Teachers’ conceptualization of validity and reliability in classroom assessment in Ghana

The purpose of the study was to establish the relationship between PE teachers’ demographic characteristics and their pedagogical skill preferences and competences in teaching PE in public senior high schools in Kumasi metropolis, Ghana. The study employed convergent parallel mixed-method design where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, analyzed, compared, related discussed and interpreted simultaneously. The study used Yamane's sample size determination formula to obtain a sample size of 393 participants who were selected from 5 schools using purposive and simple random sampling techniques. It included 372 SHS 3 students, 16 PE teachers and 5 SHS heads. The study adopted interview, questionnaires, Duration Recording (ALT-PE Instrument), Observation and review of documents as data collection instruments. Data collected were analyzed using Rate per minute, chi-square, frequency, mean and standard deviation. It was found that equipment, facilities, teachers’ pedagogical skills their demographic characteristics have significant influence on students’ skill acquisition. The study concluded that teachers’ demographic characteristics such as gender, age, work experience; number of years in teaching PE, academic qualification and the institutions teachers attended influence their pedagogical skill preferences and competencies in teaching PE. It was recommended that the identified academic inadequacies in the schools have to be resolved through adequate resourcing, infrastructure, teacher competency and preferences. Keywords: Pedagogical kills, Demographic Characteristics, Preferences, competency, senior high school, Duration, Recording, academic, Learning, Time, Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana.

The government’s efforts to promote religious moderation as a core societal value have been consistently pursued in recent years. However, the landscape of religious freedom in Indonesia continues to face significant challenges, with intolerance still surfacing in various forms. According to the Setara Institute’s 2024 report, there were 217 documented incidents in 2023 related to violations of freedom of religion and belief, totaling 329 individual acts. This study aims to explore the characteristics of socio-religious attitudes among students of public senior high school (SMAN) and students of state Islamic senior high school (MAN). The primary objective of this study is to examine the patterns of socio-religious attitudes among students attending both general and Islamic public senior secondary schools. Employing a quantitative research approach, the study seeks to obtain precise and representative measurements that closely reflect social realities. Statistical analysis is used to assess and compare students’ socio-religious attitudes across two distinct school types: public senior high schools (SMAN) and public Islamic senior high schools (MAN) in Jakarta. The normality test results revealed that the data did not conform to a normal distribution. Consequently, the analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney non-parametric test. The outcome indicated a significance level of 0.625, surpassing the conventional alpha threshold of 0.05. This finding suggests the absence of a statistically meaningful difference in socio-religious attitudes between students attending public senior high schools (SMAN) and those enrolled in public Islamic senior high schools (MAN). The results imply that students generally demonstrate a constructive and inclusive orientation towards matters related to religious belief, the institutionalization of religious law, and tolerance.

The study aimed at investigating the influence of Information and Communication Technology on effectiveness of inventory control in the public senior high schools on the way to healthy green development. Specific objectives were to determine the role of ICT on the effectiveness of Inventory Control in the schools of the study towards a healthy green development. Purposive sam-pling technique was employed to sample 100 staff from Senior High Schools in the Kumasi Metropolis. The study used question-naires to gather primary data.All data collected was checked for completeness, coded and tabulated. The study revealed that, ICT influence the receipt of inventory, tracking the movements of stock within and outside the stores, inventory levels and update, buffer stock management. It appeared from the study that challenges facing Senior High Schools in Kumasi Metropolis on exe-cuting ICT on inventory control are high cost of training staff to use the system, frequent power outages making the use of the system uneasy, lot of time to learn the software, and complexity in the user interface. Management of the various Senior High Schools should attract and trained more personnel to use the ICT system in inventory control and increase its budget to meet the initial cost on purchasing, installing and application of ICT on inventory management control system.

Presbyopia if uncorrected causes inability to see and do near work. It is unavoidable as one ages. High school teachers whose work depends much on near work need proper and adequate correction of their presbyopia to increase effectiveness and efficiency. The aim was to determine the uptake of correction and prescription for presbyopia of presbyopic teachers of public Senior High School (S.H.S.). Descriptive cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in 12 public S.H.S. in the Kumasi, with a total sample size of 298. Questionnaire was administered to teachers. Their visual acuity, refraction and ophthalmoscopy were done. The prevalence of presbyopia among the teachers was 68.1%. Out of the number examined 197(66.1%) were males and 10(33.9%) were females. Amongst the presbyopes 60 did not have presbyopic correction, representing 29.6% of the presbyopes. A total of 52 presbyopic teachers required an add of +2.00DS and this was the highest diopter of correction needed (25.6%). Among those with presbyopic correction 55.5% of them use single vision type of correction whiles the remaining 44.5% use bifocals. Out of the 48% presbyopic teachers who have had their presbyopia corrected before, 6% were not wearing their correction. The study has demonstrated a relatively higher prevalence of uncorrected presbyopia amongst teachers in public Senior High Schools in the Kumasi Metropolis of 29.6%. Among those with correction 6 % were not using their correction. Proper and adequate correction is needed by presbyopic teachers through screening to ensure their maximum performance.

Education reform has led to the replacement of public senior high schools by the governing council, which is responsible for handling and managing the flow of resources in Ghana. Notwithstanding these lawful necessities and government financial provision for schools, it is unfortunate that poor facilities, poor performance and low morale among both teaching and non-teaching staff continue to impede the academic achievement of most Ghanaian public Senior high schools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of Board of Management (BOM) in financial and human resource management in Ashanti region of Ghana. This research adopted descriptive survey design. Thirty-five headmasters and 215 BOM participants from 35 public senior high schools in Ashanti region, Ghana contributed in the study. Using representative survey questionnaire, data were gathered. The study established that, in supervising and managing financial activities in the sampled schools, the BOM was not up to task. Nevertheless, it was observed that, BOM were efficient in managing human resources and its related activities. The study proposes that, the Ministry of Education develop a strategy or framework that obligates the government to provide BOM members with functional training as required by the basic law of education.

BACKGROUND: Studies have suggested that the majority of nonblinding eye diseases may be of significant burden to the population and health system of developing countries. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of ocular morbidities among senior high school students and their association with age and sex in public senior high schools in the Kumasi metropolis. METHODS: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey. Six hundred and sixty-two students, with ages ranging from 14 to 20 years, from 12 randomly selected schools were examined and included in the study. The detailed examination included visual acuity measurement, external examination with a pen torch, ophthalmoscopy, +1 blur test, cover test, and subjective refraction. RESULTS: Out of 662 students examined, 90% suffered at least one ocular condition. The most common morbidity was allergy (31.1%), followed by allergic conjunctivitis (22.2%), refractive error (10.0%), dry eye (6.9%), suspicious disc (3.6%), bacterial conjunctivitis (2.9%), foreign body (2.7%), glaucoma suspect (1.4%), and papillitis (0.5%). More females suffered ocular problems than males. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of ocular morbidity among senior high school students in the metropolis is high, with allergies being the most common. Eye health education, regular eye examination, and adequate classroom illumination should be implemented in senior high schools.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of students, teachers, and parents on disciplinary issues in Public Senior High Schools in Kumasi, Ghana. “This study employed a stratified simple random sample approach to determine a sample size of 387 students, 387 parents and 216 teachers. Quantitative data was gathered from four public senior high schools in Kumasi, namely Islamic Senior High School, Kumasi Technical Institute, Opoku Ware School, and Serwaa Nyarko Senior High School. Utilizing ANOVA, the study compared the perspectives of students, teachers, and parents on the definition and purpose of discipline. The use of semi-structured interviews also provided insights into the perception of parents, students, and teachers in public senior high schools in Ghana.The study revealed varying perspectives on the definition and purpose of discipline among students, teachers, and parents. Thus, teachers held a neutral stance, parents disagreed, and students strongly agreed on the concept of discipline. Additionally, differences in perceptions between students and teachers were noted regarding prevalent disciplinary issues such as disobedience and leaving school without permission. Neutrality among teachers and students was identified concerning the destruction of school property as a prevailing disciplinary issue. This study concludes that there are significant variations in how students, teachers, and parents perceive the concept and purpose of discipline. It is recommended that there should be regular meetings and workshops to engage parents and teachers in determining the positive purpose of disciplinary actions collaboratively. By providing insights into the differing perceptions of students, teachers, and parents on disciplinary issues in Ghanaian high schools, this study provides an understanding of how these perspectives impact disciplinary policy and intervention effectiveness. Keywords: Homogeneity, Variances, disciplinary

The study was conducted to identify the obstructing factors in the implementation of regional autonomy in educational management in Malang Regency, especially at public junior high and senior high schools. The method used to determine the priority scale of the obstructing factors was the Delphi Method. The result shows that the obstructing factors in public junior high schools (SLTPNs) and public senior high schools (SMUNs) are of the same type

This study explored the factors contributing to teacher attrition in public senior high schools in the Tano South and North Municipalities in the Ahafo Region, Ghana. The concurrent mixed method research design was adopted for the study. Four schools were selected for the study using purposive sampling method. The teacher population of the schools was 300. Stratified and simple random sampling methods were also employed to select the sample of 120 teachers for the quantitative study and 12 headmasters were purposely selected to collect the qualitative data for the study. That meant that the instrument used for the study were questionnaire and unstructured interview guide. Means and standard deviations were used to analyse the quantitative data while verbatim responses of the interviews were used to analyse the qualitative data. The major external factors that contributed to teacher attrition were low salary, inadequate support from administration and high workloads. Again, job dissatisfaction, pursuit of alternative careers and family issues were the internal factors that contributed to teacher attrition. The study also revealed that, teacher attrition affects the quality of education delivery: negative impact on students’ performance, loss of instructional time and difficulty in finding experienced and qualified teachers. The researchers therefore recommend that salaries of teachers should be improved to retain them in the teaching profession. Again, heads of Senior High Schools should make sure they provide teaching and learning materials and textbooks to teachers for them to enjoy their lessons in the classroom.

This study aims to produce comic media on biodiversity lesson for class X senior high school students. This research was conducted at the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education Riau University, Public Senior High School 8 Pekanbaru and Public Senior High School 6 Pekanbaru in November-February 2021. The type of research used is Research and Development (R&D) with the ADDIE research model consisting of 5 stages, namely analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. In this research, it is limited only to the development stage. Data collection instruments in the form of validation sheets and questionnaires of respondents. The results of the validation of comics media on biodiversity lesson for students of class X senior high school are at an average value of 3,60 with a very valid category. The result of the limited test score are 3,42 with a very good category. Thus, comics on biodiversity material for students of class X of senior high school have been successfully developed with very good quality and can be implemented on a wider scale.

Students with special needs are subject to different challenges due to their disabilities. Some of these students have complex individual needs such challenges may be derived from school climate or interaction with people. Based on this, the study investigated the social, economic, and emotional challenges faced by the heads of Senior High School (SHS) in the inclusion of students with special needs in the Ahafo Region. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population consisted of all the heads of department and headmasters in each public Senior High School in Ahafo Region. A census sampling technique was used in selecting all 48 heads. A questionnaire was employed as a data collection instrument. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation and presented in tables, and bar charts. The study discovered that social (M=3.03, SD=1.13) and emotional (M=3.37, SD=1.187) are the major challenges that impede the effective implementation of inclusive education. It was recommended that the government of Ghana should devote enough funds to inclusive schools through the budget of the Ministry of Education. Adequate funds could help build an adaptable environment and restructure the available materials to enhance the learning activities of students with special needs.

This research is motivated by the results of the author's observations which show the poor role of the principal as a motivator in public senior high schools in Pariaman City. This study aims to dig up information about Teachers' Perceptions about the Principal's Role as a Motivator in State High Schools throughout Pariaman City in terms of the aspects of Giving Rewards, Providing Examples of Discipline, Creating Fun Working Conditions/Atmosphere and Providing Encouragement to Progress. This type of research is descriptive quantitative. The population of the study were 247 teachers from State Senior High Schools in Pariaman City. A sample of 75 people was taken using a proportional stratified random sampling technique. Data was obtained by distributing questionnaires and the results were analyzed by calculating the mean score. The results showed that the teacher's perception of the principal's role as a motivator in public senior high schools in Pariaman City was in the good category, with an average score of 3.91. Based on these results, the authors suggest that the role of the principal as a motivator in public senior high schools in the city of Pariaman is maintained and needs to be increased so as to increase teacher motivation so that performance becomes efficient and effective.
 
 Keywords: Perception, the Role of the Principal as a Motivator

The study investigated the relationship between gender and self-efficacy beliefs in instructional strategies, classroom management and student engagement among senior high school teachers in Kumasi metropolis, as most previous studies tend to focused on the developed countries other than developing countries like Ghana. Specifically, descriptive survey design was used to determine the levels of self-efficacy beliefs among the teachers and the relationship between gender and teachers’ self-efficacies were also ascertained. The sample included 259 male and 178 female teachers who were randomly drawn from both private and public senior high schools. Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) was used to collect data from the respondents. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results indicated that generally teachers have relatively higher self-efficacy beliefs especially at the student engagement aspect. It was found that male and female teachers differed in relation to their instructional strategies with female teachers on average have better instructional strategies efficacy than male teachers. On contrary, both male and female teachers did not differ in terms of classroom management and student engagement efficacies. Based on these findings, it was recommended that teacher training institutions should emphasise the teaching of instructional practices, student engagement and classroom management practices to the teacher trainees so as to improve their efficacies level. Keywords : Teachers’ Self-efficacy beliefs, Gender, Instructional Strategies, Classroom Management, Student Engagement

The issue of English learning at public senior high school 2 Palembayan, where students' limited ability to write descriptive texts negatively impacted their overall learning outcomes, sparked this research. Therefore, this research aimed to improve students' ability to write descriptive texts using the picture comment method in senior high school. This research is a classroom action study that employs a qualitative approach. A total of 29 students from class X. IPS2 at public senior high school 2 Palembayan participated in this research. The instruments used to collect data were observation sheets, documentation, and tests. The study analyzed the obtained data using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The research findings from each implemented learning cycle demonstrated a significant increase in students' ability to write descriptive texts in English learning using the picture comment method. In cycle I, the learning outcomes of writing descriptive text obtained by students only reached 62% completion with an average score of 68, while in cycle II, it showed a fairly high increase with an average score of 80 and completion of 86%. Therefore, we can conclude that the picture comment method enhances students' descriptive text writing skills in class X.IPS2 of public senior high school 2 Palembayan.

This study aims to evaluate the implementation of the independent curriculum at state senior high schools for the 2022/2023 academic year in Belitung district, Bangka Belitung archipelago province. This study uses a descriptive qualitative research design. The evaluation model used for this study is the CIPP model. The population and sample in this study were taken from parties related to public high schools (SMA) that have implemented the implementation of the independent curriculum and related agencies related to the implementation of the independent curriculum, namely: The Bangka Belitung Islands Province Schools, Vice Principals for Curriculum, Teachers, Students, Parents and School Committees at Tanjungpandan 1 Public High School, Sijuk 1 Public High School, and Panggang 1 Public High School. The data collection techniques in this study were observation, documentation and interviews. Data analysis researchers used descriptive analytical research, namely research that intends to understand the phenomenon of what is experienced by research subjects, for example behavior, perception, motivation, action. The results of the research based on context evaluation are as follows: 90% with the "Very Good" category from three schools that implement the independent curriculum in Belitung district, based on the results of teachers' understanding of the independent curriculum, 77% of the data is obtained with the "Good" category, based on the results of interviews with researchers to respondents in this study regarding students' understanding of the independent curriculum were obtained by 77% in the "Good" category. In conclusion, it can be concluded that the implementation of the independent curriculum in public senior high schools in Belitung Regency has been going well, although seen from the aspect of implementation it is still not optimal and needs improvement. because there are many strategies offered by the government to implement the curriculum depending on the school that is implementing it.