Counselling Intervention and Support Programmes for Families of Children with Special Educational Needs

All couples look forward to having normal healthy babies. The issues of disabilities in their children shake the families and serve as sources of severe psychological disruption to family adjustment. The parents of such children live with many difficult issues and frequently experience trauma, grief and stress. Intervention programmes are necessary part of the process involved in supporting families with children with special educational needs. Such intervention requires active involvement of a wide range of professionals such as social workers, teachers, psychologists, therapists, medical officers and many others. Skill training, parent education, advocacy roles on part of parents and professionals alike are required. Counsellors should also be aware of the wider inadequate systematic supports for parents and to advocate for more generous social and financial resources for these parents. Keywords:; parents of children with special educational needs;  trauma; counselling intervention; family security;  family support models

ATTITUDE OF TEACHERS TO STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN MAINSTREAMED PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA: THE NEED FOR A CHANGE

The study investigated the attitude of regular and special teachers to students with special needs in mainstreamed public secondary schools in Southwestern Nigeria; it examined the qualifications of teachers teaching in mainstreamed public schools; and compared the academic performance of students with special needs in relation to regular students. It adopted descriptive survey design. Two research questions and three research hypotheses were answered in the study. The population for this study comprised 2,701 teachers in the 35 public secondary schools where mainstreaming of students with special needs is being implemented in Southwestern Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 10 out of the 35 mainstreamed public secondary schools. From the selected schools, 200 teachers were involved in the study. The teachers were selected through stratified sampling technique using sex and class as strata. Two research instruments were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using simple percentages and t-test analysis. The results showed that 78.8% teachers had positive attitude to students with special needs. 16.8% teachers had negative attitude to students with special needs, while 6.4% teachers had neutral attitude to students with special needs. Also, there was no significant difference between the attitude of male and female teachers to students with special needs (t=.45, p>0.05). However, there was a significant difference between the attitude of special teachers and regular teachers to students with special needs (t=.91, p<0.05). There was also a significant difference between the academic performance of regular students and students with special needs (t=6.38 p<0.05). The study concluded that positive attitude of teachers to students with special needs would increase self-perception and academic performance of students with special needs. Thus, teachers’ attitudes undoubtedly had a great influence on the school achievement and social behaviours’ of the special needs childre

Counselling Intervention for Family Security

All couples look forward to having normal healthy babies. The issues of disabilities in their children shake the families and serve as sources of severe psychological disruption to family adjustment. The parents of such children live with many difficult issues and frequently experience trauma, grief and stress. This article deals with counselling intervention programmes and services for parents of children with disabilities to enhance family security. Keywords: Children with disabilities; parents of children with disabilities trauma; counselling intervention; family security; children with special needs; handicapped children

Inclusive Education Setting in Southwestern Nigeria: Myth or Reality?

Inclusion can be interpreted as the philosophy and practice for educating students with disabilities in general education settings. Researches from developed and developing countries found that there were problems affecting the inclusive education in Nigeria. Hence, there is need to determine the challenges facing the schools where inclusive education is being implemented, and what could be done to improve the programme. This study identified  the facilities that were available to students with special educational needs in mainstreamed public secondary schools in Southwestern Nigeria; it investigated the difference in the attitude of special and regular teachers to  students with special educational needs in integrated public secondary schools; it determined the influence of  types of exceptionality in  the self-perception of students  with special needs; and   also examined the  difference between the academic performance of male and female students with special educational needs. The results showed that essential facilities and materials like hand railings, hearing aids, Braille, instructional materials, and lower toilets were not available, although the few that were available (typewriters, resource rooms, wheel chairs) were in poor condition. The difference between the attitude of special and regular teachers to students with special educational needs was significant with a t-test value of 1.91 (P<0.05). The influence of students with special educational needs exceptionality types in their self-perception was significant with a Chi-square analysis of 39.75(P<0.05). However, the difference between the academic performance of male and female students with special educational needs was not significant with a t-test value of 1.19 (P>0.05). The study concluded that inclusive education was a reality in Nigeria because it became an educational policy since 1977 that all the states should have inclusive schools for students with special educational needs; and this has been in operation in Nigeria (National Policy of Education,1997 ). Nevertheless, students with special educational needs were yet to be fully integrated into regular classroom setting. This was due to problems affecting inclusion; which could negatively affect their social and academic performance. The school curriculum should be modified to meet specific needs and purpose of educating students with special educational needs. Efforts should be made by government and other stakeholders of education to frequently expose teachers in mainstreamed setting to workshop and seminars on education of students with special educational needs. Keywords: Inclusive education; integrated schools; mainstreamed schools; students with disabilities; students with special educational needs; inclusion.

Counselling Intervention and Support Programmes for Families of Children with Special Educational Needs

All couples look forward to having normal healthy babies. The issues of disabilities in their children shake the families and serve as sources of severe psychological disruption to family adjustment. The parents of such children live with many difficult issues and frequently experience trauma, grief and stress. Intervention programmes are necessary part of the process involved in supporting families with children with special educational needs. Such intervention requires active involvement of a wide range of professionals such as social workers, teachers, psychologists, therapists, medical officers and many others. Skill training, parent education, advocacy roles on part of parents and professionals alike are required. Counsellors should also be aware of the wider inadequate systematic supports for parents and to advocate for more generous social and financial resources for these parents. Keywords: parents of children with special educational needs; trauma; counselling intervention; family security;  family support models

EFFECTS OF BULLYING ON LEARNING AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN MUBI EDUCATIONAL ZONE OF ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the effects of bullying on learning among secondary school students in Mubi Educational Zone. It also investigated the factors associated with bullying and its psychological consequences. The study adopted a survey design. The population consisted of all the secondary school students, out of which a sample of 400 students were selected from four secondary schools through stratified random sampling technique using sex, age and class level as strata. The instrument was adapted from Omoteso (2010) and Asiyai (2015). The validity of the instrument was carried out by two experts both in Counselling Psychology and Test and Measurement, while test-retest method was carried out to determine the reliability of the instrument, and the reliability coefficient was 0.82. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as simple percentage and t-tests analysis. Results showed that the forms of bullying among the students were hitting/ flogging, injuries, threatening, and rumour spreading. Many students had been involved in relational bullying. Watching violent films and retaliation for being bullied in the past were some of the factors associated with bullying. The results also showed that bullying has a lot of effects on students learning. There was a significant difference between the behaviour of male and female students. The study also showed that there was a significant difference in the bullying behaviour of junior and senior secondary school students. In conclusion, bullying has a lot of negative consequences on the children. The children suffer torments and harassments and it can cause life-long damage to the bullied and the bullies. If a school fails to deal with bullying, it can endanger the safety of all the students and teachers. The study recommended that there should be a school-wide education, training and bullying prevention programmes. The teachers should have skills and knowledge in classroom management and control, as a result, a student friendly environment should be established in the classroom.  Article visualizations

PERCEPTION OF TEACHERS ON INDISCIPLINE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Indiscipline in school greatly affects the quality of teaching and learning which results to poor results, dropouts, and wastage of resources invested by stakeholders of education such as parents, and the government. The study made use of descriptive survey research design; and it was guided by five research questions and three research hypotheses. A sample size of two hundred teachers was drawn by stratified sampling technique from three local educational zones in Osun State using six public and four private secondary schools. The instrument tagged” Perception of Teachers on Students’ Indiscipline in Nigerian Secondary Schools” (PTSINSS) was adapted and validated by two experts in Test and Measurement and Counselling Psychology. The test-retest reliability co-efficient of the instrument was 0.84.Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as percentage, mean, t- value and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The study showed that there is a significant difference between male and female teachers’ perception on school-based factors that causes indiscipline of secondary school students in Osun State; there is a significant difference between school-based and societal-based factors that causes indiscipline in secondary schools as perceived by teachers in Osun State; and .teachers’ years of experience do not significantly influence the possible solutions to curb students’ indiscipline. In conclusion, indiscipline of students could lead to closure of schools, wanton destruction of property, corruption of differ kinds, moral decadence and loss of lives. The parents, school authorities, the society and the government should take proactive measures against this social menace by ensuring that good behaviour and conditions are inculcated, established and maintained for effective learning in schools.  Article visualizations

Conflict Management Strategies in Ondo State Tertiary Institutions

This paper investigated conflict management strategies in tertiary institutions in Ondo State. As a descriptive survey, the study population comprised all the staff and the management of three institutions. For the study sample, two hundred and ten was selected by stratified sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was 45 items Likert-type questionnaire tagged ‘Conflict Management Strategies Questionnaire’ (CMSQ). The reliability of the instrument was determined through test-retest method and the reliability co-efficient was 0.86. The content and face validity of the instrument was carried out by one expert in Test and Measurement, an expert in Psychology of Education; and an expert in Guidance and Counselling. The data collected were analyzed using frequency count, percentages, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Multiple Regression. It was found that conflict in Federal University of Technology (FUTA), Rufus Giwa Polytechnic and Adeyemi College of Education occurred frequently. Nonpayment of salaries as at when due was the major cause of conflict in these institutions. The most effective conflict management strategies used was participatory decision strategy. Based on the findings, it was ascertained that role conflict occurred between academic staff and professional administrators; and conflict management strategies were critical variables in the school system. It was recommended that the academic and professional administrators should continue to demonstrate spirit of tolerance so as to ensure the smooth running of university, polytechnic and the college

Nigerian women in politics

Over the years, women have been relegated to the background in issues of the overall development especially in African nations. It is no doubt that women still remain highly marginalized in all spheres of the socio-economic and political of African nations. This is more obvious when the proportion of men to women in politics and decision making position is compared. Several developments go beyond the narrow customary conceptions of their roles in family keeping and procreation and permeate all facets of the Nigerian’s economy. There must be a progressive and positive appraisal of the women folk especially in the new democratic dispensation that is fast unfolding in the country. Nigerians must accept that women are active agents of political progress and development; hence, the nation must do everything possible to help enhance women’s political leadership potentials, since the task of nation building is not gender exclusive. Women leadership organizations, government and relevant stake holders should continue to advocate for the revision of legislations to favour the protection of women from abuse, empower them economically and politically especially through the strengthening of affirmative action and allocation quotas for women in politics and decision making positions.Keywords: African women; Nigerian women; political participation; challenges; recommendation

Inclusive Education Setting in Southwestern Nigeria: Myth or Reality?

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