How unreasonable fears or hatred contribute to student poor performances in the school and student drop out from the school

How unreasonable fears or hatred contribute to student poor performances in the school and student drop out from the school

The practicing counselor starts by looking into some meaning of the concepts or key word “behavior” modification and school phobia for effective counseling in our educational institution of learning.

       Behaviour modification: according to Nwamuo, A.P. PH.D and Ekwe, A.O.PH.D (2005) sees it as a system for changing behaviour based on the principles of conditioning.

       The term behaviour modification according to Silas, E. Omebe (2004) define it as what takes its starting point from the recognition that behaviours, which are rewarded tend to be repeated, while behaviours that receive no reward tend to eliminated.

       Meanwhile, Stella, N. Nduka-Ozo (2005) seen behaviour modification is a process of changing the undesirable activities of an organism into desirable and acceptable form. In summary it implies that behaviour modification is the systematic and process of applying techniques carefully in order to altering an individual behaviour that had glaring from well being of the individual and given groups or society norms.

ANOTHER CONCEPT IS SCHOOL PHOBIA FIRST, WHAT IS PHOBIA.

Phobia is unreasonable and unrealistic fear and hatred encounter while performing a particular task or activities. While school, is a learning environment where teacher and student come together to interact in order to importing knowledge to the learner.

       Phobia according to Nkeiruka P. Onyemerekeya cited in Nwamuo A. P Ph.D and Ekwe A.O Ph.D (2005,168) opine that phobia is irrational and persistence fear, he also sees it as various fears the individual realize are irrational but which he cannot handle or free himself from. In other view it may be regard as a conditional fear reactions. Phobia can also be a persistent and misappropriate fear of some specific object or situation that presents little or no actual danger to a person.

The etymological meaning of school phobia become an extreme fear and avoidance of school often accomplished by a resistance against attending school or school refusal. According to Nwamuo .A.P. Ph-D and Ekwe, A.O. (2005, page 47) it is exaggerated, often irrational fear of attending school.

MODIFICATION OF SCHOOL PHOBIA

Before modify unacceptable behaviour, they most be a problems faced by somebody else.

AS A CASE STUDY

       A case study according to Denga (1986) cited in Stella, N. Nduka-ozo (2005)opine that it is an evaluation and interpretation of the individual in that it seeks to present a cumulative picture of his total personality and circumstances that affect his conduct and development.

The case student of Friday Chinedum. JSSI. Student of divine comprehensive secondary school in Ishieke village, who developed school phobia (that is develop intense anxiety about going to school and resist all efforts to get them to attend. This may occurs as a result over protection and in other hand it may occur as a result of rejection of the child by the parents. Also, resistance and refusal to go to school may be as the result of fearing some situation occurring in school, even poor socialization can also attributed to children or students school phobia.

According to Essuman et al (1990) cited in Stella Nduka-ozo (2005) map out scientific procedure for behaviour modifications which has some procedure, method or steps, which has some are applied to bring about changes in behaviour. The following are the six steps. The six steps are

v    Problem identification, definition and study.

v    Goal setting

v    Selection of methods or techniques to achieve goals.

v    Implementation of treatment and feedback

v    Evolution and correction

v    Follow up

These steps were followed carefully to modify Friday Chinedum school phobia. And the steps are discussed under each section. Identification, definition and study. Step 1 under section two (2).

In the normal circumstances, before treatment of problem, you have to identify the problem, the unacceptable behaviour that constitute to the problem. Friday as a lucky student, it happen that Friday came to school on my first day of my pestering in their school (divine comprehensive secondary school (Ishieke) for my teaching practice exercise. And he is intelligent enough which I observed through the way he answered questions and also ask relevant question in the class room. As I continued with my teaching practice activities everyday, I find out that it was only my first day of teaching, that I sow Friday last, in the school, then I went through their past attendance list and it happen that Friday always came to school once or twice in every weeks.

       More so, I went further by asking his classmate about Friday movement, they reported that since school commerce’s Friday always absentees himself in school. As I continue in the next week, Friday came to school, I called him my friend I was missing you in my class, he tries to denied that he often came to school but he later said that it was last week that I miss school four days. Then I ask him to see me after school dismissal period. As Friday came after school dismissal, I build effective relationship (rapport) in the process of asking him some question, were he tries to switch on his defense mechanism by saying that he do not have writing materials and other basic needs in school.

With further interaction Friday find out that am not only teacher in profession. But also counselors who can assist him solve his problem. He now open up by telling me that he only came to school on Monday because Mr. Nwachukwu (teacher) love’s me and it was only on Monday that he normally teach. While other two teacher that teaches us from Tuesday to Friday hats me and there are my step mother friends whom am living with and my step mother do not love me everything I do she will always treating me harsh. And my problem is that my father is not living with us, he live in the city and my mother had death or pass away. The genesis of the problem was immediately after the death of my mother. The client (Friday) make clear that he likes coming to school but, due to the hatred attached on his condition, contributed to his school phobia. The teacher (practicing counselor) asks him how do you know that your step mother and your teacher hated you, tell me my friend. And remember that everything we discussed remains here and confidential. Any things we are discuss should be secret, do not tell anybody what we discussed here please, Friday (client) he nodded his head, then Friday open by saying sir, “my step mother hated me because she complained that her two children do not know anything and is me that is orphan that always gotten first position in every exam written. And her two children always got last position, for that she hated me.

My teacher always treat me harsh in the classroom and all question they asked they point me to answer it, if I do not answer it correctly they will insult me in the class, and it happen that there was a day one among the two teachers, answered question and she pointed me to answer the question unfortunately I did not answer it correctly, she said no wonder your mother said I should handle you well, and from today any day you do not answer my question I will send out from my class. Since that day, I discovered that truly that my step mother have something common with them.

The teaching practice teacher and of the same time, practicing counselor assist him to appraise the coping strategies he adopts and why it works or fails. Find out from the school phobia client what he intents to do in similar situations and equally appraise it. I discuss the possible effects of school phobia on each pick up and motivated to accept assistance.

GOAL SETTING UNDER SECTION (3)

the counselor, discuss or inform the client that he can improve himself by working toward achieving to be in school everyday if you really want to free your self from this situation. This counseling session will only last for six week assigned for the counselor programmes.

SUB GOALS

1. At the end of 1^st weeks the client should be able to come to school at least twice.
2. At the end of 2^nd weeks, Friday should be able to free himself from school phobia and be present in school at least 3 times.
3. Third (3) weeks Friday should be able to come to school at least 4 times before the end of the weeks.
4. At the end of 4^th week the client should be able to reduce intense fear of coming to school at least feel a little happy and motivated.

MAIN GOAL

       Here, Friday should promise himself that in any condition, except sickness I will not miss to be coming to school again.

       SECTION (4) SELECTION OF METHOD OR TECHNIQUES TO ACHIEVE THE STATED GOALS

       WHAT IS TECHNIQUES: Techniques is a method or tricks or strategic apply to change the client behaviour which is unaccepted to accepted.

       Used token economy or back-up reinforcers. Token economy or back-up reinfocers according to Nwamuo A.P Ph.D and Ekwe A.O Ph.D (2005) it teaches a child to work for symbolic rewards, to delay gratifications and to work in an intermittent schedule. In a token system, the child is periodically rated on the behaviours in which the counselor is interested and is given some symbol of this rating called a token. As a counselor I will tell the class or student the value attached in the token which I will rate in points or marks made from Monday to Friday, I issue the students a card for recording mark each day they attend to school. And recording it in my own record book until the end of my program which will last for six week.

       The counselor enters informal contracts between the students, head of the school and the counselor. The informal contracts are agreement that specify the consequences for each abnormal behaviour such as coming late, in the school, absence in school, hating your class teacher because of unrealistic issues. The informal agreement explains the method for the system, the various do’s and don’ts included. The counselor also explain the token itself do not have values as ordinary cards, a piece of plastics but the can acquire values when exchanged for real things with money value if it is accepted by the school management. To achieve this targets which am using the system of token economy to change the Friday behaviour, I will enter into behavioural contract with Friday. I will explain to Friday the accepted behaviour needed form him and others, the frequency of the acceptable behaviour will attract a given number of token and I will like you (Friday) to make highest points so that you will surprises the whole class. Procedure for the use of token, the counselor enter behavioural contract to make sure that the counseling session is achieved. Behavioural contract according to stella N. nduka-ozo (2005) is a written agreement between two persons stating what each person will do for a stated period of time. Here, I the counsellor enter the agreement with the client (Friday) by telling him if he can be able to remove the unrealistic reasoning concerning your teacher during teaching and learning exercise because question in class room is one of the method used in assessing the students. And I have interact with those two teachers you told me about and I find out that depend on what we were discussing about the best students in JSS 1 which your are among them, that is to tell you that is how I picked interest on you in my first day of entering into your class like while those two teacher likes you too, please Friday my friend if you can stop this irrational belief, you are going to win all the points I mention in the class which I rated from Monday to Friday every weeks through out my six weeks which I will stay here with you people.

SECTION (5) IMPLEMENTATION OF TREATMENT PROCEDURE

Treatment procedure: here, the writer (counselor) have set the goals and determined the duration or the length of time for treatment which will last for six weeks. And for the counselor to stop Friday from school phobia many techniques or method should be applied such as:

v    Token economy

v    Behaviour contracting with Friday

v    cognitive restructioning

v    Shaping the Friday any day he came to school

v    Self instruction.

TOKEN ECONOMY: Is a value attached in material things which serve as motivator of behaviour that is acceptable, which change to be points givens to the students.

BEHAVIOUR CONTRACTING: The counselor enter agreement with Friday (clients) if he should stop school phobia he is going to gain the victory of points given in each day of the weeks through out the six weeks of the award token.

COGNITIVE RESTRUCTIONING: Here, the counselor makes it clear to the client (Friday) that both irrational and rational thinking come form our belief system. That your belief system is ready to stamp out your success toward education and do not allow the negative or irrational emotion to influence your because every resource and competent teachers likes intelligent students and anytime they entered in the class they always like to ask question to make the class lively.

SHAPING: This have to do with step by step positive reinforcement in any attempt made by the clients every day he came to school.

SELF INSTRUCTION: Here the counselor asked Friday to consider some self instruction, like who want to learn most strive to answer question asked in the class. Pointing me out in the class to answer question is not bad any more since may arm is to acquire knowledge.

FEEDBACK: Here, Friday give his weekly information about the success of the counseling session discussed in treatment graph. Is only Friday points of gained award token is discussed here.

TREATMENT GRAPH

       The feedbacks do not give high frequency demands for further correction. Mean parts = 52/6 = 8.66

Section six

EVALUATION

       Evaluation according to bloom et al (1971:8) cited in Stella, N, Nduka-Ozo (2005) see’s it as encompassing five major purpose which include “quality control which determines at each step in the teaching, hearing (counseling) process whether the process is effective or not, and if not what change must be made to ensure its effectiveness before it is too late”.

       Through the feedback of treatment show that the goals stated at the beginning of the counseling session is almost achieved. The treatment graph revealed that from the 1^st week to the last weeks Friday real adjust well in the school by free himself from school phobia as result of his irrational and labeling toward some of the teacher. He was absent twice during the 1^st week because it was his first time of gearing himself to meet the demand of required behaviour second week he miss one day class because he has not completely convince and on 4^th week He also miss one day class because his parent send him some domestic work.

LAST SECTION (7)

       Follow-up- simple means of monitoring a client with a view to obtaining regular progress report on his performance and sustainability of his positive change of behaviour (Stella, Nduka-Ozo 2005).

       Before, the termination of the counseling session we agreed that they will be communicating through oral interview. Through the oral interview the client appreciate the success of the counseling session for achieving the global goals.

REFERENCES

Nwamuo A.P and Ekwe A.O. (2005). Applications of

       therapeutic principles of behaviour modification owerri:

       career publishers.

Silas E. Omebe (2005). Guidance and Counseling A

       Comprehensive Approach. Enugu: Cheston Agency Ltd.

Stella N. Nduka-Ozo (2005). Behaviour Modification in

       Guidance and Counseling. Enugu: Jones

Communication Publishers.