ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Investigating the challenges in the induction of newly appointed teachers in Amansie West District - Copy

The purpose of the study was to investigate the challenges in the induction of newly appointed teachers in public Junior High Schools in the Manso Nkwanta Circuit of the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Ghana. The objectives of the study were to find out the extent to which induction programmes are organised for teachers, determine the causes of ineffective induction practices\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ and to ascertain the effects of effective induction programme on teaching and learning in public Junior High Schools in the in the Manso Nkwanta Circuit. A descriptive cross sectional survey design was employed with quantitative approach for the study. The target population for the study was 195, comprising 15 head teachers, teachers, 30 newly appointed teachers and 150 veteran teachers. Purposive sampling technique was used to select all the 195 population for the study. The study found among others that induction programmes were organized for teachers in public Junior High Schools on preparation of lesson notes, code of conduct for teachers and conflict resolution. The causes of ineffective induction programme were work overload (lack of time), negative attitude of existing or veteran as well as beginning teachers and financial constraints. The effects of effective induction programme were that it effectively integrates new employees to the organization. It is recommended based on the findings that the Ghana Education Service should provide heads of educational institutions with adequate financial support to enable them to conduct effective induction programme as it entails a lot of funding.

Source: UEW
Investigating the charging time of supercapacitors using Stern's model

This paper investigates the charging time constant reduction of supercapacitors with regard to some identified key parameters. These parameters involved are consistent with the Equivalent Series Resistances and the Double layer Capacitance in Stern's Model. The charging parameters have been considered and simulated in Matlab environment. The simulation results have indicated that the effect of capacitance of Electrical Double Layer on the charge time is more significant. However, it is noted that by varying some parameters such as reducing the relative permittivity of the electrolyte, active surface, and also increasing Helmholtz layer thickness contributed in improving the charging time of supercapacitor. � 2017 IEEE.

Source: UEW
Investigating the communication relationships between lactating mothers in graduate school, their cohorts and their lecturers the case of University Of Education, Winneba

This study investigated the communication relationships that existed between lactating student-mothers pursuing graduate programmes and their cohorts, and lecturers and the influence such relationships had on their academic development and success. It focused on the sandwich session of students, lactating sandwich mothers on Graduate programmes. It delved deep into their experiences of combining childcare and studies by using the phenomenological approach. In-depth interviews were conducted on four student-mothers. The interviews were transcribed and colour-coded into themes and descriptively analysed. The findings were that, graduate lactating student-mothers found it taxing combining these two roles which led to conflict. However, positive communication relationships between these mothers and their cohorts, as well as their lecturers including other support services from significant others, motivates them to learn leading to academic development and success. The study also revealed that, negative comments and awkward relationships demoralizes such students putting more stress on them which results in incongruence in their lives, thereby resulting in poor performance. The study recommended cordial relationships and positive interactions between lactating student-mothers and their associates and lecturers, university orientation, accommodating them at one hall of residence and providing support from other significant others, to promote every lactating student-mother’s welfare and academic success. It is also recommended that evening lectures could be shifted to the weekends. Such arrangement would afford these mothers the opportunity to be with their babies during the night thereby relieving their nannies of the childcare duties in the night as wel

Source: UEW
Investigating the communication relationships between lactating mothers in graduate school, their cohorts and their lecturers, the case of University of Education, Winneba

This study investigated the communication relationships that existed between lactating student-mothers pursuing graduate programmes and their cohorts, and lecturers and the influence such relationships had on their academic development and success. It focused on the sandwich session of students, lactating sandwich mothers on Graduate programmes. It delved deep into their experiences of combining childcare and studies by using the phenomenological approach. In-depth interviews were conducted on four student-mothers. The interviews were transcribed and colour-coded into themes and descriptively analysed. The findings were that, graduate lactating student-mothers found it taxing combining these two roles which led to conflict. However, positive communication relationships between these mothers and their cohorts, as well as their lecturers including other support services from significant others, motivates them to learn leading to academic development and success. The study also revealed that, negative comments and awkward relationships demoralizes such students putting more stress on them which results in incongruence in their lives, thereby resulting in poor performance. The study recommended cordial relationships and positive interactions between lactating student-mothers and their associates and lecturers, university orientation, accommodating them at one hall of residence and providing support from other significant others, to promote every lactating student-mother’s welfare and academic success. It is also recommended that evening lectures could be shifted to the weekends. Such arrangement would afford these mothers the opportunity to be with their babies during the night thereby relieving their nannies of the childcare duties in the night as well.

Source: UEW
Investigating the concord problems of senior high school students, a case study of Ghana Senior High School, Tamale.

Studies indicate that the major area of students’ writing problems in English language relates to the violation of English language concord rules. Concord rules are taught at all levels of education in Ghana, but sadly, most Senior High School students have great challenges in making their sentences concordant. The students of Ghana Senior High school, Tamale, are no exception. The study sought to identify the peculiar concord problem areas of Ghana Senior High School students, to examine the possible factors that account for those errors and to identify appropriate strategies that will assist the students to overcome their concord errors. The instruments used for the data collection were; observation, interview and objective test. These were analysed using qualitative design. The findings revealed that the students make all kinds of concord errors particularly subject- verb concord errors, determiner – noun concord errors, verb -verb concord errors, invented subject – verb concord errors and shifts in constructions concord errors. The findings also revealed that the most challenging category of concord for the respondents is subject-verb concord. It revealed that teachers, students and L1 interference are the factors that account for these errors. Suggestions and recommendations were given in the concluding chapter for the way forward. It relates to the involvement of policy makers, teachers of English, students, curriculum designers and textbooks writers. It is hoped that if these suggestions are implemented, students will eventually overcome their concord challenges and make their sentences concordant.

Source: UEW
Investigating the difficulties of the use of auxiliary verb,a case of the pupils of Tengekorfe L.A. Junior High School

This research work investigated the challenges that the pupils at the Tengekorfe Basic 8 face in using auxiliary verbs. It looks at the factors that are responsible for the challenges and difficulties that pupils face in the use of the auxiliary verbs. The nature of the problem was scrutinized using error analysis which informed the suggested solutions and ways of improving upon the use of the auxiliary verbs. As such, qualitative research design was explored. 36 pupils were sampled with teachers, parents and other authorities concerned to respond to the research instruments used. Tests, interviews and observations were used in this research to gather the data needed. The study revealed that most of the pupils commit errors both in spoken and written language in an attempt to use auxiliary verbs. They used the auxiliary verbs with a wrong tense. This was evidenced in their pretest and the interviews conducted and the observations made by the researcher. The study also revealed that the environment did not help the pupils to regularly practice what they learnt. Another finding of this study is that most parents did not provide their wards with supplementary study materials that will help them improve upon their language use effectively. The teaching methods used by the teachers were also found to be stereotyped and theory-oriented without practical activities. The study therefore suggests complementary teaching methods in practical terms that will make the pupils to remember the concepts of the use of auxiliary verbs with ease. A recommendation was put forward that in-service training workshops should be organized for teachers to improve upon their methods and techniques of teaching. Parents and guardians should also be enlightened to provide more study materials to the pupils at home and supervise them to adequately use them so as to overcome their difficulties in the use of auxiliary verb

Source: UEW
Investigating the effect of exchange rate changes on stock market returns in Ghana a case study of Ghana stock exchange (2007-2015)

This study was based on the effect of exchange rate changes on stock market returns. It could be seen that exchange rate from the previous years have been increasing at a faster rate, in the same way stock market returns has also been unstable. It was therefore to determine the relationship between exchange rate and stock market. The study made use of monthly data of Ghana stock exchange All-share index and exchange rate variable from January 2007 through December 2015; to examine the extent to which exchange rate variable influence the stock market returns both in the short run and long run with the following test Johansen Juselius (JJ) co-integration test, Vector Error Correction Model(VECM). The study establishes that there is long-run relationship between stock market returns and exchange rate .It was also found that in the short- run, there is a negative relationship between the stock market returns and the exchange rate. The results provide some insights into the effects of exchange rate on the stock market index in Ghana. This can help the policy makers and investors in decision on planning and portfolio investment. It is also recommended that investors consider inflation and foreign direct investment and its performance.

Source: UEW
Investigating the effect of geogebra learning tool on the acquisition of concepts in circle theorems by senior high school students in Anloga district

The main aim of the study was to investigate the effect of GeoGebra learning tool on the acquisition of concepts in circle theorems by Senior High School Students in Anloga district in Volta region. The study used mixed method research design. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to answer the various research questions. The sample of about 101 SHS 3 students comprising 50 in the control group and 51 in the experimental group and 10 mathematics teachers from the two schools were randomly and conveniently selected respectively for the study. The study lasted for three weeks. Circle Theorems Achievement Tests (CTAT) was administered to both intact classes (control and experimental) as pre-test and after the intervention a similar CTAT was administered as post-test. During treatment, the experimental group was taught using GeoGebra learning tool while the traditional instruction was applied to the control group. Three research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. However, interview data showed students negative attitudes and teachers’ teaching methods (use of traditional teaching method) were the main cause of students’ poor performance in circle theorems. Also, independent samples t-test results revealed that the traditional method did not have significant impact on the academic performance of students in circle theorem. It was revealed that Geogebra learning tool has significantly improved achievement of students in circle theorem. The result of the independent-t test comparing the post-test results of the two groups showed that there was a significant difference between mean performance scores of the control group (M = 22.26, SD = 4.575) compared to Experimental group (M = 44.76, SD = 5.054); t(99) = 3.985, hence, the null hypothesis that there is no statistically significant difference in the mean post scores between students utilizing GeoGebra learning tool and traditional method was rejected as p = 0.000 < 0.05.The finding showed that there is a statistically significant positive effect for students who used GeoGebra learning tool to learn circle theorems. Students taught with GeoGebra teaching tool performed better than their counterparts who used traditional teaching method to learn circle theorems. Also, the GeoGebra teaching tool made the lessons more interesting, practical and easy to acquire concepts. It was concluded that the Geogebra teaching tool increased students’ conceptual understanding in circle theorems and hence increased students’ achievement in circle theorems than the traditional instruction. Thus, Geogebra teaching tool as a supplement to traditional teaching method is more effective than traditional instruction alone. It was recommended that teachers should incorporate GeoGebra teaching aid in the teaching of circle theorems.

Source: UEW
Investigating the effect of problem solving approach on senior high school students performances in algebraic linear equation word problems

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of problem solving approach of teaching on senior high school students’ performances in solving algebraic linear equation word problems. A quasi-experimental non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group research design was employed and adopted a mixed method of data analysis and presentation. The study involved thirty (30) students in the experimental group and twenty-two (22) in the control group in the Kwaebibirem Municipality of Eastern Region of Ghana. The experimental group was exposed to problem-solving teaching strategies, while the control group was taught using a traditional teaching approach. A pre-test was conducted before the treatment and a post-test after the treatment. The pre-test and post-test scores obtained by the students were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Upon scrutiny of students’ pre-test marked scripts, students’ difficulties in solving algebraic linear equation word problems were found to be: (1) Lack of understanding of the problem statement; (2) misinterpretation of the problem statement; (3) computational errors, and (4) inability of students to apply the appropriate mathematical knowledge. The analysis of students’ pre-test and post-test scores also showed that students in both control and experimental groups performed better in the post-test than the pre-test, however, the experimental group made more improvement in solving algebraic linear equation word problems as compared to students in control group. The study, therefore, recommends that mathematics teachers should employ problem-solving approach of teaching in their lessons in order to enhance students’ understanding of mathematics concepts, hence, improving their performance in mathematics.

Source: UEW
Investigating the Effect of van Hiele Phase-based Instruction on Pre-service Teachers’ Geometric Thinking

This study investigated the effect of van Hiele Phase-based Instruction (VHPI) on Ghanaian Pre-service Teachers’ (PTs’) geometric thinking in terms of the van Hiele Levels. A pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design was employed. There were 75 PTs each in the experimental group and the control group. Van Hiele Geometry Test (VHGT) was administered to all PTs as both pre-test and post-test. PTs in the experimental group were taught two-dimensional geometry using VHPI while the control group was instructed by conventional instruction. Chi-square results showed that the PTs in both groups had increment in their post-VHGT as compared to the pre-VHGT. However, the PTs in the experimental group achieved better levels of geometric thinking as compared to those in the control group (χ2 = 58.949, p<0.05). Again, results from paired samples t-test indicated a significant difference in mean scores between control and experimental groups favouring PTs in the experimental group (t=30.776, p<0.05). The significant improvement in the performance of the experimental group having more PTs at level 3 and 4 than at level 0, 1 and 2 suggest that the VHPI served a useful pedagogical approach, impacted positively on PTs geometric thinking levels and has the potential of improving teaching and learning of geometry in schools than the conventional approach. Van Hiele Phase-based instruction Van Hiele levels Geometric thinking Pre-service teachers Ghana

Source: UEW
Investigating the effective use of tense and aspect, a case study of Anyaboni D/A JHS

This is an action research work which is aimed at investigating the effective use of tense and aspect in Anyaboni D/A JHS and how problems identified could be addressed. This work proved that some students could not use tense and aspect effectively in their oral communication and the written aspect. The population for the study was thirty five (35) for JHS two students. All the 35 students were selected for the study. The researcher used the qualitative research design for the study. Research instruments used for the study were observation, interview, test and questionnaire. The data presentation and analysis revealed a lot of findings about why pupils do not use tense and aspect effectively. Teachers teaching the English language are not trained English teachers. They do not use teaching and learning materials (TLMs) for teaching tense and aspect.

Source: UEW
Investigating the effectiveness of computer simulation on students’ performance in cell biology

This study examined the effect of computer simulation instructional strategy on the academic performance of Cambridge students in biology. Four research questions guided this study. The action research design was adopted. An intact class of thirty-six grade eight Cambridge Lower Secondary School students were purposively selected as respondents for the study. The computer simulation instructional strategy was used consistently for six weeks to teach biology. After the sixth week, a post-intervention test was administered. The results showed that: The performance of the respondents on the post-intervention test (M=23.32) was significantly better than their performance on the pre-intervention test (M=12.58) indicating that the intervention had a positive impact on students’ performance; high ability learners performed nearly the same in the pre-intervention (M=25.44) and post-intervention (M=25.89) tests while medium ability learners performed significantly better in the post-intervention test (M=22.0) than in the pre-intervention test (M=18.78). Also, lower ability learners performed significantly better in the post-intervention test (M=15.45) than in the pre-intervention test (M=12.40) showing that computer simulations impacted low and medium ability learners more than high ability learners; computer simulation instructional strategy proves to be an effective instrument for bolstering the attitude of students towards the learning of biology (post: M=87.55; pre: M=75.36); computer simulation instruction approach had no differential impact on the performance of male and female students taught biology using the method (p=0.098 >0.05) . It was recommended that teacher education programmes in Kent International School should develop courses or training sessions that show teachers how to design computer simulations by themselves.

Source: UEW
Investigating the extent to which information and communication technology tools distract teaching and learning in Asokore Manpong district

Information and communication technology tools can help to improve teaching and learning process and also have potential to detract teaching and learning process if proper safeguards are not in place. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools promote or distract teaching and learning process in Asokore Mampong District. The study focused on three main variables which were: the extent to which ICT tools promotes teaching and learning process, the extent to which ICT tools distract teaching and learning process and the measures that can be put in place to control the distraction cause by ICT tools during teaching and learning process. A descriptive survey method was adopted for the study, questionnaires and field observations were used as data collection instruments. Most participants were with the view that if it is done in well-structured and effective format, information and communication technology tools can improve teaching and learning process. However, participants also indicated that Information and communication technology tools can serves as a distraction to teaching and learning process. Most participants concorded that, appropriate measures can be put in place to improve teaching and learning process using of Information and communication technology tools.

Source: UEW
Investigating the factors leading to the poor reading skills of form one students in St Basilide’s Technical Vocational School

The study was to investigate the factors leading to the poor reading skills of form one students in St Basilide’s Vocational Technical School. A population of three hundred (300) form one students was considered for the study. A sample of thirty (30) students was chosen for the study from the population. The students were both males and females to ensure gender equity. Interview and observation methods were used to collect data. The selected thirty students forming a representative sample of form one were interviewed. The research focused on reading practices common in senior high schools in Ghana, the challenges affecting the reading culture in schools and the strategies that should be adopted to improve the reading of students in form one. The objective of the study is to identify the reasons behind students’ poor reading habits and particularly to improve the reading skills of St Basilide’s Vocational Technical school form one students and also to develop the use of oral activities to improve English reading. The research findings depicted the situation of poor reading skills of SHS one students, and were enhanced by illustrations in the form of tables and graphs where necessary. Finally, the research recommended that Ministry of Education should introduce educative and interesting non-textbook materials (NTBRMS), readers’ clubs, encourage storytelling, make reading materials locally, timetable reading and library lessons, encourage early reading lessons, talking offices and compounds.

Source: UEW