Attitudes of Secondary School Teachers' Toward Counseling Service Provision in Tanzania: Facts and Opinions

Attitude is one of the important constructs for the effective undertaking of any role. This study examined secondary school teachers' attitudes toward counseling service provision. The study was guided by pragmatic philosophical paradigm and adopted a concurrent embedded design with mixed-method approach. It involved 250 secondary school teachers who completed the questionnaires; 46 teachers who participated in focus group discussions and 9 heads of schools were interviewed. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed, while descriptive and inferential statistics facilitated quantitative data analysis. The descriptive results indicated that teachers had a positive attitude toward counseling service provision. Results from the independent sample t-test revealed a statistically significant difference in attitude between teachers who attended in-service counseling training [M = 83.55, SD = 14.15] and those who did not [M = 79.29, SD = 12.27] at t-value p = .02. The statistically significant difference in attitude scores was arrived at through ANOVA statistical method based on the teachers' teaching experiences (f(6, 243) = 2, 0.07, p = .05). There was no statistically significant difference in attitude score in providing counseling services by teachers' sex, qualifications and working experiences as school counselors. Results from interviews and focused group discussions indicated a positive attitude toward counseling service provision. The study concludes that the teacher's attitude is essential for effective counseling service provision. Policies have a role in influencing teachers' attitude.