COUNSELLING, CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND PEACE EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE SECURITY AND RESPECT FOR LIFE

Conflict is like stress. It could be desirable or undesirable. The absence of conflict in organizations slows down, the pace for formal development. Conflict comes before peace, and peace ensures security of life, mutual, co-existence and filial respect for life. In the Nigerian contemporary society, insecurity appears to be a cankerworm that bedevils peoples’ wellbeing. Armed robbery and struggle, kidnapping, hired killers and the related heinous crimes have jointly cheapened human lives. It is appalling that life becomes cheaper and cheaper by the minutes, while the prices of commodities increase in a galloping and astronomical speed by similar minutes. There are conflicts everywhere.

Hansfield in Idede (2005) defined conflict as a breakdown in the normal activities of an organization in such a manner that the individual or groups involved experience disharmony in working together. However, Idede (2005) wrote that conflict is like sex, and is an essential creative element in human relationship. Accordingly, conflict is the means to change, the means to our social values, welfare, security, respect for life, justice and opportunities for personal development. That means that if conflict is suppressed, that the society can be static or stagnated and as a result conflict should neither be deprecated nor feared. All of the above spell that, there is need for counselling which aims among others include to resolve conflicts, human related problems, preach peace within self in and out of school settings for posterity, widely acceptable peace education, and ways of conserving filial respect for life.



Conceptualizing Counselling.

Counselling is an integral part of guidance. They are like two sides of a coin-Guidance (part A) and Counselling (part B). Guidance is from the root word, “guide” which means to lead, direct, steer, direct and assist (Omebe, 2005). It is a way of shepherding a client towards achieving plausible solutions to typified problems. Guidance encompassed all developmental activities through which individuals are assisted to accept, understand, appreciate, harmonize and utilize, own abilities, aptitudes, interests and attitudinal patterns in relation to the aspirations.

In our schools, students need to be guided on choosing their subjects, who to associate with, when to do what, establishing good reading habits, acting responsibly, consistency of good characters, among others. This could take the process of both guidance and counselling. While guidance could be activity oriented, broader in scope, could concern a larger population, can be manned by anybody, counselling needs facilitative techniques, meaning that a professional must handle it. It involves a smaller number of clients. While guidance is preventive, counselling is curative. However, on the premise that counselling is the wheel on which guidance revolves, counselling is usually applied to represent both guidance and counselling.

http://www.gistextra.com/counselling-conflict-management-peace-education-implications-sustainable-security-respect-life/

GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING, LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The World conference in Education (1990), the Durban Conference on Education (1998) were among others, all meant to better the education for all (EFA) agenda. Various governments of the world have been carrying out various programmes and implementing various agenda to better the lots of the citizenry in education.

http://www.gistextra.com/guidance-counselling-life-skills-education-human-resource-development/