Effect of Assertiveness Training on Low Self Esteem Among Secondary School Students in Enugu North Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria

This study investigated the effect of assertiveness training on Low Self Esteem among Secondary School Students in Enugu North LGA, Enugu State. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design. The study made use of a pre-test, post-test approach, one experimental and one control, non-randomized non-equivalent group. The study was guided by three research questions and three hypotheses. The population of the study comprised all the 508 pretested and identified low self esteem secondary school students through the administration of ‘Hare Self Esteem Scale’ (HSS), from the four coeducational schools in Enugu North L.G.A. Enugu State. Hare self esteem scale is a standardized instrument; it was used for pre-test and post-test measures. The sample of the study was made up 114 secondary school students, comprised all the low self esteem students from two co-educational schools using purposive sampling. Arithmetic mean was used to answer research questions, while Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at 0.05 levels of significance was used in testing the null hypotheses. The findings of this study revealed that assertiveness training was insignificant since it had just slight effect on the experimental group over the control group, slight effect on male trained with assertiveness training over the female trained with assertiveness training, and slight effect on low self esteem junior secondary school students trained with assertiveness training over the low self esteem senior secondary school students trained with assertiveness training. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that; Counsellor Educators, professional counsellors and counsellors in training can improve their counselling techniques by attending conferences, seminars and workshops to get them grounded in areas of assertiveness training to enable them have significant impact on low self esteem secondary school students when trained with assertiveness training. Also, Counsellors should at least once in every academic session organize seminar for parents to enlighten them on how to help their children especially those with low self esteem, to have new knowledge in assertive behaviours