TPC Journal V8, Issue 1 - FULL ISSUE

11 Danielle Pester, A. Stephen Lenz, Joshua C. Watson, Julia Dell’Aquila, Anthony Nkyi Evidence for Use of a Psychometric Inventory of New College Student Adjustment With Ghanaian Students: Implications for the Professional Globalization of Counseling As the counseling profession continues its globalization onto Ghanaian college campuses, there is an increased need for psychometric assessments that support programming and interventions that promote degree matriculation and general student well-being. A sample of 696 young adult Ghanaian college students completed the Inventory of New College Student Adjustment (INCA) and related measures to estimate evidence of internal structure and relationships with conceptually related constructs. Confirmatory factor analyses were completed and inspection of fit indices revealed strong evidence for internal structure, and bivariate correlations indicated statistically significant positive associations with related medium effect sizes between the INCA subscales (Supportive Network and Belief in Self) and related measures. Implications for use of the INCA to support the professional activities of Ghanaian counselors working on college campuses are provided. Keywords: Ghanaian counselors, college student adjustment, globalization, psychometric inventory, assessment Higher education in Ghana has experienced tremendous growth over the past two decades, increasing access to institutions of higher education and student enrollment. In 2012, there were 138 accredited higher education institutions throughout Ghana, including public and private institutions, polytechnics, and training colleges (Atuahene, 2013; National Council for Tertiary Education [NCTE], 2014). This is an exponential degree of growth when compared to the existence of only three public universities in Ghana at the close of the 1990s (Atuahene, 2013). Although access and participation in university education has grown rapidly, the proportion of enrolled students versus those eligible to be enrolled remains low. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2017), the percentage of enrolled students compared to those eligible to be enrolled in higher education in Ghana for 2015 was only 16.23%, indicating inadequate pre-college academic preparation, lack of affordability, low retention rates, and inadequate supports once enrolled (Atuahene, 2012). With its higher education system facing such challenges, resources and tools that can assist Ghanaian higher education institutions meet student needs as they enter university life, adjust to the unique set of demands, and access existing supports are imperative. Because the demand for higher education in Ghana has traditionally been greater than its supply, most of the available resources have been focused on the expansion of facilities rather than the improvement of student experiences that may promote university persistence and degree matriculation. Only in recent years has the NCTE begun to rate institutions on the quality and relevance of their academic programs. Atuahene (2012) identified several distinctive factors associated with Ghanaian student dropout, including: (a) inadequate financial support for low income students, (b) student socioeconomic and geographic background, (c) student pre-college academic preparation, The Professional Counselor Volume 8, Issue 1, Pages 11–20 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2018 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi:10.15241/dp.8.1.11 Danielle Pester is a doctoral student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. A. Stephen Lenz is an associate professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Joshua C. Watson, NCC, is a professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Julia Dell’Aquila is a doctoral student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Anthony Nkyi is a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast. Correspondence can be addressed to Danielle Pester, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, danielle.pester@tamucc.edu.