Browsing by Author "Abonyi, U.K."
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Item Exploring instructional leadership practices of leaders in Ghanaian basic schools(Taylor & Francis Group, 2021) Abonyi, U.K.; Sofo, F.In the past decade learning outcomes in public basic schools in Ghana have fallen far below the targets of the Ministry of Education as less than a third of primary school children reach proficiency in English or in Mathematics. In the wake of this low performance, there has been a call for the professionalization and strengthening of instructional leadership in Ghanaian basic schools to facilitate effective teaching and learning. Employing qualitative research strategy through interviews, this study sought to investigate instructional leadership practices of 14 school leaders in the basic schools of one educational district of Ghana. The study found limited shared instructional leadership aimed at improving instruction. It seems instructional leadership was related to managerially focused idiosyncratic teaching and learning practices underpinned by behaviourism. Head Teachers had entrenched a leadership culture driven by central policies and expectations.Item Exploring work environment factors influencing the application of teacher professional development in Ghanaian basic schools(Cogent Social Sciences, 2020) Abonyi, U.K.; Yeboah, R.; Luguterah, A.W.: This study explored the work environment factors that support or constrain the application of teacher professional development initiatives in Ghanaian basic schools. Utilizing qualitative research paradigm, 15 teachers were purposively selected and interviewed from one educational district in Ghana. Findings from the study showed that headteachers support through the provision of the required teaching and learning resources, peer support through culture of shared norms, beliefs and values and the opportunity to share knowledge during school-based in-service training (INSET), interest and commitment shown by students toward learning, and availability of needed teaching and learning materials supported transfer of learning of teachers. In contrast, lack of time due to rigid and inflexible school timetable, teacher workload, and inadequate teaching and learning resources constrained effective transfer of professional development of teachers. The study concludes that educational policy makers and training practitioners need to support infrastructures that would empower headteachers to be resourceful in order to assist and provide teachers with the required teaching and learning facilities to facilitate the transfer of their learning.Item Factors Constraining University for Development Studies in Community Engagement in Northern Ghana(Research Humanities and Social Science, 2016-01) Abonyi, U.K.University for Development Studies (UDS) was established in 1992 with an explicit mandate to blend its academic work with that of the community in order to provide constructive interaction for the total development of northern Ghana in particular, and the country as a whole. Past research has shown that UDS has appreciably linked its teaching, research, and service roles to the socio-economic needs of northern Ghana. This study sought to illuminate the key factors constraining the university in its community engagement programs. It employed an interpretive research paradigm through semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis. In all 20 participants were purposefully drawn from specific units within the university for the study. Results from the study showed that inadequate funding of community engagement activities by the national government and regional authorities, inadequate infrastructural development in northern Ghana, lack of ability and readiness of the regional economy to absorb university knowledge and graduates, lack of specific internal incentive structures to motivate academics to engage in activities of regional nature and unwillingness of some academics to engage in activities of regional nature serve as the key factors constraining the regional role of the university. The study, therefore, recommends that if UDS is recognized as a key player in the development of Northern Ghana, then, the national government, regional authorities, and university administrators need to create an enabling environment and put in place appropriate policy support structures to stimulate an effective engagement of the university with its surrounding communities.Item Headteachers’ Support and Challenges Toward ICT Integration into Teaching and Learning in Ghanaian Basic Schools(Leadership And Policy In Schools, 2024) Abonyi, U.K.; Ahwireng, D.; Lomo, D.A.This study explored headteachers’ support toward ICT integration into teaching and learning and the challenges they face in offering such support. By employing a qualitative research paradigm, the study interviewed 10 headteachers and 10 ICT-trained teachers from one education district in the Greater Accra Region. Findings generated from a thematic analytical technique showed that the headteachers supported ICT integration into teaching and learning by organizing and supporting teachers in ICT-related trainings, monitoring and supervising teachers, providing and mobilizing ICT infrastructure, and maintaining the ICT infrastructure. However, inadequate funds to support the procurement of ICT equipment, lack of stakeholder support in mobilizing ICT resources, difficulty in training teachers, unavailability of electricity and internet facilities, and high maintenance costsconstrained headteachers’ efforts in supporting ICT integration into teaching and learning. The study concludes that for headteachers to successfully support ICT use among their teachers, pragmatic steps must be taken by policymakers to address the challenges they face in providing such support.Item Investigating the self-reported professional development activities of school leaders in Ghanaian rural basic schools(Professional Development in Education, 2017-08) Sofo, F.; Abonyi, U.K.In Ghana, research has shown that educational reforms over the years have ignored the importance of school leadership development, and there are currently very few reform initiatives that address the need to develop the leadership proficiencies and skills of school leaders. This study sought to investigate how school leaders, who include headteachers, assistant headteachers, and form masters, in such contexts develop their leadership skills following their appointment into their new roles. A mixed-methods approach was employed in gathering both quantitative and qualitative data concurrently from three groups of leaders in the basic schools of one rural educational district in Ghana. Results from the study showed that the professional development activities (PDAs) that the leaders employed for their development were mostly informal and self-directed learning methods. There were only limited formal leadership development programmes for the leaders working within any of the rural district basic schools represented in the study. The study concludes that to strengthen school leadership in basic schools in the selected district, educational authorities would need to learn from international best practice to initiate sustainable PDAs to strengthen the leadership capacities of leaders to promote effective teaching and learning in schools.Item Making primary school science education more practical through appropriate interactive instructional resources: A case study of Ghana(Cogent Education, 2019) Yeboah, R.; Abonyi, U.K.; Luguterah, A.W.This instructional resource production project explored low cost and waste materials for developing practical and interactive resources for teaching science at the basic school level. Developing countries, including Ghana, are not able to provide teachers with instructional resources for teaching and learning due to financial constraints. Science in particular is a subject that pupils and students in Ghana generally do not perform well both at the basic and senior high levels which is evident from the end of level examinations over the years. The study used exploratory and descriptive approaches under qualitative research. Convenience sampling was used to select low cost and waste materials to work with, and observation was used to collect data from the production process. The research found that waste materials can be used safely to develop appropriate and useful instructional resources that are very practical for teaching and learning of science lessons. This research projects to science teachers that they can freely turn col lected waste and low-cost materials into useful resources for effective lessons.Item Making primary school science education more practical through appropriate interactive instructional resources: A case study of Ghana(Cogent Education, 2019) Yeboah, R.; Abonyi, U.K.; Luguterah, A.W.This instructional resource production project explored low cost and waste materials for developing practical and interactive resources for teaching science at the basic school level. Developing countries, including Ghana, are not able to provide teachers with instructional resources for teaching and learning due to financial constraints. Science in particular is a subject that pupils and students in Ghana generally do not perform well both at the basic and senior high levels which is evident from the end of level examinations over the years. The study used exploratory and descriptive approaches under qualitative research. Convenience sampling was used to select low cost and waste materials to work with, and observation was used to collect data from the production process. The research found that waste materials can be used safely to develop appropriate and useful instructional resources that are very practical for teaching and learning of science lessons. This research projects to science teachers that they can freely turn col lected waste and low-cost materials into useful resources for effective lessons.Item Motivations of pre-service teachers in the colleges of education in Ghana for choosing teaching as a career(Cogent Education, 2021) Abonyi, U.K.; Awhireng, D.; Luguterah, A.W.This study investigated the motives of pre-service teachers for choosing teaching as a career from one college of education in Ghana. Employing descriptive survey design, the study randomly invited 300 pre-service teachers to participate in the study. Findings from the study showed that pre-service teachers chose teaching as a profession due to their desire to shape the future of children and adolescents, prior teaching and learning experiences, to enhance social equity and perceived teaching ability. The study further showed that female preservice teachers rated job security, time for family, shape future of children and adolescents, and work with children and adolescents significantly higher than males. Also, pre-service teachers who reside in rural areas rated perceived teaching ability and intrinsic career value significantly higher than those who reside in urban areas. It is recommended that authorities at the colleges of education need to attend to excellence in teacher education and optimize support structures to promote and sustain preservice tea chers’ positive teaching motivations and behaviours.Item Motivations of pre-service teachers in the colleges of education in Ghana for choosing teaching as a career(Taylor & Francis Group, 2021) Abonyi, U.K.; Awhireng, D.; Luguterah, A.W.This study investigated the motives of pre-service teachers for choosing teaching as a career from one college of education in Ghana. Employing descriptive survey design, the study randomly invited 300 pre-service teachers to participate in the study. Findings from the study showed that pre-service teachers chose teaching as a profession due to their desire to shape the future of children and adolescents, prior teaching and learning experiences, to enhance social equity and perceived teaching ability. The study further showed that female pre-service teachers rated job security, time for family, shape future of children and adolescents, and work with children and adolescents significantly higher than males. Also, pre-service teachers who reside in rural areas rated perceived teaching ability and intrinsic career value significantly higher than those who reside in urban areas. It is recommended that authorities at the colleges of education need to attend to excellence in teacher education and optimize support structures to promote and sustain preservice teachers’ positive teaching motivations and behaviours.Item Relationship between professional development of head teachers and supervision of instruction in Ghanaian basic schools(British Journal of Education, 2017-01) Abonyi, U.K.While a number of training programmes are organized to strengthen the supervisory roles of headteachers in Ghanaian basic schools, research suggests that the quality of instructional supervision remains poor. Employing quantitative research paradigm, this study sought to explore the relationship between professional development and supervision of instruction of headteachers in the basic schools of one educational district in Ghana. The study results showed that while engagement in both formal and informal professional development activities correlated with instructional supervision, only the engagement in informal professional development activities significantly predicted supervision and evaluation of instruction. This suggests that informal learning experiences appear to be valuable than formal professional development activities in the selected district. Educational authorities in Ghana therefore need to coordinate and strengthen the existing informal/on-the-job learning strategies in schools to facilitate the supervisory skills of headteachers.Item Universities’ Role in Regional Development: A Case Study of University for Development Studies, Ghana(Journal of Education and Practice, 2016-01) Abonyi, U.K.This study, employing an interpretive research paradigm, sought to investigate into how University for Development Studies (UDS) is responding to its regional development mandate with a specific focus on how it is responding to human capital development, innovation capabilities, and social and environmental development in northern Ghana. A study of this nature was deemed relevant and appropriate since UDS was established in 1992 under the PNDC Law 279 with an explicit mandate to blend its academic work with that of the community in order to provide constructive interaction between the two for the total development of northern Ghana. Despite the deplorable state of development in Northern Ghana, the regional development mandate of UDS in such a challenging environment has not attracted much attention in the literature. Findings from the study suggest that while UDS has appreciably linked its teaching, research, and service roles to the development needs of northern Ghana, it has a stronger link with the human capital development and social, cultural, and environmental development compared to developing the innovation capabilities of northern Ghana. It is, therefore, recommended that if UDS is seen as a key player in the development of Northern Ghana through its policy mandate, then, government and regional authorities need to create an enabling environment and put in place appropriate policy support structures to stimulate an effective engagement of UDS with the industrial sector and local businesses.