Impact of Guidance and Counselling Services on Students’ Behaviour Modificatio between Selected Public Urban and Rural Secondary Schools in Rift Valley Province, Kenya

The study sought to establish and compare the impact of guidance and counselling services on students’ behaviour modification in social and emotional adjustment in the selected public urban and rural secondary schools in Rift Valley Province, Kenya. The study adopted ex post-facto causal comparative research design The research population was form 4 students in 24 secondary schools from municipality: Eldoret, Naivasha and Nakuru,and rural/district: Uasin Gishu, Kuresoi and Molo Simple random, stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 346 students, 48 school counsellors and 48 school administrators as respondents. Quantitative data was collected by administering questionnaires to students and school guidance counsellors while Qualitative data was collected through conducting an interview schedule to school administrators. Questionnaires were pilot tested before use and were found to have reliability coefficient of 0.8. The study employed one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance.The Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0.helped in data analysis. The findings of the study indicated that guidance and counselling services in secondary schools had statistically significant impact on the level of social and emotional adjustments. Rural schools indicated high level of impact of guidance and counselling services where female students expressed higher level of behaviour modification in social and emotional adjustment It was concluded that guidance and counselling services in secondary schools helps in modifying students’ behaviour in social and emotional adjustments. Stakeholders in education sector and other youth institutions could find these findings useful in addressing secondary schools students’ social and emotional needs. Keywords: Behaviour Modification, Guidance and Counselling Services, Social and Emotional Adjustment, Rural andUrban Secondary School

Level of risk in substance use among undergraduate students in Kenya: Implications for prevention intervention

Despite the negative effects of substance use on university students, the level of risk of substance use and its implication on prevention interventions in Kenya is yet to be fully explored. The main objective of the study was to determine the level of risk in substance use among students and its implications on prevention interventions. Descriptive cross sectional survey research design was used. A World Health Organization questionnaire - Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was adapted to measure the level of risk and student awareness of prevention interventions. The questionnaires were distributed to 1,500 participants from 12 universities across Kenya. An in-depth interview was conducted among the university counsellors to find out the efficacy of prevention interventions. Overall, lifetime prevalence for substance use was 48.6% and current prevalence rate was 37.9% among undergraduate students in Kenya. Public universities reported significantly higher prevalence of current use of substances than private universities. Those who had not used substances in the past three months before the study were 993 (69.5%), the low-risk users were 205 (14.3%), moderate risk users were at 187 (13.1%) and 44 (3.1%) of the respondents were high-risk users. Prevention interventions that were found in universities were mostly universal prevention strategies which targeted the entire student population without regard to the level of risk of individual students. The study concludes that substance use is a health problem in Kenyan universities and there is urgent need to develop and implement interventions that target moderate and high risk users

Influence of Career Information on Choice of Degree Programme among Regular and Self-Sponsored Students in Public Universities, Kenya

Choosing a degree programme to study in the university is a critical career task that is a major turning point in a student's life which not only is a start to workplace readiness, but also establishes the student in a career path that opens as well as closes life opportunities. Failure to achieve this task may cause dissatisfaction within the individual and difficulty in handling later career tasks. This career task is influenced by various factors. This study aimed at determining the influence of career information on choice of degree programme among students in public universities in Kenya. The study used the ex post facto design that adopted the causal comparative research technique and data was collected from 500 randomly selected students using questionnaires. Percentages, means and standard deviations were used to describe the quantitative data and independent samples t-test was used to analyze the data and to test hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that career information had a high influence on the choice of degree programme of students in public universities. Further analysis of the results indicated that no statistically significant differences existed between the mean scores of influences of career information between regular and self-sponsored students. The study concluded that provision of career information was a significant factor in influencing the choice of degree programme of all the students in public universities. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education (MoE) ensures that in all secondary schools in Kenya, the career guidance department is functional with adequate career information resources and activities, to facilitate career development among students. The study also recommended the training and equipping of career guidance counsellors in schools to enhance their competence in assisting the students in making career decisions. Keywords: Degree programme, career information, career task, public university, regular and self-sponsored students

Accessibility Of Substances, Accommodation Status & Extracurricular Activities' Influence On Undergraduates In Kenya

 Introduction: Institutional factors such as; Accessibility of Substances, Accommodation status, Extracurricular activities etc., had the capacity to influence and modify a student's behaviour by exposing or protecting them from substance use. The purpose of this study was to find out, to what extent these factors influence some undergraduate students into substance use in Kenya. Methodology: Descriptive cross sectional survey and qualitative research designs were used for this study. Self - administered questionnaires were distributed to 1500 participants who were selected using Multistage Sampling Technique from 12 chartered universities with twelve university counsellors in Kenya were also interviewed. Results: The type of accommodation was a factor that determined the current use of Substance among undergraduates. High prevalence of Substance use was reported within students residing in hostels outside the universities. Accessibility of substance (β = .25, p=.000) and extracurricular activities (β = .13, p<.001) were strong predictors of Substance use. Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis were easily accessible and their use was higher compared to other types of Substance use. Students who were engaged in extracurricular activities had lower risk of Substance use in colleges. University counsellors who were interviewed agreed that the Institutional factors played a vital role in determining the use of Substance among undergraduates. Conclusions: Accessibility of Substance, type of Accommodation and Student engagement in extracurricular activities plays a major role in determining the undergraduate student's use of Substance in our modern Institutions. Majority of Parents / Guardians whose students reside outside the universities need to collaborate with the private accommodation facility caretakers to curb Substance use in our institutions.  Some university students use their external connection mainly outside the university to get substances for personal use and also as a source of income. The main source of substances in the university environment is fellow students  Key words: Institutional Factors, Substance Use, Accessibility, Type Of Accommodation, Extracurricular Activities, And Undergraduate Students