Journal of Educational Development and Practice

Untrained Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices in Public and Private Basic Schools in Mfantseman Municipality of Ghana

Christopher Yaw Kwaah — 2021-12-01

To gain a better understanding of untrained teacher beliefs and how that corresponds with their reported classroom practices, a survey was conducted with untrained teachers in public and private basic schools in Ghana. The study collected data through the survey design using a questionnaire which was administered to 188 untrained teachers in rural and urban basic schools. The data were analysed using Means and Standard Deviations to compare the teacher beliefs and practices in the two school types. Pearson-Correlation was used to find out any relationship between the teacher beliefs and their reported practices. Furthermore, Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to find out differences in beliefs, teaching practices and the school type. The results show that most of the untrained teachers held on to direct transmissive beliefs more than constructive beliefs. There were also inconsistencies in the relationship between beliefs and reported practices. However, there were statistically significant differences between the beliefs of untrained teachers in public and those in private schools about teaching and learning. Implication and recommendations for in-service teacher education programmes have been discussed.

Interrater Reliability Study of the Diploma in Basic Education Examination in English, Mathematics and Integrated Science conducted by the Institute of Education, UCC in Ghana

Jonathan Osae Kwapong — 2021-12-01

The study was conducted to determine the interrater reliability (ratter agreement) of the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) examination conducted by the Institute of Education of UCC in Ghana. The population consisted of 13,352 first year students who were admitted for the 2015/2016 academic year to pursue the DBE programme and offered English, Core Mathematics and Integrated Science. Using the stratified random sampling technique, 600 scripts of each course were sampled from twelve Colleges of Education for the study. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and paired samples t-test were used for the analyses. The results showed a high interrater reliability in the three courses English (r=0.819 at 0.05α), Mathematics (r=0.878 at 0.05α) and Integrated Science (r=0.867at 0.05α) courses. In addition, the hypothesis testing revealed that the differences between raters in Mathematics and Integrated Science were not significant at 0.05α, p>0.05 indicating that the differences had no impact on total scores. However, in English the differences were found to be significant at 0.05α. It was recommended that the Institute of Education intensifies its coordination sessions with examiners with special emphasis on the English examiners. It was further suggested that team leaders should be more vigilant with vetting of scripts.

Views of Students on Support Services at College of Distance Education, University Of Cape Coast

Samuel Yaw Ampofo — 2021-12-01

This study examined the views of distance education students on the kind of support services available at the College of Distance Education. Adopting the descriptive survey design, the study investigated the state of selected student support services at the College of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast. The stratified and simple random sampling procedures were employed to select a sample size of 645 out of 3,678 students offering Bachelor of Education programme from study centres across the country. Questionnaire was used to collect data which were analysed with frequencies and means. Participants confirmed that relevant study materials were supplied at the beginning of each semester. In addition, course tutors were punctual to class and displayed mastery of subject matter. Findings of the study further revealed that though counselling and advisory services were available, there were no dedicated help line nor internet counselling platforms for students. Administrative and information services were also averagely offered to students. It was recommended that management take steps to improve on administrative and information, and counselling and advisory services to help students progress smoothly in their academic work through timely provision of information and introduction of e-counselling services

Teacher Motivation in Less Endowed Senior High Schools in Tain District of Bono Region

Francis Kwaku Kyeremeh — 2021-12-01

The study sought to explore the factors that contribute to the graduate teacher’s motivation and retention in the less endowed public senior high schools in the Tain District in the Bono Region. It employed the qualitative research approach using the case study design to examine and interpret the perceptions and experiences of 21 graduate teachers in three less endowed senior high schools at the countryside. The findings revealed that inadequate remuneration, lack of opportunity for promotion and low prestige in teaching were the three most crucial factors which accounted for the drift of graduate teachers from the teaching service into other jobs. It recommended among others that, graduate teachers should be paid realistic and competitive wages in order to ensure higher teacher retention and improve upon their performance. There is the need to establish scholarship and incentive packages for all graduate teachers who accept posting to schools in the rural areas

First Year University Students’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards HIV/AIDS

Vera Arhin — 2021-12-01

The main purpose of the study was to investigate first year students’ knowledge, attitude, and practices towards HIV/AIDS. In achieving this objective, the descriptive research design was adopted. The study participants comprised 249 level 100 students. A questionnaire developed by Carey and Schroder (2002) was used to collect data on students’ HIV/AIDS knowledge. A researcher-designed instrument was used to collect data on students’ attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS and practices regarding HIV/AIDS. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the analyses. The findings of the study revealed that the respondents’ knowledge level on HIV/AIDS was low and their practices regarding the disease were also poor. However, the respondents had positive attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS. The study recommends HIV/AIDS education course should be incorporated into the university’s curriculum to help increase students’ knowledge on HIV/AIDS and also enhance their practices.

Psychosocial Environment of Universities: How Satisfied are Academics with Work-Related Factors?

Eugene Yaw Milledzi — 2021-12-01

University academics are critical actors in knowledge production and human resource development through teaching and research. However, despite the significant roles of university academics in the knowledge society, the psychosocial work environment of universities particularly in developing nations has witnessed agitations, threats and strikes over one work-related issue or the other. The current study examined how academic staff of selected universities in Ghana perceived work-related factors in their psychosocial environment using the mixed methods explanatory sequential design. A sample of 376 academic staff were stratified and selected based on rank and gender. Structured questionnaire was employed to collect data for the quantitative phase of the study while semi-structured interview guide was used to gather the qualitative data. Results from the study showed that academic staff of universities were dissatisfied with criteria for promotion, salary, as well as training and development as they perceived these factors negatively in their psychosocial work environment. It was recommended that managements of universities in Ghana make pragmatic efforts to review conditions of service of academic staff in order to create favourable psychosocial work environments for university academics to promote effective teaching, research and innovation

Academic Adjustment Needs of International Students of Universities in Southern Ghana

Eric Nyarko-Sampson — 2021-12-01

The study investigated the academic adjustment needs of regular undergraduate international students of universities in southern Ghana. The descriptive survey design of the quantitative research approach was employed for the study. The data were analysed using both descriptive (mean, standard deviation and rank) and inferential (Independent-samples t-test) statistics. The findings showed that the academic adjustment needs of international students were quite serious or weighty, and there was no significant difference in the academic adjustment needs of undergraduate regular international students on the basis of gender. On the basis of these findings, it was recommended, among other things, that policy makers and management of the universities must take into account the reality of the academic adjustment needs of regular undergraduate international students no matter their gender. They should also consider effective ways of making their stay in universities in southern Ghana less stressful.