ASSESSING THE INFLUENCE OF SCHOOL COUNSELLORS’ EMPATHETIC ORIENTATION ON STUDENTS’ WILLINGNESS TO SEEK HELP IN DELTA STATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS
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Abstract
This study assessed the influence of school counsellors' empathetic orientation on students' willingness to seek help in Delta State secondary schools. Seven research questions guided the study, and seven hypotheses were tested. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. The population consisted of one thousand two hundred and sixty-six (1,266) Senior Secondary School One (SS1) students in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State. The sample comprised one hundred and fifty (150) senior secondary school one students selected through a multi-stage sampling procedure, involving simple random sampling of 10 schools out of 24 public senior secondary schools in the area, and random selection of 15 students from each of the selected schools. The instrument used to collect data was a questionnaire titled "School Counsellors' Empathetic Orientation Scale (SCEOS)" adapted from the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory
(BLRI), which was developed in 1962. The face and content validity of the instrument were ascertained by three lecturers from the Department of Educational Evaluation and Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin City, and a Cronbach Alpha Statistics was used to obtain a reliability coefficient value of 0.882. The data collected were analyzed using Inferential Statistics, specifically Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The findings of the study showed that there is a significant relationship between active listening, emotional validation, perspective-taking, empathetic concern, and open-ended
questioning techniques used by school counsellors and students' willingness to seek help in Delta State secondary schools. Furthermore, there is no significant relationship between non-verbal communication and cultural sensitivity by school counsellors and students' willingness to seek
help in Delta State secondary schools. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that school counsellors should prioritize developing their empathetic skills to enhance students' willingness to seek help.
(BLRI), which was developed in 1962. The face and content validity of the instrument were ascertained by three lecturers from the Department of Educational Evaluation and Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin City, and a Cronbach Alpha Statistics was used to obtain a reliability coefficient value of 0.882. The data collected were analyzed using Inferential Statistics, specifically Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The findings of the study showed that there is a significant relationship between active listening, emotional validation, perspective-taking, empathetic concern, and open-ended
questioning techniques used by school counsellors and students' willingness to seek help in Delta State secondary schools. Furthermore, there is no significant relationship between non-verbal communication and cultural sensitivity by school counsellors and students' willingness to seek
help in Delta State secondary schools. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that school counsellors should prioritize developing their empathetic skills to enhance students' willingness to seek help.
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