EFFECTS OF COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING AND MODELLING COUNSELLING TECHNIQUES ON STUDENTS’ STUDY HABIT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN EBONYI STATE

Abstract

The paper highlights the effects of cognitive restructuring and modelling counselling techniques on students’ study habit in secondary schools in Ebonyi State. The research design used for this study is pre-test/post-test quasiexperimental design because of the need by the study to establish effect of two independent variables on one dependent variable. The study was carried out in Ebonyi State. It comprises the secondary school students two (s s 2) from the three educational zones. The population is made up of all the (s s 2) students with the total number of 4380 students in Ebonyi State. The sample size of the population is 219 students which is 5% of the population and the purposive sampling technique was equally used to reach the target sample. The sample distribution was 79 students for group A (cognitive restructuring), 79 students for group B (modeling counseling technique), 61 students for group C (control group).The instrument used was students study habit index (SSHI). The instrument was validated by three experts from Ebonyi State University Abakaliki. To ascertain the reliability the trial testing was carried using 30 students which is outside the research area. Crombach alpha was adopted to analyze the data. The result yielded .868 coefficient value which shows a high internal consistency of the instrument. The researcher adopted on-the spot method of administration and collection of the instrument to ensure 100% return of the completed questionnaire. The procedure used by the researcher in establishing the effect of cognitive restructuring and modelling counselling on the students engaged in the treatment groups includes pre-treatment stage, treatment stage, post-treatment stage, control group and control of extraneous variables. The data collected was analyzed using mean and standard deviation and the hypotheses was tested with analysis of co-variance at 0.05 level of significance (ANCOVA). Findings of the study revealed that: Students developed better study habit when engaged in Cognitive Restructuring Techniques, Male students had better study habit mean gain when engaged in Cognitive Restructuring Techniques than female students, Students developed better study habit when engaged in Modelling Counselling Techniques than the Control Group, Female students had better study habit mean gain when engaged in Modelling Counselling Techniques than male students, The study therefore recommends among other things that gender should be seen as a serious factor in the choice and use of either cognitive restructuring or modelling counselling technique in handling students’ study habit problems for academic progress. Modelling counselling techniques should be emphasized on every counselling encounter.