Counselling Programmes in Senior High Schools in the Upper West Region, Ghana.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the roles of stakeholders in the guidance and counselling programmes in senior high schools in the Upper West Region. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study, using a sample of school heads (7), teachers (292), district directors (3), guidance and counselling coordinators (7) and students (380) in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Five sets of questionnaire were used in collecting data for the study. Data collected were analysed descriptively using means and standard deviations. The study found that students participated in guidance programmes, guidance and counselling coordinators assisted students to cope with school challenges, teachers and school heads cooperated with counsellors in handling difficult students while district directors provided guidance and counselling coordinators with support in their work. The study found that even though government ensured that schools had professionally trained counsellors, there was not much financial support from government. The study also found that training, expertise and experience helped guidance and counselling coordinators discharge their duties well. Finally, the study found that the challenges encountered in the delivery of guidance and counselling programmes were inadequacy of facilities, lack or inadequate support from government, inadequacy of training for coordinators and negative perceptions about counselling. It was concluded that the stakeholders played their roles in supporting guidance and counselling programmes. It was recommended that government provide financial support and budget allocation for guidance and counselling programmes in senior high schools.