IMPACT OF PEER COUNSELING ON MANAGING BULLYING BEHAVIOUR AMONG STUDENTS IN PUBLIC BOARDING SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE

The study examined that Impact of Peer Counseling on Managing Bullying Behaviour among Students in Public Boarding Secondary Schools in Kaduna State. The aim was to investigate whether peer counseling is more effective than traditional disciplinary approaches. The study utilized a quasi-experimental design featuring pre-test, post-test, and control group design. The population comprised 75,495 Boarding Secondary School students in Kaduna State. A sample of two public boarding Secondary schools were selected using purposive sampling, ensuring representation from urban and rural areas. Within these schools, 100 students were randomly assigned to experimental (peer counseling) and another 100 students to control (traditional disciplinary measures) groups bringing the total sample to 200 students. Bullying behaviour Questionnaire (BBQ), and Peer Counseling Effective Questionnaire (PCEQ) were used to collect data. The reliability of the two instruments were established as 0.89 and 0.78, respectively. pre-test was administered to both experimental and control groups. The experimental group received treatment on peer counseling session for eight weeks. The control group continued with traditional disciplinary measures. Data was analysed using ANCOVA and paired t-test at a 0.05 significance level. The result showed that peer counseling intervention had a significant impact on managing bullying behaviour and improving students' social and emotional adjustment (p = .006) and differences were found between peer counseling session and traditional disciplinary approaches. The finding favored the peer counseling. Based on the finding, it was recommended among other that schools should integrate peer counseling into their guidance and counseling framework to address bullying and promote positive peer interactions and that regular training programs should be provided to equip peer counselors with the skills needed to manage bullying and support their peers effectively.