Al-Faruq College of Education

The public outcry about students’ poor performance in mathematics can be said to have gained currency in recent times, in the dailies in Ghana. The outcry has been fueled by the fact that Ghanaian eight graders have always been among the least performing in international assessments such as TIMSS. Since available literature is replete with the fact that students’ attitudes of their mathematics classroom environment influence their attitudes to their classroom activities and hence their mathematics achievement, this study was designed to determine the attitudes of junior high school pupils towards their mathematics classroom learning environment. A total of 350 eighth and ninth graders (i.e., forms two and three junior high school students) from four public and two private randomly selected schools in a metropolitan community in southern Ghana participated in the study. The study adapted the mathematics attitude questionnaire (MAQ) instruments, a questionnaire designed to measure students’ attitudes of their classroom environment on four different subscales. The results revealed that, though in general, the attitudes of students were positive, that of the private school students were relatively more positive than their public-school counterparts in each of the subscales. Implications of this are discussed and recommendations for classroom teachers and future research are also presented.

In this chapter, we examine the implications of Ghana’s health sector decentralisation for the delivery of responsive healthcare in some selected districts in the country. This is especially important because decentralisation in the health sector is particularly complex and does not necessarily result in efficiency and improvements (Couttolenc, Decentralisation and governance in the Ghana health sector. World Bank, 2012). Besides, there is no clarity regarding the relationship between decentralisation and improvements in overall health system’s performance. This chapter examines the operations and activities of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) within the context of decentralised healthcare provision. Specifically, we assess the level of autonomy granted to subnational health institutions and how that influences healthcare delivery. We also examine capacity of subnational health units to deliver efficient and responsive services to those who access healthcare. Ultimately, we highlight some challenges associated with decentralised healthcare in Ghana and progress made in the last few decades.

The study explored the mediating role of Ghanaian College of Education students’ positive academic emotions in facilitating their self-regulation learning and academic achievement. The study utilized the descriptive cross-sectional design. The target population was 5,013 students from the three Colleges of Education in the Bono Region, of which 328 were selected for the study through a simple random sampling technique. Ethical protocols were strictly adhered to during the data collection, analysis and reporting stages of the study. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The study found statistically significant relationships between positive academic emotions and self-regulation learning and academic achievement. Of the constructs explored, the emotional states of joy and hope were the two most important variables mediating college students’ self-regulating learning and achievement. The pride of success and relief associated with the execution of academic-related activities were comparatively less important constructs mediating students learning and achievement. Therefore, College of Education students should be consciously taught self-regulation strategies to sustain their learning. Moreover, reading, teaching and learning materials and resources should be presented in formats that will intrinsically sustain learners’ enthusiasm and engagement.

The variety of English used in Ghana is not the same as the one used in Britain, America or Nigeria. There seem to be observable differences in Ghanaian English pronunciation, semantics, lexis and grammar which have led to two opposing views. The first group sees those differences as errors that need to be corrected. The second group, on the other hand, believes that not all the differences are errors. Rather, there are some acceptable differences which distinguish the variety of English used in Ghana. It is against this background that the study sought to identify and describe some phonological differences in educated Ghanaian English to contribute to the on-going debate on Ghanaian English. Using Kachru’s ‘Nativisation Theory’, the research argues that there is a Ghanaian variety of English characterized by unique phonological features such as difficulty in pronouncing dental fricative sounds /ð/ and / θ/. To support this argument, instances of “Ghanaianisms” were collected from spoken sources and analysed. A text was read by participants and recorded into a Speech Analyser and described qualitatively. The study has confirmed that, the phonological differences in the English in Ghana are mainly brought about by nativisation process. It is believed that the study will contribute to the on-going debate on Ghanaian English and its codification.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0938/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

<p>This corroborative study is based on research findings by Obeng Gyasi’s (1997) ‘An analysis of the linguistic situation in Ghana,’ and Akpanglo-Nartey & Akpanglo-Nartey’s, ‘Some Endangered Languages of Ghana’ (2012). Three indigenous Ghanaian Languages (<em>Ewutu-Efutu, Ga </em>and<em> Dangme</em>) were studied by Akpanglo-Nartey (2012) and the conclusion was that “<em>a lot of the indigenous languages of Ghana are in danger and could even be lost in the next few generations</em>”. Again, Obeng Gyasi (1997: 78) in his concluding remarks stated that, “<em>in fact, there are quite a number of Ghanaian languages that one can conveniently label as threatened or embattled</em>”. To ascertain the extent of damage done to both Ga and Dangme Languages, the researchers used <em>UNESCO Language Vitality & Endangerment Assessment Tool (2003)</em><strong> </strong>to assess the Ga-Dangme Language along two dominant languages used in Ghana; <em>Akan</em> and <em>English Language</em>. Observation was used as a tool to collect data and then analysed qualitatively. The results confirmed that indeed, the Ga-Dangme Language is ‘<em>definitely endangered</em>’ because the language is used mostly by very few speakers, of parental generation up. Finally, the paper suggests ways in which Ga-Dangme could be preserved from further damage or loss. Ultimately, this paper has implications for further research on language extinction.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0999/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Most student teachers do not have the skill to use the computer mouse. Others even could not differentiate the left mouse button from the right mouse button and their uses. To help address this situation, the researchers made use of qualitative research methodology together with some of the sampling techniques to collect reliable and valid information on the problem. Notwithstanding, questionnaire, interview and observational research methodologies were employed in gathering relevant information from the research population. Relevant literature on the problem were consulted to find out the views of other researchers on the study as well as devising appropriate measures and interventions to rectify the problem. The results and findings of this study revealed the true picture of the problem and its effects on students' use of technological equipment.

This study sought to find out factors that affect the performance of pre-service teachers in college algebra in some selected Colleges of Education in the Bono Region of Ghana. A quantitative survey design was employed in this study. The study was conducted in two Colleges of Education and sixtysix (66) second-year pre-service teachers offering 4-year Bachelor of Education(B.Ed.) Programmes in both Primary and Junior High School ( JHS) education randomly selected. A five-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect data on the three factors (students' attitude, motivation, and lesson presentation). Twenty (20) items questionnaire was administered to the pre-service teachers to collect data. The data were analyzed and the descriptive statistics involving means and standard deviation as well as correlation, regression, and paired samples t-test were used to address the research questions. The findings revealed that the poor performance of students in college algebra in colleges of education in Ghana was caused by students' negative attitude, motivation and lesson presentation. It is, therefore, recommended that these negative attitude needs to be corrected by instilling in students the values in mathematics. Teachers teaching college algebra should be innovative and use the appropriate technique to teach the concepts in college algebra. The government and stakeholders in teacher education should provide necessary materials and other resources in colleges of education to harness the potentials of preservice teachers.

<p>This study attempts at undertaking a comprehensive study of personal names among Ghanaian Hausa. It particularly looks at the socio-pragmatic usage of the Hausa names. This paper argues that the Hausa give names to their children by considering the social, cultural, and religious philosophy of the Hausa speech community. The philosophy behind these Hausa naming practices goes a long way to help in the peculiar identity of the Ghanaian Hausa. This, to a very large extent, hints that there is a link between names and personal identity as far as naming practices among the Hausa in particular, and Africans in general are concerned. The study, using interview, observation and the researcher’s introspection as a data collection method and Linguistic Relativity as a theoretical framework, reveals three categories of names used by the Ghanaian Hausa. These are Judeo-Islamo-Christian names, Hausa names of Arabic origin and Hausa traditional names.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0077/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Marriage is a hot issue for debate and discussion. Apart from the excitement afforded by its romantic and aesthetic aspects, concerns before marriage are also expressed in more negative terms in terms of genetic/infectious diseases and psycho-social values. The aim of this paper is to portray the aspects of marriage among the Akans in Ghana. The paper focuses on aspects of marriage. An attempt has been made to explain some genetic and psycho-social values that may serve as barriers to contracting a marriage among Akans. The paper is with reference to numerous pieces of literature that have been published on marriages. It thus presents a historical account from a sociological viewpoint and scientific points of view.

All production firms aim at maximizing profit after sales of their products but due to lack of technological and scientific approach in the production setting, many cannot achieve the stated objectives. This study showed the trend of production of sachet water at AWCL which gave the quantity of sachet water produced in each month for the year, 2011. The major objective of this study is to minimize the total cost of production at AWCL using Linear Programming model. The optimal solution to the production planning problem was generated by LP Solver and the demand and supply at each month were determined. The AWCL incurs cost of GH¢1.2355 when producing a bag of sachet water but with the use of linear Programming model, the cost of producing a bag of water was reduced to GH¢0.831519. The analysis also showed that, increasing the wages of regular workers and reducing that of overtime help the company to produce more with minimum cost of production. AWCL should employ more overtime labour when it is necessary to meet the urgent demands from the customers. Instead of employing more manual labour force, the company could have used machinery that can do assembling and packaging of the sachet water. Computer – based planning (scheduling) help the manufacturers to attend to orders from their respective customers easily and to enhance on – time delivery of products. The computerized planning performs better and faster than manual scheduling tools. The analysis showed that the production planning can facilitate the production processes in a way that help the company to streamline the activities that go on during acquisition of raw materials for production and the demands from the customers could be met when the wages of regular labour force are increased. Keywords: Linear Programming Model, Optimum Production of Sachet water, LP Transportation Model DOI : 10.7176/JIEA/9-4-01 Publication date :June 30 th 2019

This study was conducted to find out head teachers' perception of the implementation of the capitation grant scheme in Sunyani West East District of the Brong Ahafo Region. The study specifically focused on explaining how head teachers conceptualised the concept of capitation grant scheme, the implementation process, and the challenges associated with the implementation of the scheme. A descriptive research design was adopted for the study, and a questionnaire and an interview guide were designed and administered to a sample of 40 head teachers from the district in the Region. The analysis of data revealed that 70.0% of thehead teachers had an in-depth understanding of the source of capitation grant as being from the Government. The study, among others, found that the main challenges confronting the smooth implementations of the scheme were delay in the release of funds and inadequate funds. It is recommended that Government should release adequate amount of the grant in good time (thus, before the beginning of each quarter) so that school heads will avoid pre-financing of school activities. Also, the Ghana Education Service should continue to train head teachers in financial management and administration for prudent use of funds.

Several variables make ICT integration with the teaching and learning processes much easy. These variables include teachers' attitude, teachers' knowledge, facilities available and motivation. This study examined the relationship between Teachers' ICT knowledge and availability of ICT facilities in the Junior High Schools in the Savulugu District in the Northern Region of Ghana. Correlation design was used for the study. The correlation levels between these variables were measured through the data gathered by the use of a four-point Likert type scale. The targeted population was the Junior High School teachers in the said district. A total of 68 questionnaires were retrieved and analyzed. The research findings indicated a low Junior High School Teachers' ICT knowledge in the district (mean = 2.48) and availability of ICT facilities (mean =1.71). Besides, the research showed both correlation coefficients of Teachers' ICT knowledge and Availability of ICT facilities (r = .656). Despite the moderate correlation levels, Teachers' ICT knowledge and Availability of ICT facilities need to be improved.

About ninety-nine per cent (99%) of the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) year one A (1A), students at St Joseph's College of Education, Bechem and other less endowed institutions have not had much or have had no previous insight in ICT education and its accompanying facilities. Student Teachers of the Colleges of Education who are the cornerstone of the society and the nation at large cannot be left out in this information age. To help address this situation, the researchers made use of qualitative research methodology together with some of the sampling techniques to collect reliable and valid information on the problem. Notwithstanding, questionnaire, interview and observational research methodologies were employed in gathering relevant information from the research population. The results and findings of this study revealed the true picture of the problem and its effects on students' use of technological equipment.

This study is aimed at exploring the correlation that exist between Ghanaian junior high school (JHS) students’ perception and attitude towards mathematics, taking into account the influence of both attitude and perception in the teaching and learning of mathematics. An adaptation of the WIHIC and MAQ questionnaires, which is widely-used in mathematics related research, were used to obtain data from a sample of 320 JHS students from 18 public and private JHS in six circuits in the Cape Coast metropolis. The results of the study revealed that the JHS students in general had a positive attitude toward mathematics. The students’ perception towards mathematics was also reported to be favourable as a result of which a positively weak correlation between the students’ perception and attitude towards mathematics was also observed. Thus, the JHS students’ perception of mathematics to a large extent does not depend on their attitude. Situated in context, are the implications as discussed.