Kibi Presbyterian College of Education

This paper looks at Ghanaian Colleges of Education tutors' perception on the personal and institutional preparedness for online teaching-learning during the COVID-19 crisis. The study selected 24 tutors from 9 Colleges of Education (CoEs) in the Eastern and Greater Accra Regions. 7 CoEs are in Eastern while 2 are in Greater Accra. Using the convenience sampling technique, 24 tutors were selected as the accessible population. The research design used was the qualitative with a semi-structured interview conducted over the telephone because of social distancing. The data collected was analysed manually. The results indicate that only 33.3% of the respondents could teach confidently online, while 66.7% needed more training to confidently deliver lessons online. Furthermore, none of the 9 colleges had policies on online teaching even though each college had at least 16 policies regarding the good governance of the colleges. It is therefore recommended that tutors of CoEs should be given support in ICT and online skills and competencies through continuous training.

The accelerating application of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) has called for attention to their potential environmental and human health risks. This work aimed to investigate the sorption efficiency of laboratory and commercial synthesized nanocrystalline zinc oxide onto raw coconut husk in a batch adsorption study. Characterization of samples was performed by employing spectroscopies techniques such as X-ray Diffraction Spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Spectroscopy, Fourier transform IR Spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller. A spherical shaped nanocrystalline ZnO with a mean crystallite and particle size of 14.7 nm and 24 nm by XRD and TEM was synthesized as compared to the commercial ZnO-NPs of size < 50 nm. The maximum percentage removal of 88% (0.13 mg/g) and 90% (0.16 mg/g) for laboratory synthesized and commercial ZnO-NPs respectively was recorded at an optimum contact time of 80 minutes. The data also indicated 2.0 g sorbent mass and pH of 8 as the optimum conditions for maximum percentage removal of these nanoparticles. Both Langmuir and Freundlich models fitted best for laboratory synthesized ZnO-NPs with a maximum capacity of 0.797 mg/g, whereas Langmuir isotherm model alone with a maximum capacity of 0.710 mg/g fitted well for commercial ZnO-NPs. The n-value from the Freundlich model, as well as separation factor (RL) were greater than unity suggesting a favorable adsorption process. The study obeyed pseudo-second-order, which was exothermic with a high degree of freedom of sorbent-sorbate interaction. The results suggested that coconut husk is potentially scalable for removing ZnO-NPs from wastewater.

Student satisfaction is the pinnacle upon which any effective online learning hinges. It is for that reason, educators design course activities that allow students to effectively practice, work together on relevant projects to personalize their learning. In emerging institutions like the Colleges of Education in Ghana that are traditionally inclined toward teachers’ professional development through conventional face-to-face interaction, online education became the medium of interaction for the first time to promote social distancing in response to COVID-19 pandemic while enhancing access and continuous professional development of the human resources for the education sector. This basic qualitative study examined the conduct of online teaching in a traditional face-to-face educational system in Ghana. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed that the basic infrastructure for online teaching and learning is absent. Specifically, student trainees are saddled by poor internet connectivity, high cost of data in an emergency remote teaching environment. Due to these challenges, a significant proportion of the participating student-teachers wouldn’t choose online learning for their work and professional development. In view of this, the study recommends policy makers to institutionalize online education into the curricula of all professional institutions of higher education in Ghana.

The purpose of this research was to determine Ghanaian teachers' competencies in delivering online lessons. Transitioning face-to-face instructions to an online environment presents difficulties for instructors, particularly teachers and students doing so for the first time. The researchers explore how teachers in disrupted schools use information and communications technology (ICT) in their classrooms that differ in several ways from the regular classroom. The researchers investigated the factors influencing teachers' online instruction competence. A questionnaire was used to collect data from teachers in three teacher training colleges in Ghana in the 2021 academic year. Results showed that teachers had adequate knowledge of ICT. Also, ICT knowledge was strongly correlated to ICT usage. Regression analysis revealed that teachers could become competent and effectively teach online courses by having adequate knowledge, regularly using ICT, and receiving technical support from the institution. These findings suggest that teachers need sufficient knowledge and support to use computers to become competent in integrating ICT into their online course delivery.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the causes, effects, and management of science anxiety among Senior High School (SHS) students in the Old Tafo Metropolis of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. A sample of 337 students were selected from Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School and Al Azhariya Islamic Senior High School using the stratified random sampling procedure. Data were collected by using the Science Anxiety Scale and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that the respondents had some level of science anxiety in relation to doing science homework, having a negative attitude toward the science teacher, having fearful when entering the science classroom as well as solving science problems. The study also revealed that the causes of science anxiety involve the content, lack of infrastructure, and inadequate teaching and learning materials to make the subject easy to understand. The study revealed that science anxiety affected students’ academic performance negatively, reduced their interest in science, prevent them from pursuing science programmes in the future, and also affected school attendance. The study recommended that school heads should provide the necessary infrastructure and teaching materials that will make the teaching and learning of science practical and easy to understand.

The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic brought distortions in the academic calendar of nations when educational institutions were closed. As a way of filling the gap created in the trend, tertiary institutions introduced online learning to support students’ learning while at home. There was also the need to introduce alternative learning approaches to students that will help them summarize and represent the lengthy lecture notes and reading materials into meaningful and memorable units. This study looks at the effectiveness of mind maps in promoting this home-based online learning. The participants were seventy-one (71) first-year Bachelor of Education students pursuing a 4-year degree program in Basic Education in Kibi Presbyterian College of Education. One group consists of students pursuing Home Economics as their major and the other primary education. A test and questionnaire were used to collect data. T-test was used to test the significance of the performance of the two groups, and multiple regression was used to find an association between the use of the strategy and students’ performance. The statistical software used for data analysis was IBM’s SPSS version 25. The result shows that the mind map strategy helped learners retain knowledge; however, students’ understanding of concepts was low

Online counseling is widely regarded as a cost-effective and convenient means to provide basic counseling services, and it is increasingly being used in university treatment. However, it is unclear what amount of information and attitude students have about online counseling in colleges of education. This study looked at students' views toward and likelihood of using online counseling towards help information seeking and dissemination to see if it has the potential to increase overall service consumption. A survey was conducted and responded to by 411 students from two Ghanaian colleges of education and based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, students' attitudes and intentions to use online counseling were investigated. The paucity of online counseling systems in the colleges of education is shown in the study, yet 94% of participants said they would use online counseling services if given the opportunity. Based on these findings, it is recommended that providing online counseling in parallel to face-to-face counseling could be an effective strategy for counseling units in colleges of education to boost service delivery and so better serve their students.

This study sought to explore the relationship between pre-service teachers’ perceived self-efficacy in teaching mathematics and their achievement in mathematics. It is a descriptive study which involved forty students (47.5% male, 52.5% female) of Kibi College of Education. Data was collected through a Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale (MSES) questionnaire and a Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT). The findings of the study revealed a strong positive relationship between the pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy in mathematics and their achievement in mathematics. In view of the findings, the study recommends among others that teacher educators should focus on helping to develop pre-service teachers.

This study examines how technology integration influences existing infrastructure to meet educational needs at a college of education in Ghana, with emphasis on improvements in teaching, learning, and sustainability. A quantitative research approach with a descriptive survey design was employed. A structured questionnaire was administered to 412 respondents, faculty, administrators, and students, selected through stratified random sampling. SPSS was used for descriptive and inferential data analysis to assess stakeholder’s perceptions. Results revealed that 60% of respondents believed the infrastructure inadequately supported educational needs, while 40% disagreed. Technology integration was rated moderately effective in modernising infrastructure (mean = 2.51), highly effective in supporting teaching and learning (mean = 3.65), and less effective in enhancing sustainability (mean = 2.13). A moderate positive correlation (R = 0.456) indicated that technology integration explained 20.8% of the variance in infrastructure effectiveness. Technologies adopted included smart classrooms, e-learning platforms, internet of things, and building information modelling. This study offers key insights into how technology integration enhances educational infrastructure in support of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) (quality education) and SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure). It highlights the need for strategic, data-driven investments to modernise learning environments across sub-Saharan Africa.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of stress on the job performance of psychiatric nurses in the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital in Cape Coast. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. A sample of 150 psychiatric nurses were selected from a population of 197 psychiatric nurses using a simple random sampling procedure. Data were collected using the Weiman Occupational Stress Scale (WOSS) questionnaire. 143 answered questionnaires were retrieved out of the 150 questionnaires offered, giving a 95% return rate. Data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that the psychiatric nurses' job performance were negatively affected due to the effects of stress, which include mild to severe headache, loss of concentration, exhaustion, anger, overreaction, finding excuses and absence from work, and forgetfulness. The study recommended that the hospital authorities structure the work schedules of psychiatric nurses so that the nurses can get intermittent periods of leave away from work while providing the logistics to make the work of psychiatric nurses easy.

This study sought to evaluate the added advantage of mediating ZnO nanostructures with a medicinal plant. The synthesized ZnO nanocrystalline structures were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and characterized through scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometer. The antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities of the ZnO nanostructure mediated with methanol extracts of the leaf, fruit, and seed of Chrysophyllum albidum were then evaluated using DPPH assay, egg albumin denaturation assay, and agar well diffusion methods, respectively. All the characterization analyses revealed high‐purity hexagonal‐shaped ZnO nanoparticles which were agglomerated. The mean diameter of the particles determined were 11.3 ± 1.7 nm, 20.4 ± 3.2 nm, and 27.3 ± 6.6 nm for C. albidum seed, fruit, and leaf extract‐mediated ZnO NPs, respectively. The EC 50 values recorded for the antioxidant activity of the extract‐mediated ZnO NPs were 0.507 ± 0.015, 0.255 ± 0.006, 0.193 ± 0.003, and 0.004 ± 0.000 mg/mL for leaf, fruit, seed, and ascorbic acid, respectively. From the antimicrobial analysis, C. albidum seed extract‐mediated ZnO NPs recorded the highest zone of inhibition (24.33 ± 0.47) against S . aureus whereas C. albidum leaf extract‐mediated ZnO NPs gave the lowest zone of inhibition (13.00 ± 1.41) against E . coli at a concentration of 50 mg/mL. Moreover, C. albidum fruit extract‐mediated ZnO NPs presented the highest zone of inhibition (18.00 ± 0.82) against the fungus ( C. albicans ) also at a concentration of 50 mg/mL. The IC 50 values recorded for the anti‐inflammatory activity of the extract‐mediated ZnO NPs showed inhibition in the order fruit > seed > leaf. Meanwhile, extracts of the samples showed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, and glycosides as phytochemical constituents in the leaf, fruit, and seed samples. In conclusion, the synthesized ZnO NPs from the extracts of C. albidum displayed significant antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities against some selected microbes and fungi.

The supervisory role of kindergarten teachers is primarily concerned with supervising and managing the efforts of their learning environment to create safe, positive learning environments for all learners, as well as ensuring that no child is left alone or unsupervised by teachers or caregivers while under their supervision. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of teachers’ supervision on the safety of kindergarten pupils in Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem (K.E.E.A.) Municipality in the central region of Ghana. Qualitatively, the Instrumental Case Study Design was employed in this study to gather information on the participants. The population consisted of 227 Kindergarten teachers in the KEEA Municipality of Ghana. Convenience sampling technique was used to select sixteen (16) public kindergarten teachers for the study. The main instrument used for data collection was semi-structured interview guide. The data were analyzed thematically. The analysis of the data was done with the help of online qualitative software, Taguette version 1.3, Using the Taguette, the researchers highlighted quotes and phrases from the interviews that were significant to the study. The study supported that, establishing a well-conducive school environment enhance teachers’ supervision which goes a long way to ensures learners’ comfortability and safety; maximize learners’ academic performance; lessen fear in learners; promote teaching and learning; and support learners’ participation in play experiences. It is recommended that, key players in education such as Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service should investigate the effect of teacher supervision on learners’ safety vis-a-vis with its educational implications. It is also recommended that, kindergarten teachers should be encouraged to supervise their learners to guarantee positive outcomes of promoting learners’ comfortability and safety; maximizing learners’ academic performance; promoting teaching and learning; and contributing to support learners’ participation in play experiences.

The global search for more eco-friendly, cost-effective and alternative sculpture materials to be used in the deployment of teaching and learning has been pursued by scholars in sculpture lately. This has been driven by the need to find alternative sculpture materials in the local environment of students, especially waste materials to replace the expensive conventional sculpture materials that cannot be purchased by majority of the students at the Senior School level in Ghana. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to experiment with various recyclable environmental waste materials such as styrofoam food containers, teak leaves and water sachets to find out if they could be potential cast materials for use during practical lessons in sculpture. The inquiry was carried out using the studio-based research design under the qualitative research methods. The material choice, binders used, recycling procedural steps and their casting processes. Moreover, the strengths and weaknesses in each of the recyclable waste materials as cast materials in comparison with the conventional sculpture materials such as Plaster of Paris, Cement, and resin were detailed. The results showed that aside from the cost-effectiveness and eco-friendly nature of the recyclable waste materials, they possessed significant properties similar to the conventional materials such as hardness, tensile strength, and natural textural qualities. The study contends that sculpture teachers must assist their students to be innovative in exploring the local waste materials as potential materials to be used for sculptural production for their sculpture practical lessons.

The dynamic concept of technology has caused unprecedented technological and socio-economic development in everyday human activities. The fact is that there is an increasing number of digital attacks in digital kidnapping, purporting to be ransomware as a continuing threat, resulting in the battle between the development and detection of new techniques. Detection and mitigation systems have been developed and are in wide-scale use; however, their reactive nature has resulted in a continuing evolution and updating process. This is mainly because detection mechanisms can often be circumvented by introducing changes in the malicious code and its behaviour. In this paper, we develop a machine learning model for detecting and classifying ransomware using classification techniques. The work trained supervised machine learning algorithms for building the model and used the test set to perform the model evaluation. The study used a confusion matrix to observe the proposed algorithm's model accuracy, which enabled a systematic comparison of each algorithm. Supervised algorithms used for this study are the naive Bayes, which resulted in an accuracy of 83.40% with the test set result, and Decision Tree with an accuracy of (J48) 97.60%, respectively. The models result indicated an increase in the accuracy of detection and classification of ransomware.

The physical, social and emotional benefits of Physical Education (PE) have been well established. Nevertheless, the subject is mostly either not taught at all or not taught well by teachers. This study, therefore, aimed at investigating why PE as a subject was not taught as expected in basic schools in the Twifo Atti-Morkwa District (TAM) of the Central Region in Ghana. The study focused on investigating whether the perception of teachers towards PE, training of teachers, nature of school curriculum and availability of facilities and equipment were factors affecting the teaching of PE in basic schools within the TAM district. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey, which utilised primary data collected from a total of 536 basic school teachers in the TAM district. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) were used to analyse the data collected. The results revealed the following; the majority (86.4%) of the teachers did not actually teach PE in the primary schools, the majority (64%) of teachers had positive perceptions towards PE, majority of the teachers viewed training of teachers (78.4%), nature of school curriculum (81.5%) and provisions of facilities and equipment (93.1%) as factors affecting the teaching of PE in TAM District. On the availability of facilities and equipment for the teaching of PE, results revealed that football fields (96.6%) and footballs (85.6%) were the most available facilities and equipment for teaching PE. The study recommends that the Ghana Education Service through its PE Directorate should embark on the supervision of PE teaching, provision of in-service training of teachers on teaching PE, decongestion of the school curriculum and the provision of adequate facilities and equipment to enhance the teaching of PE in the TAM district.

This study sets out to investigate the integration of technology by RME tutors in the Colleges of Education in the Volta and Eastern Regions of Ghana. The research design employed for the study was a descriptive survey. Twenty-four (24) RME tutors were involved in the study. The census method was used to involve all the 24 RME tutors in the Colleges of Education in the two regions for the study. Two instruments; questionnaires, and observation checklist were used to collect the data. Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS version 16.0) was used to process the data. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, means, and standard deviations were used to analyse and discuss the data. The study revealed that RME tutors’ use of technology in the classroom is influenced by external factors such as technology availability, accessibility, technical support, administrative support, and adequate time to learn how to integrate a particular technology into lessons. However, RME tutors do not frequently use audio aids and audio-visual aids in their lessons. It is recommended that the principals of the colleges should make effort to eliminate the factors (such as unavailability of technology, inaccessibility of technology, lack of technical support, administrative support, and inadequate time to learn how to use a particular technology in teaching) that contribute to technology disuse in the colleges of education. Again, the principals of the Colleges of Education in collaboration with the Institute of Education of the University of Cape Coast should plan professional development programmes that will help tutors to integrate emerging technologies into their lessons.

The issue of career selection plays an important role in the success of every individual. With the ascendency of youth unemployment in Ghana, this study seeks to investigate the career choices of students in Senior High Schools (SHS) in Ghana. The study focused on SHS students in the Abuakwa South Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Using a quantitative approach, questionnaires were distributed to 322 SHS students in four different schools in the area to gather data on how they plan on choosing future careers and the factors that influence their choices. The study also examined the temperament type self-concept theory and the impact on choosing a career. The findings of the study indicated that students consult all relevant persons including counsellors to enable them choose their perceived careers. Also, factors such as personal ambitions in life, academic standards, the possibility of getting jobs after school and level of job security influenced the career choice of students. The study recommended that planning should be done by following the career planning process carefully. The process requires students to plan their careers by consulting all relevant persons including the counsellor. Keywords: career choice, Senior High School (SHS), career determinants, academic standards

Over the past two decades, teachers have adopted several teaching and learning strategies for motivating students to learn chemistry. Learning chemistry in context enables students to develop richer crosscutting learning experiences relevant to contributing to solving problems. A qualitative case study method was adopted to examine student teachers’ experiences in digital inquiry-based learning. Questionnaires with closed-ended and open-ended questions were used to evaluate student teachers’ motivational orientations and learning strategies during a general chemistry course for one month. The results show that student teachers utilized varied perspectives such as self-efficacy, task value, and intrinsic goals to elaborate their learning for knowledge construction and application when performing collaborative tasks. The approach enables students to receive maximum support and feedback from instructors who use pedagogical styles to self-direct them during class discussions, which enhances their active participation in learning with the learning materials. The findings provide a practical insight into instructional strategies in delivering chemistry concepts when students are motivated to use and adopt varied learning strategies.

This study investigated how effective the SQ3R technique could be used in improving Kibi (KPCE) Demonstration Junior High students’ reading ability of expository texts. Using the simple random sampling, 45 students were selected to study the baseline performance of the students in reading comprehension, a pre-test was conducted after which twelve students were taught the intervention comprehension lessons using the SQ3R reading strategy.  A post-test was also conducted after the intervention to see whether there was an improvement in the performance of the students.  SPSS statistical software was used to calculate the mean value of both tests. The study discovered that p value p<0.05 and df=44, the ‘t’ value for the two means for matched groups was 6.7. This means that students’ performance in the post-test was much better than in the pre-test. This performance therefore was attributed to the intervention used. The study concluded that SQ3R is a better strategy for improving junior high students’ reading comprehension ability of expository texts; hence it should be encouraged in teaching comprehension.

Counselling has developed in recent years into a humanistic partnership in problem solving and growth. Consistent with this development is the client's participation in decisions regarding all aspects of the counselling relationship. Testing and assessment need to be included here. In this regard, clients need to realize that tests are no more than instruments for furnishing information about themselves, as well as a guide for the counselling process and future decision making. Ultimately, test use by counsellors must be seen as an adjunct to the entire counselling process. Test results provide descriptive and objective data which help the counsellor to assist clients better in making the choices that will affect their lives. In order to make the best use of available tests in a counselling relationship, the process of testing and the issues which surround the process must be examined.