Department of Adult Education and Human Resource Studies
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Item E-learning experiences of adults during COVID-19 outbreak The moderating effect of gender(Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, 2021) Kwapong, O.A.T.F.COVID-19 has brought surprises in the educational landscape. Educational institutions had to hurriedly migrate all teaching, learning and assessment activities to online platforms. Such was the case of adult learners who had signed on to the access course for entrance into the University of Ghana. This study sought to find out how the e-learning experiences of adult learners differed across gender as they studied English language, Logic and Mathematics online. From a quantitative analysis of the data, the online experience of students with regard to Mathematics learning did not differ along gender lines. Therefore, the experiences of males and females were similar. Though there were differences across gender groups regarding Logic and English language experiences and those of Logic experience were much bigger, where males provided overall more positive ratings than females. Specifically, for Logic experience, instructors’ show of respect to students and understanding of the learning needs of students and effective communication were rated generally better among males than females. Going forward, Logic instructors should pay equal attention to both groups, irrespective of their gender, to identify their learning needs and support them accordingly. Furthermore, all the instructors, irrespective of their course, could continue to improve their delivery of the courses as well as their relationships with the students in order to enhance future experience of the students.Item Learning Online during Crisis-Experiences of Students of a Women’s Community College in Ghana(Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 2022) Kwapong, O.A.T.F.This qualitative study explored how female college students in a community in Ghana undertook their online learning activities during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve the objectives of the study, criterion sampling, and an open-ended online questionnaire were used to collect data from 24 female students from the Presbyterian Women’s’ College of Education (PWC) in the Aburi community of Ghana. From conventional content analysis, it was found that female community college students appreciate online learning. They can position themselves to adapt, change their mindset, and build their confidence to study online effectively. They have also shown the ability to leverage basic interactive tools such as WhatsApp, chatrooms, and conference telephone calls to undertake virtual group study activities. They, however, have concerns with poor internet connectivity, limited financial resources for accessing internet services, limited time to grasp their content, and a lack of electronic devices. If they are supported with free internet services, electronic devices such as smartphones and laptops and equipped with online study skills, they will be able to consolidate and utilize the gains of online learning that has emerged from the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemicItem Understanding Teachers’ Usage Of YouTube As A Pedagogical Tool: A Qualitative Case Study Of Basic School Teachers In Ghana(E-Learning and Digital Media, 2024) Adu-Marfo, A.O.; Kwapong, O.A.T.F.; Oheneba-Sakyi, Y.; Miller-Young, J.YouTube has been widely considered as a pedagogical tool over the last few decades. Recent findings from research portray YouTube videos as an instructional part of learning that contributes to best practices in teaching. Much of the studies have focused on usage by teachers and students at the tertiary level without much attention given to basic school teachers. Using an exploratory Using a qualitative case study design and the ICT Pedagogical Beliefs Classification framework, we explored teachers’ usage of YouTube as a pedagogical tool. We drew on the experiences of 18 teachers in 3 private schools in Ghana to find out how Youtube was used in instruction. Four dominant ways of usage were identified. YouTube was used as a teaching tool, a means of enhancing specific topics, a means of learning new and varied ways of teaching, and as a means of developing teachers’ professional competence. Findings showed that whilst some of the ways of usage align with constructivist methods of teaching others still fall within traditional and teacher-centered approaches to teaching. We argue that for teachers to enact meaningful pedagogies with technology through a more student-centred model, their knowledge and skills need to be developed alongside the reshaping of their motives and reasons and subsequently, the ways in which they use technology for teaching. We recommend the planning and reinforcement of innovative instructional design. technological integration for teachers through informed policy and the use of training interventionsto build new skills geared towards constructive and creative teaching suited to developing a net generation of students.Item Tackling the legislative underrepresentation of women in Ghana: Empowerment strategies for broader gender parity(Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 2023) Awusi, M.; Addae, D.; Kwapong, O.A.T.F.The question of women’s legislative underrepresentation is an enduring problem which continues to garner considerable scholarly attention all over the world. Whereas the burgeoning literature on the subject has largely focused on impediments to gender parity in representation in parliament, the interest of this paper is somewhat different. In an effort to make an original contribution to the discourse, the starting point of this paper is the argument that women can be politically empowered to achieve greater representation in parliament. Conse quently, in this paper – which draws on empowerment theory as theoretical lens – we present a snapshot of the views of 22 women parliamentarians from Ghana, with the aim to exploring empowerment strategies for attaining greater gender parity in representation in the legislature. They emphasize the importance of affirmative action policies, funding, inclusive political party structures, education, and societal re-socialisation in addressing women’s legislative underrepresentation in Ghana. These findings may have some important implications for the nature and scope of interventions targeted at women for the purpose of promoting an inclusive political environment.Item PhD Students’ Perceptions of Research Seminars in Doctoral Education: A Case Study(Cogent Education, 2023) Addae, D.; Kwapong, O.A.T.F.There is no doubt that supervision plays a significant role in doctoral education. Supervisors have a fiduciary responsibility for guiding their supervisees throughout their doctoral research and theses writing journeys. In recent times however, many doctoral education programmes have adopted a collegial support system for doctoral students by introducing students’ research seminars to sup plement traditional supervision. Research seminars offer both students and faculty the opportunity to engage in scholarly dialogue aimed at improving the former’s research and thesis. Although such seminars have become commonplace in many doctoral education programmes worldwide, little research exist on students’ per ceptions of research seminars in doctoral learning. In this paper, we contribute to the literature by exploring the perceptions of 12 PhD students from a University in Ghana about research seminars and their usefulness in doctoral education. The findings indicate that the students perceived research seminars in doctoral educa tion as spaces evoking manifold purposes—constructive advice; discrediting stu dents’ work; varied views; and “muffling” students’ voices. Furthermore, the students’ perceptions of the usefulness of research seminars in their learning were trifocal in scope—research and thesis writing, presentation skills, and confidence building. The paper makes some recommendations for improving research seminars in doctoral education for the purpose of enhancing collegial learning.Item Adoption and Use of Indigenous Knowledge to Promote Education for Sustainable Development in Africa(Reimagining Development Education in Africa, 2023) Arkaifie, S.J.; Dichaba, M.M.; Kwapong, O.A.T.F.; Addae, D.; Boateng, J.K.The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) requires every individual to be an active participates and not just a passive observer and this also requires a change of mindset and behaviour towards the environment and fellow human beings which education is believed to be key. Yet, having a “global proposal” without taking into consideration the context within which the actions are taking place cast doubt as to whether the goals will be achieved by 2030. This is especially true with indigenous communities where the western type of education has led to a constant mismatch between the skills possessed by graduates and what is required in the job market as well as solving the problems of their communities. This chapter posits that the achievement of ESD must be through integration of indigenous knowledge as core in the educational system of indigenous communities. A typical example is the belief and philosophy of Ubuntu which was shared among indigenous people in Africa. Thus, through the recognition of the efficacy of indigenous knowledge, the chapter recommends that custodians of indigenous knowledge must be consulted and relevant knowledge be incorporated into the educational curriculum. The chapter further claims that instructors and students should be allowed to evaluate multiple perspectives and adopt appropriate content to promote confidence for transformative action. Moreover, indigenous people must overcome the major challenge of eradicating the root of western education, culture, and eastern religious beliefs to pave way for the complete integration of indigenous knowledgeItem Assessing the relationship between feedback strategies and learning improvement from a distance learning perspective(Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, 2023) Attiogbe, E.J.K.; Oheneba-Sakyi, Y.; Kwapong, O.A.T.F.; Boateng, J.Purpose – Feedback is crucial in a learning process, particularly in an online interaction where both learners and instructors are distantly located. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the association between feedback strategies, embedded course syllabus and learning improvement in the Sakai Learning Management System. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a survey design to collect cross-sectional data from adult distance learning students. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a standard multiple regression model in Stata. Findings – The results show that feedback strategies (timing, mode, quality and quantity) and embedded course syllabus have a significant relationship with learning improvement. However, the feedback strategy – target – is not significantly related to learning improvement though it is the highest feedback strategy. Originality/value – This paper has contributed to the extant literature by providing empirical evidence to support the constructivism theory of learning from a distance learning perspective in a developing country. The study has shown that if the feedback strategies are well managed and applied, they would make a considerable impact on distance education students’ academic pursuits. Hence, the paper provides a pedagogical foundation for short and long-term distance learning policy.Item E-learning experiences of adults during Covid-19 outbreak: The moderating effect of gender(SAGE, 2021) Kwapong, O.A.T.F.Covid-19 has brought surprises in the educational landscape. Educational institutions had to hurriedly migrate all teaching, learning and assessment activities to online platforms. Such was the case of adult learners who had signed on to the access course for entrance into the University of Ghana. This study sought to find out how the e-learning experiences of adult learners differed across gender as they studied English language, Logic and Mathematics online. From a quantitative analysis of the data, the online experience of students with regard to Mathematics learning did not differ along gender lines. Therefore, the experiences of males and females were similar. Though, there were differences across gender groups regarding Logic and English language experiences, those of Logic experience were much bigger, where males provided overall more positive ratings than females. Specifically, for Logic experience, instructors’ show of respect to students, understanding of the learning needs of students and effective communication were rated generally better among males than females. Going forward, Logic instructors should pay equal attention to both groups irrespective of their gender to identify their learning needs and support them accordingly. Furthermore, all the instructors irrespective of their course could continue to improve their delivery of the courses as well as their relationships with the students in order to enhance future experience of the students.Item Conceptualising Male Vulnerability in a Ghanaian Context: Implications for Adult Education and Counselling(SAGE, 2021) Anapey, G.M.; Adu-Marfo, A.O.; Kwapong, O.A.T.F.Gender advocates have bemoaned the diatribe about women inequality at the neglect of males’ vulnerability in abstract narratives. We propose that achievement of female empowerment will be complimented by empirically exploring men’s vulnerability themes wrapped in “masculinity” with cultural differences. This study documented views on male vulnerability in the Ghanaian environment using mixed-method design with 189 respondents conveniently. Chi square goodness-of-fit test, and thick descriptions were applied to the open-ended questionnaire items. Indeed, 74% of the participants agreed that Ghanaian males were vulnerable with 26% expressing contrary views. With nine overarching themes generated, gender was not a significant factor in categorising male vulnerability (Σ2 (8)=10.836, p>.05). We concluded that both sexes appear to have shared views on Ghanaian males’ vulnerability issues and recommended for gender advocates to expand the equality discourse to cover males’ vulnerability. Implications for adult education and guidance and counselling practices are indicated.Item A model for using information and communication technology (ICT) for empowerment of rural women through adult education(Ghana Journal of Literacy and Adult Education, 2006) Kwapong, O.A.T.F.