1.0 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Guidance can be said to have kicked off as a worldwide movement around the turn of the twentieth century as a reaction to the process of change in an industrialized society. In September in the year 1968, when a consultant named Louis made recommendations and was dispatched to Nigeria by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), guidance services were established inside the department of education. Guidance, is an important service, is a key component in maintaining discipline among people in any society. It may be very difficult for any community to function properly if discipline is not maintained.

As a result, school guidance programs have been established to aid school students in overcoming the myriad challenges they face at home and at school in order to improve their academic attainment and performance. According to Jack et al (2010), due to numerous environmental demands placed on the family, parents tend to spend little time with their children in order to provide them with the essential guidance, which may have a significant impact on their academic performance and achievement. Parents, on the other hand, expect the school to address the indiscipline that their children have developed as a result of their neglect (UNESCO, 2012).

According to Oniye and Alawane (2018), an effective guidance program aids school students in harmonizing their strengths, interests, and values, allowing them to reach their maximum potential. It guides school students in making proper career and academic choices, as well as resolving discipline, education, social, and psychological issues, and adjusting to school life in general. Victor (2016) defines guidance as a specialist service that assists an individual in resolving key personal, educational, and vocational issues. He therefore went on to say that guidance is "personal assistance provided by an expert to an individual in order to help him or her decide where he or she wants to go, what he or she wants to do, and how best to fulfill his or her purpose. “In the early 1900s, Europe and the United States of America pioneered the creation of guiding and counseling. Meyer Bloomfield created a comprehensive guidance program for pupils in the United States in 1911. The focus was on vocational information, awareness of the working world, employment location, and exam anxiety reduction (kwado, 2014). They pointed out that attitudes toward advice have shifted dramatically since the 2010s, and that one of the responsibilities of school guidance and counselling is to comprehend youth's difficulties. To back up this claim, a research in the United States evaluated the impact of counseling on pupils using a random sample of 100 counsellor education programs. The study discovered that advice and counseling have a considerable impact on a student's academic achievement. This indicates that most schools have prioritized academic excellence and, in particular, intervention through advisory programs. This growth prompted teacher counsellors to provide assistance and counseling in secondary schools, not just to underachieving and maladjusted kids, but also to gifted students who are unsure what to do with their ability. Jamie (2010) opined that it is generally accepted that in Nigeria the organized and formal guidance service begun in 1959 at St. Theresa’s College, Oke-Ado Oyo state, by a group of dedicated religious reverend sisters who had the perception of the need for proper guidance in job selection for their secondary school leavers. They invited thirty outsiders to advise them about placing fifty of their final year female students in appropriate careers. This is about eight decades after the birth of an established and functional guidance services in America(Emmanuel at al,2014). Despite the fact that the advisers were not career counselors, they were the backbone of what became the Nigerian Career Council.

In 1961, the Federal Ministry of Education established a guidance unit to encourage guidance education, which was overseen by an education officer from the ministry. This was momentarily discontinued in 2013 as a result of the civil war, but resumed when the 6-3-3-4 educational system was implemented. The government had already acknowledged the importance of guiding in the nation's educational, economic, and social life by the end of the 2010s. The third national development plan (1975-1980) placed a strong emphasis on meeting the country's labor requirements. The Nigerian government recognised that in order for education to be complete, the recipient must feel fulfilled. As a result, in 1976, the Nigerian Guidance Association was founded as an affiliate of the American Personnel and Guidance Association (APGA) (David 2015). By 1981, the Federal Government had written into its National Policy on Education the requirement for advisory services and courses in our institutions. As a result, state governmnt established guidance units within their ministries of education, in addition to guidance and counseling sections in universities (carey et al 2010).

Academic performance refers to a student's ability to complete tasks and studies (Scort, 2012). According to him, it shows the educational outcome, or the degree to which a student, instructor, or institution has met their educational objectives. According to Aremu and Sokan (2013), academic performance is seen as a performance that is assessed to be below an expected standard by the examiner and some important individuals. They discovered that school kids' academic performance has deteriorated in recent years, which they ascribe to a range of issues including students' incapacity to manage their time, peer pressure, family factors, and so on. There are several concerns and challenges that school students face in Nigerian schools. Some engage in violent and illegal behavior, as well as drug addiction, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, underage pregnancies, and induced abortions. These elements have a direct effect on students' academic success as well as their personal lives. According to Kapur (2018), these factors may obstruct their psychological approach, and individuals may encounter serious issues such as depression, trauma, or stress as a result. As a result, he proposed that guidance and counseling services be formed in schools to assist students in finding answers to their issues, concentrating on their studies, and becoming responsible members of society.

As a result, guidance and counseling enhances each student's complete growth. This demonstrates the need for every teacher to become a 'guidance minded' teacher in the course of performing his or her duties with the goal of making a difference in the lives of his or her students.

The career decision that teenagers make while still in school is a significant turning point in their lives. However, depending on the strength of the direction they receive, this decision plays a significant part in placing youngsters on a career route that opens as well as closes chances. Because of their particular qualities, adolescents with special needs, such as those with severe mental impairment, may not even complete secondary school education; nonetheless, competent guidance will assist these adolescents in their professional development as early as feasible. Guidance exposes students to a variety of career development activities in order to assist them in selecting, preparing for, and effectively entering careers. The academic performance of Nigerian schools has been steadily deteriorating over time, according to the law (UNESCO,2012). This has a negative impact on the education ministry's many programs aimed at improving academic performance in the area. The study's major goal was to look into the function of guidance programs in boosting students' self-esteem and facilitating better academic performance. Since the ministry's efforts are being reviewed. There was no information available on the extent to which the guidance program has been employed to help school pupils improve their academic performance. The purpose of this study was to gain some insight into these challenges and to determine the relationship between secondary school guidance and academic performance.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Academic performance of secondary schools in Nigeria has been declining over time. This has a poor reflection on the various programmes put in place to promote academic performance in the area. The main concern was the role of guidance programme in improving the self-image of the students and facilitating better achievement in academic performance. Little information was available on the extent to which guidance programme has been used to assist in raising the academic performance of school students. In its National Policy on Education (2004), the Nigerian federal government mandated that all states incorporate guidance and counseling services in their school curricula. Nonetheless, one is dismayed by the sluggishness with which some state governments have implemented this critical education policy. This is demonstrated by the fact that just 70 of the 201 public secondary schools in states where professional counseling is required have it.

This has had a constant influence on students' academic performance. It's no surprise that the state's overall performance in the external Examination of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) has been low over the years, as has the rate of student transition to tertiary institutions. This begs the question: Does the guidance services have an influence on students' academic performance? This was the topic the researcher wanted to look into.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of guidance on academic performance of students

1) To examine the benefits of guidance services on academic performance of students

2) To examine the influence of guidance on academic performance of students

3) To ascertain if the Access to guidance and counseling services influences students’ school life and career choice

4) To examine if teacher knowledge of the efficiency of guidance  services will influence academic performance of students

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1) What are the benefits of guidance services on academic performance of students?

2) What is the influence of guidance on academic performance of students?

3) how does the Access to guidance and counseling services influences students’ school life and career choice?

4) how does teacher knowledge of the efficiency of guidance  services influence academic performance of students?

1.5 HYPOTHESES

Hypothesis 1:

HO: benefits of guidance services will influence students’ academic performance

H1: benefits of guidance services will influence students’ academic performance

Hypothesis 2:

Ho: There is a significant influence of guidance on the academic performance of students

H1: There is a significant influence of guidance on the academic performance of students

Hypothesis 3:

HO: Access to guidance and counseling services does not influences students’ school life and career choice

H1:  Access to guidance and counseling services influences students’ school life and career choice

Hypothesis 4:

Ho: teacher knowledge of the efficiency of guidance services will not influence academic performance of students

H1: teacher knowledge of the efficiency of guidance services will influence academic performance of students

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

 The study aimed at examining the influence of guidance on academic performance of students. It was therefore delimited to the ascertainment of the types of guidance services being offered, the influence of these services on students’ academic performance.

1.7 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

In recent past it has been assumed that guidance services in schools have an influence on the academic performance of students. This claims hasn’t not be clarified therefore this study aim at critically analyzing if the claims are true with concrete conclusions and research findings

1.8 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the program is used to address issues that students face in the classroom. This stage will aid in the provision of relevant information that can be used to revamp and energize the program by those involved, such as the Ministry of Education, institution administrators, teacher counselors, and students, in order to improve academic achievement and total self-actualization. The study's findings will assist teacher counselors in determining the influence of counseling on academic success in their specific schools. This study will also be used by the Ministry of Education to determine whether the guidance program is an effective way to solve the challenges that school children face in the country. The research will also aid school administrators in evaluating their contribution to the guidance program and its impact on students' academic success. When the Ministry of Education's Guidance and Counseling unit develops a well-thought-out guidance program that is implemented by teacher counselors with the cooperation of school administrators, school students gain by enhancing their academic performance and self-actualization.

1.9 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study would cover Influence of guidance on academic performance. The researcher was faced with the following constraints in carrying out this study:

Time: The time within the researcher is too short to carry on the detail study on this topic.

Resources: Another constraint of the researcher is financial resources to carry on the detail study of this topic. Data: Another limitation to this study will be lack of data to make valid study on the research problem