Investigating Awareness of Guidance Services among Students in Selected Senior High Schools in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Abstract

Guidance and counseling are interwoven with efforts to advance students’ educational discourse in all disciplines and levels. This study investigated students’ awareness of guidance services in selected Senior High Schools in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study was guided by two objectives: to determine the level of student’s awareness of guidance and counseling services and to examine the nature/scope of guidance and counseling services provided to students in Senior High Schools. Employing the quantitative method and a descriptive research design, 16 counselors or teachers who serve as counselors, 14 headteachers, and 325 students were sampled, while structured questionnaires were used to collect participant data. The results showed that most students in Senior High Schools were unaware of guidance and counseling services. Among other matters, the study recommends that the Ghana Education Service, which supervises guidance and counseling, should charge all school counselors to provide all the guidance services, especially career and vocational guidance services, to students to enable them to make informed choices.