Attitude of Higher Education Students towards Counselling Services in Ghanaian Universities: The Case of University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani

Abstract

Young people unavoidably experience physiological and biochemical changes while at college. Many young people experience disillusionment, overwhelm, and inability to cope as a result of these adolescent challenges, as well as the stresses and demands of life. This study explored the attitudes of university students in responding to academic and emotional counselling services in Ghanaian universities informed by the spike in deploying counselling experts in academic institutions. This study was based on the positivist research paradigm. Using correlational research design, the researchers adopted a quantitative research approach. Simple random sampling technique, specifically, the lottery method was used to obtain a sample of 205 students who had patronized counselling services in the institution. Sampling was done in two phases: the opportunistic sampling technique and the simple random sampling technique. The researchers used closed-ended questionnaire to retrieve data from the students. Regression and chi-square were used to analyse the first and second hypotheses respectively with the aid of SPSS. The results revealed that some students seem to hold negative attitudes toward counselling services, as indicated by high mean scores (mean = 3.73, SD = 1.160). Contrarily, many students would be willing to seek help in a crisis situation, with a mean score of 2.54 (SD = 0.983). Based on the threshold value of 3.0, it was observed that, out of the 205 respondents, 92 (45%) have a positive attitude toward counselling services, while 113 (55%) have a negative attitude. The results of this study also suggest that peers play a critical role in shaping the attitudes of university students toward counselling services. It was also found that factors such as age, gender had no significant impact on students' attitudes toward counselling. The study recommends among other things that universities and their counselling centres should adopt strategies to create awareness about the benefits of counselling to students.