Our Lady of Apostles College of Education

The study focused Effective teaching of Social Studies Concepts in Basic Schools in Ghana. The study adopted the descriptive survey design using quantitative approach. The population for the study consisted of all Social Studies teachers in the Junior High Schools (JHS) in the Tano South District. There were fifty-two Social Studies teachers at the JHS level in the district. Non-probability sampling technique (purposive and convenient sampling techniques) was used for the study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select all the fifty-two teachers and forty-one schools in the Tano South District. While the district was conveniently sampled for this study. The main instrument used to gather data was observation guide. The data gathered was analysed using the Statistical Product using Service Solutions (SPSS). The study concluded that, in respect to the teaching effectiveness of Social Studies teachers, the general performance in all the thematic areas assessed indicate that, Social Studies teachers are not at their optimum best in terms of planning and preparation, instructional skills, classroom management, communication skills and assessment skills. It is therefore recommended that, the Ministry of Education through the Ghana Education Service (GES) in collaboration with all the teacher training institutions training Social Studies teachers should fashion out teacher development programmes such as workshops and short courses for Social Studies teachers. In these programmes, the organisers must ensure that teachers have access to high quality content course work in Social Studies.

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.

This paper is part of a larger study that investigated the ‘Effectiveness of collaboration on low and high achieving school students’ comprehension of electrochemistry in South Africa’. The study occurred in the Ximhungwe circuit of the Bohlabela district in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Vygotsky‘s social constructivism theory, which he defines as ‘a sociological theory of knowledge that applies the general philosophy of constructivism into social settings’. A sample of 47 12th grade physical sciences students from two public schools (one of the schools is high achieving and the other is low achieving) in the circuit was purposively selected to participate in the study. Students were given electrochemistry concept test (ECT) as pre-test and post-test. Results from mean and standard deviation, and one-way between group analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that high achieving school (HAS) students taught with the conceptual change teaching strategy (CCTS), specifically collaboration had significantly better acquisition of scientific conceptions related to electrochemistry than low achieving school (LAS) students, also taught with CCTS. Analysis from a scatterplot of post-test against pre-test grouped on type of school showed a linear correlation between pre-test and post-test scores for each intervention type, which indicated that there was no interaction effect. The study has shown that collaboration contribute to meaningful learning, which inadvertently improves students’ comprehension and consequent achievement in electrochemistry concepts but more positive for students from high achieving schools.

With the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, teachers and students can now engage in teaching and learning in new ways. It has given schools the ability to ensure that teachers and students have access to instructional resources both in and out of the classroom. The goal of this article is to look into how music tutors and student teachers in Ghana used ICT technologies in music sessions, as well as the problems that virtual teaching and learning encountered during the Covid-19 pandemic. With a case study as the research design, a mixed method research paradigm was applied Data was gathered using methods such as interviews and questionnaires. Scheduled phone calls and Google forms were used to collect data. The study found that ICT methods were the best way to keep teaching and learning going during the covid 19 pandemic, when schools were temporarily locked down, but there were significant problems. As a result, it was suggested that all music tutors and student teachers receive some training in the use of ICT tools. At addition, authorities in Ghana's colleges of education should make virtual interaction a part of the educational process to eliminate distance as a barrier to learning.

The study examined the use of quality teaching and learning resources and how these affect the teaching and learning of Integrated Science. A total of 172 randomly selected second year Senior High School (SHS) students and 25 Integrated Science teachers purposively sampled served as the subjects for the study within six districts in the Central Region of Ghana. Questionnaires were used to collect the students’ and teachers' needed data. This study's key findings revealed a lack of teaching and learning materials and the stereotyped nature of Integrated Science teachers' methods of teaching. It was noted that access, selection and usage of good and quality teaching and learning materials and methods influenced learning outcomes of students in SHS Integrated Science. However, it was observed that both government and private school teachers used similar teaching methods in delivering the Integrated Science content. It was concluded that for successful teaching and learning of Integrated Science, the challenges should be addressed by SHS education stakeholders. As a result, the paper recommended possible solutions that would ameliorate the challenges hindering the teaching and learning of Integrated Science.

According to Maddock (1981) "science and science education are cultural enterprises which form a part of the wider cultural matrix of society and that educational considerations concerning science must be made in the light of this wider perspective" (p. 10). The purpose of this study was to find out how cultural factors and beliefs affect the teaching and learning of some science concepts. The study focused on how students’ religious and cultural beliefs and their backgrounds affect their understanding of phenomena such as rainfall, earthquake, thunder, floods, eclipse and lightening. Individual interviews were used to obtain students views and opinions. Students’ views and their understandings of rain formation, lightning, thunder, earthquake, drought and how floods occur are influenced by their religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds. Students made reference to beliefs such as taboos, belief in gods, and supernatural powers. Although students were able to explain correctly how some natural phenomena occur, they held certain conceptions and views that are not scientifically accurate. These possibly were transmitted from their cultural backgrounds into the science classroom. Students also held misconceptions about particular natural phenomena. These cultural beliefs and taboos interfere with science teaching and learning and thus make the learning of science a difficult task for students. Article visualizations:

This study examines the relationship between the learning environment and student's academic performance in integrated science courses at colleges of education in Ghana's Central Region. The study examines three main environmental factors: physical, social, and psychological surroundings, and their influence on students' academic performance. Data were acquired using a quantitative technique using structured questionnaires administered to 290 students from three colleges of education. Descriptive and regression analyses were used to evaluate the predicted correlations between the identified environmental components and academic performance. The results indicated that the physical (β =.077, p =.308), social (β = -.060, p =.328), and psychological (β =.024, p =.745) settings did not significantly predict the performance of students in college. The study showed that students' average performance in assessment and integrated science courses fell short of expectations, although there was no significant predictive relationship. This shows how complicated academic achievement is and how things outside of the learning environment, like the quality of the teaching and the engagement of the students, can affect it. The study encourages educational institutions to prioritize improving the learning environment through improved lecture room configurations, providing sufficient teaching resources, and cultivating positive connections between students and teachers.

The study focused on examining the dynamism of the relationship between organisational support, teachers' job satisfaction, and commitment in the colleges of education in Ghana Thus, the exploratory research design was adopted due to the nature of the study. The study also used the qualitative approach. Qualitative research is exploratory in nature, and its methodologies allow for a more productive and more in-depth understanding of a process or a phenomenon. The population this study focused on was teachers of colleges of education in Ghana. Interviews were conducted to gather data. The study inferred that teachers have a low level of commitment to the institution which is as a result of poor working conditions

AbstractIn the field of modern education, the meteoric rise in distance learning in higher education has brought unprecedented convenience and accessibility. Yet, beneath the surface of this educational revolution lies the issues of academic stress and burnout among students, particularly distance education students. Therefore, this study examined academic stress and burnout among distance education students at the University of Education, Winneba, Cape Coast Study Center. A quantitative approach was adopted in this study, employing a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. In total, 231 students were selected for this study. The Academic Stress Inventory and Academic Burnout Inventory were adapted as the data collection instruments for this study. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (Two-way MANOVA) were used to analyse the data. This study revealed that distance education students had moderate levels of academic stress and burnout. Additionally, there were no significant gender differences in academic stress and burnout. Conversely, the study discovered significant differences in academic stress, personal burnout, and studies-related burnout based on programme of study. In addition, it was revealed that the interaction effect of gender and programme of study had no significant influence on distance education students’ academic stress and burnout. Consequently, it was recommended that educational institutions should consider creating support programmes tailored specifically for distance education students. These programmes can offer guidance on stress management techniques, time management skills, and resources to help students cope with the demands of their programme.

The objective of the study is to understand colleges of education tutors’ conceptions in teaching completing the square in an effort to design an innovative teaching strategy that could impact positively on their knowledge, skills and practices in teaching completing the square.

This study looked at how to employ the Number Rule to help JHS students perform better when learning about integer addition and subtraction. To ascertain the impact of the Number Rule as an instructional aid in the teaching of addition and subtraction of integers on the performance of Junior High School students in mathematics, a mixed-method approach (mostly quasi-experimental and use of interviews) was used. It was simple to choose two schools. Both classes remained unaltered, with one serving as the control group (34 students) and the other (37 students) as the experimental group. The control group received instruction using the conventional approach, while the experimental group received instruction utilizing the Number Rule. With the help of a teacher-made achievement test with fifteen (15) essay-style questions, both groups were pre- and post-tested. According to the study's findings, pupils who were taught using the Number Rule approach did better on the post-test than those who were taught using the Conventional method. Additionally, the Number Rule method makes the lessons more time-efficient, simple to learn, engaging, and practical. As a result, it was suggested that teachers employ the number rule to teach mathematical concepts, particularly the addition and subtraction of integers. The study is significant to teachers and teacher trainees as the result depicts the effectiveness to the use of manipulative (number rule) in teaching and learning of integer additions and subtraction. Keywords: Addition of Integers, Convention Method, Integers, Integer Operations, Manipulatives, Number Line, Number Rule, Operations on Integers, Subtraction of Integers, Whole Numbers DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-27-01 Publication date: September 30 th 2022

The purpose of the study was to determine the competency level of senior high school (SHS) biology students in reasoning skills and see whether the type of school a student attends and gender has influence on the proficiency in demonstrating reasoning skills when SHS biology students are engaged in laboratory work. The study adopted the “Basic Skills Assessment” approach. The population for the study was 665 SHS 3 elective biology students offering General Science programme for the 2015/ 2016 academic year in the Cape Coast Metropolis in the Central Region of Ghana. The sample consisted of 114 students from both single sex and co-educational Senior High Schools (SHS) offering elective biology for the West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE). Purposive sampling was used to select the schools which participated in the study. One single-sex girls’ school, one single-sex boys’ school and one co-educational (mixed) school were selected. The findings from the study revealed that school type was found to be significantly related to the performance of students at reasoning skills. However, single-sex boys did not differ significantly from mixed schools. Gender was found not to be significantly related to the performance of the students at reasoning skills. However, greater proportion of males exhibited same levels of reasoning skills than their female counterparts. It was recommended that female biology students must be made to do more laboratory work that involves reasoning to improve their reasoning skills.

This paper is part of a larger study to investigate female students in science and technology-based university (STU) programs in their motivation, perception and constraint in learning science at senior high school and consequently science and technology-based programs at the university level. The conceptual framework is rooted in Steele's concept of stereotype threat, which is the experience of anxiety or concern in a situation where a person has the potential to confirm a negative stereotype about their social group. The investigation was conducted among 328 final year female students pursuing engineering, medicine, pharmacy and computer science/ICT at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST),

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difficulties of teaching integrated science at the Junior High School level in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality.Based on the positivist paradigm, a survey design was adopted.The study sampled eleven (11) integrated science teachers on purpose.The main challenges of teaching integrated science were discovered to be a lack of laboratories (M = 1.0,SD = 0.00), a lack of laboratory apparatus and equipment (M = 1.85,SD = 0.95), a lack of chemicals for simple experiments (M = 1.22,SD = 0.36), insufficient teaching and learning materials (M = 2.55, SD = 1.09), and insufficient curriculum materials (M = 1.86,SD = 0.64).There were no issues with teacher qualification (M = 3.73, SD = 1.56), teacher adequacy (M = 3.27, SD = 1.19), students' attitudes toward integrated science (M = 3.64, SD = 0.78), or teaching strategy (M = 3.23, SD = 0.28).This means that competent teachers are available in schools to teach integrated science.The study suggested that well-equipped laboratories be established, as well as investments in instructional and educational resources.

This study explores the impact of multimedia teaching on senior high school students' Chemistry Practical performance. With technology increasingly becoming part of the learning environment, multimedia presentations are now utilised in schools to enhance students' learning experiences. Interactive Multimedia Learning, which incorporates visual and audio aids, is a teaching strategy that facilitates faster and easier comprehension of lessons. To compare the efficacy of Multimedia Teaching Method (MTM) and Traditional Teaching Method (TTM), this study was conducted in two senior high schools in Ghana: West Africa Senior High School and Frafraha Community Senior High School. The research design was quantitative, specifically quasi-experimental design and data were collected from 110 SHS 2 students using MTM and TTM. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the collected data. The study findings revealed that most of the students taught using multimedia instruction performed significantly better in Chemistry Practical than those taught using the traditional method. These findings indicate that multimedia instruction can improve learning outcomes in chemistry. The study recommends using computers to supplement teacher instruction and not replace it. Teachers should continue to play a crucial role in the teaching process while integrating multimedia technology to enhance the learning experience.

This study was to help Primary pupils, specifically Basic five (5) pupils to improve their participation and interest in mathematics by promoting their thinking in algebra. It was also to develop the algebraic thinking abilities to promote active learning of Mathematics. Pre-intervention, Post-intervention tests and questionnaire were used in assessing the algebraic thinking abilities of the pupils. The entire class consisting of fifteen pupils was used as the population for the study. Another class of seventy eight pupils was used as a control. It was realised that the pupils performed poorly but for the intervention of Active Learning geared towards Cognitive Reasoning. The pupils though had a low level in developmental thinking with regard to solving algebraic problems and a dread for school because of Mathematics, later proved worthy of increasing their level of algebraic thinking. A new impetus was developed by the pupils as a result of the ability to tackle algebraic problems. This study suggests that Practical Active Learning geared towards Cognitive Reasoning should be used in fostering the algebraic thinking of primary pupils. It also suggests that pupils should be allowed to solve word problems the way they understand the problems by demonstrating with daily life activities and that teachers should keep on motivating pupils to enable them develop interest for Mathematics.

This study explores the impact of multimedia teaching on senior high school students' Chemistry Practical performance. With technology increasingly becoming part of the learning environment, multimedia presentations are now utilised in schools to enhance students' learning experiences. Interactive Multimedia Learning, which incorporates visual and audio aids, is a teaching strategy that facilitates faster and easier comprehension of lessons. To compare the efficacy of Multimedia Teaching Method (MTM) and Traditional Teaching Method (TTM), this study was conducted in two senior high schools in Ghana: West Africa Senior High School and Frafraha Community Senior High School. The research design was quantitative, specifically quasi-experimental design and data were collected from 110 SHS 2 students using MTM and TTM. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the collected data. The study findings revealed that most of the students taught using multimedia instruction performed significantly better in Chemistry Practical than those taught using the traditional method. These findings indicate that multimedia instruction can improve learning outcomes in chemistry. The study recommends using computers to supplement teacher instruction and not replace it. Teachers should continue to play a crucial role in the teaching process while integrating multimedia technology to enhance the learning experience.

African Writers gave little importance to the role of women in their literary works. The likes of Chinua Achebe and Ayi kwei Armah gave prominence to women characters. This is seen in Ayi Kwei Armah’s text Fragments. This article therefore examines the important role given by the author of this novel to the woman character, Naana. A critical content analysis has been engaged in to ascertain her roles in the narrative and thematic developments of the story. That is, it studies how Naana is used as a tool to bring about the success of the novel. A study of this nature has to do with gender. Thus, the underlying theories of this paper are Marxist feminist criticism and feminist literary criticism.

The study sought to explore the impact of counseling service on students’ academic performance in E.P. College of Education, Bimbilla. The objectives of the study were: one, to examine the impact of the counselling service on student-teachers’ academic performance; two, to find out what motivates student-teachers to patronize the counseling service; and lastly, to find out the perception student-teachers have about the role of the counseling service in E.P. College of Education, Bimbilla. The study employed the qualitative approach with case study in focus. Two hundred and fifty (250) student-teachers, four (4) tutor-counselors and a vice principal were selected using the stratified sampling technique. The respondents were made to fill questionnaires and also interviewed. After successful data collection, the data was analyzed using SPSS version 17. The data was also analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions and percentages. Qualitative descriptions were also used in the presentation of data. The study found out that counselling service equips student-teachers with good study and time management skills to improve their academic performance. The study concluded that counseling service could help student-teachers build positive self-image which could lead to better academic performance. One of the implications of the findings is that if student-teachers seek counseling, they would be assisted to develop good study skills.

English has a significant role in every state in the school curriculum, and several scholars have researched the status of teaching English at secondary level. The purpose of teaching English is to build multilingual languages that can enrich our entire language; this has been an ongoing national vision. The weak status of teaching English and the use of conventional teaching methods are found in the study of literature. It is ironic, however, that while English enjoys a high status in the wake of globalization, it is quite inadequate and unproductive to teach and learn in educational institutions. Present strategies of teaching English in the classroom are no longer viable, but they can be 'communicatively' driven. The key disadvantages are the low status of teaching English, non-availability of professionally trained and educated teachers, less weighting provided for teaching English and no proper transactional strategies adopted for teaching. In this sense, the extent of the pedagogical processes of learning the English language must be examined. The target population of the current study in the South district of Sikkim was limited to 90 teachers teaching English in 30 secondary schools. Classroom observation schedule covering the aspects like engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate was used for collection of data. Classroom observation is also one of the powerful methods of monitoring the success of the instructor in the classroom. Through this study, attempt has been made to see the extent as to how constructivist approach is used by the teachers in the teaching learning processes. Conversely, study has explored the teaching processes used by English teachers in the classroom towards learning English language at secondary schools in Sikkim. The sequential processes are mainly used to link up the connection between past and the present learning experience, designising activities for students engagement, assess learning outcomes, type of resource used in learning, identifying and developing concepts, reconstructing students knowledge, assessing students current level of understanding in listening, speaking, reading and writing, elaboration through recapitulative questions, development of higher order thinking, evaluation of students of key concepts and skills, identifying and motivating the students to identify future learning goals and evaluating students knowledge through quiz, debate, role play, recitation, tests, observation and performance dialogue, essay and summary writing and projects, respectively.