ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Low patronage of students in clothing and textiles programme in the senior high schools of Ghana a case study of Kumasi metropolis

The decline in popularity of Clothing and Textiles amongst the youth of today has led to the low enrolment of students in the programme in senior high schools. The study sought to investigate the low patronage of students in clothing and textiles programme in the Senior High Schools of Ghana using Kumasi Metropolis as the study area. The objectives of the study were to identify factors responsible for the low patronage of students in Clothing and Textiles, and the extent to which attitude of parents and teachers towards clothing and textiles affect student enrolment and finally devise ways of improving students’ interest in the programme. The descriptive survey method was employed in the conduct of this study. A total of 240 respondents were sampled for the study comprising 160 students, 16 teachers, 8 headteachers and 56 parents. Questionnaire and interview were used to elicit data from respondents. The study found that a combination of factors such as students disinformation on the importance of studying clothing and textiles, lack of career counselling and parents’ disapproval of the programme were the main reasons behind the low enrolment of students in Clothing and Textiles. The study made several recommendations for mitigating these problems which are; the relevant stakeholders in Technical and Vocational education should look at ways of motivating and providing financial assistance to parents and students who enrol in clothing and textiles to ease their financial burdens. Also, the study recommends that there should be career guidance on the job prospects of the programme especially for parents not to downplay the importance of the programme and encourage their wards to enrol in it.

Source: UEW
Lower Primary Teachers’ perceptions and practices of Inquiry-based Science instruction in the Effutu Municipality

The purpose of the study was to assess public lower primary teachers’ perceptions and practices of inquiry-based science instruction in the Effutu Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana. The study adopted the sequential explanatory mixed method research design. Census sampling was used to obtain 82 respondents (public lower primary teachers) for the quantitative phase of the study whiles a sub-sample of 12 public lower primary teachers from the 82 respondents were used for the qualitative phase. Questionnaires, semi-structured interview and observational framework were the instruments used to gather data. The questionnaire was used for the quantitative phase which was analysed using mean, standard deviation, frequency counts and Pearson Correlation whiles the semi-structured interview guide was analysed using the directed content analysis with the observation analysed using the 5E observational framework for the qualitative phase. It emerged from the study that teachers possessed high (good) perception of inquiry-based science instruction. The study further revealed that, teachers in the Effutu Municipality do practice inquiry-based instruction to some extent in their classrooms based on topic and their preferred method. While the extent of practices varies among teachers, it was evident that they value its use in enhancing students’ engagement and understanding in science education. It was also revealed that, a positive but moderate relationship existed between teachers’ perceptions and practices of inquiry-based instruction signifying that, teachers increased practices of the approach is as a result of an increased in perceptions. It also emerged from the findings that, classroom-based challenges were significant challenge to the lower-primary teachers as compared to pupil-based challenges and teacher-based challenges. It was recommended from the study that, the Effutu Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Educational Service and heads of schools, should design training programs and targeted professional development programs, that aim to standardized and enhance lower primary teachers’ implementation of inquiry-based instruction in the Effutu Municipality.

Source: UEW
L’humanisme dans terre des hommes de saint- exupéry et la condition humaine d’andré malraux une étude comparée

This studies the philosophical notion of humanism in Terre des hommes and La condition humaine. Existentialist theory and humanist theory were cited as theoretical bases for the analysis of the two novels. We sought to understand Malraux's and Saint-Exupéry's perception of humanism and its literary implications. Using the comparative and textual analysis methods, we found that in Saint Exupéry's Terre des hommes, humanism is approached through profound meditation on the meaning of existence and the need for man to engage in useful and life-saving actions. Saint-Exupéry maintains that human beings are capable of transcending their human condition and finding meaning in their misfortunes, by placing themselves at the service of others. In La condition humaine, André Malraux presented humanism as a quest for meaning and human values in a world in crisis. His work features far-sighted characters fighting for ideals such as freedom and justice. In both works, humanism is presented as a response to the breakdown in meaning to life of modern man and an affirmation of his dignity and freedom through action and fraternity. Malraux, however, is more radical in his pursuit of the meaning of life and proposes revolt as a means of liberation for all subjugated and traumatized people.

Source: UEW
L’impact de l’ambiguite homophonique sur l’apprentissage du fle. Cas des apprenants de Tatale E. P. Agric SHS, au nord du Ghana.

The aim of this research is to explore the ambiguity of grammatical homophones cognates in French and the errors committed by learners of Tatale E. P. Agric. SHS when using the cognates (what, which) in French and to make suggestions as to what methodology should be used when teaching that part of speech at SHS level. We have observed that learners have difficulties in using cognate grammatical homophones in French because they negatively transfer the structure of the English language and/or their native language unto the French language. The method used in teaching and the complexity of the French language are other factors of the difficulties learners encounter in the use of the cognate grammatical homophones in French. Errors committed by learners in the test were analyzed using error analyses and qualitative analyses. The difficulty the students face in the use of cognate grammatical homophones is also attributed to the inappropriate teaching and learning methods / techniques adopted by teachers of French in the teaching process. The study recommends activity methods through which the students are exposed to the use of the cognate grammatical homophones as part of speech in a given context or situation as recommended by communicative approach instead of exposing the students to the rules governing the use of cognate grammatical homophones as a grammatical category. It is expected that this research will help minimize learner’s errors when using cognate grammatical homophones in the French Language.

Source: UEW
L’impact de l’anglais sur la prononciation des voyelles orales anterieures ([y], [ø] et [oe]) en fle au ghana. le cas des apprenants de Français a Mount Mary College of Education

Based on the observation that FFL learners in Ghana in general and learners from Mount Mary College of Education in particular have difficulty in pronouncing certain french vowels, for instance the rounded front oral vowels : [y], [ø] and [œ], we believe it is important to conduct a study that will enable us to discover the origin of this problem. To do this, we conduct a comparative study of the phonological system of french, the target language and that of english, the official and teaching language from primary, by relying on the following theories : Contrastive analysis, Interlingua, Error analysis and that of Phonological sieves. These theories as well as the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the questionnaire and the reading test enabled us to face the facts of phonetics and phonological difference between the two languages that we believe to be the cause of these difficulties. This research aims, in fact, to help both Ghanaian french teachers and learners to master the phonetic and phonology system of French by offering several means of phonetic correction that can be applied to each error, while taking into account the needs of each learner.

Source: UEW
Macroeconomic convergence compliance and economic growth in West Africa

Global interest in the creation of an economic and monetary union to support economic growth and development has recently been revived due to the successful establishment of the Euro as the European Union's single currency. The objective of this study was to analyse the effect of macroeconomic convergence compliance on growth by the development of a macroeconomic convergence compliance index for ECOWAS. The study also sought to test the per capita income convergence or divergence in ECOWAS and its sub-zones, WAEMU and WAMZ. Using a panel dataset from 2005 to 2022 on 15 ECOWAS member states, the study examined the conditional convergence hypothesis and the effect of macroeconomic convergence compliance on growth using the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM), a dynamic panel estimation technique. The study established that there was per capita income divergence among the countries in the ECOWAS region and also that compliance of member countries with macroeconomic convergence criteria has a positive and significant effect on economic growth in the ECOWAS and the WAMZ. The findings suggested that foreign direct investment, gross capital formation, and trade openness had positive and significant effects on economic growth. The study recommends that ECOWAS member countries especially the WAMZ countries establish policies that will facilitate convergence to form the monetary union and eventually the ECOWAS current union. The study also recommends that poorer countries in ECOWAS should urgently pursue pragmatic policies to increase education and gross physical capital formation accumulation and subsequently make efficient use of these resources to reduce the per capita income gap in the ECOWAS region.

Source: UEW
Maintenance culture of public buildings in Ghana a case study of selected institutions within the Sunyani municipality of the Brong-Ahafo region

This study assessed the role of maintenance culture of public buildings using selected institutions within the Sunyani Municipality. Simple random sampling technique was used to sample 100 staffs of the institutions that were administered with questionnaires and their top managers also interviewed. Out of the sample size of 100 respondents, 96 of them responded to the questionnaire constituting a response rate of 96%. On the maintenance culture and state of respondent’s buildings, it emerged that planned maintenance was based on the life of the building, the financial implications and age of the building. Again unplanned maintenance was a common practice but preventive maintenance was not carried out at predetermined intervals due to lack of funds. As a result, the current state of the occupants building verandas, floor tiles, septic tanks and staircases were bad and needed urgent maintenance. The second objective examined whether there were maintenance policies of public buildings and it revealed that most of the institutions do not have maintenance policies, and do not undertake regular inspection and maintenance of buildings. The third objective examined the deficiencies associated with the maintenance of public buildings and shows that lack of concern shown by clients, poor design habits, insufficient resources and policies for occupants to maintain their buildings were some of the deficiencies. The forth objective assessed the appropriate maintenance culture or codes for the maintenance departments of the institutions. The results show that there are no appropriate maintenance rules or codes. The study recommended that, there should be more education and enactment and enforcement of policies or laws for occupants of public buildings to perform certain maintenance works of their buildings, adopt appropriate maintenance culture and resource the maintenance departments of public institutions to fully discharge their duties.

Source: UEW
Maintenance of government bungalows in Birim Central Municipality_challenges

The study examined existing maintenance policy for government bungalows, the current condition of the government bungalows; identify the challenges confronting maintenance departments of public institutions and make recommendations for effective maintenance policy and innovations that would curtail the building maintenance problems in public institutions in Birim Central Municipality. The field investigations focused on government bungalows of GHS nurses quarters, GPS, and Akroso SHS. Three different housing types were defined for data collection and discussion including: bungalows, tenement (flats) and single unit houses. Through the application of multi stage cluster sampling and random sampling techniques, 65 buildings were covered in the survey. The research revealed that on the whole, 93.3 percent of all government bungalows of public institutions surveyed have problems with maintenance. The age of the buildings, Lack of maintenance culture, Inadequate funds and high maintenance cost, Pressure on building facilities by large number of users and Poor construction work and maintenance work done by maintenance personnel of the institution were identified as causes of maintenance problems. Stakeholders in the housing sector also added to the problem as a result of lack of preventive maintenance plan, low capacity of maintenance personnel in terms of staffing and training, absence of an effective national maintenance policy, apathy and lack of patriotism on the part of some public employees occupying government bungalows. Recommendations made include the need for public institutions to embrace preventive maintenance practices, periodic inspections of buildings‘ conditions, adequately staffed maintenance departments, effective national policy on maintenance to protect buildings, establishment of a maintenance awards scheme and maintenance fund.

Source: UEW
Maintenance of modern electronic fuel injection vehicles a case study at Suame Magazine – Kumasi

Continuous innovations of new models of vehicles have resulted in diverse combinations of electro- mechanical components. These have resulted in continuous pressure on the maintenance industry in the country, to maintain and service these vehicles. Therefore, a 3-month survey was conducted at the Suame-Magazine. In Kumasi to document the challenges faced by artisans, critical analysis of the sector and appropriate recommendation.. Using the case study research approach, and basing on the administrative zonation of The Kumasi Association of Garages, a total of 200 workshops, 100 senior electricians and 100 senior mechanics, were random selected and probed using structured questionnaires. Data were cleaned, evaluated and analyzed using SPSS. About 95% of the respondents have been servicing modern vehicles for varying number of years, though those with experience within 5years abounded (50.8%), whilst a few (5.7%) have had longer experience (10-14years). Respondents perceived servicing of modern vehicles to be difficult (98%); 2.5% could manage some of the challenges. Difficulties relating to faults identification recorded (40.5%), lack of modern diagnostic equipment also (22.0%) difficulty in using available diagnostic equipment obtained (19.0%). Generally, artisans would replace hardware (control board) (33.0%); some would secretly seek help from other well-experience masters (31.0%); direct customers to other technicians deemed able to handle the job (23.0%); whilst (13.0%) would abandon the job entirely. Though, the sector holds much prospects, the pace of skill evolution does not match with the rate of current scientific innovations. Thus, artisans lack commensurate upgrade in technical skills in technology. Urgent training is needed by artisans in order to match the current level of technology.

Source: UEW
Making complaints in Ghanaian English :A case study of three senior high schools in the Asante Mampong Municipality

Complaints are bound to occur in our daily interactions while seeking a remedy to that which has directly or indirectly affected someone unfavourably, thus, threatening the face of the addressee and may eventually engender social relationship breakdown if not done appropriately. However, that which is deemed appropriate is both language and culturally specific. This study examined the complaint speech act produced by the Ghanaian learners at the second-cycle institutions in the Ashanti region to ascertain the politeness strategies invested in expressing their dissatisfaction with an unacceptable act in Ghanaian English. The Brown and Levinson (1987) politeness theory served as the theoretical framework used in the study. The qualitative design was adopted and data was elicited from ninety-six (96) participants who were sampled using the purposive sampling technique from the three senior high schools in Ashanti Mampong. The participants role-played four complaintprovoking situations which focused on different power relations and social distance. The data were transcribed and analysed thematically. The findings revealed eleven strategies used in making a complaint in Ghanaian English, yet, the choice of a particular politeness strategy depended on the sociological variables of power/status and social distance. The findings further indicate that Ghanaians are indirect and tend to have a high inclination toward positive politeness strategies as they try to reduce the effect of the face-threatening act of complaining on the addressee‟s positive face. It was also found that this complaint behaviour is influenced by the Ghanaian cultural norms of politeness.

Source: UEW
Making employee training and development a tool for efficiency and effectiveness in Ghanaian Universities

Employee training and development are considered critical when it comes to employee efficiency, effectiveness and productivity. The proposition of this paper was that employee training and development could ensure efficiency and effectiveness in university administration. The paper focused on the benefits of training and development, and training methods. It also buttressed some training and development programmes in Ghanaian universities. The paper concluded that the success of every organization, including universities, depends heavily on quality human resources. It therefore follows that there is the need for universities in Ghana to ensure that programmes designed for training and development are holistic in nature to equip employees with the requisite knowledge, attitude, skills and experience for job effectiveness. It is thus recommended that management of universities, especially those in Ghana should make training and development programmes a continuous activity to maintain and appraise employees’ skill levels, and motivate them to grow and improve professionally.

Source: UEW
Male dominance experiences of married women in the Mozano community in the Gomoa West District of the Central Region, Ghana

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of married women concerning male dominance in Mozano. The study sought to ascertain the ways married men dominate their wives in the Mozano community, explore the factors responsible for male dominance in the Mozano community and to assess the effects of male dominance on married women. The researcher adopted phenomenological design with qualitative approach using interviews and Focus Group discussions to get data for the study. The study revealed that most men in Mozano community dominate their wives in the area of reproduction because most women are ignorant of their reproductive right. The men decide on the number of times they will have sex, the number of children they will have and when to have a child without the consent of their wives. Most men see no need to involve their wives in decision making because they think women on their own cannot take or contribute to any meaningful or responsible decision. Religious factors and the doctrines of the Mozama Disco Kristo church have contributed to male dominance on married women in the community. Lack of descent and profitable jobs for women in the community have made them economically vulnerable and dependant on their husband for their survival, hence being dominated by their husbands. It was also revealed that married women who are dominated by their husbands face psychological and emotional challenges which have given them sleepless night with its associated diseases such as headache, stress and depression. Married women who resist attempt of domination are faced with beatings and are threatened with divorce. It was therefore recommended that married women in the Mozano community should make a personal choice to develop their capabilities to the maximum despite cultural and religious obstacles. There is also the need for gender education by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to organise seminars and symposia for men in the Mozano community on the need to involve their wives in decision making at all levels. The National Council of churches should emphasize the need for men and women to participate in decision making and prohibits religious activities, doctrinal teachings and practices which entrenched male dominance over women.

Source: UEW
The male gender as the perceived perpetrator of sexual harassment, perspectives of males in two higher educational institutions

This study examined the sexual harassment policies of two higher educational institutions in Ghana and investigated how the sexual harassment policy documents have contributed to the understanding of the concept of sexual harassment of male lecturers in the two higher educational institutions namely University of Education, Winneba and University of Ghana, Legon. The study also investigated the reasons why the male gender is often alleged as the perceived perpetrator in instances of sexual harassment. Data for the study were qualitatively gathered through in-depth interviews from eight purposively selected participants from the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), and the University of Ghana, Legon (UG). Additional data were gathered from a review of policy documents on sexual harassment from both institutions. The data were thematically analysed drawing on a conceptual framework design from the sexual harassment policy documents of the two universities, the concept of gender stereotype and principles of the Organisational Model. The data revealed two contradictory findings: implicit comprehension and explicit comprehension of the concept of sexual harassment. The male is perceived as the perpetrator of sexual harassment because women are being defined as sexually passive; trivialising and normalising incidence of sexual harassment; defining manhood as perceived aggression and masculinity and access to unequal power. The study concludes that gender stereotyping is reinforced in the reasons why the male gender is perceived as the perpetrator and policy documents of universities implicitly contributesto these perceptions. The study recommendsthat institutions periodically update sexual harassment policies with data from incidence of sexual harassment since understanding these documents have implications in avoiding the enactment of any form of sexual harassment.

Source: UEW