ABSTRACT
This study examined the emotional intelligence as predictor of counsellors’ effectiveness in Secondary schools in Abia State. The study was guided by six research questions and six null hypotheses. The literature related to the study was reviewed under the conceptual framework, theoretical framework, Empirical studies and summary of the literature review. The study adopted a correlation research design. The population was 100 public secondary school Guidance counsellors in Abia State. The sample size used was 85 Guidance counsellors which includes 44 female Guidance counsellors and 41 male Guidance counselors in Abia State drawn using Census sampling. Two research instruments were used in collecting the data for the study namely Emotional intelligence questionnaire (EIQ) and guidance counsellors effectiveness scale (CGES). The instruments were validated by three experts, from Guidance and Counseling. Psychology, Measurement and Evaluation, all from College of Education, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Reliability indices of 0.82(EIQ) and 0.83(GCES) respectively were obtained for the instruments. Data obtained for the study were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient for research questions while all the hypotheses were tested using linear regression at 0.05 level of significance. It was found from the results of the analysis that emotional intelligence to a high extent predicted counsellors effectiveness in secondary schools. That dimensions of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management) of guidance counsellor to a high extent predict counsellors effectiveness in secondary schools. Based on the findings it was recommended among others that the emotional intelligence as a factor should be considered in the employment of guidance counsellors and their training as well as in their specialization.
TABLE OF CONTENTTS
Cover page
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables vii
List of Appendices viii
Abstract ix
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study 1
1.2 Statement of the problem 7
1.3 Purpose of the study 9
1.4 Research questions 10
1.5 Hypotheses 11
1.6 Significance of the study 11
1.7 Scope of the study 17
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Conceptual
Framework 15
2.1.1 Concepts of guidance and counselling 15
2.1.2 Counsellors effectiveness 28
2.1.3 Conceptual or emotional intelligence 40
2.2 Theoretical
Framework 65
2.2.1 Theoretical model of emotional intelligence
by Daniel Goleman 65
2.2.2 Humanistic theory of effective counselling by
Hilgard 66
2.2.3 Client centered theory by Carl Rogers 68
2.3 Empirical studies 70
2.4 Summary of literature review 80
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Design of the study 83
3.2 Area of the study 83
3.3 Population of the study 85
3.4 Sample and sampling technique 85
3.5 Instrument for data collection 85
3.6 Validation of the instrument 86
3.7 Reliability of the study 87
3.8 Method of data collection 87
3.9 Method of data analysis 88
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Results 89
4.2 Major findings of the study 107
4.3 Discussion of the findings 110
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATI1ONS
5.1 Summary 119
5.2 Conclusion 122
5.3 Educational implications of the study 123
5.4 Recommendations 124
5.5 Limitations of the study 125
5.6 Suggestions for further study 125
REFERENCES 127
APPENDICES 134
LIST OF TABLES
4.1: Pearson correlation on extent emotional
intelligence correlate with the
effectiveness
of secondary school counsellors 89
4.2: Simple linear regression analysis for the
emotional intelligence and
Counsellors’ effectiveness of secondary school counsellors 90
4.3: Pearson correlation of dimension of emotional
intelligence and
Counsellors’
effectiveness 92
4.4: Multiple linear regression analysis for the
dimensions of each of emotional
intelligence
and counsellor effectiveness in secondary schools 94
4.5: Pearson correlation of emotional
intelligence of male guidance counsellor
and the
effectiveness in secondary school 95
4.6: Simple linear regression analysis for the
emotional intelligence of
the male B guidance
counsellors and their effectiveness 96
4.7: Pearson correlation of dimension of emotional
intelligence of male
guidance
counsellors and their effectiveness 98
4.8: Multiple linear regression analysis for
the dimensions of each of
emotional
intelligence of male counselors and their effectiveness 100
4.9: Pearson Correlation of Emotional
Intelligence of Female Guidance
Counsellors
and their Effectiveness 101
4.10: Simple linear regression analysis for the
emotional intelligence of the
female, guidance
counsellors and effectiveness 102
4.11: Pearson correlation of dimension of
emotional intelligence of female
guidance
counsellors and their effectiveness 104
4.12: Multiple linear regression analysis for the
dimensions of each of
emotional
intelligence of female counsellors and their effectiveness 106
APPENDICES
- Questionnaire 135
- Reliability coefficient of ElQ
questioners 142
- Reliability coefficient of GCES
questionnaire 143
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Guidance and Counselling is a process aimed at
assisting individuals to discover, accept and use their abilities, aptitudes,
interests and beliefs in relation to their aspirations. Aspirations for learners
include choosing school subjects, best careers and vocations based on their
interests, attitudes and aptitudes. These are the reasons the school guidance
and counselling focuses on three key areas such as educational guidance and counselling,
vocational and personal/social guidance and counselling. According to NTI (2008),
Educational guidance and counselling assists learners in pursuing the right
type of education, helps individuals in making decisions concerning choice of
school subjects, smoothens the transitions from primary to secondary and from
secondary to tertiary, enables students to cope with examination anxiety,
develop effective study habits and make best vocational choices. Apart from
these, educational guidance and counselling should help students in the many
problems they experience in their families, schools and peer groups, especially
those that hinder effective learning and are quite disturbing to the adolescents.
Such problems include anxiety, stress, sexuality, alcohol, drug abuse, suicide,
decision making, problem solving and setting goals, interpersonal relationships
among others.
In other words, the
effective counsellors should help students to develop effective study habits,
make appropriate and satisfying personal, vocational and educational choices,
to assist students in acquiring positive image of self through self
understanding, the needs and problems of each child among others. These
functions of an effective counsellor account for the reasons why Chireshe (2016)
identified the characteristics of effective counsellors to include being
organized within his /her practice, practice ethically and professionally,
participate in education activities like seminars and conferences, be confident
in their positions and responsibilities, be respectful and non- judgmental,
understand the importance of communication and have flexible attitudes.
Supporting this, Idowu (2018) summarized the characteristics of a guidance counsellor
to include having goodwill towards his clients, a good counsellor must
recognize his personal strength and limitations as he relates with his clients,
he must be patient with his clients, serving as a role model to his clients, should
be cooperative, objective, sincere, broadminded, friendly, among others.
Considering the above
purpose and characteristics of effective counsellors, guidance and counselling
services in the secondary schools in various states of Nigeria especially in
Abia state have remained ineffective (Okoli, 2017). The reasons being that the
growing failure rate could be noticed in the yearly decline of students’
performance in various subjects in senior secondary schools and internal
examinations. This has been attributed to laziness among students, increased anxiety
level especially during examinations and poor
attitudes towards learning resulting from ineffective counselling
services being provided in the school, (WAEC Chief Examiners Report, 2016).
Apart from poor performance in various subjects being currently and
persistently noted, indiscipline among students has been on the increase. On this
account, Mark (2007) pointed that the various forms of indiscipline in the
schools include noise making in the class, fighting, examination malpractices,
students’ disobedience to teachers, bullying, stealing, truancy, sexual related
offences, drugs and alcohol abuse. Consequently Okoli (2017) noted that one of
the causes of these forms of indiscipline in the school system is lack of
professionalism on the part of the experts. In other words, it is due to
counsellors’ ineffectiveness that these weaknesses among students have not been
corrected especially in secondary schools in Abia state. Where Counsellors are
effective students’ performance in many subjects should improve because of
choosing subjects they can do well as counselled, indiscipline among students
should reduce to the barest minimum among others. However, several efforts have
been made to solve some of these problems, such as parents hiring teachers to
coach their children, various schools organizing extramural classes to improve
students’ performance. Affected students have, in various cases, been referred
to guidance counsellors to seek help. Seminars and workshops have been
organized for the guidance counsellors. Yet, the problems persist.
Based on this persistence,
Mayer and Salovey (2017) observed that successful engagement in strong
communication, problem solving and rapport building skills-those critical to counselling
or advising requires emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence is
being able to monitor ones’ own and others’ feelings and emotions. Emotionally
intelligent person is skilled in identifying, using, understanding and
regulating emotions. It is a confluence of developed abilities; to know and
value self, build and maintain a variety of strong productive and healthy
relationships, get along and work well with others in achieving positive
results and effectively deal with the pressures and demands of daily life and
work (Jude & Pucik, 2016). Basically for a guidance counsellor to be
effective, the element of possession of emotional intelligence to a certain
degree should not be overlooked especially in the employment and training the
would be counsellors. The extent to which the practicing guidance counsellors
possess these attributes in Abia State are yet to be ascertained/related to
their performance on the job since there is increasing decline on students’ performance
and other problems such as anxiety, sexuality, drug abuse among others. This
accounts for the reasons Guillen and Florent (2011) explained that emotional
intelligence is an important predictor of performance in organizational,
academic and other domains. He further stressed that researchers have
consistently reiterated the role of emotional intelligence as a correlate of
life satisfaction, psychological wellbeing, occupational success and job
performance. Still on the relevance of emotional intelligence to counsellors’
effectiveness, Goleman (2015) informed that emotional intelligence is thought
to matter twice compared to intelligence quotient (IQ) given the relevance of
emotional quotient (EQ) to an individuals’ performance in various spheres of
life. Moreover, several studies have been carried out on emotional intelligence
and other variables but none or few to the best of the researcher’s knowledge
have been carried out on emotional intelligence as a predictor of counsellors’
effectiveness. For example, emotional intelligence has been strongly associated
with dynamic leadership, satisfying personal life experiences and success in
work place (Abraham, 2014). Afolabi, Awosola and Omole (2010) noted that it has
been related to academic success. According to them many business leaders agree
with the basic message that success is strongly influenced by these attributes
of emotional intelligence, perseverance, self control and skills in getting
along with others.
Another study on the
relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement was
carried out by Law, Wong, Huang and Li (2018) who investigated the relationship
between the identified five dimensions of emotional intelligence, namely,
self-awareness, emotional management, self motivation, empathy, interpersonal
skills and academic achievement. The study aimed at identifying whether the
five dimensions of emotional intelligence have been able to contribute to
academic achievement. Statistical inference of the Pearson- r and multiple
regression was used to analyze the data. The results showed that there was
significant-relationship between self-awareness (r= 0.21), emotional management
(r = 0.21) and empathy (r= 0.21) at the level of p<0.05 and academic
achievement. Findings from multiple regression analysis (stepwise) showed that
only three dimensions of emotional intelligence which is self-awareness
((3=0.261), self-motivation ((3=-0.182) and empathy ((3=0.167) accounted for
8.7% of variation in criterion (academic achievement).
On relationship between emotional intelligence and teacher effectiveness,
Adeyemo and Agokel (2019) found out that
among the ten components of emotional intelligence considered in the study,
emotional stability, self motivation, managing relations, self awareness and
integrity emerged as the best predictor of teacher effectiveness. Gender
differences on the scores of emotional intelligence and teacher effectiveness
of Engineering faculty members were relatively higher than those of Medical
faculty.
Similary, Nyorere and Muraina (2014) carried out a study to investigate
work motivation and emotional intelligence as correlates of secondary school
teachers’ productivity in South Western region. The result of the data analyzed
showed that there was a significant relationship between the two independent
variables (emotional intelligence and work motivation) and the dependent
variable (teacher productivity). There was also a significant relationship
between the combined effect of the independent variables (emotional
intelligence and work motivation) and the dependent variable (teacher’s
productivity).
In the same way, Adeyemo and Agokel (2019) carried out a study to
investigate emotional intelligence and teachers’ efficacy as predictors of
teachers’ effectiveness among pre-service teachers in some Nigerian
universities. The findings of the study revealed that emotional intelligence
and teacher efficacy do have predictive influence on the teachers’ teaching
effectiveness. There is paucity of studies which focused on emotional
intelligence and counsellors’ effectiveness with gender of the counsellors as a
moderate variable. Gender is a social term that is set to differentiate males
and females in terms of their different roles and responsibilities. Candela
(2001) emphasized that women spend more time socially in contact with the
emotional world and more preoccupied with maintaining the positive tone of
theirs and others’ emotions in order to present the deterioration of
interpersonal relations and to construct satisfying social networks. In the
realm of emotional intelligence, women performed about 0.5 standard deviations
higher than men using previously developed tests of emotional intelligence
(Mayer, Caruso & Salovey, 2019). One possible explanation for this is that
women must read emotions more carefully because they possess less power in
society than do men. However, some researches have shown that it is women in
more powerful positions who have exhibited greater emotional accuracy. It is
based on these controversies that the present study focused on emotional
intelligence as a predictor of counsellors’ effectiveness.
However, the issue of gender of counsellors
has not been considered by the previous studies involving guidance counsellors
and there is controversy on relationship between emotional intelligence and
effectiveness of the guidance counsellors. Based on the foregoing, the present
study will focus on emotional intelligence as a predictor of counsellors’
effectiveness taking gender into consideration in Abia State.
1.2 STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
Where there are effective counselling services by counsellors, learners
should pursue the right type of education, make right decisions on choice of
school subjects, cope with examination anxiety, develop effective study habit
and perform very well in their chosen subjects especially in Senior School
Certificate Examinations. Considering the above expectations, guidance and counselling
services in the secondary schools in Abia have remained ineffective. There is
growing failure rate in students’ performance in various subjects in Senior
Secondary Schools and internal examinations. Indiscipline such as fighting,
examination malpractices, bullying, truancy, drugs among others are still persistence
in the school system. Several efforts such as parents employing teachers to
coach their children in order to improve performance, students have been
referred to the counsellors by the parents and school authorities, seminars,
workshops and conferences have been organized for the counsellors to be more
effective, yet the problems persist. One of the factors noted to have been
ignored in the employment of guidance counsellors is their emotional
intelligence (Adeyemo & Agokel, 2019). Emotional intelligence is being able
to monitor one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions. Emotionally intelligent
person is skilled in identifying, using understanding and regulating emotions.
Moreover, there are various dimensions of emotional intelligence which are said
to be relevant to guidance and counselling. The question is how does emotional
intelligence relate with counsellors’ effectiveness? How do the various
dimensions of emotional intelligence relate with counsellors’ effectiveness?
It is against this background that the emotional intelligence of counsellors
in relation to their effectiveness in the school needs to be examined. It
should be noted that successful engagement in strong communications, problems
solving and rapport building skills are hallmarks of effective counselling
which require emotional intelligence.
To this extent, the study sought to find out how combination of
dimensions of emotional intelligence such as self management, self-awareness,
social awareness and relationship management predict counsellors’ effectiveness
in secondary schools. Moreover, several studies have been carried out on
emotional intelligence and other variables but none or few to the best of
researcher’s knowledge have been carried out on emotional intelligence as a
predictor of counsellors’ effectiveness especially when gender of counsellors
is considered as a moderator variable. It is based on the foregoing that the
present study focused on emotional intelligence as a predictor of counsellors’
taking gender as a moderator variable into consideration.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study is to
investigate how emotional intelligence predicts counsellors’ effectiveness in
secondary schools in Abia State. It has the following specific objectives;
1.
to determine how emotional intelligence correlates with counsellors’
effectiveness in secondary schools;
2.
to find out how each dimension of emotional intelligence
(Self-management, self-awareness, social awareness and relationship
"management) correlates with counsellors’ effectiveness in secondary
schools;
3.
to determine how emotional intelligence of male counsellors’
correlate with their effectiveness in secondary schools;
4.
to find out how each dimension of emotional intelligence
(Self-management, self-awareness, social awareness and relationship management)
of male counsellors’ correlate with their effectiveness in secondary school;
5.
to determine how emotional intelligence of female guidance counsellors’
correlate with their effectiveness in secondary school
6.
to find out how each dimension of emotional intelligence
(Self-management, self-awareness,
social awareness and
relationship management) of female guidance counsellors’ correlate
with their effectiveness in secondary schools.
1.4 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
This
study provides answers to the following questions;
1.
to what extent does the emotional intelligence correlate with
the effectiveness of' secondary school counsellors’?
2.
to what extent does each of the dimension of emotional
intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and
relationship management) of guidance counsellors correlates with their
effectiveness in secondary schools?
3.
to what extent does the emotional intelligence of male
guidance counsellors correlates with their effectiveness in secondary school?
4.
to what extent does each of the dimensions of emotional
intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and
relationship management) of male guidance counsellors correlates with their
effective counselling in-secondary schools?
5.
to what extent does the emotional intelligence of female
guidance counsellors correlates with their effective counselling in secondary
schools?
6.
to what extent does each of the dimensions of emotional
intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, self-awareness, social awareness
and relationship management) of female guidance counsellors correlates with
their effective counselling in secondary schools?
1.5
HYPOTHESES ,
The following hypotheses were stated
for the study and tested at 0.05 level of significance.
H01. Emotional intelligence of the guidance counsellors’
does not significantly predict counsellors’ effectiveness in secondary school.
H02. Dimensions of each of emotional
intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and
relationship management) of guidance counsellors’ do not significantly predict counsellors’
effectiveness in secondary schools.
H03. Emotional intelligence of the male
guidance counsellors does not significantly predict their effectiveness in
secondary school.
H04. Each of the dimensions of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self- management, social awareness and
relationship management) of male guidance counsellors does not significantly
predict their effectiveness in secondary schools.
H05. Emotional intelligence of the female
guidance counsellors does not significantly predict their effectiveness in
secondary school.
H06. Each of the dimensions of emotional
intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and
relationship management) of female guidance counsellors does not significantly
predict their effectiveness in secondary schools.
1.6
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The findings of the study would be of
significant benefit to the Guidance Counsellors, School Administrators,
Students, Counselling Psychologists and Researchers if published. It is hoped
that the results of the study would help the Guidance Counsellors to understand
how well to manage their emotions in order to bring out the best in their
students.
It
would help the Guidance Counsellors to know if emotional intelligence
correlates positively with effectiveness and that would aid them to begin to
build their emotional intelligence and impart same to their students. Awareness
of the relevance of the applicability of emotional intelligence to their works
would also be created through this way and issues like establishing rapport and
interpersonal relationship among students and colleages would be enhanced.
It
would help the Guidance Counsellors to enhance their self-confidence and willingness
to speak their minds, willingness to stand for what is right and what they deem
important and show resilence to challenges which they face in the course of discharging
their duties as counsellors when they understand the need to apply emotional intelligence
in the discharge of their duties. Understanding the relationship between
emotional intelligence and Counselling would help them to run successful career
and remain satisfied.
The
results of the study would be of benefit to school Administration especially in
the area of employing and assessing the performance of Guidance Counsellors and
human resource management. Where there is a strong positive relationship
between emotional intelligence and Counsellors’ effectiveness, the emotional
intelligence of the prospective Guidance Counsellors should be considered
before employing them and this can be done by testing them using emotional
intelligence scale as provided by this study.
In other words, it would enable the
Employers of Guidance Counsellors to assess them properly during interviews
especially based on the aspect of emotional scale that has to do with self
management, social awareness and relationship management.
This is because Counselling is a very
delicate job, which needs personnel who have high emotional intelligence that
are confident, motivated and more committed to counselling services.
The
students being dependent on the Guidance Counsellors would benefit from them
because when counsellors are employed based on their possession of various
aspects of emotional intelligence which would promote effective Counselling,
the students would be properly counselled on their career choices, behaviours
and improved academic performance. Students emotional psychological problems
will be effectively handled in a way that it would be easy for the students to
understand and learn better. The findings of the study will be beneficial to
psychologists as the result of the study would help to increase their knowledge
base or frontiers of knowledge of the practicing psychologist. As such it would
help them to institute a programme that would enhance emotional intelligence of
the counsellors leading to improved counselling services to the students.
To
future researchers, the findings of the study will be of immerse benefit as it
would provide them with good empirical studies and literature for they would
make reference to, as the study would thoroughly review previous studies with a
view of appraising or criticizing the methodologies used. This would afford
future researchers the opportunity to fill necessary gaps in subsequent
studies. In other words, the findings of this study might stimulate the
interests of researchers to carry out further studies in the field of study. In
addition, Authors of books in Guidance and Counselling will expand knowledge on
Guidance and Counselling, emotional intelligence and this has implication for
educational theory and practice.
1.7
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The
study was carried out in secondary schools in Abia State, Nigeria. The study was
delimited to finding out how emotional intelligence and relative dimensions of the
emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness and
relationship management) correlated' or predicted counsellors’ effectiveness in
secondary schools. It also involved examining the influence of gender on the
relationship between emotional intelligence and guidance counsellors’ effectiveness.
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