ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Continuous professional development challenges of teachers’ in Choggu and Bishop JHS and their effect on students’ academic performance in the Sagnarigu District

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of Continuous Professional Development of teachers on the academic performance of students in the Sagnarigu District and establish the relationship between them. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study, describe and interpret teacher’s perceptions on continuous professional development. School performance test from the end of term examination were used to gather data for the survey from accessible population of all Junior High Three, one and two pupils in the district. Interview was also used to gather information from the head teachers of the respondents. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 336 respondents (students), 16 teachers and four 4 head teachers. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (S.P.S.S.) software was used to analyze the data gathered to determine the correlation coefficient. Findings from the study indicated that teachers are satisfied with the way CPD programmes are organized, but they disagree with the satisfaction of its organization. Teachers disagreed that there is mechanism in place to supervise staff development activities. Teachers strongly agreed that during breaks/vacation is the best times to participate in CPD activities. For training materials to be made available to teachers to use after employers’ provision support for staff development, teachers indicated that these materials are not being made available to them. There was a moderate significant positive relationship between teacher’s academic qualifications on students’ academic performance, thus teachers with degree qualification have students with higher scores than teachers with diploma certificates. It is recommended that teachers, parents, policy makers and guidance and counselling coordinators should ensure that appropriate measures should be put in place to ensure that the organization of CPD is done with teachers inclusive and better mechanism should be put in place to ensure teachers transfer what they are trained for into the classroom for better outcome of result

Source: UEW
Continuous professional development on art appreciation writing skills in selected senior high schools in Biakoye District

Over the years, art appreciation is written purposely to unearth the meaning of works of art. This artistic activity has been imperatively used based on the steps and procedures outlined by Amenuke et al (1991). However, regarding the urge and obligations of teachers to update and enact changes in teaching and learning through TCPDs, there is the need to relieve and review educational practices that have been uncreatively consistent and inadequate and replace them with new pedagogical methods. This will also help art students to ameliorate their writing skills. Interactions with art educators in Biakoye District, through this study in the selected schools sought to examine the current steps of writing art appreciation and assessed them, introduced the hybrid criteria of its writing skills through (TCPDs) and unmasked its significance to art educators. The study employed an exploratory case study design with a qualitative research approach. Homogeneous purposive sampling with single focus group discussions, tests and audio recordings were tools used to collect data for validity and triangulation purposes of the study. With thematic analysis, the study revealed that the examination and the assessment of the current steps of writing art appreciation have become overused and stereotyped, the introduction of its hybrid writing skills was applicable to art educators through TCPDs. Also, the introduction reflects its effectiveness and the significance. The study recommends the spread of this hybrid method of art appreciation writing and its teaching in schools. It also encourages practices of it through other TCPDs in the district and beyond. Other comparable research could be conducted in the district or other parts of the country.

Source: UEW
Contraceptive Use among Basic School Pupils in Ghana: A Case Study of a Municipality

Background. Ghana over the years strived to improve contraceptive services for young people through various policies and programs. Despite these efforts, contraceptive use among young people remains a challenge. In this study, contraceptive use among basic school pupils in a Ghanaian municipality was explored to inform policy and program decisions. Methods. The research design was a cross-sectional and mixed-method survey involving four hundred and twenty-seven (427) respondents randomly selected from four hundred and eleven (411) basic schools (102 from private and 309 from public basic schools) within Effutu Municipality of Ghana. Results. Basic school pupils in Ghana are generally sexually active but have high unmet needs for modern contraception due to sociocultural barriers, stigma, and misconceptions. Awareness and use are however more prevalent among junior high school pupils compared to those at the primary levels. Pupils who received contraceptive education from parents/guardians were, however, more likely to use modern contraceptives consistently than their counterparts who do not. Conclusions. Because young people in basic schools are becoming sexually active, there is a need for formalized contraceptive education in basic schools for correct information and education. � 2020 Fred Yao Gbagbo.

Source: UEW
Contraintes de la transformation de la voix active a la voix passive. Le cas des apprenants de Northern Business College SHS 2B, Tamale.

This research analyses the difficulties associated with the use and transformation of sentences from the active voice into the passive voice in French. The analysis was done through the various use and transformation of the active voice to the passive voice in some documents or books by different authors and through interactions and dialogues with learners and some teachers of French language. It was found out that most students or learners of French are not able to do the correct transformation of the active voice to the passive voice in simple sentences because there are some transformations that use the prepositions “par” or “de” and others use neither of these prepositions but denotes the idea of passive voice. This led us to identify the difficulties facing learners of French in a sense that some of the “complément d’agent” is being introduced by the prepositions “par” or “de”, and with others, these prepositions are not being introduced to the complement. It has been established that the difficulties were mainly due to the multiplicity of these transformations of simple sentences into the passive voice. It was also found out that the teaching strategies used by some teachers of French in the teaching of the passive voice are coupled with the influence of either the English language or the learner’s first language (mother tongue). This also contributes to the difficulties encountered in the passive transformation. In an attempt to resolve the problem, teaching strategies such as dialogues, interactions, giving of structural exercises and other techniques were adopted, and also analyzing various authors work. The methods used have been evaluated to identify the successes and short comings of our intervention. Suggestions have then been made in a bid to enhancing the teaching and learning of that aspect of the French grammar in the form of recommended exercises.

Source: UEW
Contraintes d’emploi de la preposition pour en fle au niveau shs. Cas des apprenants d’Ekumfi-Distrct.

This study primarily aims to analyze the causes of errors related to the use of the preposition "pour" and to interpret the rules governing its use. Among other objectives, this research seeks to identify the syntax of various contexts in which this preposition is employed, in order to explain its function. Given the qualitative nature of this study, we utilized Frei's (1929) error analysis method to interpret users' mistakes. The data, collected through exercises, reveal that many learners struggle to use this preposition correctly in sentences, indicating a partial mastery of its syntax. Overgeneralization of grammatical rules and the sociocultural environment are also significant sources of difficulty for users. Based on a corpus of exercises written by FLE learners in the Ekumfi district, we propose remediation strategies to address these errors, aiming to enhance the teaching and learning of prepositions in FLE classes. Consequently, we have suggested measures to simplify the tasks for both teachers and learners, particularly since most non-French-speaking learners acquire French in school. We believe that adopting a communicative approach in teaching and learning this preposition can significantly aid both educators and learners. University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh

Source: UEW
Contraintes d’emploi de l’adjectif verbal en classe de fle Cas des apprenants de Hohoe E.P. Senior High School

In this study, our attention is focused on two grammatical elements: present participle and adjectives derived from verbs. The study, based on tests conducted on third year students of E. P Senior High School in the Municipality of Hohoe, reveals that students do commit many grammatical errors in written French due to improper assimilation of subject matter taught by teachers and the constrains imposed by various normative and descriptive grammatical usages adopted in teaching and learning of the French language. These errors are committed not only as result of negative transfer of knowledge of English into French but also because of students’ inadequate knowledge of the target language. Our objectives in this research are to identify and study the possible causes of the erroneous use of the aforementioned adjectives and also, suggest techniques that could help learners to overcome these difficulties. Set of questionnaires were given to both learners and teachers which sought information about their personality and their level attained in the use of adjectives derived from verbs. The students were tested with a written test which contained ten (10) items on our subject matter. Error analysis, quantitative and qualitative analysis of the results obtained from our test and questionnaires were adopted as methodology for our work. These results show that about 76% of our respondents have variant difficulties in the use of these adjectives. The thesis ends with useful pedagogical and some learning suggestions thus aptitude, attitude, motivations, personalities, reinforcement, indoor play and activities and constant practice as learner factors that can help minimize and overcome these difficulties.

Source: UEW
Contraintes d’emploi des anaphores pronominales dans les textes ecrits en fle le cas des etudiants du departement de franҫais a University of Education, Winneba

Anaphora is a common phenomenon in discourses as well as an important research issue in the applications of language structure. This study focuses on pronominal anaphora for its pertinence in textual organization, consistency, and cohesion in the French language. If the concept of anaphora in terms of linguistics is considered as a positive phenomenon avoiding the redundancy of terms in a paragraph or a text, it should be noted that the presence of an anaphor in a sentence, sometimes makes the process of understanding difficult. Thus, pronominal anaphors can create ambiguities when requesting the correct antecedent in a written text. Hence, identifying expressions in a text that refer to the same entity is a crucial problem in the use of pronominal anaphors. The relevance of pronominal anaphora in communication cannot be underestimated in the teaching and learning of French as a foreign language, which is why this study aims at finding solutions to the difficulties of the students with the use of pronominal anaphors in written texts. For that, a test on the use of pronominal anaphors was given to students and separate questionnaires were given to both students and lecturers of the department of French Education at University of Education Winneba, as tools to help collect data that led to attain the objectives of this research. The findings and suggestions of our study emanate that the reading of tests in French can help weak students to easily understand texts with the use of pronominal anaphors. The use of online resources like Duolingo, Nathalie FLE, Frantastique, Tandem, TV5 Monde, Bon travail and others can help to improve the use of pronominal anaphors and thus, improve both written and oral communication in French, as well as make easier the teaching and learning of French as a foreign language in Ghana.

Source: UEW
Contraintes d’emploi des flexions verbales du Temps présent des verbes du premier groupe dans les écrits en classe de fle le cas des apprenants de St. Anthony of Padua catholic jhs

This research work aims at finding out the difficulties encountered by JHS2 learners of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic school in Kwesimintsim Kwesimintsim-Takoradi regarding the use of inflectional affixes (flexions verbales) in written French as a Foreign Language . We have observed that learners encounter difficulties in establishing and indicating the appropriate inflectional affixes when conjugating first group of verbs in the present tense . This is because, they negatively transfer the English language structure and sometimes, the structure of their native language into the French language. The method used in teaching as well as the complexity of the French language are some factors of the difficulties learners encounter in the use of flexions verbales verbales. Data were collected through questionnaire for teachers to collect information on pedagogical practices and opinions on the use of inflectional affixes. Again, a written test was administered to learners to clearly establish the extent of the difficulty they encounter in the use of inflectional affixes of first group of verbs in the present tense. The analyses have shown that, majority of learners were confused in choosing the correct form of inflectional affixes to complete certain given v erbs to establish the agreement between the subject in gender and in number. The study recommends activity methods as recommended by the communicative approac h, different types of exercises on inflectional affixes in the form of drills, among others, be pr oposed to learners, reading of text books taking into consideration meaning and the linguistic elements, teaching with modern pedagogical approaches. It is expected that this research work will help minimize learners’ errors in the domain of inflectional a ffixes.

Source: UEW
Contraintes liées à la reálisation du son [o] en classe de fle le cas des apprenants d’Akatsi shts

This research focuses on investigating the challenges faced by French learners in Akatsi Senior High Technical School, specifically those in the second year, concerning the pronunciation of the /o/ sound in words containing the letters "o," "ô," "au," and "eau" in French. The study identifies various difficulties related to the learners' ability to recognize these graphemes as representing the /o/ sound. Through the implementation of questionnaires and reading aloud tests, it was revealed that students in Akatsi Senior High School, Form 2, encounter obstacles in accurately producing the /o/ sound in words featuring "o, ô, au, eau" in French. Additionally, learners tended to confuse the /o/ phoneme with the /ↄ/ phoneme when reading passages with the simple grapheme 'o.' The analysis of the gathered data indicates that learners' challenges in pronouncing the /o/ sound correctly through French graphemes stem from the inherent complexity of the French language and their prior knowledge of English and local languages, particularly the dominant Ewe language in their community. Data collection instruments included questionnaires and tests (pretest and posttest), with the pretest involving a passage containing the /o/ sound. Phonograms such as "o," "ô," "au," and "eau" were strategically incorporated into the passage to assess students' ability to pronounce the /o/ sound accurately. Both tests and questionnaires were administered to 28 students under exam conditions, and a separate questionnaire targeted the four teachers instructing French from SHS1-3. The study draws on theories such as Behaviorist theory and Nina CATACH's plural-system theory to assist learners in overcoming pronunciation difficulties. Consequently, the research recommends the use of diverse teaching methods to engage and motivate learners. Suggestions include implementing learner-centered and activity-based methods during teaching. Lastly, recommendations are made to learners, teachers, and Ghana Education Service authorities to enhance French pronunciation and overall language learning in Ghana.

Source: UEW
Contraintes morphosyntaxiques d’emploi de l’adjectif epithete de couleur en fle le cas des apprenants de Konongo Odumasi senior high school

This study focuses on the difficulties regarding the usage of adjectifs epithètes (the epithet adjectives) of colours in French. The study was done using the teachers and learners of Konongo Odumasi SHS. We used questionnaires and test for data collection. The analysis of data collected confirmed that most of the learners were not able to use the epithet adjectives of colours in French effectively due to the complexity of the French language and the influence by the learners L1 and the English language. In effect, the inability of learners to use adjectives of colour in French is due to the fact that they have less mastery of the gender and number of the epithet adjectives of colours based on the morphological makeup of the given noun phrase. The learners equally have so much challenges with the place the epithet adjective should be in the noun phrase. Hence, we made some conclusions and proposed some recommendations in this study to help solve this problem we identified in order to help facilitate the understanding of the learners in French grammar and the task of teachers. Some of these recommendations are that the French should be introduced as a compulsory subject from the primary school, more teachers should be in the system to lessen the burden of the French teachers and help them teach effectively.

Source: UEW
Contraintes morphosyntaxiques d’emploi des temps verbaux en discours rapport. Le cas des étudiants en fle à UEW, Winneba.

The research examines the difficulties encountered by students of French as a Foreign Language (FFL) in the Department of French Education of the University of Education, Winneba, in identifying and using appropriately verbal tenses in reported speech. Doubtlessly, students’ have deficiencies regarding the identification and the use of appropriated verbs in reported speech in French that are common place in their oral and written productions. Indeed, both oral and written productions of students’ raises significant deficiencies of quoted speeches without the needed grammatical adjustments required by standard French or as required by syntactic approaches. The study focuses on the complex nature of the French verbal tenses in particular, which makes its identification and usage very problematic. We have adopted syntactic theories as propounded by Riegel et al. (2018) and Grevisse (2011), because our investigation is foundered on morphosyntax aspect of the language. Data collected through questionnaires and test were analysed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings related to students’ difficulties revealed that most of them were not able to identify and use verbal tenses correctly in reported speech in French. Again, the analysis showed that students inability to identify and use verbal tenses in sentences, is the outcome of two main reasons, namely the complex nature of the French language and the different forms the verbs take in relation to the pronouns, tenses, modals in sentences.

Source: UEW
Contraintes morphosyntaxiques liées à la formation du féminin des noms communs terminés par eur. Cas des apprenants, de Keta SHS.

French is one of the languages taught and learned in Ghana as a foreign language. Currently, it is studied from the Basic school to the University level. This study therefore sought to analyse difficulties encountered by the learners of Keta Senior High School, in the Volta region in the formation of feminine nouns ending in “-eur”. The aim of this research is to identify the errors that learners and the users of French language commit in the formation of feminine of nouns ending in “-eur” in their spoken and written French exercises. The research also aimed to identify the causes of these difficulties in order to propose an intervention to overcome them. Data collection such as questionnaire and tests was done. Analysis has shown that majority of learners in the above-mentioned school have difficulties in the formation of feminine of nouns ending in “-eur” due to the difficult nature of the French Language and many rules governing the formation of feminine nouns in general. In the light of these findings, appropriate pedagogical methods were used as intervention to minimize the difficulties of the learners. Suggestions and recommendations were made to facilitate teaching and learning of the formation of feminine of nouns ending in “-eur”.

Source: UEW
The contribution of healthy eating practices towards the survival of breast cancer patient

The purpose of this study was to examine and expound the contribution of healthy eating practices towards the health status of breast cancer patients. The research design adopted for the study was the cross sectional survey and the purposive and convenience sampling methods were adopted to derive a sample size of ninety (90) breast cancer patients, who visit the National Centre for Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for treatment. A structured questionnaire and an interview guide was employed to gather the relevant data for the study. The SPSS Version 21 was used to analyse the data collected. Results of the study revealed that the level of knowledge of the breast cancer patients on both nutrition and breast cancer was low. Moreover, the results of the study revealed that certain factors especially the price of the food influenced food choice and so there was not very significant change in the participants eating habits. Additionally, the findings of the study revealed that foods such as cereals, fruits, low-fat foods, sugar-free fluids/drinks and herbal tea, less salty and spicy foods, vegetables and high fibre content foods helped in the management of breast cancer. Physical activity was also found to be associated with less fatigue, improved energy level, improved appetite for food, healthy weight and sound sleep among the breast cancer patients. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended among other things that the Ministry of Health (MOH) should collaborate with the various cancer treatment centres in Ghana as well as other stakeholders in the health sector, and educate breast cancer patients on nutrition and its benefit to Breast Cancer. This, together with the knowledge on nutrition, will guide women, particularly breast cancer patients in making healthy food choices at all times and also reduce complications of other chronic disease associated with the disease.

Source: UEW