CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Guidance and counseling are two closely interrelated concepts. According to Makinde (1984) and Patterson (1977) guidance refer to a broad area of all educational activities and services aimed at assisting individuals students to understand themselves and adjust to school life.
Mutie and Ndambuki (1999) defined it as a learning – oriented process which occurs in an interactive relationship with the aim of helping the clients to learn about themselves.
Guidance and counseling is therefore aimed at bringing about maximum development and self realization of human potential for the benefit of the individual and society. In schools, or any lear4ning environment, the programme assists students in harmonizing their abilities understand values; also enable them to develop their full potential.
The development of guidance and counseling originated from Europe and the united states of America in 1900`s while in Africa it was in the commencement of modern guidance and counseling can be traced back to 1958 when catholic reverend sister in St. Theresa’s collage Ibadan, recognized the need to give adequate career or vacation guidance to the final year students, the Reverend sister was assisted by Mrs. Oruwarige specialist and the other interested and enlightened members, who made their marks to give career talks on their professions to the final year students. At the end of the exercise, the outcome was encouraging, this was how guidance and counseling started in Nigeria, and the movement continues to various institutions and schools etc.
Federal government appreciates the need for guidance and counseling services in our schools and reflected it on its National policy on Education (1981). This has helped to make all the state governments to establish guidance and counseling units in their ministries of Education, in addition to counseling units the university and other institution.
Suffice to say that although guidance and counseling is relatively new to the Nigerian Education scene. It is gradually making its impact and still involving.
It is also playing a great role in the implication of the ongoing 6-3-3-4 Education system. But, despite the implication of guidance and counseling in all the primary and post primary schools, it has been observed that the academic performance of our students, particularly in the public schools, seems to be declining, because of poor study habits among students. These necessitated the need to find out, if guidance and counseling can influence the academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria.
Verron, Adamson and Verron (1979), suggested that one of such variables that influence academic performance of students is their study habit. Usually students adopt various study habits but the strategic question is “how do these study habits relate to their academic performances”?
Effective study simply means the application of one’s mind to the acquisition of knowledge with in-depth and methodical thinking and reflection, attentive observation and careful detailed investigation.
Parents have the right to know how their children are doing in school. Truly one would expect their grades that can mean the difference between graduating and being left behind, between obtaining a well paid job and getting only a maximum wage. Again, many fresh entrants into the institutions of higher learning are posed with extensive reading tasks. While some may explore and acquire useful study techniques that would enable them cope appropriately with any given task, yet some others may device force and un-orthodox methods culminating in examination malpractices, to sorting etc, Therefore leaving the institution without acquiring any useful knowledge.