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Needs assessment is the starting point for developing comprehensive and relevant counselling services for students. This study assessed the counselling needs of students in the University of Energy and Natural Resources in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of all students in the University. A sample of 335 students made up of 286 males and 49 females was selected through proportional stratified random sampling and simple random sampling techniques. A needs assessment questionnaire was used to source for the data. The data were analysed using means, standard deviations and independent samples t-test. The study found that practical and vocational/career needs were the most pressing needs of students. The study further revealed that there was no significant difference between the counselling needs of male and female students. Based on the findings, it was recommended that counsellors at the University of Energy and Natural Resources should design and implement counselling services based on the most important needs of the students: practical and vocational/career needs.

This study was carried out to investigate the common adjustment challenges freshmen in the University of Cape Coast experience during their first year in school, and the coping strategies they used in response to the adjustment challenges. A mixed model research design was used in carrying out the study. A sample of 355 students made up of 235 males and 120 females was selected through purposive and proportional stratified random sampling techniques. Adapted forms of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) developed by Baker and Siryk (1999) and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) developed by Folkman and Lazarus (1988) were used along with a semi-structured interview. Quantitative data was analysed descriptively while qualitative data was analysed thematically. The study found that freshmen in the University of Cape Coast encountered adjustment challenges such as difficulty handling the academic pressure and lack of involvement in social activities. In terms of coping, most respondents adopted Planful Problem Solving strategies which involved planning, concentrating and taking action to resolve issues. It was recommended that university authorities make the timetable of freshmen more flexible to enable them cope with the academic pressure.

Students need guidance and counselling at various levels of their educational development. The general purpose of this study was to find out teacher-trainees' perception of guidance services offered in Colleges of Education in the Volta Region of Ghana. The research study was guided by Existential theory and Humanistic person-centred theory. The study is a quantitative research which employed descriptive survey design. A sample size of 346 respondents made up of teacher-trainees was selected from seven Colleges of Education in the Volta Region using a multi-stage sampling procedure with purposive, quota, convenience and simple random sampling techniques. Data was collected with a 55-item researcher-made questionnaire with reliability coefficient of 0.89 alpha and content validity was established for the items. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Independent samples t-test were used to analyze the four research hypothesis stated for the study. The statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) software application were used to test hypothesis at 0.05 significant level. The study reveals that guidance and counselling needs of teacher-trainees is the same for male and female. It was recommended that Ghana Education Service should ensure that trained and qualified counsellors are posted to the colleges to offer services that will meet the needs of teacher-trainees.

Classroom discipline is one of the most thought-provoking issues in modern education.Studies has it that students’ classroom misconduct interferes with teaching and learning and is believed to be a precursor to later school dropout and similar negative social outcomes. This study aimed at investigating the knowledge of pre-service teachers of Colleges of Education in Ghana on the concept of behaviour modification techniques in the classroom. A cross-sectional survey design was used for the study. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to obtain a sample size of three hundred and sixty participants for the study. Data was collected using behaviour modification questionnaire developed by the researchers and analysed using SPSS data analysis software. The results show that most of the participants have insufficient knowledge on behaviour modification techniques for classroom management even though they exhibited strong knowledge on few of the items. At 5% level of significance, there was virtually no significant difference found to exist in pre-service teachers’ knowledge of behaviour modification practices in terms of gender difference. Furthermore, the study revealed that programme of study never had a significant effect on the pre-service teachers’ knowledge on classroom behaviour modification techniques. It is recommended that training programmes of teacher education should be reviewed to strengthen the knowledge of pre-service teachers on classroom behaviour modification techniques.