Examination of secondary school students' perceptions towards guidance course

It is thought that knowing how the students who benefit from the secondary school guidance program perceive the guidance program and how they gain they have achieved in line with the objectives of the program will be an important data source for the development and improvement of the guidance program. In this direction, the study aimed to examine the perceptions of secondary school students towards the guidance course. A scanning model from quantitative research methods was used in the research. The sample of the research consists of 572 students studying in secondary schools in Nevşehir in the 2023-2024 academic year. A scanning model from quantitative research methods was used in the research. The Perception Scale for the Guidance Course developed by the researcher was used as a data collection tool. In the sample of the study, 372 students participated for Explanatory Factor Analysis (AFA) and 200 students for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (DFA). In the research, expert opinion was applied for the scope validity of the scale, Explanatory Factor Analysis was applied for the structure validity of the scale and Confirmatory Factor Analysis was applied to confirm the factor structure of the scale. As a result of AFA, a structure consisting of 18 substances and 3 factors was obtained, explaining 54.133% of the total variance. The resulting factors are called orientation, orientation and placement, knowing the individual. The overall Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was calculated as .939. The correlation coefficient between the factors was found to be significant for the entire scale. The three-factor structure obtained with AFA was tested with DFA. The three-factor structure recommended according to the compliance index has been verified. According to the analyzes carried out, it was observed that the scale has the necessary features. In the research, the sum of the scores for the three sub-dimensions of the perception index for the Guidance course is 65.35 for female students and 65.52 for male students. From these results, it was seen that the perceptions of secondary school students towards the guidance course were "I Agree" in all dimensions and that there was a high level of perception. In the research, the students' gender, grade level, mother's education status, father's education status, classroom teacher's branch variables and their perceptions of the guidance course were also examined. As a result of the research, it was concluded that there is no significant relationship between these variables. In addition, it has been determined that students from the class guidance teacher social studies branch benefit more from orientation service. Students from the class guidance teacher Turkish branch benefit more from the service of recognizing individuals. It has been determined that students who have a classroom guidance teacher in mathematics also benefit more from orientation and placement services. It has been determined that male students benefit less from orientation service than female students.