SELF-MANAGEMENT COUNSELLING TECHNIQUES’ EFFECT ON A VOIDANCE BEHA VIOUR AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LAFIAGI KW ARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

School avoidance behaviour among secondary school students poses a serious threat to academic success, emotional wellbeing, and social development. Although counselling interventions have been widely explored, few studies have examined their effectiveness across distinct behavioural problems such as general avoidance. This study emphasizes the importance of dimension-specific, evidence-based interventions in addressing school avoidance behaviour by determining the effects of Self-Management Counselling Technique (SMCT) on academic and conflict dimensions of school avoidance behaviour among secondary school students in Lafiagi, Kwara State, Nigeria. The study adopted quasi-experimental research design involving pretest-posttest only and focused on 200 secondary school students identified with school avoidance behaviour in Lafiagi Kwara state, Nigeria. Participants were identified using the School Avoidance Behaviour Checklist (SABC) and 20 most ranked students were purposively selected.

Data was collected from the identified students using School Avoidance Behaviour

Questionnaire (SABQ) and were analyzed using paired sample t-tests. Two null hypotheses were raised and tested at 0.05 level of significant. Results indicated that SMCT (t= 41.584; p=.000<.05) significantly reduced academic-related avoidance behaviour, but do not have a significant

effect on conflict-related avoidance behaviour (t =.410, p =.691 >.05). Thus, concluded that

self-management counselling technique hard positive effect on academic dimension of school avoidance behaviour but not on conflict dimension of school avoidance behaviour among the students.The study recommended the use of SMCT for managing academic-related school

avoidance behaviour, and integration of other strategies for conflict-related school avoidance behaviour.