Accra College of Education

The aim of this study was to evaluate the challenges basic school tutors face when integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into their instructing and learning activities and to recommend possible strategies for addressing those challenges. This study employed an interpretive paradigm and a qualitative method approach to analyze the challenges basic school teachers face when integrating ICT into teaching in an emerging country, particularly Ghana. The participants of this study were chosen using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. A total of twenty (20) respondents were chosen for this study. The study found that teachers, despite their challenges, had a strong desire to integrate ICT into their instruction and learning activities. These challenges are the limited number of ICT tools and the absence of fully-subscribed software package that runs on them, the lack of electrical outlets in some classrooms, poor internet connectivity and power fluctuation. These teachers also had to deal with challenges like Trojan horses and spam despite the slow internet connectivity. The study suggested that basic school management should procure modern ICT tools and fully-subscribed software package to expand the school’s ICT infrastructure giving teachers the choice to choose the ICT tools they will integrate into their teaching and learning activities for the successful integration of ICT into instruction and learning activities. Again, school management should ensure teachers are given basic training regarding ICT and its incorporation into tuition and learning activities to acquire the necessary competencies, understanding, and attitudes that will enhance teaching and learning activities.

The aim of the study is to access the effect of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) usage on Second Cycle Schools (SCSs) student academic performance and its associated challenges in a developing country. To give teachers and students the chance to function in the information age, ICT integration in teaching and learning activities is essential. This study employed a mix method approach to access the effect of ICT usage on SCSs student academic performance and its associated challenges in Ghana. The respondents of this study were chosen using the Yamane formula. A total of one hundred and seventy-two (172) respondents were chosen for this study. Questionnaire and interview guide was used as data collection tool in this study. The study found that the majority of students use mobile phones, computers, the internet/modem, social media, digital cameras, or printers outside of school. The findings again indicated that, ICT usage has improved students’ academic performance. The findings further revealed that students face challenges when using ICT facilities in their learning processes due to limited access to internet connections and the attitude of some teachers when integrating ICT in class. The availability of ICT resources at SCSs and sometimes homes are critical to the success of ICT in SCS education. The study then recommends that parents should make an effort to provide ICT resources for their children. Furthermore, governments of developing countries should make sufficient funds available for providing universal access to ICT to unserved and underprivileged groups.

The principles of inclusive education largely accepted by governments of different countries require differentiated classroom instruction to meet the diverse needs of individual students. Despite this, teachers have differing experiences and understandings about implementing differentiated instruction (DI) and heterogeneous classrooms. This narrative study aimed at exploring the meanings of DI in the Eritrean context, where teachers are not explicitly familiar with the concept, although their teaching practices reflect some level of differentiation. The research data consisted of 17 narrative interviews with Eritrean mathematics and science teachers. The results of the narrative analysis showed that the teachers constructed five meanings of DI in their narratives: as a caring orientation, as a flexible pedagogic approach, as a self-reflective process, as a failed attempt and as a demanding approach. The majority of the narratives were found to produce positive meanings of DI, and the teachers constructed strong agency towards carrying out DI. These examples of sophisticated DI practices in the teachers’ positive narratives could be utilised to implement DI, even in situations where teachers have limited resources and training and in contexts with large class sizes.

Social studies education constitutes a diverse aspect of the human ecosystem that needs external resources to enable effective tuition and learning in the classroom. Using external resources has been a significant challenge for Ghana’s junior high school teachers. Given this, the study explored the integration of community resources in teaching social studies in a selected junior high school in the Adentan District in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It investigated the factors that militate against using community resources and assessed how these problems could be resolved. The study made use of the random sampling technique, with a sample size of forty (n = 40) students, a teacher (n = 1) and a principal (n = 1). The researchers employed questionnaires and interviews as instruments for gathering data. The expressive survey research design was used as the methodology for the reading. It was revealed that community resources were not efficiently utilised to teach social studies, although the respondents reported its enormous benefits in the teaching-learning procedure. Again, the study identified some factors that impede the use of community resources in teaching social studies; over-reliance on textbooks, lack of means of transport, inflexible timetable, and lack of support and cooperation from parents and other stakeholders. Despite the challenges, we recommend that social studies teachers prioritise integrating community resources in coaching social studies to make it more pragmatic, relevant, and effective.

Assessment is a crucial and essential component of successful instruction and learning. As a result, teachers must examine their actions in the classroom through a process of reflective practices (self-observation and self-evaluation) and think about why they do it and if it works. This essay examines the reflective practices of Ghanaian teacher educators regarding the evaluation of social studies and history curricula. It made use of the sequential explanatory mixed method as a methodology drawn from questionnaires, interviews and document reviews. The findings disclosed that teacher educators in Ghana’s colleges of education have low efficacy and poor reflective practices when it comes to affective domain assessment. The study suggests that the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) should ramp up the instruction of the methods for evaluating the affective domain in coordination with Ghanaian universities. For Social Studies teacher educators, consistent professional development programs on the methods for assessing the affective domain should be organised. The universities in Ghana should train Social Studies History teacher educators in the field in the area of measurement and evaluation with particular emphasis on the construction of appropriate test items for determining expected outcomes.

Teachers play an important role in the development of human capital yet the rate of teacher attrition continues to be a problem in Ghana. The research seeks to explore the extent to which ease of attrition from the teaching profession influences the choice of the teaching profession as a career by student teachers. This study adopted a quantitative research design and deployed a multi-stage sampling strategy. The sample size was 864. Deploying the ordered-logistic regression model, the study finds that the ease of attrition from the teaching profession does not influence the choice of the teaching profession as a career.

We, the Editors and Publisher of the journal Cogent Education have retracted the following article:Aidoo, E. B., & Mensah, R. O. (2024). Self-esteem, locus of control, and academic performance; cases of selected colleges in Greater Ada and Accra, Ghana. Cogent Education, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2380169Since publication, concerns were raised about the accuracy of the reference list, as there were multiple references that the Publisher and editorial team were unable to locate and verify. When approached for an explanation, the authors have been unable to verify the authenticity of these references.As verifying the validity of published work is core to the integrity of the scholarly record, we are therefore retracting the article.The authors have been informed and agree with the retraction.We have been informed in our decision-making by our editorial policies and the COPE guidelines.The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as ‘Retracted’.

The era of “4.0” industrial revolution is when knowledge and skills are supreme for one to stay relevant and remain competitive in the job market for which education is core. This study aimed to explore Ghana’s readiness in implementing Education 4.0 and especially to create awareness of the famous catchphrase Education 4.0 in Ghana. The target population was Ghanaians of categorical groups in the educational system from the student to the retired educationist in the greater Accra region. Randomly selected education administrators, teachers/lecturers and students and pensioners totaling 133 in the Accra metropolis made up the study’s sample. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive and percentages. The outcome showed that Ghana is ready for the implementation of Education 4.0 with a recording of over 80% yes to the readiness. It was recommended that; the government of Ghana should make everything possible by bringing all stake holders on board to move the industrial action revolution.

The overarching goal of every academic institution is to achieve high academic performance among students, which is also largely dependent on the efficiency of teachers. In light of that, this study sought to examine the factors affecting students’ academic performance and teachers’ efficiency in Ghana, using Wa Senior High School as a Case Study. One hundred and sixty (160) students and 20 teachers were sampled for the study. The Kendall Coefficient of Concordance was used to estimate the level of agreement among the students and teachers in their ranking of factors affecting their self-perceived academic performance and level of efficiency, respectively. The study revealed that personal factors, educational support systems, and access to resources were significant factors that affected students’ academic performance. Similarly, teachers’ efficiency was affected by the teachers’ self-efficacy, students’ cooperation, effective supervision by authorities, and good motivation and condition of service. The study recommends that school authorities intensify mentorship and guidance to students, improve the working conditions of teachers, and provide the needed facilities that will aid teaching and learning.

Quality basic education is the one of the most important educational institutions that influences and is influenced by other educational institutions. The instrumental role played by basic education in developing human resources for both personal fulfilment and social advancement has been recognized in the world over. The general objective of this paper is to review literature and making discussions on the challenges encountered in the Ghana National Teachers' Licensure Examination.It is obvious that even though the works reviewed, the challenges and the ways forward for the licensure examination were not in the Ghanaian setting, the challenges found in other areas where the teacher licensing examination is conducted annually are applicable to the Ghanaian setting. Therefore, the search for ways of addressing the challenges will help to improve the quality of basic education in Ghana. We recommend that there is an urgent need for a tripartite collaboration between the Government of Ghana, the Ministry of Education and the National Teaching Council to be able to establish a committee that is responsible for addressing the challenges of the teacher licensure examination in Ghana. This will go a long way to help in addressing the problems or the challenges that arises in the conduct of the teacher licensure examination year by year in Ghana before the challenges become compounded and get out of hands. As the saying goes, "the earlier, the better".

This article describes a novel, hands-on method to qualitatively determine the extent of microbial activity in topsoil using ordinary blank paper. Appropriate and scalable for the high school and college level, these experiments expose students to some of the challenges facing environmental researchers and also contribute to curriculum development of soil topics for environmental education. Through experimentation, students discover that paper containing high amounts of starch can be used to determine the degree of microbial activity in topsoil. After the application of soil solution eluent to paper, the paper is allowed to dry. Students react the paper with a KI + I2 solution, and a deep blue coloration results that diminishes over time. Using the principles of complementary color combinations and a simple, handmade, cadmium sulfide–light emitting diode (CdS–LED) reflection photometer, the color can be measured and the extent of microbial activity established.

In contrast to the slower pace of adopting online learning seen in the previous decades, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a rapid and widespread shift to online education. However, this sudden transition also led to an increase in academic dishonesty, posing a threat to the integrity of online courses. Many educational institutions and educators are uncertain about how to effectively respond to these new forms of cheating. This research aimed to understand the recent changes in academic dishonesty based on the latest literature. The study revealed concerning trends: new methods of contract cheating and collaborative cheating, shifting perceptions of cheating among students, a reported increase in online cheating, and a lack of strong institutional efforts to address these challenges. Despite these difficulties, the study also identified a range of potential solutions, both innovative and well-established, that can help counteract the problem of academic dishonesty, provided there is a willingness and the necessary resources to implement them. Keywords: Academic Dishonesty, Online learning, Contract Cheating, Cheating DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-25-05 Publication date: September 30 th 2023

This article explores situations for improving the collaborative commitments of a group of learner-teachers undertaking action research projects about their own learning processes in a teacher education setting. The encounters are recounted based on the 16-week experience of educators (the first two authors) while facilitating, guiding, and supporting an action research course offered at a college of education for senior undergraduate learner-teachers in Eritrea in the academic year 2018–2019. We have employed the theory of practice architectures to identify conditions that constituted our facilitation practices. We analysed transcriptions of our practice-based series of discussions and course artefacts, including diary entries, learner-teachers’ action research reports, and interactions on the WhatsApp group page created for the course. Problematizing processes of learning, proactive guidance approaches, and modelling collaborative initiatives were among the facilitation practices that we argue have significantly influenced the collaborative commitments of the learners in their action research projects. We also discuss the implications of our facilitation practices that sought to model the qualitatively loaded terms that constitute the course, i.e. collaboration, action, and research. Some implications for teacher education practices are highlighted.

Engaging prospective teachers in collaborative inquiry into their own processes of learning was the driving intention of the collaborative action research (CAR) course which was part of a teacher education program at a college of education in Eritrea in the academic year of 2018/2019. The course led by the first two authors was collaboratively designed and developed by the authors who were closely and regularly working as passionate learning community of educators who are committed to enact change in their own practices for the past seven years. Embracing the complexity of learning teacher educating we align with the notion of inquiry as a stance in learning to live up to the complexity. Accordingly, we engaged in an intentional collaborative self-study into our own practices of facilitating a course on inquiry. The aim of this paper is to articulate key experiences of committed collaborative learning in facilitating a course of inquiry. Employing a self-study methodology, we were engaged in individual and team reflections documented in our shared diary, regular meetings to discuss and develop the CAR process, and analyzing written feedbacks given by our student teachers (STs). In this article we attempt to explore headway pedagogies while we were collaboratively learning to facilitate and support a senior class of prospective teachers (n-27) carry out their CAR projects into their own processes of learning for four months. We argue that those experiences have critical implications in developing professional identity of prospective teachers, creatively overcome the theory-practice conundrum in teacher education by developing essential experiences that prospective teachers could creatively adapt in their school practices.

Dipo rite is a puberty initiation practiced by the Krobo Groups in Ghana. The study describes the practice and process of Dipo rite, and its guidance implications associated with Dipo rite. This was a qualitative study underpinned by interpretative philosophical thought. The study employed case study design and data was collected using unstructured interview guide. Snowball sampling technique was used to sample the view of four (4) Dipo rite initiators and purposive sampling for the selected key informant from the Manya Krobo Chief Palace. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The study highlighted the process and practice of Dipo rite. These included the policy, stages, benefit, and those are capable for being initiated. The study revealed that premarital education, courageous, career path, career opportunities were the guidance implications for the practice of Dipo rite. Finally, the study unveiled that age bracket should be introduced for the initiation not depending on one firsts menstruation and follow up should be done to check if the "Dipo yo "are practicing the teaching given to them.

This study sought to determine how tutors within the College of Education (CoE) scope at Ada, and in Accra, both townships in the Greater Accra Region, react to emotional intelligence and marital satisfaction. An expressive survey research design was used in the study to gather data from 96 married tutors, utilising structured questionnaires and simple random selection. The study’s goals were to identify the variables that affect tutors’ marital satisfaction, the gender differences in tutors’ emotional intelligence, and the relationship between emotional intelligence and tutors’ marital contentment. Means, standard deviation, independent sample t-test, and Pearson’s correlation, among others, were used to evaluate the data. The primary finding of the study revealed that demographic specifications, such as gender, ethnicity and religion, are not linked with marital satisfaction, while age, education and income are associated with marital satisfaction. Generally, this study sheds light on the relationship between emotional intelligence and marital gratification of tutors within the colleges of education at Ada and in Accra. The findings, in fact, could be helpful for educators, and other stakeholders, in enhancing the emotional intelligence and marital gratification of tutors, which could, in turn, contribute to improved academic outcomes and overall job performance.

This study examined the relationship between parenting styles, television viewing habits, and academic performance of second year students in Ghanaian junior high schools in the Ga-East Municipality. The study was a cross-sectional correlational study using 310 samples drawn from a population of 1700 students. Using a five-point Likert’s scale, Buri's Parental Authority Questionnaire (α =.619) measured parenting style in this study. Students Grade Point Average (GPA) in four subjects (English, Mathematics, Integrated Science and Social Studies) represented academic performance scores, while self-constructed TV viewing instrument (α = .71) was used to gather data on students’ television viewing habit. ANOVA, t-test, and multiple regression were used to test four hypotheses. Results indicated that authoritarian and permissive parenting styles correlated negatively with academic performance while authoritative parenting style affected students’ performance positively. The study also discovered that time spent watching TV significantly and negatively influenced academic performance of students. Again, time spent viewing television, did not differ significantly on the basis of age. The study concluded that authoritative parenting style is significant for a better academic grade, and that age is not a factor in regards to time students spent watching TV programmes. Based on the outcome of the study, it was recommended that the Municipal Counsellor should organise career guidance programmes for the students to encourage them to be more focused on their studies and also to reduce their TV viewing time. In addition, parents must be encouraged to regulate the TV viewing habits of their children.

English language is used as the medium of teaching in Ghanaian schools from Basic to the tertiary levels. Students at all stages of education are taught the content of school subjects through the use of the English language. As a result, how well students perform academically is mainly determined by their proficiency in English language. This paper therefore examined the relationship between English language proficiency and academic performance in Biology. The study employed a hybrid of ex-post facto and correlational research designs to determine the extent at which science students’ performance in English language correlates with their academic performance in Biology. Secondary data in the form of Terminal examination scores and 2019 West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results in English language and Biology were analysed for 157 science students in four selected Senior High Schools in the Central and Western Regions. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to assess the degree of correlation between English language proficiency and academic accomplishment in Biology. The study observed that there was a positive correlation (r = 0.379, 0.479, 0.443 and 0.345) between English language performance and academic achievement in Biology in the terminal examination scores. The WASSCE scores revealed a positive and strong correlation (r = 0.825, 0.719) between English language and Biology. Based on these findings, it was recommended that since English language is extensively used in education as a whole, science teachers should teach language across the curriculum. That is, they must lay special emphasis on contextual proficiency more than on general proficiency in the language of learning and teaching (LOLT) when the need arises.

A creative idea leads to innovation. Innovation brings new solutions to real-life problems. If it solves significant problems in people's life it generates revenue. Hence the innovation is a key to a country's economic growth. Our education system gives much importance to marks. Both teaching and learning are only oriented towards the examination. Our systems have rigid rules which gives less importance to personal creativity. Studies say that creativity may not be an innate trait and it can be triggered with well-defined pedagogical approaches. One such method is integrating curriculums. The interdisciplinary method of education is widely studied in various countries. It has been said that interdisciplinary education triggers the creativity of a student. (1–4) This paper reviews the method of integrating the curriculum. We propose a model for integrating the curriculum for health science students with technological advancements which can lead them to innovation.

The purpose of this study was to identify factors responsible for the poor academic performance of pupils in Wamfie Circuit Junior High Schools. Descriptive design was used. Population for the was made up of two-hundred and five (205) pupils, twentyfive (25) teachers and four (4) schools in Wamfie circuit Junior High Schools. Simple random and purposive samplings were used to select pupils, teachers and Junior High Schools for the study. The main instrument for the study was questionnaire. Data was analysed using the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) to generate figures, frequencies, percentages and tables. The study revealed that, the factors responsible for poor academic performance pupils Wamfie circuit Junior High Schools in of Dormaa East District include pupils and teacher absenteeism, pupils and teachers' lateness to school, inadequate teaching and learning materials, poor parental involvement in PTA meetings, parents not providing pupils with subject text book and breakfast.