Nigerian Journal of Guidance and Counselling

An assessment of the effect of divorce on divorcees within the assemblies of God Church, Sege, Tema

Aaron Adjei — 2025-03-11

This study explores the psychological, emotional, and spiritual effects of divorce among individuals within the Assemblies of Church, Sege, Tema. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research involved 150 participants for the quantitative survey, from which 48 participants were selected for in-depth qualitative interviews using purposive sampling. The study examines both the challenges and positive outcomes of divorce, focusing on the role of support systems, religious faith, and personal resilience. Quantitative data revealed significant levels of depression and anxiety post-divorce, with many participants experiencing social isolation and emotional turmoil. However, qualitative interviews highlighted a gradual emotional recovery, facilitated by faith-based support and professional counselling. Many respondents reported spiritual growth, deepening their relationship with God and achieving personal transformation postdivorce. These findings underscore the importance of support networks in aiding recovery and suggest that divorce, though challenging, can foster personal discovery and spiritual deepening. The study contributes to the development of targeted church-based interventions that promote both emotional healing and personal growth within religious communities.

Mental health challenges of married women in Ilorin Metropolis: Insights from clinical experiences

Adeola Aminat Odebode — 2025-03-11

This qualitative study explored the mental health challenges faced by married women in Ilorin Metropolis, drawing insights from their experiences in a counselling clinic. The study employed a phenomenological approach to capture the essence of the participants' experiences. Ten participants were purposely selected from women who sought counselling services, based on their willingness to share their lived experiences. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted in a private setting within the counselling clinic. This ensured confidentiality, comfort for the participants and narrative-based understanding of the psychological issues they encountered within their marital lives. Thematic analysis was used to identify and interpret the key themes emerging from the data. The findings revealed that the mental health challenges of these women were deeply intertwined with sociocultural expectations, marital dynamics, and limited access to mental health resources. Many participants reported feelings of isolation, overwhelming responsibilities, and a lack of emotional support from their spouses, contributing to their psychological distress. Participants also expressed that counselling services offer great relief even though, there is a need for improved accessibility and personalized care to better address the diverse needs of married women. The study concluded that the mental health challenges of married women are enormous and they significantly impact their overall well-being. It was recommended among others that there is a strong need for targeted mental health interventions that address the unique needs of this group within clinical settings.

Influence of parental social-economic factors on academic performance as expressed by secondary school students in Kwara State, Nigeria

Hammed Popoola Aminu — 2025-03-11

The study examined the influence of parental social-economic factors on academic performance as expressed by secondary school students in Kwara State, Nigeria. The study employed a descriptive survey design with a multi-stage sampling procedure which involves, purposive, stratified and simple random techniques to select 380 respondents from the study’s population (97, 187). An instrument entitled “Influence of Parental Social-Economic Factors on Students’ Academic Performance Questionnaire” (IPSFSAPQ) was used for the study. The instrument was validated by 5 experienced lecturers in the field of education, and test and measurement. The instrument was also subjected to test re-test method of reliability test and a reliability co-efficient of 0.88 was established. One general research question was raised and answered and three null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance in the study. The results of the study revealed that high parental social-economic status has positive influence on student’s academic performance, but this finding not necessarily suggested that low parental social-economic profile is automatic condition for poor academic performance among secondary school students. The study also discovered no significant difference in the influence of parental social-economic factors on the academic performance of students in Kwara State based on gender and religion but significant difference was discovered based on family type. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended among other things that; students from non-intact families should be assisted in their areas of social-economic need to let them achieve maximally in their education pursuit like their counterparts from the intact families.

Attitude of married women towards family planning in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria

Busayo Omolade Ajibola — 2025-03-11

The study investigated the attitudes of married women towards family planning in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria, highlighting the significance of family planning in managing population growth and improving maternal health. The instrument used to collect the required information was a questionnaire type entitled Attitude of Married Women towards Family Planning in Ogbomoso, Oyo State Questionnaire (AMWTFPQ), the research gathered data from 200 respondents, focusing on their demographic characteristics, age, educational background and number of children. One research question and three null hypotheses were raised to guide the conduct of the study. The findings reveal that a majority of the participants recognize the benefits of family planning, including the prevention of unplanned pregnancies and the promotion of healthier lifestyles. The hypotheses were tested using the t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The results showed a significant difference in attitudes based on the number of children, while no significant differences were found based on age or number of children. The study underscores the necessity for increased awareness and education on family planning, recommending that counsellors should organise seminars and workshops to address misconceptions and enhance the overall attitude of married women towards the family plan. The results contribute to understanding family planning dynamics in Nigeria and emphasize the need for targeted interventions to improve reproductive health outcomes.

Factors responsible for truancy among students as expressed by secondary school teachers in Ilorin, Nigeria: Implications for counselling

Oyelakin Kunmi Ogungbade — 2025-03-11

Truancy has been found as one of the first indicator of academic failure, suspension, expulsion and delinquency. Reports showed that there is alarming rate of truancy in public secondary schools all over the nation. Various stakeholders in education sector are putting in their best to reduce truancy such as school counsellors, psychologists, teachers, school administrators, government, and parents, it is still persisting in various secondary schools in Nigeria. Therefore, this study investigated factors responsible for truancy among students as expressed by secondary school teachers in Ilorin, Nigeria: Implications for counselling. The population of the study comprised 893 teachers in both public and private schools in Ilorin metropolis. A sample of 287 from the three Local Government in Ilorin was used. This is a descriptive survey design. A self-developed questionnaire entitled" Factors Responsible for Truancy questionnaire (FRTQ)" was used. The data was analyzed based on the research question and the hypotheses. The only research question was answered using mean and rank order while the research hypotheses was tested using t- test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 0.05 level of significant. The findings revealed that unmet basic needs like food, clothing or shelter; lack of interest or engagement in school activities and family issues such as parental neglect; peer pressure; bullying or harassment at school are common factors responsible for truancy among students. There were significant differences in the factors responsible for truancy among students as expressed by secondary school teachers in Ilorin, Nigeria based on gender and age while there were no significant differences on school type and educational qualification. It was recommended that Schools, in collaboration with government agencies and non-governmental organizations, should implement support programs for students facing unmet basic needs, such as food, clothing or shelter. Initiatives like school feeding programmes, clothing drives, and partnerships with social services can help alleviate the factors that may lead students to skip school. Also, School Counsellors should advocate for school policies and programmes that can motivate students to long for schooling. Moreover, School Counsellors should create engaging school activities to foster a positive school climate.

Teachers’ perception on the behavioural patterns of students with drug abuse in public secondary schools in Kwara State

Lydia Akunna Agubosi — 2025-03-11

The study investigated the perception of teachers on the behavioural patterns of students with drug abuse in secondary schools in Kwara State. A descriptive survey was adopted. The population comprised teachers in secondary schools in Kwara State. 300 respondents were used for the study. The questionnaire was used to collect data. The test re-test method was used to obtain a reliability coefficient of 0.78 for the instrument. Data was analysed with mean, rank order, t-test and analysis of variance. Hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level. Findings showed significant differences in the perception of teachers on the behavioural patterns of students with drug abuse based on gender, educational qualification and family type while no significant differences existed based on teaching experience and religion. Based on the findings it is recommended that school counsellors and school authorities should monitor the manner of behaviour of students to be at alert for drug abusers.

Teachers’ awareness of dyslexia among lower and upper school students in Ondo State, Nigeria

Temitope Abiodun Balogun — 2025-03-11

Previous studies on dyslexia awareness among primary and junior secondary school teachers that focus on some individual communities in Nigeria are common in literature. However, none of the previous studies have focussed on each state in Nigeria. In our present study, we focus on Ondo state as a whole in Nigeria to determine the level of dyslexia awareness among primary and junior secondary school teachers. A descriptive research design was adopted, and the findings show that there is a low level of awareness of dyslexia among the teachers and that dyslexia as a concept should be incorporated into the general studies curriculum for all pre-service teachers to prepare the would-be teachers for identifying and managing dyslexic students. We submit also that it is not unlikely that many dyslexic students, if not all, at least, in view of our different experiences as former students either in the sixties or seventies in the Nigerian public schools who had witnessed the then general rule of ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’, must have been unfairly treated for their poor academic performance and unjustifiably punished and publicly ridiculed in the class for an academic offence not deliberately committed by them. The research concludes that there should be a synergy between the Ministries of Education and Health to determine the state of health of school age children and identify the ones with special needs for special attention to guide against bully and vulgarity in language use by teachers against students with learning disabilities.

The role of guidance counsellor in eradicating maladjusted behaviour in Nigerian schools

Funmilayo Opeyemi Gidado — 2025-03-11

The trend of maladjusted behaviour is on the increase in the society and thereby become worrisome phenomenon especially among stakeholders in the education industry. This paper therefore examined the role of guidance counsellor in eradicating maladjusted behaviour in Nigeria schools. It presented discussion on causes forms and consequences of maladjusted behaviour in school was examined. Major causes of maladjusted behaviour include family background, school and society while the forms of maladjusted behaviour include nagging, truancy, aggression, and academic dishonesty. Maladjusted behaviour has the potential of causing school dropout, disruption of school academic programme, poor academic performance to mention a few. The counsellor plays prominent role in eradicating maladjusted behaviour by applying different counselling techniques which include the following: reality therapy, cognitive restructuring, modelling and career information. It was recommended that government should empower guidance counsellors by providing capacity building opportunity for them at both primary and secondary schools and government should equally employ enough guidance personnel and provide facilities for ease operation.

Influence of peer group on the academic performance of secondary school students in Ogbomoso Metropolis of Oyo State

Rebecca Folasade Oyedemi — 2025-03-11

Students' academic performance in Mathematics and English has been noted to be low, and peer pressure has been found to be one of the key components of academic achievement. This study examined how peer pressure affected secondary school students' academic performance. The research design used in the study was descriptive survey of correlational type. The population was made up of all the secondary school students in Oyo State's Ogbomoso Area (LGA). Using a random sample technique, twelve public secondary schools from the local government areas of Ogbomoso South and Ogbomoso North were chosen. For the purpose of the study, a sample of 120 senior secondary school class two (SSSII) students was chosen at random. a 16-item self-developed research tool on peer pressure and the students' cumulative academic assessment score record sheet for Mathematics and English. Peer group pressure and academic achievement of secondary school students are significantly correlated, according to the analysis's findings (r-value = 0.819; P. 0.05). The academic performance of male and female differed significantly, with men performing better (calculated t-value = 3.18; p.05). Among other things, it was suggested that instructors and school counsellors help secondary school students learn how to deal with the harmful effects of peer pressure.