents evaluated those items in terms of the degree with which they constituted problems to them. The major findings of the work among others revealed that except in the area of social Relationship problems, there were no significant sex differences in their perceptions of the problems. Apart from problems about the Future, there were significant differences due to class level on the Social Relationship, Academic and Study and School Adjustment Problems of students. Type of school ownership has no significant effect on the counselling needs of Technical College students. Recommendations for further studies were equally made. Variables: class levels, location and type of ownership were explored and tested and the study also revealed that except between the component Variables D (School Adjustment Problems) and C (Academic and Study Problems), there were no observed differences between the component variables in their responses. Recommendations were made based on the findings

Keywords: Counselling Needs, School Ownership, Location, Technical Colleges