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Publish Or Perish- Publication Over Emphasized At The Expense of Effective Teaching: The Case of Ghanaian Universities
Get PDFAlmost all colleges and universities profess to be committed to effective teaching as evident in their brochures and catalogues. However, this representation is open to challenge from those who teach and those who learn in today’s colleges and universities simply because teaching accounts for second rate status by lecturers who feel that greater consideration is given to scholarly publications than to teaching in recruitment, promotion and tenure decisions by university authorities (Seldin, 1989:3) In Ghana, the general axiom is “publish or perish” and not “teach well or perish” why should teaching have second rate status? This paper attempts to inspire discussion relating to refreshing arguments the balance between teaching and research publication. It advances arguments for effective teaching, not to emphasize teaching above research publications, but to give effective teaching its proper status and to conceptualize what effective teaching ought to be in our universities. It will assist Vice Chancellors, deans and department heads how to provide the needed leadership to foster effective teaching in their outfits
The Challenges of Developing Ghanaian Managers for Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness
Get PDFThe establishment of State – Owned Enterprises (SOEs) was perceived as one of the means to achieving economic progress. Unfortunately, SOEs have not performed as expected. The present government seems to be more rigorous in its approach to reform the public sector and encourage private sector participation. To improve performance the government introduced management development programs as part of the performance evaluation system. It therefore becomes a challenge to the training institutions in the country to assess training needs and design programs tailored to meet those needs. In the light of this, my project aimed at the establishment of training needs of the managers of eleven state organizations in Ghana. The survey revealed that improvement in skills that are pertinent for achieving value for money was urgently needed. It also indicated that most companies in the country use external consultants/training companies for the training of their staff
IMPLEMENTATION OF GHANA’S SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMME: THE CASE OF GOMOA WEST DISTRICT
Get PDFThis study explored the implementation of the School Feeding Programme in the Gomoa West district. It focused on school enrollment and the promotion of local food production and consumption resulting from the implementation of the School Feeding Programme (GSFP) in the district. It adopted a case study design that was situated in the interpretive paradigm. The study population covered headteachers, caterers, and the zonal coordinator in the district. The zonal coordinator, five (5) headteachers, and five (5) caterers of beneficiary schools were purposively selected. The instruments for data collection were interview guides and documents. Thematic data analysis was employed in the analysis of data. The study found that the GSFP has increased school enrollments in the Gomoa West district. The programme is also boosting local food production in beneficiary communities and other communities where food is procured. Delays in payment and insufficient funding were, among others, identified as challenges in the district. In light of the challenges identified, it is recommended that the current GHS 1.00 per pupil a day be increased by the government to improve quality and quantity. Furthermore, Communities and NGOs should provide standard kitchens for beneficiary schools to enhance hygiene in the programme
Exploring internal quality assurance management practices: Experiences of some quality assurance actors at the University of Ghana
Get PDFThis article used a constructivist-interpretivist approach to explore the perspectives of quality assurance actors on internal quality assurance management practices at the University of Ghana (UG). Semi-structured interviews and document reviews were used to gather data from UG. The themes that emerged from the data indicated that UG has a comprehensive quality assurance policy, and policy implementation structure and uses a systems model of quality assurance management system made up of input, process, output, and outcome sub-systems. The results show that there is a lack of well–resourced quality assurance sub-committees at the policy implementation levels, inadequate quality assurance stakeholders’ involvement, and neglect of quality assurance measures for the educational outcome sub-system. The findings imply that for UG to improve its internal quality assurance management, there is a need to establish well-resourced quality assurance sub-committees at the policy implementation levels. In addition, quality assurance actors should involve all stakeholders stipulated in the quality assurance policy documents. The Academic Quality Assurance Unit should implement the educational outcome quality assurance measures by conducting tracer studies, employer satisfaction surveys, alumni surveys, and community perception surveys as stipulated in the UG’s quality assurance policy document
Ensuring Administrative Justice in the Governance of Public Universities in Ghana: What University Administrators Must Know
No full textAdministrative justice encompasses matters of fairness in public service delivery as well as unfair administrative procedures or decisions and the resultant adverse effects on others. Public Administrators wield unfettered power so administrative decisions and actions are subject to judicial review once a person alleges that he or she is aggrieved as a result of administrative unfairness. Accordingly, some administrative decisions or actions by Ghanaian Public University Administrators found to be unfair or in contravention of statute or natural justice are likely to be quashed by the courts. This often leads to judicial review of administrative decisions and actions. However, internal adjudicating processes must be exhausted first especially in the case of public universities in Ghana. This is a position paper expressing experience-based opinion on the application of the principles of natural justice in the workplace. Relevant decided cases have been cited to enrich the discussions. Albeit the paper is specifically meant for theconsumption of University Administrators, it also generically applies to other public administrators in Ghana. We, therefore, hope that the paper will not only become an educative piece but also a reference material for Public Administrators of all kinds
The Perspective of Administrative and Professional Staff on Succession Planning in a Tertiary Institution in Ghana
Get PDFThe study examined the perspectives of senior members of the administrative and professional staff of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana, on succession planning in the University. A questionnaire was used to collect data and information from 136 randomly sampled administrative and professional staff of the University. Content analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data and information collected from the respondents. The results indicate that there is no well-structured programme or a policy document that guides succession planning in the University. Majority (71.4%) indicated that currently, the succession planning being practiced which is in the form of rotation and mentorship does not lead to significant staff retention among the professional and administrative senior members and the achievement of the University’s goals. The results also revealed that most of the respondents did not appreciate the benefits of succession planning and, therefore, there is the need for education among this category of staff. The study recommends that the University should formulate and implement a succession planning policy to reduce staff attrition and prepare them for leadership positions
INTERNATIONAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND EDUCATION (IMJRE)
Get PDFInternational Multidisciplinary Journal of Research and Education (IMJRE) is managed by the International Multidisciplinary Conference for Postgraduate Students (IMCfPS) Secretariat of the University of Education, Winneba Ghana. It publishes high quality manuscripts that are of international significance in terms of design and findings and promote collaboration by international team of researchers to create special issues on topics in education
INVESTIGATING THE CHALLENGES TO SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF STEM INTEGRATION EDUCATION IN GHANA
Get PDFThe purpose of the study was to look at the major challenges that need to be addressed as Ghana toes the path of STEM integration education. The study used concurrent mixed method as the study design and purposive and snowball sampling to sample thirteen (13) stakeholders. The stakeholders were teachers, parents, administrators for private STEM organizations including government officials in charge of STEM education in Ghana and a representative from Ashesi Design Lab. The instruments used for the data collection were questionnaire items for the quantitative part and a semi-structured interview for the qualitative part. All thirteen respondents answered the questionnaire whereas 12 respondents availed themselves for the interview. The data gathered were analysed separately yet concurrently. The quantitative part was analysed using percentages with the aid SPSS 24.0 software and the qualitative data were analysed using coding and themes. The findings reveal that a lot of teachers lack deep knowledge about STEM contents and pedagogical knowledge about how to integrate them, etc. The study recommends that the government of Ghana, through GES, must ensure that there would be training and retraining of teachers to be abreast with the acronym STEM and STEM integration educatio
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PRACTICES AND TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS IN GHANA: PERSPECTIVE OF TEACHERS IN THE KRACHI NCHUMURU DISTRICT
Get PDFThis study investigated performance appraisal practices and teacher effectiveness in Public Junior High Schools (PJHSs) in the Krachi Nchumuru District and identified possible errors committed by appraisers in the conduct of teacher performance appraisals. The concurrent triangulation mixed-method research design was employed for the study. One hundred and seven (107) teachers were selected for the quantitative phase of the study using a stratified simple random proportional sampling technique, while a homogenous sampling technique was employed to select thirteen (13) participants for the qualitative phase of the study. A structured questionnaire and semi-structured interview guide were used to collect data for the quantitative and qualitative phases respectively. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS Version 20, while the qualitative data were analyzed using the grounded theory model. The study revealed that teachers in PJHSs in the Krachi Nchumuru District have positive perceptions of performance appraisal practices. The study also established a positive statistical relationship between performance appraisal practices and teacher effectiveness in PJHSs in the Krachi Nchumuru District [r= .868, n=107, p?.0005]. In addition, major errors committed by appraisers in the conduct of performance appraisals are positive bias errors (M=23.04, SD=1.213), negative bias errors (M=23.06, SD=1.164), similar-to-me errors (M=23.30, SD=1.134), contrast errors (M=22.93, SD=1.160), and leniency errors (M=22.93, SD=1.135), whereas (M=22.24, SD=1.026) stated that, the conduct of performance appraisal practices in the district are not fair. Based on this outcome, it is recommended that appraisers adopt the 360-degree module of conducting performance appraisals to achieve fairness and ensure teacher effectivenes
Analysis of Students’ Role in University Governance: A Case Study of KNUST during the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textHigher Educational Institutions (HEIs) all over the world have developed strategies to minimize the impact of the novel corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic on students. Most HEIs as part of their governance systems involve students in their decisionmaking processes. This is because students are major stakeholders and must be involved in all decision making that affects them. However, the COVID-19 crisis posed a great challenge of social distancing which has limited the involvement of students in relevant decision-making processes. This study examined how student leadership has been involved in the governance of HEIs, using the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana, as a case study. Using a qualitative approach, five university leaders and five student leaders were sampled to provide their perspectives on the crisis. A content analysis of the appropriate institutional policies was carried out. The study found that there is policy framework to support students’ involvement in the university’s governance, but these processes are not effectively adhered to during crisis situations. It is recommended that HEIs engage professionals with expertise in student affairs to build capacity of management and student leaders in university governance. Besides, there is the need to professionalise student affairs offices in order to respond to the needs of students, especially, during crisis such as COVID19