scholarly journals CHALLENGES COUNSELORS FACE IN EFFECTING SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAMS FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (38) ◽  
pp. 24-34
Author(s):  
Lucy Gachenia ◽  
Margaret Mwenje
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
School Counseling ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
School Administration ◽  
School Students ◽  
Counseling Programs ◽  
Professional Challenges ◽  
School Counseling Programs

School counseling is intended to help students overcome problems, which usually mitigate their academic performance in schools. Helping students adjust emotionally, physically, mentally, and socially enhances good academic performance. In achieving this goal of counseling especially in schools, the government has previously committed resources towards establishing counseling programs in schools. However, the reality on the ground is that there are few established counseling programs as well as few counselors to implement the said programs and this has posed a challenge to the counsellors in their effort to offer counseling to assist students to enhance their academic achievement. The aim of the study was to establish the challenges counselors face in affecting school counseling programs for academic achievement of secondary school students in Kiambu County. The objective of the study was to find out if counsellors faced challenges while offering to counsel for academic achievement. To achieve this objective the study used primary data collected from a sample of 80 secondary school-age going students from 8 schools, 8 counselors, and 8 academic deans of students from the sampled schools. The study was qualitatively done and self-determination theory was used to guide the study. Findings indicated that counselors encountered personal and professional challenges in the course of their counseling duties. For personal challenges, all counsellors (100%) reported having a difficult time balancing between teaching and counseling, all counselors (100%) noted they had insufficient time for counseling since little time was set aside in the school programs for counseling, (63%) said they had no specific rooms dedicated for counseling students, (63%) felt that the big number of students seeking counseling was a challenge while 100% stated dual relationship as a tough challenge. In regard to professional challenges, (100%) of the counsellors stated that none was compensated for extra counseling duties, (75%) had insufficient skills in academic counseling, (50%) had little support from subject teachers and from parents, 100% indicated little support from school administrators, 100% cited increased workload, 100%, lack of formal recognition from Teachers Service Commission that employs teachers and 50% felt that counselors inclusivity in school discipline committee posed a challenge. The study concluded that school counseling programs are commendable because they increase students’ academic achievement. However the study has established that school counselors should be equipped with appropriate counseling skills, their workload should be reduced and that school administration should encourage greater cooperation between teacher counselors and other members of staff as well as with parents and guardians, in order to make the counselors effort more productive. Further studies should be conducted to investigate how the school administration can be actively involved in supporting counseling programs in schools.

scholarly journals EFFECTIVENESS OF SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAMS ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (35) ◽  
pp. 58-64
Author(s):  
Lucy Gachenia ◽  
Margaret Mwenje
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
School Counseling ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Counseling Services ◽  
Counseling Program ◽  
School Students ◽  
Counseling Programs

The school counseling program is meant to assist students to deal with psycho-social and behavioral challenges, which normally affect their academic performance. In order to achieve this goal, the Kenyan government has previously committed resources towards establishing counseling programs in schools. The aim of this study was to establish how effective these counseling programs are in assisting secondary school learners in Kiambu County to achieve academically. Primary data was derived from 80 high school adolescents, 8 counselors, and 8 academic Dean of Students who were purposively sampled from 8 schools that were randomly selected. The study was qualitatively done, and self-determination theory was used to guide the study. Data were analyzed for the identification of counseling program characteristics and student improvement indices. These were presented in tables, charts, frequencies, and percentages based on the responses from the respondents. Further, a correlation between the two variables of the study was examined. Findings depicted that 65.7% of the students sampled said that counseling services offered at school satisfied their needs, 74.3% reported an improvement in their academic performance as a result of those counseling services and 87% felt more positive about school life after receiving counseling services. The study concluded that comprehensive counseling programs improved academic performance among high school students. The study intended to inform education planners, principals, and administrators on the role counseling would play in enhancing academic achievement among secondary school students.

Relationships Between Negative Affect and Academic Achievement Among Secondary School Students: The Mediating Effects of Habituated Exercise

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1012-1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hairul A. Hashim ◽  
Golok Freddy ◽  
Ali Rosmatunisah
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Structural Equation Modeling ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
School Students ◽  
Exercise Habit

Background:The current study was undertaken to examine the associations between self-determination, exercise habit, anxiety, depression, stress, and academic achievement among adolescents aged 13 and 14 years in eastern Malaysia.Methods:The sample consisted of 750 secondary school students (mean age = 13.4 years, SD = 0.49). Participants completed self-report measures of exercise behavioral regulation, negative affect, and exercise habit strength. Midyear exam results were used as an indicator of academic performance. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.Results:The results of structural equation modeling revealed a close model fit for the hypothesized model, which indicates that higher levels of self-determination were positively associated with habituated exercise behavior. In turn, exercise habit strength fostered academic achievement and buffered the debilitative effect of stress, depression, and anxiety on student academic performance. The analysis of model invariance revealed a nonsignificant difference between male and female subjects.Conclusion:The findings support the notion that habituated exercise fosters academic performance. In addition, we found that habituated exercise buffers the combined effects of stress, anxiety and depression on academic performance. The finding also supports the roles of self-determination in promoting exercise habituation.

scholarly journals Strategies to Improve Academic Achievement in Secondary School Students: Perspectives on Grit and Mindset

SAGE Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401774511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Polirstok
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Growth Mindset ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
School Students ◽  
Detailed Review ◽  
Academic Challenges

This article examines the academic performance of secondary school students from the perspectives of grit and mindset through a detailed review of the literature. What makes a learner resilient? Persistent? Willing to take on academic challenges? The research on grit and mindset provides an understanding of why many secondary students struggle academically. Whereas Duckworth discusses persistence and resilience, Dweck compares fixed versus growth mindsets, the willingness to take on academic challenges and belief in oneself as a learner. Teaching strategies and materials that can help students increase persistence and build a growth mindset are presented as keys to successfully affecting academic performance.

scholarly journals Academic Achievement in Spanish Secondary School Students: The Inter-Related Role of Executive Functions, Physical Activity and Gender

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1816
Author(s):  
Elena Escolano-Pérez ◽  
Marta Bestué
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Mean ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Academic Year

There is a growing interest in determining which variables contribute to students’ academic performance, since this performance is associated with their wellbeing and with the progress of the nation. This study analyzed whether different variables (executive functions and physical activity levels, gender and academic year) of 177 Spanish Compulsory Secondary School students contributed to their academic performance. The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function 2 (BRIEF-2), Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A) and an ad hoc questionnaire were used to determine the students’ executive functioning, physical activity level, gender and academic year, respectively. Students’ grades were considered to be indicators of their academic achievement. Seven multiple linear regression models were constructed using the R computing language to examine the association between academic achievement (considered in each of the 5 subjects: Language, Mathematics, Geography and History, English and Physical Education; the mean of the instrumental subjects—Language and Mathematics—and the mean of all the subjects) and the independent variables. The results indicated that executive functions, physical activity and gender contributed to academic performance, but academic year did not. This suggests that students with good executive functions, who perform physical activity and are female, would have better academic achievement. This information should be considered when designing interventions to improve student academic achievement.

A Study of Study Habits and Academic Achievement among Secondary and Senior Secondary School Students of Mysore City

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roya Sherafat ◽  
C. G. Venkatesha Murthy
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Secondary Level ◽  
Study Habits ◽  
School Students ◽  
Senior Secondary School ◽  
Senior Secondary

The authors of this study have attempted to understand whether study habits affect academic achievement among secondary and senior secondary school students of Mysore. It is also attempted to know whether students at secondary level differ from senior secondary level on their study habits. The study was conducted on the sample of 625 students of Mysore City in India using stratified random sampling technique. Results indicated that the study habits facilitate higher academic achievement. Further, it was also found that secondary school students are significantly better than senior secondary students on study habits. The findings are analyzed and explained. Thus, study habit is found to be an important correlate of academic achievement.

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