ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Access and enrollment of children with intellectual disability in selected special schools in Ghana: The influence of parental economic status

This study explored teachers’ and parents’ opinions on access and enrollment in schools for children with intellectual disability in Ghana. Specifically, a descriptive survey using a cross sectional research design was adopted to study the extent to which parental socio-economic status and the conceptualization of ‘‘intellectual disability’’ influenced educational decision making for those children. One hundred and fifty teachers and eight parents participated in the study. The results revealed that parental socio-economic status and the conceptualization of intellectual disability had significant influences on educational decision-making for these children. The implications for free appropriate public education for children with intellectual disability are discussed.

Source: UEW
Access to assistive technology for students with visual impairment in Adidome Senior High School

The purpose of this study was to examine how students with visual impairment access assistive technology in Adidome Senior High School and to make recommendations for effective use of such technologies. The case study design was adopted to guide the study. The sample size was 30 respondents. The sampling technique adopted was purposive sampling. Interview and observation were used to gather data from the respondents. Data collected were transcribed and analysed thematically. Findings of the study revealed that both high-tech and low-tech assistive technology devices such desktop computers, an embosser, Perkins, slates, and stylus were available in the school. However, they were not enough to meet the learning needs of the students with visual impairment. In addition, the majority of the Perkins machines in the school were broken down. Findings of the study revealed that students with visual impairment did not frequently access JAWS because they did not have the requisite skills. Furthermore, the findings revealed that resource teachers were not trained on how to maintain assistive technology devices. On the positive side, the students with visual impairment had mobility and keyboarding skills. It was recommended that the headmaster could collaborate with benevolent organizations to provide more assistive technology devices such as desktop computers and Perkins, in the school. The researcher recommended that 1) the headmaster should contact the District Education to hire a technician to repair broken down Perkins machines periodically, 2) the students with visual impairment should be trained on how to use the JAWS and NVDA, and 3) the resource teachers in the school should be trained on how to maintain the assistive technology devices.

Source: UEW
Access to basic school syllabus and logistics at a primary school in Fanteakwa north district

This research was designed to investigate how teachers and students get access to basic school syllabus and logistics in a primary school in the Fanteakwa north district. The target population was 120 students and teachers in the St. Paul Anglican Primary School, Begoro. The random sampling techniques were used to select the respondents. In all, thirty (30) respondents were involved. Microsoft Excel was used to analyses the data`. Frequency distribution tables were used in the analysis. Based on the findings, recommendations were made which will help for further research. At the end of the study, 28.5% of teachers revealed that access to teaching and learning logistics was not as often as it was available, whiles 56.52% of the students’ respondents said their teachers had access to teaching and learning logistics only when they were available. This collaborated the assertion of the response on the effects of the inadequacy of teaching and learning logistics on the performance of students when 69.57% of students said their performance was always below average due to the inadequacy of teaching and learning logistics. Hence, if the access to reading materials were improved, students would perform well. I recommend the following: •Teaching and learning materials should be provided for basic schools in the district so that academic performance of students can be improved .• Parents should be involved in the provision of teaching and learning logistics to help the teachers perform their duties effectively. •Alternative teaching and learning materials such as internet should be set up in the various basic schools to augment the already existing logistics, which will in the long run help make access to teaching materials easily .•A comparative analysis on the access to teaching and learning logistics between Public and Private basic schools and it impact on their performance .•Access to teaching and learning logistics should not be made as and when available but always, so that there will not be the space for inadequacy.

Source: UEW
Access to e-learning resources among pre-service teachers with visual impairment in colleges of education, Ghana

This study examined the accessibility of e-learning resources among pre-service teachers with visual impairment at the Presbyterian College of Education and Wesley College of Education in the Akuapem North and Old Tafo Municipal Assemblies in the Eastern and Ashanti Regions of Ghana, respectively. Using a qualitative approach to inquiry with a case study research design, the study employed a semi-structured interview and focus group discussion guide to elicit data from 13 respondents from these two study areas. The data were analysed using themes that emerged from the data. The findings of the study revealed high availability of e-learning resources such as laptops, projectors, tablets and many more. However, the study revealed that e learning resources were inaccessible to some of the students or that they had difficulties in accessing them. It was recommended that the management of these two Colleges should, through their heads of Information Communication Technology, communicate to students the timelines for the closure of e-learning facilities during maintenance sessions. The government, through the Ministry of Education, should equip e-learning facilities with specially designed modern software and devices, as well as the technical units with tools needed to fix faults that are reported to facilitate e-learning.

Source: UEW
Access to education in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic the perspective of persons with visual impairment

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals underscores the significance of education in empowering people with the knowledge and skills to work towards individual, national and global sustainable development. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 is dedicated to the achievement of quality education, aiming to ensure inclusive and equitable education and promoting lifelong learning. Specifically, target 4.5 aims to eliminate disparities in “access to all levels of education for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities…”COVID-19 however, appears to reverse the progress made so far on SDG four and risks harm to a generation of learners It is for this reason that this study is occasion to explore access to education in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic from the learners with visual impairment perspective. The study used semi-structured interviewed guide and observational research instruments to unravel the research questions in attainment of the study objectives. Participants involved were sixteen informants comprising thirteen students, two teachers and the head of the institution in the Eastern region of Ghana were purposively sampled. From the ripostes of interviewees, it came out of the study findings that, the COVID pandemic has had negative outcomes on the educational content dissemination towards them. Issues of unmodified teaching content, inadequate dissemination of lessons via only radio and television programs, and non-involvement of the needs of learners with visual impairments in the online remote learning content Lack of support from both the school and home environment Non-extant technological and assistive devices to undergird the educational needs of learners with visual impairments. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the core deleterious effects imposed on them by the pandemic a situation that the research participants ascribed to one of artificial manufacture as a result of the socially constructed view of handling persons with visual impairment. This tends to overlook the needs of persons with visual impairment in any design of policies rather than their natural disability contributing or being the cause of the difficulties. Which is a palpable manifestation of systemic neglect of injustice in what is done and what is not being done. On the part of duty bearers and the educational system in general in Ghana University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh

Source: UEW
Access to education in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic The perspective of persons with visual impairment

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals underscores the significance of education in empowering people with the knowledge and skills to work towards individual, national and global sustainable development. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 is dedicated to the achievement of quality education, aiming to ensure inclusive and equitable education and promoting lifelong learning. Specifically, target 4.5 aims to eliminate disparities in “access to all levels of education for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities…”COVID-19 however, appears to reverse the progress made so far on SDG four and risks harm to a generation of learners It is for this reason that this study is occasion to explore access to education in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic from the learners with visual impairment perspective. The study used semi-structured interviewed guide and observational research instruments to unravel the research questions in attainment of the study objectives. Participants involved were sixteen informants comprising thirteen students, two teachers and the head of the institution in the Eastern region of Ghana were purposively sampled. From the ripostes of interviewees, it came out of the study findings that, the COVID pandemic has had negative outcomes on the educational content dissemination towards them. Issues of unmodified teaching content, inadequate dissemination of lessons via only radio and television programs, and non-involvement of the needs of learners with visual impairments in the online remote learning content Lack of support from both the school and home environment Non-extant technological and assistive devices to undergird the educational needs of learners with visual impairments. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the core deleterious effects imposed on them by the pandemic a situation that the research participants ascribed to one of artificial manufacture as a result of the socially constructed view of handling persons with visual impairment. This tends to overlook the needs of persons with visual impairment in any design of policies rather than their natural disability contributing or being the cause of the difficulties. Which is a palpable manifestation of systemic neglect of injustice in what is done and what is not being done. On the part of duty bearers and the educational system in general in Ghana

Source: UEW
Access to information for students with visual impairment at the university of education, Winneba

The purpose of the study was to explore how students with visual impairment access academic and social information on campus and to identify support systems that could be put in place to enhance access to information, to facilitate their adjustment in the University. Data was gathered from 120 students with visual impairments and 2 resources persons. One-on-one interview and a close ended questionnaire were used for the data collection. Data from the questionnaire were analyzed on Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21.0 (IBM SPSS 21.0), and descriptive statistical method was used to calculate the frequency and percentages for each item-by-item analysis. The findings revealed that academic information was found to be the most needed information by students with visual impairment followed by social, financial, employment and health. The students with visual impairment got information to meet their academic needs through discussions with colleagues, visiting the Resources Centre for Students with Special Needs, browsing the Internet and relying on lecturers. Most of the students preferred braille format depending on their level of sightedness. Also, library facilities, equipment and staff were found to be inadequate. The challenges facing students in accessing information include: inadequate print materials, mobility difficulties, poor library facilities and slow Internet connectivity. Recommendations made include a written service policy, provision of assistive technology devices and computers with Job Access with Speech (JAWS) software to improve information services for students with visual impairment

Source: UEW
ACCESS TO LIBRARY FACILITIES AND RESOURCES BY STUDENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AT UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA

This case study focused on how students with visual impairment access library facilities and resources at the University of Education, Winneba. Data were gathered through focus group interviews from 48 out of 99 undergraduate students with visual impairment. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the participants for the study. Data were analyzed thematically using color coding for the categorization of themes. The results indicated that students with visual impairment had some difficulties accessing the physical infrastructure of the libraries. It was revealed that learning materials of the University libraries were not in accessible formats, and the braille library only produced chapters of books for students with visual impairment. The results further indicated that students with visual impairment in the University wanted the management of the University to purchase assistive devices for them for personal and independent use. The study recommended that the management of the University's libraries should ensure the provision of more technological devices that will produce learning materials in accessible formats for students with visual impairment to promote the use of library resources. � 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Source: UEW
Access to mobility devices by adults with mobility impairments in the Winneba municipality in the central region of Ghana

The purpose of this study was to explore access to mobility devices by adults with mobility impairments in the Winneba Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana. The study adopted Penchansky and Thomas’s Theory of Access and Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory as the theoretical frameworks for the study. The research design used was a case study. The population for the study was forty (40) adults with mobility impairments including twenty-five (25) males and fifteen (15) females. The sample size was ten (10) including six (6) males and four (4) females. The purposive and stratified sampling techniques were used to select the sample size. Face-to-face interviews were conducted as a means of eliciting responses from the participants, with the use of semi-structured interview guide. The findings from the study revealed that participants relied on donor support, family members and other charitable organizations as sources to access mobility services. Participants also confirmed that there were several benefits of accessing mobility devices including independent ambulation, daily living activities and social support services. Some of the barriers to accessing mobility services were financial constraints, donor scarcity, unavailability of mobility devices and lack of awareness about finding mobility devices. It is therefore suggested that measures need to be taken to improve access to mobility devices for adults who needs the services.

Source: UEW
Access to rehabilitation programmes for inmates of Nsawam security prisons in the eastern region of Ghana

Although prison inmates are often seen as burdens on society, as their criminal activity has made them unproductive citizens, rehabilitation programmes within prisons give inmates the ability to become productive citizens upon their release. Such programmes, which focus on providing inmates with skills and knowledge, have the potential to greatly affect their integration back into society post-release, thus decreasing the likelihood that they will commit similar crimes in the future. However, because of the increasing number of recidivism in our various prisons, the feasibility of the rehabilitation programmes in our prisons is been questioned. This study examines prisoner’s access to the rehabilitation programmes at the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons. The nature of rehabilitation programmes available at the nsawam Medium Security prisons, the policies underpinning prisoner rehabilitation and the benefits of prisoner rehabilitation. The key findings from the study were presented in themes. Based on an analysis of qualitative interviews, the study concludes with recommendations for policy makers and stakeholders, which focused on enhancing existing prisoner rehabilitation programming and networking to sustain their success.

Source: UEW
Access to rehabilitation services for persons with physical disabilities

This was a qualitative study focused on access to rehabilitation services for persons with physical disabilities at the Salvation Army Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Training Center at Agona- Duakwa in the Central Region of Ghana. Data was collected and analyzed thematically with the use of document scrutiny which enabled for data triangulation during the analysis process. Results indicated that persons with physical disabilities had three main types of access to the Center which are, physical, service and personnel access which made their rehabilitation sessions meaningful. Also persons with physical disabilities felt their aptitudes and interest were determining factors in the rehabilitation process. The results revealed interestingly that persons with disabilities felt their service providers should take the lead in decisions that concern their rehabilitation process as such they had very little to say on how services they received could be improved. Prominent among their challenges was finance, as most of the persons were now involved in vocational training for independent living. The study recommends that the management of the Salvation Army Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Training Center need to organize regular in-service training for all their staff involved in the provision of rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities. The training should include new strategies for service provision, collaboration and strategies for fund raising. This would in the long run improve service delivery, address the issue of funds and foster stronger relationships between the Center and other organizations. The Center with the help of the Ministry of Health should employ more staff to address the issue of long waiting times and the issue of staff-patient-ratio. This will enable the service providers render better services and improve on the overall quality of the service delivery process.

Source: UEW
Access to rehabilitation services for persons with physical disabilities: the case of the Salvavtion Army Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Training Center, Agona-Duakwa, Central Region, Ghana

This was a qualitative study focused on access to rehabilitation services for persons with physical disabilities at the Salvation Army Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Training Center at Agona Duakwa in the Central Region of Ghana. Data was collected and analyzed thematically with the use of document scrutiny which enabled for data triangulation during the analysis process. Results indicated that persons with physical disabilities had three main types of access to the Center which are, physical, service and personnel access which made their rehabilitation sessions meaningful. Also persons with physical disabilities felt their aptitudes and interest were determining factors in the rehabilitation process. The results revealed interestingly that persons with disabilities felt their service providers should take the lead in decisions that concern their rehabilitation process as such they had very little to say on how services they received could be improved. Prominent among their challenges was finance, as most of the persons were now involved in vocational training for independent living. The study recommends that the management of the Salvation Army Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Training Center need to organize regular in-service training for all their staff involved in the provision of rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities. The training should include new strategies for service provision, collaboration and strategies for fund raising. This would in the long run improve service delivery, address the issue of funds and foster stronger relationships between the Center and other organizations. The Center with the help of the Ministry of Health should employ more staff to address the issue of long waiting times and the issue of staff-patient-ratio. This will enable the service providers render better services and improve on the overall quality of the service delivery process.

Source: UEW
Accessibility constraints of small-scale fish farmers to formal credit in the Nzema East Municipality.

In Ghana, among other things, limited access to agricultural finance has remained one of the fundamental problems that hamper production, productivity and related agribusiness investments in rural communities and farm households. This study sought to empirically investigate smallholder farmer’s accessibility to formal credit and constraints they encounter in the process. A multi stage sampling method was employed to select eighty farmers from Nzema East Municipality for the study. Descriptive statistics, logit regression model and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance were used in analyzing the data. The output from the study indicates that 30 (37.5%) of the sampled farm households were formal credit users, whereas the remaining 50 (62.5%) were non-users. The empirical results from the logit model analysis of the study indicated that age, education, income levels, distance to the financial source, family size, credit awareness level and farming experience were highly important in influencing access to formal credit. Keywords: Credit Accessibility, Logistic Analysis, Nzema East Municipal

Source: UEW
Accessing the parental influence toward early childhood education. A case of KNUST Preschool

Parental involvement is the most powerful influence in a child’s education. It can have various effects on students, both academically and behaviourally. Initially, research on family involvement in education generally did not aim at differentiating between the effects of specific types of involvement on definite student outcomes. Therefore the study sought to assess the contribution of parents toward early childhood education using KNUST Pre school. The target population for the study was made up of ten (10) teachers and two (2) parents from KNUST preschool. From the interview the study revealed that parents' education, the number of parents in the home, stability of home life, quality of child care, cultural differences, economic background and environment, teachers and environments, students' desire, individual differences, language development, the duration of breastfeeding and child nutrition were the factors affecting early childhood education at KNUST Pre-school. Again, government policy on free education, teaching and learning materials need to be made more readily available came out as the challenges of Early Childhood Education at KNUST Pre-school. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommends that there is the need for a robust educational and sensitization programme for the public about the important place of early childhood education in the educational development of the child.

Source: UEW