Abstract:
Guidance and counselling services prepare individuals to take ownership of their resolutions in life and to develop their capacity to grasp and handle the outcomes of the options they take in life. The capacity to deliver such reasoned decisions must be developed by the assistance of an expert, the school counsellor. However, evidence indicates that inadequate training and preparation make these crucial personnel ill-prepared for the tasks ahead of them. Determining the level of knowledge, skills and attitude among Kenyan school counsellors is critical, that is why the investigation sought to do an appraisal of the school counsellors’ competence in secondary schools in Kakamega county-Kenya. The study specifically sought to determine whether the school counsellors had the right attitude for effective counselling in secondary schools. According to the International Competencies for Educational and Vocational Guidance Practitioners’ manual, there are certain knowledge, skills, and attitude needed of counsellors in order to provide quality services to clients, among them respect and safeguard of the client’s right to privacy and confidentiality.The study adopted a descriptive survey design. To accomplish the objective, the researcher used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This research was conducted in Kakamega County, one of the largest counties in Kenya. Findings of the study indicate that majority of the school counsellors did not have the right attitude for effective counseling in secondary schools.There was need for professionally trained counsellors with the right attitude to be posted to the secondary schools.Educational teacher programs in Kenya should be tailored to produce competente counsellors equiped with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude to enable them accomplish their duty. Theoritically the findings are expected to contribute to the advancement of knowledge about competencies required of school counsellors. Practically, the findings give insight into the inadequacies in the training of school counsellors.
