PDE 712 (GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING 1) FRIDAY 25TH JULY 2025 NOTE AND PAST QUESTION NOTE FOR EXAM
Here’s a full breakdown and best answer to each of the PDE 112: Guidance and Counselling I questions — with clarification of what the question is asking followed by a clear, simple answer suitable for your level:
1. Discuss how human development from childhood to old age is directed by hereditary and influenced by environment.
✅ What you're being asked:
Explain how both genetics (heredity) and life conditions (environment) shape how a person grows mentally, physically, and socially throughout life.
✅ Answer:
Human development is the gradual process of growth and change from birth to old age.
- Heredity (nature): These are traits passed from parents through genes, such as height, eye color, intelligence, or talent.
- Environment (nurture): These include home, school, nutrition, friends, and culture that influence how people behave, learn, and grow.
👉 Example: A child may be born smart (heredity), but without education (environment), the intelligence may not grow.
Conclusion: A combination of heredity and environment shapes a person's behavior, thinking, and personality from childhood to old age.
2. (a) Outline Piaget's cognitive development and explain the characteristics of each stage.
✅ What you're being asked:
List and describe the four stages Jean Piaget said children go through as they develop their thinking abilities.
✅ Answer:
Jean Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development:
- Sensorimotor Stage (0–2 years):
- Learns through senses and movement.
- Develops object permanence (understands that things still exist even when not seen).
- Preoperational Stage (2–7 years):
- Uses symbols (like language).
- Thinking is egocentric (sees things only from their own point of view).
- Struggles with logic.
- Concrete Operational Stage (7–11 years):
- Begins to think logically about concrete things.
- Understands rules and concepts like quantity, time, and space.
- Formal Operational Stage (12+ years):
- Can think abstractly and solve complex problems.
- Can reason logically and think about the future.
2. (b) Describe how you would give a counseling intervention for 1–3-year-old child in a Kindergarten school.
✅ What you're being asked:
Explain how you would help or guide a very young child using age-appropriate counseling techniques.
✅ Answer:
For 1–3-year-olds, counseling should be gentle, simple, and playful.
- Use play therapy (toys, blocks, drawing).
- Speak in simple language and with a calm voice.
- Observe behavior closely since children this age may not talk well.
- Work closely with the parents and caregivers.
- Use songs or stories to communicate emotions.
Goal: To help the child feel safe, express emotions, and build trust.
3. Enumerate and explain the Behavior Modification Techniques.
✅ What you're being asked:
List and explain ways used in counselling to change unwanted behavior and replace it with good behavior.
✅ Answer:
Behavior Modification Techniques:
- Positive Reinforcement:
Rewarding good behavior to encourage it (e.g., praising a child who shares toys). - Negative Reinforcement:
Removing something unpleasant when the desired behavior is shown (e.g., stopping punishment when a child behaves). - Punishment:
Giving an unpleasant consequence to reduce bad behavior (used carefully). - Extinction:
Ignoring or not rewarding bad behavior until it stops. - Shaping:
Rewarding steps toward the right behavior gradually. - Time-out:
Removing the child from a fun activity when they misbehave.
4. Discuss how a teacher would assist the following exceptional learners:
- The gifted and talented
- The slow and retarded
✅ What you're being asked:
Explain how to help both advanced learners and slow learners in the classroom.
✅ Answer:
Gifted and Talented:
- Give advanced and challenging tasks.
- Allow independent projects or extra research.
- Encourage creativity and leadership roles.
Slow and Retarded Learners:
- Use simple and repeated instructions.
- Be patient and supportive.
- Use practical and visual learning aids.
- Work at the child's pace.
Conclusion: Teachers must adjust their teaching to meet every learner’s need.
5. (a) Mention and explain the types of counseling theories.
(b) Explain the significance of counseling theories to a teacher.
✅ What you're being asked:
(a) List major theories that guide how counsellors help people.
(b) Why are these theories useful to teachers?
✅ Answer:
(a) Types of Counseling Theories:
- Directive Theory: The counsellor leads and gives advice.
- Non-directive (Client-Centered) Theory: The client is allowed to express feelings freely.
- Eclectic Theory: Combination of both directive and non-directive, depending on the situation.
(b) Significance to Teachers:
- Helps teachers understand students’ behavior.
- Guides how to advise or correct learners.
- Helps in planning how to help children with emotional or learning problems.
- Helps teachers support students' mental and social growth.
6. (a) What do you understand by the concept "Psychological Test"?
(b) Enumerate and discuss the basic roles of Psychological Tests.
✅ What you're being asked:
(a) Define what psychological tests are.
(b) State what these tests are used for.
✅ Answer:
(a) Psychological Test:
It is a tool used to measure a person’s mental abilities, personality, or behavior.
(b) Roles of Psychological Tests:
- Assessment: Helps to understand students' strengths and weaknesses.
- Diagnosis: Detects emotional or learning problems.
- Placement: Helps place students in the right class or level.
- Evaluation: Judges progress and improvement.
- Guidance: Helps counsellors give correct advice to learners based on results.
SECOND QUESTION PDE 112: GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING I IN YOUR POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN EDUCATION. BELOW IS THE CLARIFIED MEANING OF EACH QUESTION AND BEST SAMPLE ANSWERS IN A CLEAR AND SIMPLE FORM:
1. List and explain any five (5) factors militating against the development of guidance and counselling services in Nigeria's secondary schools.
✅ What you're being asked:
Mention and explain 5 major problems that make it hard for guidance and counselling to grow in Nigerian schools.
✅ Answer:
- Lack of Trained Counsellors:
Many schools do not have professional guidance counsellors. - Inadequate Facilities:
Counselling offices and materials (test tools, books) are lacking in many schools. - Poor Funding:
Government and school authorities don’t allocate enough funds to support counselling programs. - Lack of Awareness:
Students, parents, and even teachers often don’t understand the value of counselling. - Negative Attitudes and Cultural Beliefs:
Some people believe counselling is only for students with mental problems or bad behavior.
2. List and explain the goals of any five (5) Guidance Services you know.
✅ What you're being asked:
Mention 5 types of services offered in guidance and counselling and explain what each aims to achieve.
✅ Answer:
- Educational Guidance:
Helps students choose the right subjects and improve study habits. - Vocational Guidance:
Assists students in choosing the right career or job path based on their abilities and interests. - Personal-Social Guidance:
Helps students deal with emotional, family, or peer problems. - Placement Service:
Aims to place students in schools, programs, or jobs where they fit best. - Follow-up Service:
Checks on students after they have received help, to ensure progress and adjustment.
3. List and briefly describe any five (5) roles each of counselors to the following:
a. Students; b. Teachers; c. School administrators; d. Community; e. Parents.
✅ What you're being asked:
List the roles of counsellors to each group — explain how counsellors help them.
✅ Answer:
a. Roles to Students:
- Guide academic and career choices.
- Help with emotional and social problems.
- Teach good study habits.
- Counsel on peer pressure and self-esteem.
- Help manage stress and anxiety.
b. Roles to Teachers:
- Support in managing students with behavior issues.
- Assist in identifying students needing special help.
- Help in lesson planning for career-related topics.
- Advise teachers on classroom discipline.
- Organize seminars for teachers’ self-development.
c. Roles to School Administrators:
- Help in formulating student support policies.
- Advise on school improvement strategies.
- Report on students’ emotional well-being.
- Conduct needs assessment.
- Assist in school discipline committees.
d. Roles to the Community:
- Educate the public on youth development.
- Organize community outreach.
- Link schools with job placement opportunities.
- Provide counselling services during community events.
- Partner with NGOs for youth development.
e. Roles to Parents:
- Guide on child upbringing and discipline.
- Help resolve family issues affecting students.
- Share reports on children’s academic and social behavior.
- Organize parents’ education workshops.
- Encourage parental involvement in school activities.
4. Explain any three (3) developmental characteristics of adolescent boys and any two (2) of girls respectively.
✅ What you're being asked:
Mention and explain 3 changes boys experience and 2 that girls experience during adolescence (around ages 10–19).
✅ Answer:
Boys:
- Voice Deepening: Their voices become deeper due to growing vocal cords.
- Muscle Growth: Boys develop broader shoulders and stronger muscles.
- Growth of Facial Hair: Boys begin to grow beards and mustaches.
Girls:
- Breast Development: Girls' breasts begin to grow as a sign of maturity.
- Menstruation Begins: This is the start of monthly periods and fertility.
5. (a) Explain any three (3) tenets of Rational Emotive Therapy. (15 marks)
(b) Discuss any two (2) tenets of Albert Ellis’ Irrational Belief Theory. (10 marks)
✅ What you're being asked:
(a) Mention and explain 3 key ideas of the therapy.
(b) Explain 2 false beliefs people have that cause emotional problems.
✅ Answer:
(a) Three Tenets of Rational Emotive Therapy (RET):
- Thoughts Cause Feelings: Our feelings come from our beliefs and thoughts, not events.
- Irrational Beliefs Cause Problems: Unhelpful beliefs (e.g., “I must be perfect”) cause stress.
- Change in Thinking Can Change Emotions: If we change our thoughts, we can feel better.
(b) Two Tenets of Albert Ellis' Irrational Belief Theory:
- “I must be loved by everyone”: This belief causes anxiety when people disapprove of us.
- “I must succeed always”: This leads to fear of failure and depression when we fail.
6. Explain the following:
a. Maturation
b. Transfer of Learning
c. Heredity
d. Environment
e. Psychological Test
✅ What you're being asked:
Define and explain 5 concepts in human development and education.
✅ Answer:
a. Maturation:
Natural growth and development of a person over time, guided by age and genes.
b. Transfer of Learning:
When knowledge or skill learned in one situation helps or affects performance in another situation.
c. Heredity:
The passing of traits like height, intelligence, or eye color from parents to children through genes.
d. Environment:
All outside influences like home, school, and society that shape behavior and learning.
e. Psychological Test:
A tool used to measure a person’s mental abilities, personality, or behavior to guide support or decision-making.
QUESTION PAPPER 3 GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING EXAM (PDE), FOLLOWED BY WELL-STRUCTURED ANSWERS FOR EACH OF THE SIX QUESTIONS.
✅ QUESTION 1: List and explain any five (5) basic guidance services in educational institutions. (25 marks)
What you're asked:
Mention 5 important services offered in school guidance and counselling, and explain each one.
Answer:
- Orientation Service
Helps new students understand school rules, environment, and available services. - Educational Guidance
Assists students in choosing subjects, improving study habits, and solving academic problems. - Vocational Guidance
Helps students understand different careers, discover their talents, and plan their future jobs. - Counselling Service
Provides individual or group sessions to help students deal with personal, emotional, and social issues. - Follow-Up Service
Checks the progress of students after counselling to ensure improvement and success.
✅ QUESTION 2: Explain any five (5) responsibilities of students to the school guidance programme. (25 marks)
What you're asked:
Explain how students should behave or contribute to benefit from the counselling program.
Answer:
- Active Participation:
Students should attend and take part in guidance and counselling activities. - Openness and Honesty:
They must speak the truth when talking to counsellors for effective help. - Respect for Counsellors:
Students should treat counsellors with respect and follow their advice. - Confidentiality:
They must keep private issues discussed during counselling confidential. - Follow Guidance Instructions:
Students should apply the recommendations and action plans given by counsellors.
✅ QUESTION 3: Briefly explain the following: (25 marks)
i. Educational Guidance and Counselling
ii. Personal and Psychological Counselling
iii. Vocational Guidance
iv. Rehabilitation
v. Socio-cultural Counselling
What you're asked:
Define and briefly describe these five areas of counselling.
Answer:
- Educational Guidance and Counselling:
Helps students solve academic problems and plan their educational future. - Personal and Psychological Counselling:
Deals with emotional, social, and psychological challenges students may face. - Vocational Guidance:
Helps students understand and choose suitable careers based on interest and ability. - Rehabilitation:
Aims to help students with disabilities or past issues adjust and perform better in school. - Socio-cultural Counselling:
Helps students understand and cope with issues related to culture, religion, and social life.
✅ QUESTION 4: Discuss any five (5) prospects of Guidance and Counselling in Nigeria. (25 marks)
What you're asked:
Explain five ways counselling is important or promising in Nigeria’s education system.
Answer:
- Improved Career Choices:
Helps students make better career plans, reducing unemployment. - Reduction in Examination Malpractice:
Guidance promotes discipline and ethical behavior in students. - Support for Emotional Stability:
Counselling helps students manage stress, anxiety, and depression. - Early Detection of Learning Problems:
Identifies students with difficulties for early intervention. - National Development:
Counselling builds productive individuals, which contributes to national growth.
✅ QUESTION 5: (a) Describe who a Counsellor is. (b) Discuss any five (5) qualities of a Counsellor. (25 marks)
What you're asked:
(a) Define a counsellor.
(b) List and explain 5 good qualities of a counsellor.
Answer:
(a) Who is a Counsellor?
A counsellor is a trained professional who helps students or individuals understand themselves and solve personal, social, academic, and vocational problems.
(b) Five Qualities of a Counsellor:
- Good Listener:
Pays full attention to what the client is saying without interrupting. - Empathetic:
Understands and shares the feelings of others. - Confidential:
Keeps clients' information private. - Patient:
Takes time to understand the client's problems without rushing. - Non-judgmental:
Accepts clients without criticism or bias.
✅ QUESTION 6: Enumerate and explain any five (5) basic needs of adolescents. (25 marks)
What you're asked:
List and explain 5 important needs of teenagers (ages 10–19).
Answer:
- Need for Love and Acceptance:
Adolescents want to feel loved and accepted by family, friends, and society. - Need for Identity:
They want to understand who they are and what they stand for. - Need for Independence:
Adolescents desire freedom to make choices and learn from their experiences. - Need for Achievement:
They want to succeed in school, sports, or other areas to feel proud of themselves. - Need for Guidance:
They still require advice and direction from adults to make right decisions.
PAPER 4PDE 112: GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING EXAM.
✅ 1. Discuss guidance services that are relevant to the school setting
What you’re asked:
Explain the different types of services that guidance and counselling offer in schools.
Answer:
- Orientation Service
Helps new students settle into school by introducing them to rules, facilities, and people. - Educational Guidance
Assists students with subject selection, study habits, and exam preparation. - Vocational Guidance
Helps students understand their skills and choose a suitable career. - Counselling Service
Offers personal or group support for students with emotional, social, or psychological issues. - Follow-up Service
Checks the progress of students after counselling to see if improvement is made.
✅ 2. Examine the various ways in which the parents and students can participate in the school guidance programme
What you’re asked:
Show how both students and parents can support or be involved in the school counselling program.
Answer:
Ways Students Can Participate:
- Attending counselling sessions regularly
- Being honest during discussions
- Applying advice and strategies given
- Volunteering for peer support roles
- Reporting issues affecting themselves or classmates
Ways Parents Can Participate:
- Attending meetings with counsellors
- Encouraging their children to use guidance services
- Sharing important information about their children
- Supporting school guidance programs at home
- Helping counsellors monitor progress
✅ 3. Explain the types of counselling practiced within the educational system
What you’re asked:
Mention and explain the major counselling types used in schools.
Answer:
- Educational Counselling
Deals with learning problems, subject choices, and academic progress. - Vocational Counselling
Helps students choose careers based on interests, skills, and opportunities. - Personal-Social Counselling
Focuses on emotional, social, and behavioural challenges. - Group Counselling
Involves a small group of students with similar problems sharing and learning together. - Crisis Counselling
Immediate support for students going through sudden difficulties like loss, abuse, or trauma.
✅ 4. Trace the development of guidance and counselling in Nigeria from 1958 to date
What you’re asked:
Give a brief history of how guidance and counselling started and grew in Nigeria.
Answer:
- 1958: Guidance started informally through career talks by professionals at schools like St. Theresa’s College in Ibadan.
- 1960s: Formal recognition began. Counsellors Association of Nigeria (CAN) was formed in 1976 (now CASSON).
- 1977: The National Policy on Education recommended guidance services in schools.
- 1981: Government included counselling in educational structures nationwide.
- 1990s–2000s: More training institutions and government efforts promoted school counselling.
- Present day: Guidance and counselling is an essential part of Nigeria’s education policy, though challenges remain.
✅ 5. Discuss the prospects of guidance and counselling in Nigeria
What you’re asked:
Explain the future benefits or positive possibilities for counselling in Nigerian schools.
Answer:
- Improved Student Welfare:
More students get help with personal and academic problems. - Career Planning Support:
Counselling helps youths discover talents and avoid unemployment. - Reduction in Dropouts:
Early detection of issues reduces failure and school leaving. - Better National Development:
Well-guided students grow to become responsible citizens. - Improved Mental Health:
Counselling helps address depression, anxiety, and peer pressure.
✅ 6. Discuss five (5) problems facing the provision of effective guidance services in Nigerian schools
What you’re asked:
List and explain 5 major challenges that make counselling services difficult in schools.
Answer:
- Lack of Trained Counsellors:
Many schools don’t have professional counsellors. - Poor Funding:
Government and schools often don’t budget enough for counselling programs. - Negative Attitudes:
Some parents, teachers, and students don’t believe in counselling. - Inadequate Facilities:
Many schools lack counselling offices or materials. - Overloaded School Timetables:
No proper time is created for guidance and counselling activities.
QUESTION 5 PDE 112: GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING EXAM OR ASSIGNMENT.
✅ 1. State and explain four (4) major differences between counselling and guidance
What you’re asked:
Mention and describe four ways in which counselling and guidance are different.
Answer:
Guidance | Counselling |
1. General direction – Guidance gives advice or information to help with decision-making. | 1. Personal help – Counselling is deeper and helps with emotional or psychological problems. |
2. One-time process – It may happen just once or occasionally. | 2. Continuous process – Counselling may require multiple sessions. |
3. Can be done by teachers or advisers | 3. Done by trained professionals (counsellors) |
4. Focus on education/career | 4. Focus on personal and emotional challenges |
✅ 2. Identify and discuss five (5) types of guidance and counseling
What you’re asked:
List and explain five forms of guidance and counselling based on purpose or focus.
Answer:
- Educational Guidance – Helps students make academic decisions like subject selection, study habits, and coping with schoolwork.
- Vocational Guidance – Assists students in choosing careers based on their interests, abilities, and job opportunities.
- Personal-Social Counselling – Deals with emotional, family, peer, or social issues affecting the student’s life.
- Health Guidance – Helps students maintain personal hygiene, understand puberty, and avoid harmful habits.
- Moral Guidance – Teaches students about values, respect, discipline, and good character.
✅ 3. Enumerate five (5) problems militating against the development of guidance and counseling
What you’re asked:
List and explain five challenges stopping or slowing down guidance services in Nigeria.
Answer:
- Shortage of trained counsellors – Many schools don’t have professional counsellors.
- Lack of funding – Schools don’t have enough money to support guidance services.
- Poor awareness – Teachers, parents, and students often do not understand the importance of counselling.
- No counselling facilities – Many schools lack private rooms or materials needed for counselling.
- Work overload on teachers – Teachers are already too busy and may not be able to give proper attention to counselling roles.
✅ 4. (a) Define "development"
(b) Explain the features of physical development during adolescence
What you’re asked:
Define development and describe how teenagers' bodies change.
Answer:
(a) Definition of Development:
Development is the gradual physical, emotional, mental, and social growth that a person goes through from childhood to adulthood.
(b) Physical Development During Adolescence:
- Growth spurts – Sudden increase in height and weight.
- Voice changes – Boys experience deepening of voice.
- Development of sex characteristics – Breasts develop in girls; facial hair in boys.
- Skin changes – Pimples or acne may appear due to hormones.
- Increased body awareness – Adolescents become more aware of how their body looks and feels.
✅ 5. Identify and explain any five (5) basic qualities of a good counsellor
What you’re asked:
List and describe five good characteristics a school counsellor should have.
Answer:
- Good listener – Pays full attention to the student without interrupting.
- Empathetic – Understands and feels what the student is going through.
- Trustworthy – Keeps student information private and confidential.
- Patient – Gives the student enough time to open up and change.
- Respectful – Treats every student equally, without judging them.
✅ 6. Highlight the functions of the following stakeholders in school guidance services: (a) The principal, (b) Teacher, (c) Parents
What you’re asked:
List what each of these groups does to support school counselling.
Answer:
(a) The Principal:
- Supports and funds the guidance programme
- Appoints trained counsellors
- Encourages teachers to refer students
(b) Teachers:
- Identify students with academic or emotional problems
- Refer such students to the counsellor
- Cooperate with counsellors to solve student issues
(c) Parents:
- Share home background information with counsellors
- Attend counselling meetings
- Support their child emotionally and morally
Question 6 PDE 112: Guidance and Counselling questions:
✅ 1. In a tabular form, distinguish between guidance and counselling in four (4) ways
Guidance | Counselling |
1. General help in making decisions | 1. Specific help for solving personal problems |
2. Usually provided by teachers or mentors | 2. Provided by trained counsellors |
3. Can be given to groups or individuals | 3. Mostly a one-on-one process |
4. Focuses on educational or vocational issues | 4. Focuses on emotional, social, or personal issues |
2. Discuss five (5) problems militating against the development of guidance and counselling in Nigeria
- Lack of Trained Counsellors – Many schools do not have qualified professionals to handle counselling duties.
- Poor Funding – Government and school authorities do not allocate enough funds for counselling services.
- Negative Attitudes – Some teachers and parents see counselling as unnecessary or unimportant.
- Lack of Facilities – Schools often lack offices, materials, and privacy needed for counselling sessions.
- Overloaded Teachers – Teachers assigned to guidance duties are often overburdened with teaching responsibilities.
✅ 3. (a) Briefly explain five (5) personality attributes of a counsellor
a. Five personality attributes:
- Empathy – Ability to understand the feelings of others.
- Patience – Willingness to wait and support clients through change.
- Confidentiality – Keeps all client discussions private.
- Respectfulness – Treats every client equally and kindly.
- Communication Skills – Able to listen and talk clearly and effectively.
(b) State five (5) principles of guidance and counselling
- Respect for Individual Differences
- Confidentiality Must Be Maintained
- Client Has the Right to Choose
- Guidance Must Be Continuous
- Focus on the Whole Person (social, emotional, academic)
✅ 4. Explain elaborately four (4) characteristics and roles of a counsellor
- Helper – Offers emotional and psychological support to students.
- Listener – Pays close attention to the concerns of clients without judging.
- Problem Solver – Helps clients understand and solve personal problems.
- Advisor – Gives professional advice on academic, career, and life matters.
✅ 5. Highlight the functions of the following stakeholders in school guidance services:
(i) The Principal:
- Approves and supports guidance programmes
- Provides office space and resources for counsellors
- Encourages staff and students to make use of the service
(ii) Teacher:
- Identifies students needing help and refers them
- Cooperates with counsellors for student development
- Participates in career and educational talks
(iii) Parent:
- Shares home-based concerns affecting the child
- Supports school programmes related to guidance
- Cooperates with the school for student well-being
✅ 6. Outline the prospects of guidance and counselling in Nigeria
- Improved Academic Performance – Helps students discover effective study habits.
- Career Awareness – Guides students in choosing suitable careers.
- Reduction in Social Problems – Addresses drug abuse, cultism, and indiscipline.
- Emotional Stability – Supports students going through stress or trauma.
- Improved School Environment – Promotes better teacher-student relationships and discipline.