Provision and Utilization of Guidance Services in the Colleges of Education in Western Region, Ghana

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the guidance services in the Colleges of Education in the Western Region of Ghana. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. A sample of 250 students and 63 staff members were selected for the study through purposive, stratified and simple random sampling procedures. Data were collected using a questionnaire adapted from a questionnaire designed by Adzakpa (2016). Data collected were analysed descriptively and inferentially according to the research questions and hypothesis for the study. The study found that the most common guidance services provided in the Colleges of Education sampled were orientation, counselling, appraisal and information. The service which was the least provided however, was placement. In terms of students’ patronage of guidance services, the study revealed that teacher-trainees mostly seek information about guidance services during orientation, and they get access to guidance services and patronize counselling usually for their personal and academic issues. The study also revealed that the main challenges encountered in the provision of guidance services were insufficient logistics, lack of office space for counsellors, insufficient time for guidance services and lack of support from teachers and administration. The study recommended that college authorities work with college counsellors to ensure that other guidance services such as placement are provided more often for students.