CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND COUNSELLING STRATEGIES FOR CURBING LATENESS TO SCHOOL AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IMO STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the causes, consequences and counselling strategies for curbing lateness to school among secondary school students in Imo State. Three research questions guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey design, while the population of the study was 1262 school counsellors in all the secondary schools in Imo state. The sample size of the study comprised seven hundred and thirty-eight(738) counsellors drawn through accidental sampling technique. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled Causes, Consequences and Counselling Strategies for Curbing Lateness to School Questionnaire (CCCSCLSQ). Data collected for the study were analyzed using Arithmetic mean. Results from the study showed that the causes of lateness to school among secondary school students are problem of transportation, parental neglect, early morning hawking, laziness on the part of the students, keeping late nights, inability of school principals and teachers to maintain discipline in schools, uninteresting method of teaching by the teacher and bad company are the causes of lateness to school among secondary school students. The result also showed that low self-esteem and anxiety and proliferation of secondary schools without boarding facilities are not the causes of lateness to school among the secondary school students. More so, results of the study also indicated that the consequences of lateness to school among secondary school students are truancy, and dropping out of school, poor academic performance, among others. Finally, the results revealed that the counselling strategies used by counsellors in curbing lateness to school among students in Imo state are sensitization programs, seminars, use of role modelling, reinforcement, self management technique, cognitive restructuring, rational emotive behavioural therapy, among others. It was recommended among others, that Counsellors should fashion out effective counselling strategies for handling the problem of lateness to school among secondary school students.