An investigation into guidance and counseling services and their effect on behaviour management in primary schools in Nyeri county, Kenya.

Abstract

Guidance plays an important role in preventing educational, personal, social, mental emotional and other similar problems among primary school pupils worldwide. This study sought to investigate the effects of guidance and counselling services on behaviour management in primary schools in Nyeri County, Kenya. The objectives of this study were: to establish the strategies that guidance and counselling service providers apply for effective behaviour management; find out the training level for guidance and counselling services providers; to examine the teacher’s and pupils ’attitude towards guidance and counselling services in school; and to examine how frequent guidance and counselling service is offered in primary schools in Nyeri County. The study was based on person-centered theory and reality theory. The study used mixed research methodology and employ triangulation research design. The study employed purposive and random sampling to select a sample of 406 subjects that comprised of 58 headteachers, 58 teacher counsellors and 290 pupils. The sampling was random for the pupils; and purposive for the headteachers and the guidance and counselling teachers. The instruments used in this study were questionnaire for the head teachers, interviews schedule for counselling teachers and focused group discussions for pupils. Piloting of the research instruments was done on five head teachers, five teacher counsellors and 25 pupils in the same county, who were not included in the final study. Data collected was coded, and analysed using a computer programme, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 The study established that the guidance and counselling departments in majority of the primary schools in Nyeri were active, and the pupils did receive counselling services; the strategies that the guidance and counselling teachers applied were effective in behaviour management; and teachers who offered guidance and counselling in the schools, had undergone some basic training in guidance and counselling. However, they lacked professionalism in counselling, and this did have an effect in behaviour management of the pupils. The counselling teachers were available for counselling of the pupils in various areas, and this had an effect on behaviour management of the pupils. The pupils had a positive attitude towards counselling in the primary schools, and this had an effect on behaviour management. However, some of the pupils shied away from disclosing to their teachers, some of their counselling needs. The study recommends that the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) should review the teacher training syllabus, and include more content on Guidance and Counselling and behaviour development of the pupils. This information will equip the teachers being trained with the strategies to handle behaviour management, by use of Guidance and Counselling. Further, the study recommends that the schools should review and allocate more time to counselling issues, in order to effectively handle the guidance and counselling cases in the school.