Guidance and Counseling is defined as, “a process of assisting individuals to understand themselves, their problems and their environment to make intelligent choices for the resolution of these problems by changing their behaviors accordingly”. Secondary school pupils are in the process of physical, social, emotional, and total personality development.

See Samples Of Undergraduate Projects, Research Topics And Guides For Students

The psychological purpose of counseling is to facilitate development. Students of secondary schools face academic, adjustment and behavioral problems during their learning. The first major problem faced by students is, selection of subjects. Many students choose their subjects on the will of their parents or teachers. There is no concept of aptitude test & personality tests at school level to check students’ interests and abilities for the selection of subjects. Due to this reason they face problems in their learning and later in their workplace. Also, there is a restriction of remaining in the respective field only for example a person chooses computer at secondary stage can never take biology in any later stage. The second most important concern is maladjustment. Students sometimes could not adjust themselves with the overall environment of the school because of poor social skills, inferiority complex, low grades in previous exams and lack of confidence. It is found that many students do not have previous knowledge of the subjects that is required for current level and due to unclear concepts, they feel maladjusted with the subjects and its teachers. Learning difficulties are also faced by many students due to content in curriculum. It is observed that students in Pakistan are provided superficial knowledge of many scientific theories. There is lacking in practical examples and activity work related to those theories and principles. Another reason is bullying among students. Bullies and victims of bullies both face psychological problems for long terms. It affects their learning process. Victims are often anxious, insecure, and cautious and have low self-esteem. They tend to be socially isolated and ultimately result in dropouts
GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING
The term guidance is used in so many different ways. The true significance of the work of guidance in the school is often overlooked. The chief aim and purpose of guidance is to help the child, youth or adult, to understand himself, his needs and his environments. “Guidance is helping the pupil to become adjusted to his present situation and to plan his future in line with his interests, abilities and social needs. Respect for the individual should be the basis of all guidance work. Guidance services are meant for all pupils at all stages. This work should be done prior to a child‘s entrance in to school and should continue throughout his school life. In some cases guidance services continue even after graduation.
The purpose of guidance has been “to assist the individual through counsel to make wide choices, adjustments and interpretations in connection with critical situation in his life in such a way as to insure continual growth in ability for self-direction.” Guidance is also described as counselling service to assist the individual in achieving self-direction and educational vocational and personal adjustment and to take positive steps in the light of new orientations.
Counselling is a personal face to face relationship between two people, in which counsellor by means of relationships and his special competencies, provides a learning situation in which the counselee, a normal sort of person is helped to know himself and his present and possible future situations so that he can make use of his characteristics and potentialities in a way that is both satisfying to himself and beneficial to society and further, can learn how to solve further problems and meet future needs. While guidance is the overall framework personal services within the school, counseling is only one particular service. The counsellor is the key figure in the guidance program but he performs many other duties besides counselling as he discharges his guidance responsibilities.
The two words guidance and counselling generally take on different meanings. The former refers to helping students’ whole-person development, while the latter is frequently targeted at helping students with problems. In other words, guidance work is preventive and developmental in nature whereas counselling is more of supportive, remedial work. The global trend seems to have moved from a casework and remedial approach to a preventive, developmental approach in providing guidance and counselling. Hence guidance and counselling is a very necessary therapy to school children. Guidance in schools is that area of the schools provision that is specifically directed towards helping pupils realize their full potential in preparing for adult and working life. guidance and counselling can also be seen as a process of helping an individual become fully aware of his/her self and the ways in which he is responding to the influences of his/her environment. It further assists him to establish some personal meaning for this behaviour and to develop and classify a set of goals and values for future behaviour.
THE NEED FOR GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING
The primary school age according to the Federal Ministry of Education Blueprint on Guidance and Counselling for Educational Institutions in Nigeria is between 6 and 12 years. This is an impressionable period and this runs into pre-adolescent stage during which a lot of developmental changes are taking place within the individual. The problems which are associated with these changes cannot be left unattended to till later date. This neglect may have a negative carryover effect on the concerned individuals. It is therefore the counselor who has been trained in the art of handling psychological problems that would be able to assess the degree of each child’s problems and suggest or seek remedy or solution. The child in the primary school especially in the first two years is battling over transition adjustment from home to school partly because he is faced with strange persons in the school. A situation, which if not properly managed can lead a child to become fearful and apprehensive. Maladjustment in a primary school child to his new environment may lead to truancy and the consequent social vices. The yawing gap occasioned by the absence of Guidance and counselling services at the primary school level needs to be closed to tackle children’s developmental and adjustment problems early in life. The main Guidance and counselling needs in the Nigeria primary schools include:
• Assist to identify developmental needs of pupils.
• Assist the pupils to identify himself as a developing individual.
• Effect a smooth transition from home to primary and secondary schools
•Encourage the pupil to cultivate right attitudes and values
•Help the pupil to identify and modify maladaptive behaviours.
•Encourage the pupil to develop along the area of his strength.
•Assist the pupil towards making decisions in his choice of work.
•Assist the pupil to identify and cope with any disabilities he may have.
It is very important to note that the orientation, role playing, group counselling, modeling, referral and follow-up services needed to achieve these set goals can only be carried out by a trained counselor in a conducive environment.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Academic achievement or academic performance is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals. Completion of educational benchmarks such as secondary school diplomas and bachelor's degrees represent academic achievement.
Academic performance is the measurement of student achievement across various academic subjects. Teachers and education officials typically measure achievement using classroom performance, graduation rates and results from standardized tests.
Academic achievement is important for the successful development of young people in society. Students who do well in school are better able to make the transition into adulthood and to achieve occupational and economic success.
EFFECTIVENESS OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING IN ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Guidance plays a constructive role in the solution of educational, personal, social, mental, emotional and Career or Vocational problems among secondary school students. Guidance and counseling have been conceptualized as a program of activities is the gateway out of the existing numerous problems in our present age of complex scientific and technological development. Secondary school students are faced with many educational problems. These problems include wrong selection of subjects, a lack of educational information, misbehavior, dropouts, gender stereotypes in the selection of subjects, poor study habits, difficulty in taking examinations and, most importantly, lacking someone to whom they can freely tell their concerns. Guidance and counseling program in a school is “a process of helping students to find the solution of their problems and accept them as their own”. Students of secondary schools are in the adolescent stage. This stage is characterized by physical, social, spiritual, moral, and intellectual change and swift growth that is why this program is needed in schools. This program improves students’ academic achievements, cater positive attitude towards learning and work. Counseling in school involves helping students individually or in small groups to deal with the fear or worries, they are experiencing. At school level, guidance and counseling assist in physique, friendship, relationship, with adults, vocational skills, and abilities. There should be a comprehensive guidance program in the schools. It assists pupils in academic, social acceptance, mental and physical health, friendship, relationship with peers, vocational skills, and personality traits. This will help students avoiding bad company, indulgence of alcohol, smoking, lying and other immoral activities. Guidance and counseling program can decrease the rate of juvenile delinquencies across the country by guiding children of adolescent age joining dangerous antisocial groups. It also helps to decrease dropouts of these children from school at an early age.