Counseling Seeking Behavior Prediction: Role of School Connectedness, Emotional intelligence and academic adjustment in a Nigerian Polytechnic

The thrust of this investigation was determination ofSchool Connectedness, Emotional Intelligence and Academic Adjustment as predictors of Counseling Seeking Behavior in a Nigerian Polytechnic. Four research questions cum null hypotheses guided the study. This research adapted correlational research strategy. The target population consisted of all students enrolled at Kaduna Polytechnic's in the 2023/2024 session in various academic programs, and a sample size of 300 drawn from six College units using stratified random selection approach. The data collection tools are structured questionnaires adapted from similar researches consisting of parts namely Counseling Seeking Behavior scale (7 items), Students Campus Connectedness Scale (44 items), Emotional Intelligence (37 items) and Students Adjustment scale (23 items) rated on Likert scale pattern all producing high internal consistency reliabilities determined by Cronbach alpha methods. The researcher gathered data personally during lessons and analyzed it using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS. The findings are: Counseling Seeking Behavior and School Connectedness of Kaduna polytechnic students was low and not encouraging, while academic adjustment is indeed very high and interesting. Emotional intelligence is not significant and very low. There is significant and positive relationship between Counseling Seeking Behavior and School Connectedness and Emotional Intelligence, while a negative relationships occurred with Academic Adjustment. Recommendations were suggested based on the research findings among which is the Polytechnic Management should sensitize the students on the availability of counseling services and facilities in the institution.