Journal of Advocacy, Research and Education

110-120

Authors: Jackson Lutaaya, Maria Sewela Mabusela, Thembela Comfort Ntshangase

The study’s main aim was to investigate challenges faced by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in addressing the skills shortage gap in the rural communities of South Africa. The human capital theory was employed as the theoretical framework in this study. The study followed the qualitative approach for data generation and analysis. In their respective portfolios, six campus senior personnel participated in the in-depth interviews. The findings identified a lack of trained lecturers, the poor design of the TVET curriculum, curriculum fragmentation, weak institutional structures, and poor infrastructure. The findings also noted the poor funding norms, poor policy frameworks, lack of active support by the stakeholders, and a poor relationship with the TVET partners.

133-144

Authors: William Effoh-Forson Asamoah, Patrick Appiah, Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum

The study assessed the usage of extension communication channels for disseminating crop production information to oil palm farmers in Birim South District. A sample size of 181 farmers was selected through purposive and simple random sampling techniques. The data collected were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, ordinal logistic regression, and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. The results showed that radio, extension agents and colleague farmers were generally the most available communication channels for oil palm farmers. Radio, colleague farmers and extension agents were the communication channels that the farmers frequently used. Nursing and planting, pest and disease control, use of fertiliser, and harvest and post-harvest handling were the crop production information mostly sought by the farmers. It was also discovered that the majority of farmers do not get any agricultural information from farmer magazines, newspapers, or mobile text messages. Sex, level of education and household size were the most significant factors influencing oil palm farmers' frequency of use of the available/accessible communication channels for crop production information (p values =0.037, 0.010 & 0.034, respectively). The major challenges affecting the use of communication channels were low farmer-extension ratio, poor signals and the high cost of using such channels. The study recommends that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Non-Governmental Organisations facilitate the establishment and maintenance of farm radio programmes and encourage more peer-to-peer extension among rural farmers.

59-67

Authors: Elizabeth Mana Akpakli, Alvin Jeffrey Munsamy

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and causes of visual impairment (VI) among primary school children in the Biadan and Kato circuits in the Berekum Municipality, Bono Region, Ghana. A cross-sectional and a two-stage random sampling technique was employed to recruit 299 study participants. Visual acuity, retinoscopy, examination of the anterior segment, media and fundus were conducted on each participant. A modified refractive error survey in children (RESC) protocol was used in collecting data. A presenting visual acuity of ≤ 6/12 in the better eye was diagnosed as having VI with a cause. Prevalence was estimated, and binary logistic regression was used to determine the strength of the association between visual impairment and independent variables at a 95 % confidence interval. Two hundred and ninety-five (295) children with a mean age of 10.08 ± 2.18 years were able to go through all examinations. The prevalence of VI was 8.14 %. Twenty-four children were visually impaired, of whom 17 (70.83 %) were females and 7 (29.17 %) were males. Refractive error was the cause in 67 % of visually impaired children, cataracts in 8 %, and amblyopia in 4 %. Age was found to be associated with VI (OR=0.77; 95 % CI:0.63-0.95), while gender showed no association. Uncorrected refractive error is a common cause of VI among school children in the Biadan and Kato circuits. Age was negatively associated with visual impairment, suggesting the vulnerability of younger school children. Early detection and provision of affordable eye health services may help curb preventable VI.

80-92

Authors: Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum, Martin Obeng, Isaac Boamah

The study was structured to understand internet fraud cult practices, popularly called sakawa among young people in Ghana, with a particular focus on pastoral care offered at the Patmos Prayer and Retreat Centre, Akropong. The study relied mainly on the use of qualitative research methods. The purposive sampling technique was used to select all the respondents: pastoral caregivers and a former sakawa victim. Content analysis was used to analyse the data collected from the respondents. The study found that sakawa generally involves engagement in occultic practices for wealth, influence, power, fame and favour. The root cause of involvement in Sakawa is the insatiable desire or quest for wealth. Most of the victims are normally lured in by their peers and friends. As a result of unemployment, financial constraints are also a major cause of involvement in sakawa. Victims make certain sacrifices to become partakers of the ‘blessings’ of sakawa. There are dire spiritual consequences for breaching sakawa instructions. Participants of sakawa only seek help when they realise they are in danger or when it turns out that they cannot meet certain demands being placed on them. Post-deliverance counselling for victims of sakawa is the only way their faith in Christ can be sustained. These activities must include referrals to other specialists to seek medical, psychological, vocational and financial assistance. The study recommends that Churches educate their young people to use the internet and other modern technology for godly purposes.

6-17

Authors: John C.H. Hu

Research outputs towards dissemination – such as journal articles and academic conferences – may be difficult to access for marginalized youth, despite the fact that engaging youth in this access can help them equitably benefit from the existing research evidence-base while mobilizing new generations towards research utilization and application. A pilot study was conducted to assess digital media as an alternative tool for disseminating research to marginalized youth. Specifically, this article focuses on the mental health implications of communicating research to marginalized youth via digital media. Grounded in the perspectives of marginalized youth themselves, the three-phase study includes an exploratory literature review, a first round of interviews (n = 5) to refine the interview guide, and a second round of interviews with marginalized youth (n = 8) for a pilot investigation. Mental health impacts are analyzed with six emerging themes, with findings below. First, youth self-censor and can experience constant fear even in expressing support for a piece of digital media. Second, youth report intentionally seeking negative emotional experiences via digital media for personal growth and development. Third, youth can successfully receive transformational knowledge via digital media, but the inability to communicate this knowledge to peers and the powerlessness they can experience in being unable to utilize this knowledge can result in greater isolation. Lastly, the intrinsic link between digital media and creation of online communities around a common interest could be further explored towards successful research dissemination and utilization in the future.

32-42

Authors: Dumisani W Mncube, Blanche Hadebe-Ndlovu

This paper foregrounds values-based education, as linked to the inclusion of sustainable rural learning and knowledge in the form of indigenous games to decolonise school curricula. Certain curriculum challenges are unique to rural ecology and can only be addressed by experts and philosophers passionate about sustainable rural learning using ubuntu perspectives. This approach of using rural learning methodologies to teach school children is fertile ground for innovation in this study. Interpretivism, in the form of a phenomenological case study approach, was employed, using semi-structured interviews and classroom observation. Document analysis was also used to corroborate the findings. The findings reveal that indigenous games are implied in the curriculum, and teachers do their best to infuse local games in the Grade R, 1, and 2 Life Skills curricula. It was found that many indigenous games are a perfect strategy for infusing sustainable rural learning methods useful for teaching Life Skills in a decolonised approach. Teachers showed pedagogical content knowledge and skills for teaching Life Skills using indigenous games and Ubuntu philosophy. The results call for supportive in-service teacher programmes that can equip Foundation Phase teachers to improve their teaching strategies. In addition, resources should be earmarked to promote pedagogical content knowledge aligned with rural learning.

96-104

Authors: John Lawer Narh, Isaac Agyei-Boakye, John F.K. Ekpe

In the housing industry in Ghana, wood treatment is often done using water-borne preservatives. Common examples of preservatives include Acid Copper Chromate (ACC), Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA), and Chlorpyrifos (Dursban). It is important to know that good wood preservatives must be available on the market to ensure the quality of wood products in the Ghanaian housing industry. It is not enough that the preservative is efficient; it ought to be popular on the market. However, the popularity of a preservative may not necessarily portray its popularity. The main purpose of this study was to identify the most and least popular water-borne wood preservatives (Dursban, CCA, and ACC) in use and also determine any possible associations between woodworkers’ views concerning the most and least popular water-borne wood preservatives used in the housing industries and demographic status. An analytic sample of 199 participants was included in our study using a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. The results suggest that woodworkers rated Dursban as the most popular (65 %), CCA least popular (52 %), and ACC unsure (37 %). More specifically, young adults (74 %), secondary educated (84 %), carpentry speciality (86 %), and over two years experienced (88 %) woodworkers rated Dursban the most popular water-borne wood preservative used in the housing industry. However, young adults (56 %), secondary educated (59 %), carpentry specialists (59 %), and over two years experienced woodworkers (60 %) rated CCA the least popular water-borne wood preservative use in the housing industry. Further, we observed significant associations between participants’ education, profession, and experience with their perceptions of widespread water-borne wood preservatives used in the Ghanaian housing industry. Our study has implications for research, practice, and policy.

116-123

Authors: Dickson Okoree Mireku, Prosper Dzifa Dzamesi

This position paper aims to highlight some progressive steps by successive Ghana governments to patch the leaks in Ghana’s educational pipeline for training females for careers in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Documentary analysis techniques were employed to review the literature to follow the line of discussions on the topic. After the review, it was found that at the end of British rule in 1957, Ghana adopted various science and technology policies geared towards pushing it into the class of front-runners in modern science and technology. Adopting policies became necessary after Ghana assessed the pivotal roles that science and technology would play in its economic development agenda. The Gender Parity Index in the primary and secondary school enrollments in Ghana between 2011 to 2020 increased from 0.96 to 1.01, indicating that the differences in the rates at which males and females were admitted to reading STEM programmes closed up. Through the government of Ghana’s interventions, the gender gap was reduced, a situation that supported the stands of the authors against that of some social critics who were of the view that Ghana is among the countries that are still struggling to patch ‘leaks’ in its educational pipeline for promoting gender balance in STEM education.

65-77

Authors: Dorris Goodness Mathebula, Onoriode Collins Potokri

The study investigated barriers female teachers face when applying for promotional positions and their consequential impact on their teaching responsibilities. In this study, female and women are interchangeably used. The study was based on a qualitative multiple-case study research design and approach. Purposive sampling was used. In line with the design and approach, the sample consisted of five teachers from five different schools. An unstructured interview method was used to collect data, and the data collected were analysed by means of the thematic analysis method. The findings of this study revealed several barriers to management positions. These include domination by men, lack of leadership and management skills, lack of self-confidence, corruption in the schools, discrimination, and women not wanting to work far from their children or homes. These barriers burden women teachers because they become demoralised, demotivated, and bitter. Mitigation strategies that could help female teachers with their experience regarding promotional barriers also emerged as part of this study’s findings. Based on the findings, conclusions and recommendations were made.

86-92

Authors: Stephen Appiah, Charles Essiam

This quasi-experimental study explored the effectiveness of CAI in a Biology classroom at Adisadel College in Ghana. The study participants were 80 second-year Biology students who were conveniently sampled from the Green Track and the Gold Track of students in the school. The experimental group consisted of 40 students and was engaged in using CAI for five consecutive weeks. The students in the control group were taught by the conventional method. Students in both groups were exposed to the same content for the same period. The same pre-test and post-test were conducted on both groups, and the responses were analyzed using a t-test. A 10-item Likert-scale questionnaire was administered to the experimental group after the treatment to assess the impact of the CAI on their learning. The study’s findings revealed that students exposed to CAI performed significantly better than their counterparts taught with conventional instruction. The students also support the use of CAI in their classrooms. The Physics Education Technology (PhET) simulations used during the study improved students’ understanding of the concepts and thus reflected in their performance in the post-test. Science teachers are encouraged to employ PhET simulations in their teaching.