An investigation into the present state of school guidance in Ciskeian secondary schools in the Keiskammahoek area

Abstract

Although school guidance and counselling services were established in Ciskeian Secondary Schools in the early 1980's, little appears to be taking place. One is continually hearing the plea for an improvement in the system, but once again little is happening. Before such improvement can take place, however, it needs to be known what exactly is and isn't taking place. Furthermore, the problems preventing the services from operating successfully need to be clarified. This research aims at describing the state of guidance in a group of five secondary schools in the Keiskammahoek area of the Ciskei, and elucidating the problems experienced by practitioners in the field. An open-ended questionnaire was administered to 98 pupils and 18 guidance teachers, and the five principals of these schools were interviewed. The findings, which are discussed in detail, confirm the suspicions of the researcher that little guidance indeed is taking place. Many reasons for this state of affairs are given. Finally, suggestions are made as to how this unsatisfactory situation may be improved.