INFLUENCE OF GUIDANCE ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Guidance can be said to have started all over the world as a movement at the beginning of 20th Century as a reaction to change process in an industrialized society. Guidance services were set up within the department of education in September 1968 when a consultant Louis, made recommendations and was sent over to Nigeria by United Nation’s Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), (Summit, 1997). Globally, guidance as a major service is
an essential element in management of discipline among the people in any society. It could be difficult for any society to function well without the maintaining of discipline.
School guidance programs have therefore been introduced to assist students overcome numerous challenges they experience at home and at school in other to yield positive result in their academic achievement and performances. Nziramasanga (1999) states that because of many environmental pressures imposed on the family, parents tend to spend little time with their children to give them the necessary guidance which might go a long way to affect
their academic performances. However, the parents expect the school to provide solutions to the indiscipline caused by their negligence in their children (UNESCO, 2002). Nigerian adults have become more concerned with earning money and are less bothered by traditional practices that formerly contributed to the upbringing of young people. In Nigeria, the need for guidance and counseling in schools has been recognized when a survey was done on 20 school counselors selected from different states of the federation and the main problems examined. It was noted that, there is great need for a clear rationale and guidelines for Guidance and Counseling programs, and also the Guidance Counselors (Taylor and Francis, 1998). The main goal is to help the counsel learn to deal more effectively with himself anytime he/she is in trouble and the reality of his environment so as to improve the counselee’s academic performances. Allis and Kame (1999) conducted a survey in Alexandria in Egypt on indiscipline among 2170 preparatory and secondary school students attending mainstream governmental schools, in this study Indiscipline among school students and its predictors were investigated. Few indiscipline cases were related to family background whereas the majority was related to the children themselves and according to the research it has a major effect on the academic performance of these students. Schools are social organizations which have several objectives to achieve and role in guidance of students in shaping their academic performances.
