Mount Mary College of Education

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.

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

A tracer study approaches are often designed to track individual teachers who have undergone the rigorous training so as to examine, evaluate and assess their performance and progress based on the training received. This paper, however, examined the use of Teaching and Learning Materials (TLM) methods in selected Basic Schools level by Social Studies teachers in Ghana in lesson delivery. It employed a tracer and qualitative study approach. In all, 20 Social Studies teachers were purposively selected from 20 basic schools; 12 females and eight males. Ten headmasters were also selected purposively for interviews. This study employed unannounced visits for lesson observation as the strategy for data collection. A semi-structured interview was also used to collect information from participants. The results from this study showed that about ninety percent of Social Studies’ teachers at the basic school level do not use TLMs in lesson delivery in the Yilo Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

Purpose: In recent years, phosphate rock (PR) for direct application has been tested in tropical acid soils as a potential alternative to conventional water-soluble P fertilizers like Single Superphosphate (SSP) and Triple Superphosphate (TSP). However, direct application of PR with low reactivity does not always give satisfactory results. Legume and cereal crops represent a strategy that can be used to solubilize P from some of these unreactive PRs. The objective of this study was to assess the availability of P from unreactive Togo Phosphate Rock (TPR) relative to TSP by six (6) crop species in two Ghanaian soils.
 Methodology: The study was conducted in the greenhouse of the Crop Science Department, University of Ghana. Three P rates, 0mg, 50mg and 100mg P of TPR and TSP were applied to a kilogram of soil per pot in the two soil series. Randomized Complete Block Design was used to do the analyses.
 Results/Findings: Application of TSP resulted in higher dry matter and P uptake irrespective of the soil type. Among the legumes, cowpea gave the highest dry matter yield. Fairly, a similar trend was obtained with the application of TPR. Among the cereals, the average P uptake by sorghum from TPR was the highest, followed by maize and millet in the Nzema soil. In the Adenta series, P uptake by maize was the highest, followed by sorghum and millet. Phosphorus (P) uptake by the cereals from TPR was generally better in the Adenta than the Nzema soil.
 Unique contribution to theories, practice and policy: Results show increasing the rate of TPR to 100mg P/pot resulted in an increase in dry matter yield and P uptake in both soils, but was inferior to 100mg P/pot TSP application. Consequently, the rate of application of TPR should always be high if farmers want the best from their investments. Again, the low relative agronomic effectiveness of TPR for all the crops, proved the low reactivity of the material and its subsequent low performance compared with the water-soluble P. The low reactivity and the high molar mass of PO43-/CO32- of the TPR will always make it difficult for P to be made available from the TPR despite the acidity of the soil, the high density of the crops and the ability of the tested crops to exude organic acids, which facilitate phosphorus availability from TPR, therefore making TPR unsuitable for direct application.

The study delves into the innovative strategy of Supported Teaching in School (STS) as a transformative approach to achieving sustainable teacher education in Ghana. This reflection explores the experiences of a student-teacher in the STS program, providing insights into the benefits and challenges faced by the student-teacher, as well as the advantages of the program for learners. A qualitative approach with a case study design was adopted for the study. The sample consisted of final-year undergraduate students from four Colleges of Education, faculty members, and link tutors from assigned STS schools. An interview guide was developed, and data was collected through Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and in-depth interviews. Data was analyzed using a thematic analytical approach. Three main themes (benefit of STS to the student-teacher, challenges of STS, and benefits of STS to the learners) with their subthemes emerged from the analysis. The article highlights how STS equips student-teachers with practical skills, improve their confidence and communication skills, fosters innovation through diversified instructional methods, and promote healthy student-teacher-community relationships. The STS also benefited learners by inculcating a sense of self-discipline, creating collaborative learning, assisting mentors, and promoting gender inclusivity. However, challenges such as accommodation difficulties, misuse of instructional time, language barrier, inadequate resources and communication gaps between educational institutions and practice schools must be addressed for sustainable implementation. STS has the potential to transform teacher education in Ghana and support the country’s sustainable educational growth and development, as well as the attainment of all the sustainable development goals.

Undoubtedly, HIV/AIDS menace has been a major source of concern to everyone, particularly, the people of Lower Manya Krobo Municipality (LMKM) as the area has always recorded a higher rate of infections compared with other districts in Ghana. Against this backdrop, the study sought to assess the HIV/AIDS knowledge of Senior High School students in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region of Ghana. To obtain the respondents, a simple random sampling technique was adopted to select 300 students, comprising 120 boys and 180 girls proportionately selected from the four public Senior High Schools in the Municipality. A-37 item questionnaire adapted from Wanjiru Helen Wairimu was used for the data collection. The obtained data were analysed using descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages). The study found that the majority of the senior high school students in the LMKM of Ghana have high knowledge about HIV/AIDS through several available sources within their domain. However, it was again found out that HIV/AIDS knowledge they have does not have much impact and influence on their sexual behaviour. Several recommendations were suggested which include; the fact that the Ministry of Health in collaboration with other important educational agencies should intensify sex education to students and the community members in order to strengthen their awareness of HIV/AIDS.

This study was a correlational research design. It was designed for investigating the relationship between students’ satisfaction and academic performance among level 200 students of Mount. Mary College of Education in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Purposive sampling technique was used to sample 200 students. Satisfaction of Colleges of Education students were measured using adapted Student Satisfaction Survey developed by Strachota (2006) on a 4 point Likert scale (from Not Satisfied (1), Somehow Satisfied (2), Satisfied (3) and Highly Satisfied (4)) which has 8 items. Examination scores of four core subjects (Assessment in Basic Schools, Curriculum Studies, English Language Studies II, Forms and Functions of English Clause) in the first and second semesters of the 2020/2021 academic year were used to measure students’ academic performance.

The study aimed to determine the impact of social media language (also known as net language) on the formal writing skills of Mount Mary College of Education students. This study involved a total of 150 students, 60 of whom were males and 90 of whom were females, who were studying English language and French at the time of the study. The study employed a phenological research design, and a purposive sample technique was used to choose the thirty (30) participants that took part in it. The responses were mark quiz papers and group tasks, and the results were analysed. The study concluded that when people write individually, social media does have an impact on their formal writing. Students who work in groups, on the other hand, are not affected by this. Another finding of the survey was that respondents employ a wide range of social media lingo, including clipping, abbreviation, alphanumeric homophony, vowel deletion, graphone, and other slang terms, among other things. According to the results of the survey, most people type in social media or internet language when they communicate on social media to make it easier for them to communicate.

Many seek to understand the benefits derived from traditional festivals hence the conduction of the study which looks at the reasons for the low patronage of traditional festivals. Many are of the view that Christian religion is the only true and revealed religion and therefore do not pay any attention to the traditional festivals. The study reveals also that modern education and civilization also play a major role in the low patronage of traditional festivals when this could actually be used positively to change certain dislikes about traditional festivals other than looking down upon it. Colonialism in its own way distorted and retarded the pace and tempo of cultural growth and trend of civilization in Africa. The era of colonial pillage and plunder led to the relative stagnation and often precipitous decline of traditional cultural festivals in the colonies. The effects of western civilization and culture on Africa are in several phases: political effect, economic effect and social effect. Western civilization is a commitment to neoliberalism, commitment to liberal democracy, commitment to consumerism and commitment to Christian world view as the origin of western civilization. Although no major effort of industrialization took place during the colonial period, and there has been no significant development since, Western technology has long entered the lives of Africans through familiarity with manufactured products imported from the West. Modern medicine has largely taken the precedence over traditional methods in matters of health.

The prevalence of teenage pregnancy has become very common in the Ghanaian society, especially among the youth who are at the primary and junior high school (JHS) level of education. The study assessed the prevalence of teenage pregnancy with the challenges faced by teenage pregnant mothers in the Manya Krobo Municipality of Ghana. It also assessed the effects of teenage pregnancy on the socio-economic development and well-being of the society. The results revealed that societal rejection was the major socio-economic challenge faced by pregnant teenagers. Based on the findings, the study concluded that financial dependence on society and involvement in social vices were the major effects of teenage pregnancy.

The study objective was to assess the perceptions of Junior High School (JHS) Social Studies teachers in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region of Ghana on teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). The study adopted Shulman's theory of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as its theoretical framework. The philosophical approach upon which the study is hinged on is the ideology of interpretivism and positivism, in other words, pragmatism. The study used a mixed methodological approach as well as a descriptive survey design. A random sampling technique was used for the study. The study participants were JHS social studies teachers in Yilo-Krobo Municipality, Ghana. Eighty (80) out of the one hundred and two (102) representing 78.43% JHS Social Studies teachers were selected from the fifty-four JHSs in the Municipality. Both Questionnaire and interview guide were used for data collection. The survey data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the interview data was analyzed using content analysis. The study indicated that at the heart of the PCK concept is the idea that 'deep knowledge' of content is essential for effective teaching and cannot be taken for granted; that it has a significant bearing on teaching and student learning, and that it is used as a cadre to define professional teaching knowledge. PCK also provides the uniquely necessary knowledge for the transformation of the different types of knowledge required for Social Studies teaching and evolves over time due to the progressive awareness of students' needs, while a wealth of content knowledge is imperative for the development of a comprehensive pedagogical content knowledge. The paper recommends that the Ghana Education Service (GES) should conduct regular in-service training for teachers on the enhancement of their PCK, to enable them select appropriate TLMs and pedagogical approaches that foster meaningful learning for students.

Some practices are barbaric, atrocious, backward, immoral, commoditization and an abusive violation of the sexual and human rights of the powerless. Widowhood rites are performed at the fresh funeral and during the final funeral rites. Widows prefer to be inherited by their grandsons so that they are free to choose a man of their choice and still hold on to their deceased husband assets. The Talensi widow would strangle a goat and part of the skin is used to cover the private of the dead for burial. The Nabdams would slaughter a sheep and an elder will slaughter it. In both cases older women served as the enforcers and custodians of such practices. The purpose of this study was to examine widowhood rites practices among the people of Talensi and Nabdam in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study employed ethnography research method. Purposive sampling technique was used to sample twenty (20) widows from Talensi and Nabdam. The study recommended that Ghana's widows need to lead in the reporting of violations of their rights to the appropriate state institutions responsible and follow up to ensure justice is delivered. Non-governmental Organizations and Community-based organizations which are advocating for the abolition of widowhood rites should collaborate with traditional authorities to modify the practices.

<strong>Abstract:</strong> This study investigates the streetism phenomenon and its implications on learning and interventions to enhance the learning of the street children at the basic school. Qualitative research design and phenomenological study method was adopted for the study. Two research questions were answered. A sample of 20 respondents were selected from five public basic schools in Somanya in the Yilo Krobo municipal of Ghana. The data collection process involve interview, using interview guide with the elicitation of relevant information from interviewees. Data was analysed through the thematic content analysis which involves transcribing data and reading through it for issues or inconsistencies, after which transcribed data was captured into the NVIVO software. The software allows ordering, categorisation, and organisation of data collected into the set objectives of the study. The study revealed that street children are often not punctual and irregular at school; are often apathetic towards learning and they lack concentration in classroom. The study revealed interventions such as government introducing poverty alleviation programs, organization of private counselling by school for parents and street children on the relevance of education and dealing with teachers with negative attitude towards street children in the school as ways of enhancing the learning ability of street children in Somanya. The study recommended that: government and stakeholders of education should continually make arrangement to cater for the physical and academic needs of street children in the form of relevant intervention programs orchestrated including the ones revealed by the study to reduce the ills of the poor parenting, poverty and negative attitude of teachers<em>.</em>

The tension over the subject matter of social studies fuelled by different camps from history and the social sciences led to a group from Teachers College, Columbia University organizing a round table in Chicago on social studies (Evans, 2004). This meeting was organized by Earle Rugg in a letter that cited a lack of agreement in the subject matter (Evans, 2004, p.37). Formerly, known as the National Council of Teachers of the Social Studies, NCSS sought to bring consensus and meaning to the subject by coining up a definition that: social studies shall include history, government, economics, geography, and sociology (Drafts, 1921). It is estimated that by the late 1920’s more than 1,600 members had joined NCSS and it was growing in both membership and influence (Evans, 2004). NCSS has grown both in membership and structure and continues to go strong up to the present day in the United States. This study, however was informed and influenced by the existing literatures on the teaching social studies and how teachers respond to the scope, teaching methods in line with the ever changing curriculum. A desktop study design was used in the data collection. The analysis was exclusively qualitative.

Inclusive education is the adaptation and modification of the learning environment and instructions to promote the academic performance of all learners irrespective of race, class, gender, disability, sexual preference, religion, culture, learning styles, and language. Oppong (2003) explains inclusive education as the adaptation of the school curriculum to make it equally accessible to students with special needs. This means that the school curriculum should suit students with and without disabilities and the school environment should also be made equally accessible to students with special needs. The descriptive cross-sectional survey design was employed. A quantitative data collection method was used, thus eight Likert scale type questionnaire was designed for the selected primary school teachers in the Yilo Krobo Municipality, Ghana. This study brings to light the challenges faced by pupils with disabilities and further recommends possible measures that could be put in place to improve teaching and learning in regular schools.

The rapid growth of the global economy and the information-based society has pressurized education systems around the world to use ICTs to teach the knowledge and skills students need in the 21st Century. The growth of the ICT sector has challenged teachers to prepare for effective use of new teaching and learning tools in their profession. This study sought to examine teacher experience and qualifications as well as student ICT competencies (skills and knowledge). The mixed method approach was employed for the study. A total of 352 respondents made up of 8 principals, 24 tutors and 320 teacher trainees from all the eight colleges were sampled. Data is gathered through open-ended questions that provide direct quotations with the interviewer as an integral part of the investigation. Three research questions guided the study. The research questions were answered using charts, frequency and percentages. The findings established that that the intensive use of ICT and the process-oriented learning environment supported the development of students’ expertise in ICT and enhanced students in critical thinking skills. The study recommends that students should be involved in using ICT in learning activities such as doing assignments, taking quizzes, and searching the internet for learning resources among others. Article visualizations:

Paragraphing has posed challenges to several writers. Some of these challenges include failure to state the topic sentence, poor development of the topic sentence and wrong use of cohesive devices. The study focussed on unearthing the paragraphing challenges in the essays of the student-teachers with Mount Mary College of Education as the case study. The study employed quantitative approach to collect data from student-teachers and tutors. This comprised of 757 students in level 100 and 200. Written texts and interviews were used as research instruments. The Essay Analytical Framework (EAF) of Owusu (2012) was used for the analyses. The findings showed that most of the student-teachers encountered myriads of challenges in paragraphing the introductory, the body and the concluding paragraphs. Constructing the topic sentences and elucidating them with supporting sentences posed challenges to some of the students. Furthermore, the study found out that most of the student-teachers had problems with achieving unity, coherence and completeness in their paragraphs.

Teenage pregnancy has been a social canker causing a lot of problems to governments, societies and individuals the world over. This study explores the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in relation to the challenges faced by teenage pregnant mothers in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of Ghana. The descriptive cross-sectional survey design was employed. The stratified and purposive sampling procedures were used to select a sample of 150 (100 pregnant teenagers and 50 health workers). Two self-constructed questionnaires were designed to collect data. The data collected were analysed using Chi-square, and descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentage scores. The study revealed that teenage pregnant girls face various health, education and socio-economic challenges such as complications of delivery and low birth weight, inability of parents to send wards to school and ridiculing and mockery by school mates, and societal rejection respectively. From the findings, the study concluded that teenage pregnancy is a serious public health issue that has observable negative health, educational and socio-economic effects on the pregnant girls.

Dipo, like all puberty or initiation rites, is an initiation ceremony performed for young girls who are of puberty age among the people of Krobo in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The Dipo rite ushers girls of puberty age into womanhood. It is one important event, during which they perform different types of indigenous music. At such cultural event, Ghanaian indigenous music is consummately performed in its context playing vital roles in the ceremony. A Guide for the Preparation of Primary School African Music Teaching Manual (1999); propounds that “songs are like books in a culture that is based upon oral traditions. They are means of transmitting culture and knowledge…” (P.16). In Krobo custom, the women in the community provide music during the entire ceremony. According to Nyumuah (1998), the millet beer (ngmada) is prepared on Friday. In the midst of the brewing, the women dance around the fireplace to the tune of klama songs.

Various researches and literatures have revealed that, the use of Ghanaian languages in early grades education has led to an established and improved knowledge acquisition. This article, however, examined the importance of using Ghanaian languages as a medium of instruction at the early year of a child development. It’s believed that learning other languages with a basic knowledge is quite vital as it promotes a comparative understanding of the cross-linguistic approaches. The data for this study was collected through questionnaire, interviews and general observation which targeted both parents and students of colleges. Desktop study was also employed on the existing literatures regarding Ghanaian languages. The results revealed that attitudes of both parents and students towards learning of Ghanaian language in schools has made students not to have a firm foundation in the language which in turn affect the students at the college level. The study concluded that foreign languages lack authenticity thus, the policy makers should consider the importance of the child’s mother tongue or language which is familiar to the child and use it as a medium of instruction in early years and even above, the child will grow to become a responsible citizen.