Education Institution In Ghana Research Articles

The Struggle to Retain Adept Academic Staff in Private Higher Education Institutions in Ghana

The Struggle to Retain Adept Academic Staff in Private Higher Education Institutions in Ghana

The Effect of Knowledge Sharing on Innovative Work Behaviour at Higher Education Institutions

ABSTRACTThis study delves into the impact of knowledge sharing on innovative work behaviour within higher education institutions in Ghana, utilising data gathered from 285 participants. Employing a quantitative approach and utilising a descriptive‐correlational research design, this research reveals a consistently high level of innovative work behaviour. All dimensions of innovative work behaviour, including idea promotion, idea generation, and idea implementation, received notably high scores. Likewise, the sub‐components of knowledge sharing, namely the community of practice, organisational communication, personal interaction, and written contribution, were rated as high within these institutions. The study establishes a significant positive correlation between knowledge sharing and innovative work behaviour (β = 0.88, p = 0.00). The study advocates for promoting knowledge‐sharing mechanisms within higher education institutions, fostering an environment that facilitates seamless knowledge exchange amongst all members.

Management and sustainability of event facilities: perceptions of end-users in higher education institutions in Ghana

Purpose Users are key stakeholders in event facilities, and therefore facilities management (FM) services must meet their needs and expectations. The paper aims to assess users’ perceptions of FM practices and sustainability in event facilities in higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach The study used a descriptive design approach to explore the perceptions of end-users of event facilities. Using Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology as a case study, 384 users of the event facilities were contacted through the email directory of the event facilities. Questionnaires were used to collect data and analysed in descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v22.0). Findings The study categorised users’ perceptions into customer care, security and safety and service quality dimensions. The results revealed that constituent key important indices of these three dimensions were not significant at both the composite and individual levels. Thus, the users generally perceived FM practices in the event facilities to be below standard. None of the three sustainability constituents was significant, suggesting that users perceived event FM sustainability practices as below standard. Practical implications The study presents users’ perceptions of FM practices in event facilities. It has also suggested effective ways of managing event facilities to improve user comfort, safety and satisfaction. Originality/value The study provides relevant information on users’ perceptions of FM practices. It specifically has sustainable FM as a key component, which is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals.

Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of Funding in Public Universities in Ghana in the Context of Declining State Subvention

The role of tertiary education for socio-economic development globally demands adequate funding to effectively train high-quality experts in the current knowledge economy. However, the funding support from government for tertiary education institutions in Ghana after independence had declined due to national financial crisis and equally important demand for social services and other infrastructure needs. The study objectives aim at examining the funding challenges in public universities and how these universities explore the available opportunities to mobilize extra resources for effective delivery of their core mandate. This study used a mixed method approach for data collection. The findings reveal that there are delays in state subvention payments which force some universities to contract bank loans at high interest rates to pay staff salaries and government does not pay the accrued interest. Further, the state issue policy directives to restrict resource mobilization efforts of the universities. Despite the state funding challenges, the study findings reveal that the universities are not ready for self-financing and would require state funding to deliver effectively. Other funding opportunities that could be accessed to supplement state subvention are public-private-partnership (PPP) commercial ventures, endowment funds and prudent management of available fund. The need to manage effects of state regulatory policies to minimize industrial conflict in the universities is imperative. The universities should utilize their varied expertise to establish a consortium of training of trainers for grant proposal writing and other capacity development programmes for commercial purposes to mobilize funds

The alignment of corporate real estate strategy with corporate strategy: experiences from selected higher education institutions in Ghana

PurposeThe study aims to examine the relationship between corporate real estate (CRE) strategy and corporate strategy (CS) in selected universities in Ghana. It focused on the availability, usage, alignment and effects of CRE strategy on CS in universities.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a qualitative research design, using purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Interviews were used to collect data from estate departments of selected Ghanaian higher education institutions (HEIs) in Kumasi.FindingsAll the selected HEIs purported to have CRE strategies, but they lacked a holistic approach. They were essentially just maintenance policies developed based on their CSs to support the institutions in their service delivery. All CRE management decisions were aligned with the CRE strategy.Originality/valueThe study highlights the importance of aligning CRE strategies with CSs in HEIs in developing countries to enhance academic environments.

Status of Women in Student Politics: Gender Imbalance in Student Leadership in Higher Education Institutions in Ghana from the 1960s to the Present

Across Ghana’s higher education institutions, women’s representation in student leadership has been generally low despite the gender-neutral requirement. Women’s participation in student leadership politics in Ghanaian higher education institutions, specifically universities, has received little attention from higher education and feminist scholars who have briefly mentioned or completely glossed it over. This intellectual omission makes this paper relevant. Here, it is argued that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that, despite the neutrality of student leadership policies, men dominate student politics. This paper problematises the question of gender inequality in student leadership, through the African feminist lens.

Service quality affecting student satisfaction in higher education institutions in Ghana

Service quality affecting student satisfaction in higher education institutions in Ghana

Strategies for overcoming the digital divide during the COVID‐19 pandemic in higher education institutions in Ghana

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic led to the closure of higher educational institutions (HEIs) and affected the teaching learning processes in educational institutions of all levels. The pandemic increased the digital gap of the existing minimal Internet connectivity and access to digital technology. As a result of the impact of the pandemic on education, HEIs in Ghana moved from traditional face‐to‐face classes to remote education or hybrid learning. Therefore, it is important to understand how digital technologies and digital divide influenced teaching and learning in sub‐Saharan Africa. Thus, the purpose of this research was to investigate the strategies universities in Ghana used to overcome the digital divide during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The study also aimed to explore the challenges and experiences of dealing with the digital divide during the pandemic. Data were collected following a qualitative research design. Thirty‐five in‐depth and semi‐structured interviews (25 teaching faculty and 10 administrators) from two private and three public universities were obtained and analysed via thematic analysis approach. Findings were thematized by challenges of dealing with digital divide during the COVID‐19 pandemic, provision of affordable Internet connectivity for students, faculty and staff, use of digital technologies and resources for hybrid and remote courses, creation of information communication and technology platforms for students, faculty and administrators, and provision of professional development workshops/trainings on digital skills and knowledge. These results were discussed with the three‐level model of the digital divide framework (school, classroom and student) and the development history of digital infrastructure in sub‐Saharan Africa. By analysing the Ghana HEIs' experiences, this study contributes to a balanced understanding of the digital divide issue during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic The COVID‐19 pandemic has led to the closure of higher educational institutions (HEIs) worldwide, including those in sub‐Saharan Africa, and changed learning and teaching process to remote learning in higher education. There is dearth of studies regarding how digital technologies and digital divide influenced teaching and learning progress during the COVID‐19 pandemic in sub‐Saharan Africa. Lack of understanding about the strategies universities in Africa (Ghana) used to overcome the digital divide during the COVID‐19 pandemic. What this paper adds This study, unlike earlier ones with a similar focus, investigated the strategies higher education institutions in Ghana in sub‐Saharan Africa used to overcome digital divide during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The results show the following: evidence of students lack of access to affordable Internet bandwidth, adoption of remote education, using digital technologies for hybrid and remote courses, creation of ICT platforms for instructors and students, trainings on digital skills for instructors and students, and challenges of dealing with digital divide during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Implications for practice and/or policy The paper identifies the instructional strategies HEIs in Ghana used to address and reduce the challenges of digital divide during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The findings were theoretically analysed under a three‐level model of the digital divide in education, proving the utility of this comprehensive approach. Then, they were interpreted concerning the development history of sub‐Saharan Africa to reduce the discursive unbalance in the digital divide studies. The paper makes detailed recommendations on how HEIs can address the effects of digital divide on teaching and learning experience during future disruptions and increase the use of digital technologies and ICT tools in remote/hybrid and or distance learning environment in sub‐Saharan Africa.

Effective or Ineffective: Features of Work-Based Learning Models in Higher Fashion Education Institutions in Ghana

The current study analysed the features of work-based learning models in higher fashion education institutions in Ghana. The study emphasized the need for skilled human resources in the new era of the knowledge-based economy, as this would be crucial for Ghana to become a developed nation. Creative and vocational education in Higher Education (HE) is about creativity and innovativeness. These are the most significant attributes that higher fashion education graduates must possess. The study adopted descriptive research designs due to their nature. The mixed methods technique was considered appropriate for answering the research question as it concerns dynamic phenomena such as innovation and change. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was adopted to select fashion houses in eight regions of Ghana. Both undergraduate and postgraduate fashion students and some graduates practising their acquired skills in the fashion industry were also used as samples for the study. Questionnaires and interviews were utilized to collect data. The major empirical findings of this study suggest that students possess inadequate skills as they embark on work-based learning programs from their various academic institutions. Distinctly, the results revealed that students lacked practical competence in their field of specialization. Keywords: Features of work-based learning, models, work-based learning programs, work-based learning approaches, higher fashion education, Ghana, creative and vocational education DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-32-04 Publication date: November 30 th 2022

Funding of Tertiary Education in Ghana

The issue of funding tertiary education continues to be a subject of enormous cardinality with an extreme importance which attracts immense attention from the government, school management authorities and all other stakeholders.Conversely, in both the developed and developing economies, the government plays a vital role when it comes to subsidising the tertiary education system. This article indicates that universities and other tertiary institutions in Ghana receive financial support and resources from the Internally Generated Fund, the GETFund, and local authority revenues. International organisations including the Ford Foundation, the World Bank, and the Benedal Foundation have also contributed to the successful development of Ghana's tertiary education system. According to current data, approximately 95% of the revenue of private tertiary education institutions in Ghana comes from tuition fees, while the remaining 5% comes from other external sources. In order for Ghana to grow its economy, the government need to invest more money in tertiary education. Knowledge provided by the tertiary education sector is useful to the entire nation and its economy. The survey conducted for this paper indicated that polytechnics and universities struggle to secure sufficient funds to handle the financial needs of these institutions. Moreover, the fall in government spending on tertiary education possess significant impact on salaries, other financial compensation, and perks of university employees, as well as the daily operations of these institutions. Keywords: Funding, Tertiary, Education DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/13-22-01 Publication date: November 30 th 2022

The anthem as site for marketing Higher Education Institutions in Ghana

The global trend for at least the last three decades has been that Higher Education Institutions have had to place themselves within the framework of free market economies. One central principle of free market economies is the re-envisioning of Higher Education Institutions as offering products and services to ‘consumers’ and ‘clients. An implication of this current wisdom is that HEIs have had to turn to discourses of marketisation through existing HE genres to sell the products and services that they have. This paper examines the globality of this trend from two perspectives, one being the extent to which marketisation has become a primary concern in terms of how HEIs see themselves in the specific context of Ghana; and the other is the extent to which discourses of marketisation have colonised HE genres such as anthems. Employing Martin and White’s Appraisal theory as a framework, the study investigates the anthem as a site for marketing higher education institutions in Ghana by focusing on two traditional universities of Ghana, using the anthems of the University of Ghana and the University of Cape Coast as cases. The analysis reveals that great care and intentionality are invested into the creation of the anthems because they are viewed as a rhetorical apparatus for selling institutions. The choice and use of attitudinal lexis with inscribed and upscaled positive attitudes about the universities, their infrastructure, human capital, services, and reputation are negotiated through a monoglossic stance to stimulate the interest of the audience, positively influence their perceptions about the university, align them with their values, and win their loyalty. An implication of this study is that, although current scholarship suggests strongly that marketisation in HE is a relatively recent phenomenon, it has been at the centre of the genre of higher education institutional anthems in the context of Ghana for a far longer time. The study therefore provides evidence that challenges the current thinking about the extent to which marketisation has been a concern of HEIs.

Quality Assurance in Private Higher Education Institutions in Ghana: Practices and Challenges

The study sought to unveil how private universities approach Quality Assurance (QA) practices (both internal and external QA practices) in order to achieve their institutional goals. To achieve this purpose, a qualitative approach was followed. The study employed phenomenology as a design to explore the views of key informants who were purposefully selected from the institutions. The key officers served as study participants due to their positions and functions which are directly related to QA issues and practices in the institutions. They were information-rich in the subject of the study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to generate data to answer the research questions. The study revealed that private universities adhere to the regulators' guidelines and directives in the execution of their responsibilities. Both internal and external practices are in line, hook and sinker manner with best practices although they faced some challenges in their bid to ensure quality in both administrative and academic functions of the universities. It is imperative, therefore, for some of the private universities to give priority to resourcing their QA units with well-equipped human and material resources in order to achieve their institutional goals.

Factors motivating students with disabilities to access and participate in university education in Ghana

ABSTRACT Education has been described as a ‘bridging right’ that empowers persons with disabilities to justifiably lay claim to other rights, such as the right to work, the right to participate in politics, etc. While much research has reported on the challenges encountered by persons with disabilities in higher education, very little is known about the factors that enhance their retention and continuous participation in higher education in Ghana. The objective of this study was therefore to explore the factors that influence students with disabilities to access and participate in higher education. Using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals with disabilities: physical disability (n = 8) and visual impairment (n = 3), who were recruited from one of the largest higher education institutions in Ghana. The results from the thematic analysis indicate that the participants were motivated more by the higher-level needs of Maslow’s pyramid, that is, safety, self-esteem and transcendence, than the lower-level needs. The study limitations, recommendations for future research and policy implications are also discussed.

Assessing Impact of Academic Departments’ Capacity on Student Employability Skills’ Development in Ghanaian Public Universities

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the employability skills development efforts of some five academic departments in two higher education institutions in Ghana and recommend ways to aid their creation of employable graduates. This pilot study adopted the cross-sectional design, using a personally constructed questionnaire titled ‘Capacity for Employability Skills Development Survey (CESDS)’. Two groups of respondents were involved in the study – level 300 students and their instructors. The academic departments sampled for the study were the Department of Business& Social Science Education, Department for Vocational and Technical Education and Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, all at the University of Cape Coast. The other two were the Department of Tourism and Department of Secretarial and Management Studies at the Cape Coast Technical University. Findings of the study indicated that the academic departments moderately used majority of their resource capacities to equip their students with employable skills, with the exception of few cases where the students had low training in some of the employable skills. A major recommendation made was that the departments should put in place innovative measures to improve upon their deployment of all their resource capacities to enable them produce employable graduates.

Team Learning, Work Behaviors, and Performance: A Qualitative Case Study of a Technical University in Ghana

Higher education institutions in Ghana have a lot of expectations but appear to be facing contemporary challenges. Using five focus groups, this study explores individual learning, team learning, organizational citizenship behaviors, leader–member exchanges, innovative work behaviors, and performance in a Ghanaian technical university. Interactive exchanges suggest that individual social behaviors and leadership exchanges are important to higher educational institutions (HEIs). Both stakeholders and managers should activate these behaviors and leadership qualities to enhance performance. The inherent benefits help both faculty and HEIs fulfill their core mandates of teaching, research, and community service. With these, they remain globally competitive given challenges, dynamism, and expected performance from both faculty and HEIs as agents of socio-economic development. This study informs on underlying mechanisms that affect engagement in some of these behaviors, including the effect of culture as an inhibitor of women’s innovative behaviors. Next to that, it provides both theoretical and practical evidence for stakeholders, especially HEI managers, regarding how to increase faculty members’ efficiencies and performance. Finally, the study offers both recommendations and directions for future research.

Resilience and Academic Self-Concept as Explanatory Variables of Achievement Motivation Among College Students

People with high achievement motives will act in ways that will help them to outperform others, meet or surpass some standards of excellence, or do something unique. Several variables have been suggested in the literature to significantly contribute to students’ achievement motivation. As the principal aim, the study sought to investigate whether or not resilience and academic self-concept significantly contribute to students’ achievement motivation. A cross-sectional research design was employed to sample 327 first year college students from five College of Education institutions in Ghana using proportionate stratified sampling procedure. Three instruments (i.e., resilience scale, academic self-concept scale and achievement motivation scale) were adapted and used for the study. Findings of the study showed that students’ sampled were resilient and had high academic self-concept. The results further showed that resilience and academic self-concept variables were significant predictors of achievement motivation. The study recommends that academic counseling within Colleges of Education in Ghana should be made a priority in order to address issues of self-doubt and that of learned helplessness, particularly to maintain or improve individual resilience and achievement motivation. Other implications are discussed.

Dialogue and subject positioning in pedagogical practice: the academic literacies classroom in a Ghanaian University

ABSTRACT The importance of academic literacy acquisition through enculturation in higher education is self-evident. Important within the processes of enculturation is how interactants are positioned. This study examines how interactants within the writing classroom of a higher education institution in Ghana are positioned through dialogue. Data for this study are recordings of lectures of a mandatory undergraduate programme. The study indicates that though there are attempts to position the student as an active and equal participant within the writing classroom, the instructor still emerges as dominant participant. It also establishes that the pedagogical practices of the classroom adopt strategies such as peer deliberations, and epistemic discovery to help foster personal agency development in the student. It concludes that the academic literacies model has not informed what goes on in the literacies classroom of the institution. The study recommends that the enculturation processes will have to adopt a more critical approach.

Perceived Challenges of Academic Staff Production of Research Papers in Colleges of Education in Ghana

Apart from improving the ranking of the individual and his/her institution, research publications are also known to make important contributions to the advancement of knowledge and formulation of government policies, thus enhancing institutional, sector and/or national and global development. The study explored challenges that College of Education tutors face in line with publishing research papers and other scholarly materials. Utilizing concurrent nested mixed method design, tutors of all Colleges of Education institutions in Ghana were targeted, however, 190 tutors were drawn from the five Colleges of Education zones in Ghana to participate in the study. A checklist of .72 internal consistency reliability was used to gather the quantitative data while interview schedule was used to gather qualitative data about challenges that affect academic staff publishing of research products. Data to answer research question one was analyzed using descriptive statistics, specifically, percentages and frequencies. However, data to answer research question two were analyzed using Braun and Clarke thematic analysis approach. Findings revealed that college tutors used in the study had awareness and knowledge about how research articles and abstracts are produced but not for other research products such as monograph, book chapters and so on. The study findings further showed that, weaker foundational knowledge and skills in research methodology, lack of writing experience, deficient information technology skills and lack of mentorship constituted the challenges that affected frequent publishing of research products among college tutors. Regular workshops of research methodology and production of research papers should be organized for college tutors by college management. The study further recommends that the Ministry of Education in collaboration with Ghana Education Trust Fund (GetFund) as a matter of priority should work on improving and building more infrastructure, specifically, offices for academic staff and technological infrastructure to enhance more research-based activities within the Colleges.

Transforming higher education in Ghana in times of disruption: flexible learning in rural communities with high latency internet connectivity

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone. In addition, the study aims to identify the associations between the audio teleconferencing and video teleconferencing in a 12-week postgraduate course. Design/methodology/approach The study is a cross-sectional survey conducted at the Department of Educational Innovations at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology from March to June 2020. The purposive sampling technique was used to sample 100 postgraduate students who registered for a course in the department. The data for the study were collected using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and 17-item self-administered eQuestionnaire. Multiple Linear Regression analysis, ANOVA, Independent sample T-test and Mann–Whitney U-test were used to estimate the differences in course achievements of students who experienced education through audio teleconferencing and those who experienced education through video teleconferencing. Findings In total, 59% of the participating postgraduate students chose to attend the synchronous online lectures via audio teleconferencing (dial-in). The participants gave a high SUS score (SUS > 80.3; Grade A; Excellent) for audio conferencing service. Among the students in the audio teleconferencing cohort, the results evidenced a strong positive linear correlation, (r (57) = 0.79, p < 0.05), between the individual adjective ratings and the SUS scores. There was marginal significance among demography of students in the audio teleconference (AT) cohort with regards to their perception about the dial-in lecture. There was no statistically significant difference, (t (98) = 1.88, p = 0.063), in the achievement test for AT students and video teleconference (VT) students. The instructors and the students were satisfied with the AT. Practical implications Based on the students’ preference, AT offers equal benefit as VT with regards to system satisfaction and perceived quality of online teaching. AT, as teaching modality, should be an option for students who reside in communities with high latency internet connectivity. It is recommended that instructors are trained on how to engage and motivate students via AT. Originality/value Higher education institutions in Ghana are facing decisions about how to continue learning and teaching through flexible pedagogy, while keeping their faculty members and students protected from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these institutions have canceled the brick-and-mortar education and other conventional learning practices and have instructed faculty to adopt online teaching through synchronous video teleconferencing platforms. However, the learning experience is not the same for students who reside in remote or rural communities with low bandwidth. There is very little research in this topic, especially in developing countries like Ghana, and the present study aims to bridge the gap in the literature by exploring the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone, in the context of a 12-week postgraduate course.

An assessment of outcome criteria associated with the implementation of TQM in a higher education institution in Ghana

The purpose of the paper was to identify quality dimensions through which the service quality performance concerning TQM implementation in a Higher Education context could be measured from external...