CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Guidance is derived from the word “guide” which means to direct, to lead and to facilitate a course of action. It is a programme of services designed to assist individuals understand their problems and also to find a lasting solution to them. It is a professional field which has a broad range of activities, programmes and services geared towards assisting individuals to understand themselves, their school environment and their world and also to develop adequate capacity for making wise choices and decisions (Eyo and Esuong, 2010).
Guidance is a programme on which a guild is to be provided by someone who is professionally trained to do so. These provisions would be made in relation to the individual’s educational, social, moral, emotional and health. According to the UNESCO module on guidance and counselling (2000a), guidance is a programme of services to individuals based on their needs and the influence of environmental factors. To Okobiah and Okorodudu (2004), the term ‘guidance’ has been coined from the word ‘guild’ which means to direct one on an issue or programme, ‘enlighten’ or assist and to lead someone to know alternatives of what to do in relation to a given situation that demands decision making. They state further that one can only be guided by someone who is knowledgeable or someone who is mature and quite familiar with what to do in such given circumstances which require assistance.
According to Egbule (2002), the conceptual development of guidance and counselling as a professional services started in the 20th century as a result of the cultural and ideological movement which provides enough impetus for the broadening and secularization of guidance functions. However, prior to this time, there was a practice of guidance and counselling in the traditional level by a group of quasi-counsellors. These quasi-counsellors according to Egbule (2002) are: philosophers, priests, prophets, elders in the society and parents. The techniques these quasi-counsellors used in rendering guidance services to individuals is mainly advice giving. Although, this technique yielded its expected result (as most of the problems put before the quasi-counsellors were resolved), it will be partial not to mention its associated problems.
For example, Egbule in Okobiah and Okorodudu (2004) enumerated the following as limitations of traditional (quasi counselling) counselling practice:
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