Professional Development and Experience as Determinants of Counselling Perceived Effectiveness among Selected School Counsellors in Southwestern, Nigeria

Counseling must have existed in one form or another since the very beginning of human civilization. Man must have sought comfort, help and solace from the family and close associates. Children were brought up in a neatly woven relationship of the extended family in African Traditional Societies. The society had counselors who included aunts, uncles, and grandparents. However the home as one avenue of instilling sex education is challenged by modern constraints such as shattered cultural basis of child upbringing, rising standards of living, economic constraints, and inadequate family guidance and counseling, child headed homes, wars, tribal clashes, cattle rustling, displacement and moral conflict. The purpose of this study was to investigate professional development and experience as determinants of counselling perceived effectiveness among selected school counsellors in Southwestern, Nigeria.Descriptive research design of ex-post-facto type was used in the study. Five hundred (500) respondents were selected from secondary schools in selected five States (i.e, Ogun States, Osun States, Oyo States, Lagos States and Ekiti States) in Southwestern, Nigeria. The respondents were measured with relevant standardized scales strong reliability coefficient and the data obtained was analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and Multiple Regression statistical analysis of the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). Three research hypotheses and two research questions were raised and answered in the study.The result showed that counselling effectiveness is significantly correlated with professional development (r = .623; p<.05) and experience (r= .833; p<.05), independent variables when pulled together have significant contribution to on the counsellors’ perceived effectiveness (R (adjusted) =.719 and R2 (adjusted) =.893) and each of the independent variables made a significant contribution to the prediction of counsellors’ perceived effectiveness. In term of magnitude of contribution, professional development made the most significant contribution (Beta= .813; t= 1.094; P<0.05) to the prediction follow by experience (Beta= .608; t= 6.129; P<0.05). On the strength of these findings, it was stressed and advocated that the schools should develop enabling environment for counsellors’ need and development, the enlightenment of counsellors in the school on the need to improve their professional development, because this has a great impact in their perceived effectiveness and the parents/guardians also need to be trained on the need to monitor the students and give adequate emotional caring for them. This will help in complementing the efforts of counselors to materialize in the school. . Keywords: Professional Development, Experience, Counselling Perceived Effectiveness, School Counsellor