Guidance Needs of Teacher Trainees in Selected Colleges of Education in the Volta Region, Ghana (Published)
Knowing students’ guidance needs helps counsellors to discharge their guidance duties more effectively. This paper investigated the guidance needs of teacher trainees in Colleges of Education in the Volta region of Ghana. The study employed the concurrent triangulatory mixed methods research design in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a total of 401 second year teacher trainees (256 males and 145 females) and three (3) counsellors. Two out of the three counsellors were males. Data were collected using a 27-item questionnaire, a semi-structured interview and focused group interviews. The quantitative data were analysed using chi-square statistics while the qualitative data were analysed thematically. The results showed that the guidance needs of teacher trainees in Colleges of Education in the Volta region are academic (study habit, how to further their studies, time management and test anxiety); financial (how to fund their education and how to handle or use money); social (intimate or boy/girlfriend relationship, interpersonal relationship); personal (knowing oneself, problem solving, self-control); and placement (the selection of elective courses, postings, and joining other professions). It was recommended that college counsellors to undertake regular needs assessment of trainees and design guidance programmes based on such needs.
Keywords: Assessment, Colleges Of Education, Guidance Needs, Need, Teacher Trainees
Extent of Educational, Vocational and Personal-Social Guidance Needs of Some Selected Prison Inmates in Ghana. (Published)
The study investigated the extent of guidance needs of some selected prison inmates in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana so as to establish how guidance could effectively be practiced in prisons. Descriptive survey design and a combination of convenience, purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used for the study. Three (3) prison institutions were conveniently sampled for study while One hundred (100) prison inmates consisting of 85 males and 15 females were randomly and purposively sampled respectively for study. Data for the study was collected via questionnaire (Cronbach’s Alpha = .611). The data was analyzed descriptively and presented in tables as frequency counts and percentages. Independent sample test was used to determine whether the extent of educational, vocational and personal-social guidance needs of male prisoners differed from female prisoners. It was found that both male and female inmates needed educational guidance to a little extent but needed vocational and personal social guidance to a large extent. Significant differences were found between the educational, vocational and personal-social needs between the male and female inmates. It was recommended among others that, the expressed educational, vocational and personal-social guidance needs of prison inmates should be provided to ensure their proper rehabilitation and integration into society upon their release.
Keywords: Educational, Guidance Needs, Personal-Social, Prisoners, Vocational