Browsing by Author "Nyaga, Veronica K."

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CULTURAL FACTORS AFFECTING UTILIZATION OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING SERVICES AMONG STUDENTS IN NATIONAL SCHOOLS IN MERU AND THARAKA NITHI COUNTIES, KENYA
(Chuka University, 2021) Manyara, Ruth N.; Nyaga, Veronica K.
Guidance and Counseling is a process of helping the individual find solutions to own problems and accept them. The provision of Guidance and Counseling to all students in secondary schools in Kenya is fundamental to the success of the Government's overall education development strategy. However, various cultural factors may hinder students' willingness to engage counseling services in solving their inherent problems which is still a persistent problem facing education in Kenya. The purpose of this study is to investigate cultural factors affecting utilization of Guidance and Counseling service, among students in national schools in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi Counties, Kenya. The study was conducted using descriptive survey research design and the target population was 3702 subjects comprising four head teachers, four Guidance and Counseling teachers and 3694 students. The sample size for this study was 377 respondents comprising four head teachers, four Guidance and Counseling teachers and 369 students selected through purposive and stratified random sampling. The research questionnaires were piloted in two national schools in Embu County and involved two head teachers and two guidance and counseling teachers and four students. Reliability of the questionnaire was tested through test-retest method. Quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 for windows. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze quantitative data. The study makes the conclusion that Guidance and Counseling in Kenyan secondary schools need to be re-emphasized to address cultural factors that affect its utilization. Involvement of all stakeholders including parents, teachers, and opinion leaders in sensitizing the community to shun factors such as cultural beliefs, taboos and myths in education provision was among the recommendations made. The Ministry of Education should introduce mandatory in-service training in Guidance and Counseling for teacher counselors with no basic training in Guidance and Counseling.
Effectiveness Of Guidance And Counselling Services On Development Of Students Academic Competence. A Comparative Study Of Public And Private Universities In Kenya
(2014) Nyaga, Veronica K.; Oundo, Monicah Buyatsi; Kamoyo, John Mwithalii
Students in institutions of higher learning encounter challenges in their dairy living which leaves many of them devastated, not able to make realistic academic choices and unable to cope with life. Guidance and counselling services are usually provided in public and private universities in Kenya. These services are meant to promote the students well being within a learning set up. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of guidance and counselling services on development of students’ academic competence in public and private universities in Kenya. The study employed ex post facto casual comparative design. Quantitative data was collected by use of a questionnaire that was administered to 369 third and fourth year full-time undergraduate students enrolled in three public and three private universities in Kenya. In addition, qualitative data was collected through an interview conducted among ten (10) student counsellors and a focus group discussion involving thirty six (36) peer counsellors from the universities studied. Purposive, proportionate and stratified random sampling techniques were used to select the respondents. t-test was used to test the significance and determine whether to reject or accept the study hypotheses. All tests were based on the 0.05 level of significance. An analysis of the findings indicated significant differences in the effectiveness of guidance and counselling services on development of students’ academic competence between those enrolled in public and private universities. The findings showed that through effective guidance and counselling services, students in private universities had better growth in the academic competence than those enrolled in public universities. The findings also indicated no significant gender differences in effectiveness of guidance and counselling services on students’ development of academic competence in both public and private universities. It was recommended that the university authorities should establish clear policies that would improve and strengthen guidance and counselling services to make them effective for the attainment of students’ academic competence.
Influence of School Factors on Development of Academic and Moral Competence of Secondary School Students’ in Embu West District, Kenya
(Center for Promoting Ideas, USA, 2013-11) Mureithi, Mary Murangi; Nyaga, Veronica K.; Barchok, Hillary K.; Oundo, Monicah Buyatsi
Schools are expected to holistically develop learner’s competence. However, the academic and moral competencies of students have not been achieved. Therefore this study aimed at investigating the influence of school factors on development of academic and moral competence of secondary school students’ in Embu West District, Kenya. Descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The target population was 6500 students and 277 teachers in 26 secondary schools in the District. Data was collected using three sets of questionnaires. The findings indicated the following factors as influencing students’ academic competence; teacher motivation, teaching and learning resources, syllabus coverage, free interaction between students and teachers, absenteeism of teachers and participation in academic forums. Factors found to influence students’ moral competence include; punctuality of teachers, teacher commitment, guidance and counselling programs, competent school administration, friendly interaction between teachers and students, clear rules and regulations and the integrity of the teacher.
Self Esteem as a social effect of widowhood in Meru County, Kenya
(2015-11) Mburugu, Beatrice M.; Nyaga, Veronica K.; Chepchieng, Micah C.; Ngari, Stephen N.
Abstract Widowhood is a state of losing a spouse through death and has been on the increase in Kenya and all over the world. A spouse’s death may affect the widowed persons’ social well-being, as they go through the various stages of bereavement. They may become withdrawn and isolated which may affect their self-esteem. There may be adverse effects of widowhood that are social since the widowed persons may rate themselves low after the death of the spouse whom they shared life with. In Meru community, no research has been done on the social effects of widowhood yet widowhood is a common phenomenon in the community. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the social effects by comparing widowed men and women in Meru County Kenya. A literature gap exists in Kenya on self-esteem of widowed men and women thus motivating the authors to come up with such a study. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine self-esteem as a social effect of widowhood by comparing widowed men and women in Meru County Kenya. Ex post facto’s causal-comparative research design was considered appropriate for the study because of comparison of groups. Samples of 384 widowed persons (192 widows and 192 widowers) in four Districts were purposively selected making a total of 384 respondents. Data was collected by use of questionnaires which were administered to widowed persons and two Focus Group Discussions for widowed persons were held in each of the four selected Districts; one for the widowers and another for widows. Data analysis was done by use of descriptive and inferential statistics. Inferential statistics included t-test which was used to establish whether differences in self-esteem as a social effect existed between widowed men and women. Descriptive statistics that included frequencies, means and percentages were also used. The findings revealed variations in the widowed persons’ self-esteem as a social effect of widowhood where widows showed lower self-esteem than widowers. From the findings, it is evident that absence of either of the spouse negatively affects the self- value of the living spouse especially widows. Counselling programmes of widowed persons in the country are needed to assist and empower them especially widows who are not allowed to remarry. It is therefore recommended that the Ministry of gender, religious organisations, service providers and other stakeholders should use such programmes to address social needs of widowed persons. Finally, the findings will assist the widowed men and women to cope better socially with their state of widowhood as they attach meaning in life and bring up their families single handedly