The Impact Of Guidance And Counselling On Academic Perfromance Of Mentally Challenged Children In Nyeri Munisp Ality In Nyeri District Kenya

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to investigate the Influence of Guidance and Counseling on

Academic Performance of Mentally Challenged Children in Nyeri munispality in Nyeri District,

Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to; identify the causes of mental retardation

Children in Nyeri munispality in Nyeri District Kenya, , Identify the methods of counseling that

are effective on mentally retarded Children and Investigate the impact of guidance and

counseling on academic performance of learners with mental retardation Children. The methods

used for data collection were questionnaires to the teachers, interviews with the parents and

focus group discussions with the pupils. The study revealed by 60% that learners with mental

retardation sought guidance and counseling services. However the respondents complained that

most schools do not have qualified counselors to handle mentally retarded learners. The most

common mentioned cause of mental retardation was hereditary reasons which were mentioned

by 90% of the respondents. Group counseling was mentioned by 84%, 76% mentioned

individual counseling, 72% mentioned motivation, 64% mentioned parent and child counseling

and 56% mentioned behavior counseling. The study also revealed by 52% of the respondents

that guidance and counseling has improved the academic perfonnance of mentally retarded. The

study recommended that; Counselors who specifically look at cases of mentally retarded learners

should be trained and made available in schools to help mentally retarded children. The Ministry

of Education to beef up more aggressive awareness campaigns among various stakeholders

concerning the negative attitudes towards the mentally retarded. The Ministry to empower all the

teachers in the country with appropriate professional skills on how to cater for the mentally retarded learners.