Effects of Nouthetic Counselling on Behavioural Changes of Students from Broken Homes in Selected Public Secondary Schools in Ibadan North Local Government Area, Oyo State

This study examined effects of nouthetic counselling on behavioural changes of students from broken homes in selected public secondary schools in Ibadan North Local Government Area, Oyo State. The rising prevalence of behavioural issues among students from broken homes, including low-self-esteem, aggressiveness, emotional instability and poor academic performance served as the impetus for the study. A quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test control group design was adopted. Social Learning Theory was used as it provides a relevant framework for understanding behavioural changes among students from broken homes and the role of counselling intervention in modifying maladaptive behaviour. A multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted. Five public secondary schools were selected randomly, from these schools, students from broken homes were identified, and 50 were selected using the simple random sampling from the identified pool. Data were gathered using a nouthetic counselling Intervention Guide and Behavioural Assessment Scale developed for the study. A structured nouthetic counselling session with a focus on biblical counselling, confession, repentance and behavioural renewal was conducted on the experimental group, while no such intervention was given to the control group. Descriptive statistics, Chi-Square was used to analyse data. The results showed that students’ behavioural outcomes significantly improved using nouthetic counselling, in particular when compared to the control group, students who participated in the counselling session shown remarkably favourable improvement in their moral reasoning, academic performance, interpersonal relationships, and self-discipline, The study concluded that, students from broken home can benefit greatly from nouthetic counselling, which is based on biblical principles. The study therefore recommended that nouthetic counselling should be used often for students from broken homes. More so, nouthetic counselling can be incorporated in Guidance and Counselling programmes of public senior secondary schools in Ibadan.