Counselling Services and Adult Learner Persistence in Continuing Education in Ogun State

This study examined the role of counselling services in supporting adult learner persistence in continuing education programmes in Ogun State, South West Nigeria. Adult learners frequently face complex personal, economic, and social challenges that threaten their persistence in educational programmes, and structured counselling support is increasingly recognised as a critical retention strategy. The study employed a descriptive survey design involving 80 adult learners and 20 guidance counsellors drawn from continuing education centres in three local government areas. Structured questionnaires, learner persistence assessments, and counselling session records informed data analysis. Findings revealed that learners who accessed counselling services demonstrated significantly higher persistence rates and lower dropout intentions compared to those who had not received counselling support. Counselling was most effective when addressing issues of financial stress management, family pressure, time management, and self-efficacy building. Most continuing education centres, however, lacked dedicated professional counsellors, with ad-hoc support provided by facilitators with no formal counselling training. Learners reported significant unmet need for counselling services related to mental health challenges including anxiety and depression, which were rarely addressed within existing programme structures. Recommendations include professionalising counselling services within all state-funded continuing education centres, training facilitators in basic active listening and learner support skills, establishing peer counselling networks among adult learners, and providing referral pathways to community mental health services for learners requiring specialist support. Keywords: counselling, adult learner persistence, continuing education, Ogun State, learner support.