ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Investigating gender-base performance in mathematics of senior high school students in selected schools in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis

The study sought to determine the overall mathematics performance of boys and girls in the selected schools and to identify factors that contribute to gender-based performance in mathematics among Senior High School students and finally to proffer a possible workable idea to enhance teaching and learning of mathematics to attain gender-based performance parity. The research designed employed was a cross sectional survey design with quantitative and qualitative approach. The targeted population for the study was 500 final year students of which the accessible population was 200 senior high school final year students and 5 mathematics teachers selected from the 5 senior high schools in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. The study employed convenient sampling to easily reach out to students because the distance between them were not so wide apart. Stratified sampling was also used to obtain gender balance as well as simple random sampling was used to employ 200 final year senior high school students which comprise of 107 males and 93 females, as well as 5 mathematics teachers in the metropolis. The instruments employed in this study were mathematics test, questionnaire and interview. The results from the independent sample t-test revealed that there was no significance difference in mathematics performance of boys and girls in the selected schools. Furthermore, the students had a negative perception on the factors that contribute to gender-based performance in mathematics as well as proffering a possible workable idea to enhance teaching and learning of mathematics to attain gender-based performance parity. It was recommended that Mathematics teaching and evaluation strategies should be gender bias free. Also in drawing school achievement plans, teachers should endeavor to add exchange programs internally to help increase the depth and quality of mathematics learning.

Source: UEW
Investigating into driver attitudes and vehicle behaviours as contributory factors to road accidents on Kumasi-Dunkwa trunk road

Road traffic accident records indicate that Ashanti Region is the second highest in fatalities in the country and in the Region; the Kumasi–Dunkwa road records the highest road traffic accidents in all the trunk roads. This prompted the researcher to investigate the driver attitudes and the vehicle characteristics that account for this and to suggest appropriate remedial measures to curtail it. The study was necessary and important since road accidents are mostly blamed on road users’ attitudes, especially drivers while the drivers also shift the blame to the vehicle. The study sourced information from the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and supplemented with road user questionnaire. Several vehicle factors were investigated and the major defects that were found contributed to road traffic accidents are defective brakes, poor tyres especially used tyres from United Kingdom or USA, over age and structural weakness as well as overloading. The study also established that the major driver attitudes contributing to road traffic accidents in the region are aggressive diving behaviour (which 66% agreed upon), over speeding (where 73.9% agreed), and lastly fatigue (17.9%), which many people believe could be avoided. With regards to road safety awareness 96% of respondents agreed that it is effective in changing driver behaviour and improving safety when combined with education and media campaign. However, enforcement, of safety measures in the region is inadequate which needs to be improved by the enforcement agencies. Based on these findings appropriate remedial measures have been recommended based on the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) strategy, the 3E’s (Engineering, Education, and Enforcement).

Source: UEW
Investigating into the causes and effects of students’ unrest in Ghanaian schools a case study of Adu Gyamfi senior high school in the Sekyere south district, Ashanti region

It is not far-fetched that schools play key role in producing effective manpower for the development of states. However, the social challenges encountered by Management in the school organization in Ghana and elsewhere have not been adequately addressed. One of the key challenges in the school organization which needs particular attention by education stakeholders in the country is students’ unrest. The study sought to examine the causes and impacts of students’ unrest in schools. The research methodology was descriptive survey method. It involved a sample size of thirty-seven (37) selected from the population for the collection of data. It included the head of the school, senior housemaster, 4 housemasters, the chief security, 5 teaching staff members, 5 parents and 20 students. In choosing the sample size, the researcher considered time factor and available resources at her disposure. The main instrument for data collection was interview, questionnaire and observation. Qualitative method was employed in the analysis of data. However, quantitative approach was resorted to where appropriate. All ethical issues were duly observed. Findings of the study on the causes of students’ unrest were identified to include poor food supply and catering services and high fee charges. Improvement in students’ welfare, government intervention and effective guidance and counselling among others have been recommended to all stakeholders in education to consider in finding solutions to students’ unrest.

Source: UEW
Investigating into the causes of students poor performance in comprehension at senior high school, the case study of Azeem Namoa senior high school

This study sought to investigate the causes of students’ poor performance in comprehension at senior high school. Azeem Namoa Senior High School was used as a case study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population was students and teachers of the school. A sample of 102 students and 4 teachers of English were purposely selected for the study. Questionnaires were used in data collection. The findings of the study reveal that mother tongue interference; communication in Pidgin English; social media influence; limited teaching and learning materials; misconceptions about English Language Comprehension; and teaching and learning based on traditional content and knowledge were the major causes for students’ poor performance in English Comprehension. Based on these findings, the researcher recommends that special attention should be given to the teaching of vocabulary building as the study revealed that teachers pay less attention to that; the headmaster in collaboration with the head of the department and the English teachers should find ways of motivating students to love reading; the government should provide the school with instructional aids; the headmaster in collaboration with the PTA should build a language laboratory for the school; the curriculum must be relevant and flexible to the needs of the students in rural areas; and finally, teachers must always discourage the use of the mother tongue on school campuses, especially in secondary boarding schools.

Source: UEW
Investigating into the problem of concord in second cycle institutions, a case study of S.D.A Senior High School, Akyem Sekyere

The poor performance of students of SDA Senior High School in English language has been a source of worry to many people because other subjects they study have also been affected too. The most disturbing aspect of the problem is the students’ inability to use the language to communicate effectively both in speaking and in writing. Their sentences are full of concord errors. This has been attributed to their negative attitudes towards the L2 as most of the students feel comfortable using the L1. This study focused on concord errors among the students, and the sources/causes of the problems. Information gathered was from the primary sources. Written scripts, test items interviews as well as observation were used to extract information on students’ knowledge and use of concord. Finally, the results of the study were analyzed and discussed, and suggestions and recommendations were given for the necessary actions to be taken to help students become proficient in the use of the L2.

Source: UEW
Investigating non-compliance behaviour in kindergarten classroom a study in public schools in Jomoro Municipality, Ghana

The purpose of the study was to investigate pupil‘s non-compliant behaviour and management practices employed by Kindergarten teachers in public KGs in the Jomoro Municipality. The study looked at the forms, effects and the management practices of non-compliance behaviour. The target population of this study comprised public school Kindergarten teachers in the Jomoro Municipality. The study adopted explanatory sequential mixed method design. Data was gathered through a semistructured interview guide and questionnaire. The stratified random sampling technique was used to select 25 schools. Simple random sampling was used to select 100 respondents to respond to the questionnaire. Purposive sampling was used to sample 20 respondents for the qualitative phase. Questionnaire and semi-structured interview were used in data collection. Quantitative data was analysed using mean and standard deviation. Qualitative data was analysed thematically using Atlas.ti software. It emerged from the data that, the forms of non-compliance behaviour were related to off task behaviour and destruction of properties. Also, it emerged from the study that the factors that accounted for non-compliant behaviour were environmental and parental lifestyle. The effects of children‘s non-compliant behaviour were related to threat to effective teaching and learning and violent behaviour. The management practices employed were related to visual and verbal cues, reward and punishment. Among others, the study recommended that, the Jomoro Educational Directorate and the head teachers from the schools should organize programmes in collaboration with the early childhood unit on how to cope and improve on non-compliant behaviour to ease the burden of parents and teachers

Source: UEW
Investigating physical education teachers’ legal knowledge in the Senior High Schools in Ho Municipality, Ghana

The purpose of this study was to assess physical education teachers‟ knowledge of legal duties/aspects during the performance of their duties in the public Senior High Schools in the Ho Municipality, Ghana. Cross-sectional survey design was used for the study where 34 Physical Education teachers were sampled to respond to “Scale of Gray and McKinstrey” adapted questionnaire. The results indicated that, physical education teachers in the Ho municipality possess high level of knowledge regarding their legal duties. In addition, it was indicated that male and female teachers did not differ in their opinion of legal duties. Again, no statistical significant difference was seen between the physical education teachers‟ educational levels and their legal knowledge. Lastly, the results indicated a moderate correlation of only 36% between supervision, warning of risk and medical care. In conclusion, physical education teachers/coaches were encouraged to apply their legal knowledge in their profession always in order to prevent litigations.

Source: UEW
Investigating poor English language speaking skills among students of Adobewora community senior high school

The purpose of the study was to investigate poor speaking skills among students of Adobewora Community Senior High School. The main concern was to identify factors causing students‟ poor speaking skills and to identify appropriate teaching methods as well as teaching and learning materials (TLMs) used in teaching speaking skills in English. Mixed research approach and a descriptive survey design was employed to gather data on students‟ poor speaking skills in English. The target population comprised two hundred and sixteen (216) students and four (4) teachers of English. The sample size comprised one (1) randomly and two (2) purposively selected classes, comprising 87 students; and four (4) teachers of English. Data were collected using questionnaires, interview guide, and observation. The analysed data were presented descriptively using tables and simple percentages. The study found that Lack of Confidence, Shyness, Mother tongue influence, Lack of Motivation, Peer Influence, Anxiety, and lack of appropriate vocabularies were the main factors causing students‟ poor English language speaking ability. The researcher recommended that students should be exposed to contexts where they can develop self confidence in themselves.

Source: UEW
Investigating poor summary writing skills among second year students of Sefwi Bekwai senior high school

Fundamentally, summary writing entails the shortening of a text based on the main and secondary ideas in the text and subsequent restatement by the reader. It has been regarded as an all-involving task that involves the interplay of two abilities, namely, the ability to comprehend the main ideas and schematic organization of a text and the ability to compose a concise and coherent re-wording of the author's ideas. The overwhelming importance of summary writing has made it a key component in the Core English paper in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations. Despite the importance of this skill, textbooks generally provide a cursory treatment of this concept. Summarization undeniably is a difficult skill for many Senior High School students. Summary writing has over the years proven to be a major cause of failure in core English Language paper at the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE). Therefore, there was the need to identify the forms of challenges that students in the study area encounter when undertaking a summary task. It is for this important reason that this study sought to unravel the challenges confronting final year students of Sefwi Bekwai Senior High School in the Bibiani Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipality of Ghana in executing summary tasks.The qualitative research design was used for the study. Random sampling technique was used to select 50 final year students in Sefwi Bekwai SHS and total sampling method to recruit all five teachers in the department of English. Two sets of questionnaires were used to elicit responses from the teachers and the students. All recruited students were given a passage in English and were thereafter tasked to summarize the passage based on some pre -determined questions. The scripts were marked by experts. The marked scripts of the students were analyzed to identify and extract the challenges the students faced. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 24.The challenges faced by students in summary writing are due to lack of effective instruction on the processes of producing a summary, lack of comprehension skills and vocabulary among students and poor reading habits among students.

Source: UEW
Investigating poor summary writing skills among the second year students of Dadieso senior high school

The aim of the study was to investigate the summary writing mistakes that are made among the second year students of Dadieso Senior High in the Western North Region of Ghana. The main objectives addressed in the research were to find out the factors that account for the summary writing problems and to find out ways of addressing them. The instruments employed in this study included test, questionnaire, observation and descriptions. Findings of the study revealed that it is difficult for the second year students of Dadieso Senior High School to do summary writing effectively and this has gone a long way to affect students’ performance in English. It was evident in the study that students are unable to identify important ideas from the irrelevant ones which makes them lift a whole sentence, use figurative languages, use modifiers and embellishments, use examples and illustrations which are not supposed to be part of summary writing. It has therefore been recommended that qualified teachers should be made to teach the subject. More so, Ghana Education Service should regularly organize refresher courses in English on teaching summary writing.

Source: UEW
Investigating poor summary writing skills among the second year students of Dadieso senior high school

The aim of the study was to investigate the summary writing mistakes that are made among the second year students of Dadieso Senior High in the Western North Region of Ghana. The main objectives addressed in the research were to find out the factors that account for the summary writing problems and to find out ways of addressing them. The instruments employed in this study included test, questionnaire, observation and descriptions. Findings of the study revealed that it is difficult for the second year students of Dadieso Senior High School to do summary writing effectively and this has gone a long way to affect students’ performance in English. It was evident in the study that students are unable to identify important ideas from the irrelevant ones which makes them lift a whole sentence, use figurative languages, use modifiers and embellishments, use examples and illustrations which are not supposed to be part of summary writing. It has therefore been recommended that qualified teachers should be made to teach the subject. More so, Ghana Education Service should regularly organize refresher courses in English on teaching summary writing

Source: UEW
Investigating preservice Mathematics teachers perception on cognitive needs, Tpack levels and altruism

This study examined the perception of preservice mathematics teachers on cognitive needs, TPACK levels and altruistic to teaching mathematics. The research design employed was the mixed methods approach specifically sequential explanation mixed methods. The population for this study was preservice mathematics teachers at the University of Education, Winneba of Ghana. The study employed the purposive sampling technique specifically homogeneous sampling technique to select level 300 mathematics teachers from the department of mathematics education of the University of Education, Winneba. In all, the level 300 students were 183. Sample size software tool was used to determine a sample size of 125 for the study. After the determination of the sample size, simple random sampling technique was used in selecting the respondents for the study. Questionnaire and interview protocol were used as instruments to collect data. Data collected through the questionnaire were analysed quantitatively and the interview data collected were analysed qualitatively. Results showed that: (i) the cognitive needs of the preservice mathematics teachers have been met to a very large extent; (ii) the perceived knowledge level of the preservice mathematics teachers on TPACK and its components were moderate and high; (iii) there were positive relationships among the components of TPACK, and all of the relationships were statistically significant; (iv) to a very large extent, the preservice mathematics teachers would have the altruistic to teach mathematics (especially core mathematics) after they have graduated (v) TPACK and its components combined related significantly to preservice mathematics teachers’ altruistic to teach mathematics (AtTM) and technological content knowledge and technological knowledge were the individual predictor variables that related significantly to preservice mathematics teachers’ AtTM. Recommendations were thereof made accordingly.

Source: UEW
Investigating preservice teachers’ science content knowledge attitude and efficacy beliefs toward science teaching in selected colleges of education

The study focused on finding out the science teaching efficacy beliefs, science content knowledge and attitudes of preservice teachers in Colleges of Education in Ghana. A survey was used to gather data from a sample of 100 preservice teachers in two colleges of education in Ghana. A questionnaire consisting of a science teaching efficacy belief instrument (STEBI-B) science teaching attitude scale and a test were used to collect quantitative data respectively. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics functions of SPSS. The main finding were that generally the preservice teachers had strong efficacy beliefs, positive attitudes towards science teaching but had low science content knowledge on some selected topics from the basic school integrated science syllabus. The study found that weak science backgrounds of the preservice teachers contributed to their low science content knowledge. A number of recommendations were made including revision of the programmes of the college of educations to boost the content knowledge levels of the preservice teachers,

Source: UEW
Investigating project cost estimation practices in emerging construction firms to reduce project cost variance in Ghana a case study of the Kumasi Metropolitan

Improving cost estimation practices in emerging building construction firms continue to be a major feature of construction projects in an attempt to deal effectively with uncertainty and to achieve project success. The dissertation was conducted to investigate project cost estimation practices in emerging construction firms to reduce project cost variance in Ghana. The researcher employed the survey research design in the study with an accessible population of ten (10) construction companies, and five (5) consultancy firms operating in the Kumasi Metropolis. However, the study used purposive sampling technique to sample ninety (90) respondents to answer a set of structured questionnaires. Statistical package for the social science (SPSS) and MicrosftEcel (M.s Excel) were used to analyze the data and the results were presented in charts and tables showing their frequencies and percentages. In practice, according to the respondents the study found that, parametric, detailed/bottom-up, computer aided cost estimation methods and others are the major project cost estimation methods and techniques utilized by emerging construction firms to reduce project cost variance in the Kumasi metropolis. The study concluded that, emerging construction firm managers at Kumasi metropolis must critically examine and utilized the most appropriate project cost estimation method and technique applicable to each construction project to help reduce cost variance. The study therefore recommended that, building professionals (contractors, consultants, construction managers and quantity surveyors) are to ensure that all the effective cost estimation methods and techniques are fully adhered to in the construction of domestic buildings, public and industrial buildings as well. The study also recommended that, building professionals should ensure that they are well informed of the significant risk factors affecting cost estimation of construction works in order to make the right estimation required.

Source: UEW