THE ROLE OF COUNSELLING IN THE QUEST FOR SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

School effectiveness is guaranteed when the essential elements of a learning context are provided. One of such elements is counselling as an educational service. The paper highlighted the role of counselling in achieving school effectiveness in terms of social activism to address the challenges of the poor who attend school facilities that are severally deprived, another aspect of the discourse is the management of individual differences in a context of a functional student support services such as the counselling unit, school clinic, special education facilities/personnel etc. In addition the paper addressed the need for achievement advocacy to minimize test abuses that takes the form of test bias that assumes relatively equal educational treatment when in reality it is different schools for different children based on the capacity of parents to pay. Even public schools are of different qualities and this should be of concern where Government has committed itself to egalitarian ideals. Recommendations were proffered focusing on the need to reposition schools to reflect the egalitarian commitment of government to equal educational opportunity and free compulsory basic education.