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Impact of School Counselling Awareness Programmes on Utilization of School Counselling Services among Secondary School Students in Nigeria

Abstract

School counselling services play an important role in supporting the academic, emotional, social, behavioural, and health-related wellbeing of secondary school students. Adolescents may experience challenges such as academic stress, peer pressure, family difficulties, bullying, emotional distress, substance-use pressures, relationship concerns, and uncertainty about educational and career choices. However, some students may not utilize available school counselling services because of limited awareness, misconceptions about counselling, concerns about confidentiality, fear of stigma, lack of trust, negative perceptions, or uncertainty about when and how to seek counselling support. School counselling awareness programmes provide an opportunity to improve students' understanding of available counselling services, their benefits, confidentiality principles, referral pathways, and situations in which professional support may be appropriate. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of school counselling awareness programmes on utilization of school counselling services among secondary school students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Theory of Planned Behavior, and Social Cognitive Theory. The Health Belief Model explains how students' perceptions of their need for counselling, perceived severity of personal or academic challenges, perceived benefits of counselling, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action may influence service utilization. The Theory of Planned Behavior emphasizes attitudes toward counselling, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and behavioural intentions as determinants of students' willingness to use counselling services. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes observational learning, social modelling, self-efficacy, reinforcement, peer influence, and the school environment in shaping students' help-seeking behaviour. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how school counselling awareness programmes may influence utilization of school counselling services among secondary school students in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise students aged approximately 12–19 years enrolled in selected public and private secondary schools across Nigeria, with the specific age range determined according to the approved study protocol and ethical requirements. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, communities, schools, classes, and eligible students. School counselling awareness programmes will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to counselling-awareness sessions, frequency and duration of education, knowledge of available counselling services, types of counselling provided, confidentiality principles, benefits of counselling, common reasons for seeking counselling, referral procedures, accessibility of counsellors, appointment procedures, emergency support pathways, and available academic, emotional, social, behavioural, and career counselling services. Utilization of school counselling services will be assessed using indicators such as previous use of counselling services, frequency of counselling visits, willingness to seek counselling when needed, self-referral, referral by teachers or school personnel, follow-up attendance, use of different counselling services, and appropriate help-seeking for academic, emotional, social, behavioural, or career-related concerns. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized counselling-awareness and service-utilization assessment tools, scenario-based questions, school counselling records where ethically and practically accessible, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental intervention is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and educational characteristics, awareness levels, previous counselling experiences, sources of information, and patterns of service utilization. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of school counselling awareness programmes on utilization of school counselling services. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, counselling-service utilization or help-seeking intention before and after the awareness intervention may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that school counselling awareness programmes have a significant positive impact on utilization of school counselling services among secondary school students in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured, age-appropriate, accessible, and student-centred counselling awareness programmes are expected to demonstrate greater knowledge of counselling services and a higher likelihood of utilizing available support than students without comparable exposure. Awareness may improve students' understanding of when counselling can be useful, how to access counsellors, the types of support available, and the importance of seeking assistance early. Education about confidentiality and the professional role of school counsellors may also reduce misconceptions and fears surrounding counselling. Practical activities, peer-supported awareness sessions, classroom discussions, and information materials may further encourage students to seek appropriate support for academic, emotional, social, behavioural, and career concerns. However, stigma, concerns about confidentiality, limited availability of qualified counsellors, inadequate counselling facilities, negative peer perceptions, parental attitudes, large student-to-counsellor ratios, and distrust of school-based support systems may reduce the effectiveness of awareness programmes alone. The study therefore expects accessible, confidential, student-friendly, sustained, and school-integrated counselling awareness programmes, supported by adequate counselling personnel and referral systems, to contribute significantly to improved utilization of school counselling services among secondary school students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on school counselling, adolescent health, mental wellbeing, health education, help-seeking behaviour, school health services, student support services, psychosocial wellbeing, academic support, career guidance, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, state ministries of education and health, secondary schools, school counsellors, teachers, healthcare professionals, parents, adolescent-health organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening student support services. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating counselling awareness into school health programmes, improving students' knowledge of available counselling services, strengthening confidentiality and referral systems, increasing the availability of qualified school counsellors, reducing stigma surrounding help-seeking, improving collaboration between schools, parents, and healthcare providers, and developing sustainable school-based interventions that promote appropriate utilization of counselling services among secondary school students across Nigeria.

Keywords: School counselling awareness programmes, counselling service utilization, secondary school students, adolescents, help-seeking, school counselling, student wellbeing, psychosocial support, health education, school health services, Nigeria, public health.