School guidance and counselling needs assessment in Zimbabwean secondary schools

Abstract

This article examines the status of School Guidance and Counselling (SGC) services needs assessment in Zimbabwe secondary schools as perceived by school counsellors and students. The study is part of a larger study on assessing the effectiveness of school guidance and counselling services in Zimbabwean secondary schools. A survey design based on two questionnaires (one for school counsellors and the other one for students) was undertaken with a sample of 950 participants (314 school counsellors and 636 students). The SAS statistical package version 9.1 was used to analyze the data. The analysis included tabulation and computation of chi-square test, frequencies, percentages and ratios. The study revealed that there were significant differences in the rating of the frequency of assessing the needs of students, teachers and parents among school counsellors and students. Both school counsellors and students viewed the involvement of parents substantially negatively. They both positively viewed year end results, informal student conversation and brain storming as methods used in SGC services needs assessment. Recommendations and conclusions were made in this study. © Kamla-Raj 2012.