PROBLEMS CONFRONTING COUNSELLING SERVICES IN SCHOOLS AS PERCEIVED BY PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLORS IN KWARA STATE

Abstract

The study investigated problems confronting counselling services as perceived by professional counsellors in Kwara State. The study looked at the effect of gender, marital status and educational qualifications on the perception of the respondent. The study used the descriptive survey method, and 200 participants were chosen through the use of an accidental sampling technique. The instrument used to gather the required information was a questionnaire type called the Problems Confronting Counselling Services Questionnaire (PCCSQ). The reliability coefficient for the PCCSQ was 0.81, which was obtained through the test-retest method. To direct the course of the investigation, one research question and three null hypotheses were raised to guide the conduct of the study. The findings revealed many problems confronting counselling services which include time constraints, uncooperative clients, and a lack of assistance from parents and insufficient facilities, the t-test and ANOVAstatistics were used to test the hypotheses, with a significance level of 0.05. The findings indicated that gender, marital status, and educational qualification were all significantly different on how professional counsellors in Kwara State perceived problems confronting counselling services. Based on the findings, it is then advised that schools give enough time for counselling so that the counsellor and students can have adequate interaction, and that the Government should provide funds for counselling initiatives to ensure prompt implementation.