Guidance Counsellors’ Lived Experiences Of The Use Of Technological Tools In School Counseling Practices In Ikenne Lga, Ogun State, Nigeria

Utilization of ICT for effective delivery of vital education services such as Guidance and counselling, which is a fundamental aspect of sustainable education process; seems not to have been sufficiently studied; school counsellors who have the strong desire to regularly use ICT in counselling students are not doing so due to challenges or barriers. Thus, this study assessed the lived-experiences of guidance counsellors on the use of technological tools in school counselling practices in Ikenne LGA, Ogun State. This study adopted a qualitative approach, which made use of convenience sampling with a sample of 20 guidance counsellors. Data were collected through individual, in-depth, phenomenological interviews and field notes. Thematic coding was utilised to analyse the collected data, and literature was reviewed to support the findings. Moreover, measures to ensure trustworthiness and ethical principles were applied throughout the research process. Four themes were identified: Knowledge and use of ICT tools in counselling practice, privacy and confidentiality, usage of ICT for counselling communication, and challenges. The study concluded that there is generally high use of ICT by counsellors in counselling practice in enhancing counseling process while there is willingness for ICT knowledge advancement. It was also found out that the usage of ICT for counselling communication was high. It is recommended that it is the responsibility of every counsellor to consider and address the ethical concerns surrounding the use of the internet to provide adequate and quality counselling services.