mark amponsah - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by mark amponsah
Distance Education and Teachers’ Training in Africa (DETA), 2015
Participatory Educational Research
Curiosity and academic self-concept as psychological constructs are often mentioned in education ... more Curiosity and academic self-concept as psychological constructs are often mentioned in education and psychology. These constructs are elusive in terms of how they are exhibited or portrayed and measured. Despite their elusive nature, they are highly significant to the success or otherwise of learners. Therefore, the current study explored curiosity and academic self-concept among students of category "A" Senior High schools in the Central Region of Ghana. Using a descriptive-quantitative method, a sample of 400 students was selected through proportionate-stratified and systematic sampling techniques. Adapted curiosity (Kashdan et al., 2018) and academic self-concept (Liu & Wang, 2005) scales were used for the data collection. The data collected were analysed using frequencies, percentages, and structural equation modelling (SEM). The study revealed that the majority of the students possessed low curious abilities and low academic self-concepts. The study further revealed that curiosity of deprivation sensitivity (b=.577, p<.001), the curiosity of stress tolerance (b=.248, p=.007), and curiosity of thrill-seeking (b=.544, p<.001) positively and significantly predicted academic self-concept of students but the curiosity of joyful exploration and social curiosity did not predict academic self-concept of students. It was concluded that students' curious abilities were precursors to their academic self-concept. Thereupon, teachers need to devise new approaches by allowing students to engage in other learning opportunities without much restrictions so that they could hone their natural potentials.
Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science, Oct 27, 2011
Over the last two decades, the number of higher education students in Ghanaian universities has s... more Over the last two decades, the number of higher education students in Ghanaian universities has steadily increased. The rapid changes in the lives of fresh university students, some of which are adolescents and particular challenges associated with education at this level may expose them to stress. There is however limited information on stress perceived by fresh undergraduate students in Ghanaian universities. The aim of this study was to therefore investigate stress levels of fresh undergraduate students at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The case study design was adopted and information was on perceived stress levels among newly admitted educational psychology students and the extent to which these could be linked to such background characteristics as age, gender and work experience or time spent awaiting university admission after graduation from high school. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was administered on 398 respondents and data were analysed with the frequency distribution and t-Test statistics. Findings indicated that 70% of the students had moderate level of perceived stress whilst 3.5% demonstrated high level of stress. Results also indicated that female fresh undergraduates had significantly higher perceived stress levels than their male counterparts. There was a significant difference between the mean perceived stress of fresh undergraduate students admitted within two years of their graduation from senior high school and those who waited longer before they were admitted. Employment statuses before admission and age have no significant influence on perceived stress levels. Implications of the findings for future research, lecturers, school administrators, counsellors and health workers were discussed and recommendations were made.
International Journal of Education and Management Engineering, 2021
The study examined the influence of classroom management strategies of Junior High School teacher... more The study examined the influence of classroom management strategies of Junior High School teachers on the academic performance of students in the Ashanti Akim North District. The descriptive survey design was used for the study. One hypothesis and two research questions were developed to guide the study. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 48 teachers and 297 year two students to respond to the Behaviour and Instructional Management Scale (BIMS). Test scores in English Language, Integrated Science, Mathematics and Social Studies were used to measure students' academic performance. The statistical tools used to analyse the data collected were means, standard deviation, Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) and Multiple Regression. The findings revealed that both students and teachers identified good relationship and reinforcement as the mostly used classroom management strategies. It was found that a significant positive relationship existed between reinforcement and antecedent as classroom management schemes and students' academic performance. However, good relationship and punishment as classroom management strategies did not have a positive relationship with the academic performance of students. It is recommended that teachers should use reinforcement and antecedent strategies frequently in their classrooms since they play a dual role of managing behaviour and predicting the academic performance of students. Good relationship as a classroom management strategy should be cautiously used because it could potentially be misinterpreted or abused and can lead to low academic performance. Using punishment as a classroom management strategy should be avoided as its use hinders academic performance of students.
Educational Research, 2010
The aim of the study was to investigate stress levels, experiences of stress and coping strategie... more The aim of the study was to investigate stress levels, experiences of stress and coping strategies of non-UK students studying at the University of Manchester, UK. The main purpose was to consider their perceived stress levels, their experiences of stress and their coping strategies and to link these to the continents from which they came, their gender and whether they were graduates or undergraduates. This research consisted of two phases. The first phase was a survey that used self-administered structured questionnaire of 329 non-UK students who completed the perceived stress scale (PSS), the inventory of college students recent life experiences (ICSRLE) and the coping inventory for stressful situations (CISS). In addition, a further 74 UK students completed only the (PSS). Phase two was a qualitative study consisting of open-ended in-depth interviews of 16 volunteers. In all, 403 students participated in this study. Key findings indicated that, time pressure and work demands were...
Stress is a universal element and persons from near ly very walk of life have to face it. The pur... more Stress is a universal element and persons from near ly very walk of life have to face it. The purpose of the study was to investigate the stress level among distance education students and the management strategies in coping with the stress . The study was delimited to University of Applied Management, a specialized distance educatio n institution in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. One hundred (100) students who wer e s lected based on simple random sampling technique from all the departments of the university were involved in the study. The questionnaire which was adapted to suit the study e nvironment was pre-tested on some distance education students of the University. The results of the study showed that the prevalence of stress among distance education learn ers is high. Stress levels differ among gender and working status of students. Also the maj or source or cause of stress among student identified were excessive assignment, inadequate ti m o study, work, financial fears ...
The purpose of the study was to investigate into the influence of teacher classroom practices on ... more The purpose of the study was to investigate into the influence of teacher classroom practices on the self-concept of children with disabilities in upper primary schools in the Tano North District. The expost-facto research design was used for the study. The instruments used in gathering data for the study were questionnaire and observation guide for teacher classroom practices and a structured interview guide to measure the self-concept of pupils with disabilities. A total of 98 respondents were used. This comprised 30 teachers and 68 pupils with disabilities. Four research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Results indicated that teacher classroom practices have a moderate relationship with the self-concept of children with disability. There was no relationship between type of disability and self-concept. Gender of children with disabilities was found to be related to their self-concept. From the findings it is recommended that educational policies should provide equal ...
Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science, 2020
The study explored teachers’ attributions in addressing misbehaviour of students in the class... more The study explored teachers’ attributions in addressing misbehaviour of students in the classroom. To achieve this, a descriptive survey was adopted through the use of quantitative approach. A sample size of 140 teachers was selected for the study using cluster sampling technique. Questionnaires were used to elicit responses from the selected teachers. Inferential statistics and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the research questions. The findings from the study revealed that generally, teachers in the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem Municipality attribute students’ disruptive behaviours to blame and intentionality of the students. Again, in the quest for managing these attributed behaviours, supportive measures were identified by the teachers to be very effective. It was recommended that teachers’ beliefs about causality with reference to student misbehaviour be improved by training teachers to embrace controllable as opposed to non-controllable attributions. Teachers wh...
African Research Review, 2019
The study explored the prevalence of dating violence and its impact on learning among undergradua... more The study explored the prevalence of dating violence and its impact on learning among undergraduate psychology students in the University of Cape Coast. The descriptive survey design was employed for the study with a total of 376 students made up of 193 males and 183 females drawn from the department of education and psychology. Proportional and systematic sampling procedures were employed to obtain the sample. Results revealed that undergraduate psychology students experience dating violence ranging from physical, psychological and sexual. Results indicated that dating violence has negative impact on students academically, socially and psychologically. It was again discovered that female undergraduate students and young undergraduate students experience dating violence more than male undergraduate students and older under undergraduate students. It was recommended that undergraduate students should postpone dating while in school and concentrate on their learning. Besides, those who may be affected should seek counselling.
International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 2017
The study examined the effect of age, rank, marital status and gender on job satisfaction among a... more The study examined the effect of age, rank, marital status and gender on job satisfaction among academic staff of universities in Ghana. The descriptive survey design was employed for the study. A proportional stratified random sample of 361 academic staff made up of 287 males and 74 females completed a validated survey questionnaire. The results of ANOVA show a significant positive effect of age, rank and marital status on job satisfaction among academic staff of universities in Ghana with senior lecturers being the most satisfied academic staff among the ranks. Independent samples t-test results found no significant difference between male and female members of the academic staff with regard to their levels of job satisfaction. It is recommended from the study that universities in Ghana engage young academics who have the opportunity of progressing on the academic ladder.
The aim of the study was to find out the bi-directional relationship between workstress and marit... more The aim of the study was to find out the bi-directional relationship between workstress and marital relation. The purpose was to develop an understanding of the psychological interface of such a complex relationship by specifically examining the positive and negative spill over between work and marital roles with their antecedents and outcomes. Using mail survey and a total sample of fifty (50), dual earner persons made of twenty one (21) females and twenty nine (29) males from Ghana, linear regression analysis was employed to test the various hypotheses. Findings indicate that the hypothesis that workstress would impact negatively on marital relations was supported (P 0.05,F (1, 19)= 0.23); (P>0.05,F (1, 23)= 0.69). Finally, the hypothesis that there would be significant relationship between one’s coping strategy and the quality of family relations was not supported (P>0.01, F=. 653).
The aim of the study was to investigate stress levels, experiences of stress and coping strategie... more The aim of the study was to investigate stress levels, experiences of stress and coping strategies of non-UK students studying at the University of Manchester, UK. The main purpose was to consider their perceived stress levels, their experiences of stress and their coping strategies and to link these to the continents from which they came, their gender and whether they were graduates or undergraduates. This research consisted of two phases. The first phase was a survey that used self-administered structured questionnaire of 329 non-UK students who completed the perceived stress scale (PSS), the inventory of college students recent life experiences (ICSRLE) and the coping inventory for stressful situations (CISS). In addition, a further 74 UK students completed only the (PSS). Phase two was a qualitative study consisting of open-ended in-depth interviews of 16 volunteers. In all, 403 students participated in this study. Key findings indicated that, time pressure and work demands were the non- UK students’ most stressful experiences. Anxiety, academic alienation and future academic prospects and unfamiliarity with the educational and cultural norms added to their difficulties. Gender was the most significant predictor of non-UK students’ stressful experiences, whilst female students expressed higher levels of distress than their male counterparts. In addition, task and avoidance strategies were used by all non-UK students to cope with stress, but European students tended to use more adaptive coping strategies than did Asian and African students.
Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, Dec 29, 2014
Effective written language expression is generally conceived as an important tool in communicatio... more Effective written language expression is generally conceived as an important tool in communication. Using the work samples of sixty eight primary six pupils drawn from public primary schools in Cape Coast and Twifo Breman in the Central Region of Ghana, the investigators examined the pattern of errors pupils make in English Written Language and factors accounting for the errors. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design and two validated instruments involving questionnaire and a hundred and seventy-five word passage selected from Grade Six English Reader. The results showed that most pupils omitted, substituted and wrongly spelt words in their written expressions. It was also revealed that diverse factors affected pupils’ written English expression. There were significant differences in pattern of errors in written English expression between urban and rural schools as well as between male and female pupils. On the basis of the findings, recommendations were made for teachers and parents to engage their pupils more in reading and writing activities. Keywords: English, written expression, primary, learning difficulties, communication.
Journal of Education and Practice, 2014
For an effective and a successful internship programme, the competency and motivation of all part... more For an effective and a successful internship programme, the competency and motivation of all parties involved are indispensable and studies have revealed that internship experiences have surfaced as important factors that may positively improve the job placement of students. Using descriptive cross sectional survey design, the investigators assessed the relevance and experience of internships of undergraduate psychology students in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The study adopted a validated questionnaire and a proportional stratified sampling technique, involving 200 students made up of 115 and 85 males and females respectively.Results underscored the relevance of internship experience with greater sense of responsibility and career development it provides. It also suggested that career focus is associated with positive beliefs about intern's career choice and future job satisfaction. It revealed a statistically significant association between type of organization and the relevance of internship programme to students. The results also showed significant differences in experience of internship programme across respondents' age and gender.On the basis of the findings, recommendations were made for educational institutions to provide skills that organizations can capitalize on to give work related training during internships.
International Journal of Social Science and Human Research, 2021
This study assessed the class level differences in stress experiences and coping strategies among... more This study assessed the class level differences in stress experiences and coping strategies among undergraduate students in Ghana. The study employed a descriptive survey design. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 265 undergraduate students out of the 846 student population in the Department of Education and Psychology. The research instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire entitled “Stress Experiences and Coping Strategies” (SECS). Means and standard deviations were used to analyse the research questions. The findings revealed that common stress experiences varied, with lack of social contact with students of other faculties in the University as the most common stress experienced among the respondents. Also the most commonly used coping strategy was having enough rest. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the University should champion and promote inter-faculty, social and academic programmes and activities that would enable students to inte...
For an effective and a successful internship programme, the competency and motivation of all part... more For an effective and a successful internship programme, the competency and motivation of all parties involved are indispensable and studies have revealed that internship experiences have surfaced as important factors that may positively improve the job placement of students. Using descriptive cross sectional survey design, the investigators assessed the relevance and experience of internships of undergraduate psychology students in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The study adopted a validated questionnaire and a proportional stratified sampling technique, involving 200 students made up of 115 and 85 males and females respectively.Results underscored the relevance of internship experience with greater sense of responsibility and career development it provides. It also suggested that career focus is associated with positive beliefs about intern’s career choice and future job satisfaction. It revealed a statistically significant association between type of organization and the rel...
The purpose of this study was to assess the mental toughness of senior high school football playe... more The purpose of this study was to assess the mental toughness of senior high school football players in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Descriptive survey design was employed and 30 male student football players sampled from a twelve week football training programme were studied using convenience and purposive sampling techniques. Their psychological factors of mental toughness were tested by Loehr’s (1986) mental toughness test. The factors recorded for mental toughness indicated controlled attitude, self-confidence, positive energy, motivational level, attentional control, visualisation and imagery. Players tested average in all the factors with controlled attitude being the highest and control of attention their lowest. From the findings it is recommended that, high school football players should be trained to enhance all the seven factors for mental toughness. Again an examination of differences between players at all levels in a variety of sporting and physical activities and...
The study investigated the relationship between teachers’ personality traits and their desired le... more The study investigated the relationship between teachers’ personality traits and their desired leadership styles in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. The descriptive survey design was used for the study with a total of 417 employees randomly selected from five secondary schools in the metropolis. Results indicate that all the five personality traits had significant positive relationship with transformational leadership style, with conscientiousness having the strongest relationship and neuroticism the weakest. Thus conscientious teachers have higher preference for transformational leadership than employees of the other personality traits. Neuroticism had the strongest positive relationship with transactional leadership style among the other traits. Agreeableness and openness also had significant (weak) positive relationship with transactional leadership style. Conscientiousness however did not have significant relationship, with extraversion relating negatively with transactional ...
The main purpose of this study was to examine the role incentives in employee retention of Small ... more The main purpose of this study was to examine the role incentives in employee retention of Small to Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs). Research for the study included a literature study of both content and process theories of motivation in order to identify those factors that are important when evaluating incentives on employee retention. Survey design was employed for this study and stratified and convenience sampling techniques were used in selecting seventy-five respondents from SMEs within Ghana Industrial and Commercial Estate. Data was elicited from respondents using questionnaires and analyzed with descriptive statistics. The major findings indicate that, incentives have an impact on employee retention in SMEs. It was revealed that SMEs do not have incentive packages for their employees and the major cause of employee turnover is job insecurity. However, to prevent high employee turnover, the most effective strategies are to provide employees with bonus and job security. The stu...
American Journal of Educational Research
The study explored the relationship between parental involvement in education and academic perfor... more The study explored the relationship between parental involvement in education and academic performance of senior high school students in the Ashanti Mampong Municipality of Ghana. The descriptive correlational research design was used to conduct the study. Stratified random sampling procedure was employed to select a total sample of 471 respondents made up of 186 males and 285 females. Questionnaire and test items on Mathematics and English Language were the research instruments used to collect data for the study. Data analysis was conducted by employing descriptive statistical tools (mean and standard deviation scores) to examine students’ perceived parental academic ambition and involvement in their education while the Zero-order correlation was used to examine the relationships between parental involvement in education and academic performance. The results of the study show a significant positive relationship between parental involvement in education and students’ academic performance. It is recommended from the study that parents should play a leading role in supporting their children’s education since they are the first to expose children to the social and academic world.
Distance Education and Teachers’ Training in Africa (DETA), 2015
Participatory Educational Research
Curiosity and academic self-concept as psychological constructs are often mentioned in education ... more Curiosity and academic self-concept as psychological constructs are often mentioned in education and psychology. These constructs are elusive in terms of how they are exhibited or portrayed and measured. Despite their elusive nature, they are highly significant to the success or otherwise of learners. Therefore, the current study explored curiosity and academic self-concept among students of category "A" Senior High schools in the Central Region of Ghana. Using a descriptive-quantitative method, a sample of 400 students was selected through proportionate-stratified and systematic sampling techniques. Adapted curiosity (Kashdan et al., 2018) and academic self-concept (Liu & Wang, 2005) scales were used for the data collection. The data collected were analysed using frequencies, percentages, and structural equation modelling (SEM). The study revealed that the majority of the students possessed low curious abilities and low academic self-concepts. The study further revealed that curiosity of deprivation sensitivity (b=.577, p<.001), the curiosity of stress tolerance (b=.248, p=.007), and curiosity of thrill-seeking (b=.544, p<.001) positively and significantly predicted academic self-concept of students but the curiosity of joyful exploration and social curiosity did not predict academic self-concept of students. It was concluded that students' curious abilities were precursors to their academic self-concept. Thereupon, teachers need to devise new approaches by allowing students to engage in other learning opportunities without much restrictions so that they could hone their natural potentials.
Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science, Oct 27, 2011
Over the last two decades, the number of higher education students in Ghanaian universities has s... more Over the last two decades, the number of higher education students in Ghanaian universities has steadily increased. The rapid changes in the lives of fresh university students, some of which are adolescents and particular challenges associated with education at this level may expose them to stress. There is however limited information on stress perceived by fresh undergraduate students in Ghanaian universities. The aim of this study was to therefore investigate stress levels of fresh undergraduate students at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The case study design was adopted and information was on perceived stress levels among newly admitted educational psychology students and the extent to which these could be linked to such background characteristics as age, gender and work experience or time spent awaiting university admission after graduation from high school. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was administered on 398 respondents and data were analysed with the frequency distribution and t-Test statistics. Findings indicated that 70% of the students had moderate level of perceived stress whilst 3.5% demonstrated high level of stress. Results also indicated that female fresh undergraduates had significantly higher perceived stress levels than their male counterparts. There was a significant difference between the mean perceived stress of fresh undergraduate students admitted within two years of their graduation from senior high school and those who waited longer before they were admitted. Employment statuses before admission and age have no significant influence on perceived stress levels. Implications of the findings for future research, lecturers, school administrators, counsellors and health workers were discussed and recommendations were made.
International Journal of Education and Management Engineering, 2021
The study examined the influence of classroom management strategies of Junior High School teacher... more The study examined the influence of classroom management strategies of Junior High School teachers on the academic performance of students in the Ashanti Akim North District. The descriptive survey design was used for the study. One hypothesis and two research questions were developed to guide the study. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 48 teachers and 297 year two students to respond to the Behaviour and Instructional Management Scale (BIMS). Test scores in English Language, Integrated Science, Mathematics and Social Studies were used to measure students' academic performance. The statistical tools used to analyse the data collected were means, standard deviation, Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) and Multiple Regression. The findings revealed that both students and teachers identified good relationship and reinforcement as the mostly used classroom management strategies. It was found that a significant positive relationship existed between reinforcement and antecedent as classroom management schemes and students' academic performance. However, good relationship and punishment as classroom management strategies did not have a positive relationship with the academic performance of students. It is recommended that teachers should use reinforcement and antecedent strategies frequently in their classrooms since they play a dual role of managing behaviour and predicting the academic performance of students. Good relationship as a classroom management strategy should be cautiously used because it could potentially be misinterpreted or abused and can lead to low academic performance. Using punishment as a classroom management strategy should be avoided as its use hinders academic performance of students.
Educational Research, 2010
The aim of the study was to investigate stress levels, experiences of stress and coping strategie... more The aim of the study was to investigate stress levels, experiences of stress and coping strategies of non-UK students studying at the University of Manchester, UK. The main purpose was to consider their perceived stress levels, their experiences of stress and their coping strategies and to link these to the continents from which they came, their gender and whether they were graduates or undergraduates. This research consisted of two phases. The first phase was a survey that used self-administered structured questionnaire of 329 non-UK students who completed the perceived stress scale (PSS), the inventory of college students recent life experiences (ICSRLE) and the coping inventory for stressful situations (CISS). In addition, a further 74 UK students completed only the (PSS). Phase two was a qualitative study consisting of open-ended in-depth interviews of 16 volunteers. In all, 403 students participated in this study. Key findings indicated that, time pressure and work demands were...
Stress is a universal element and persons from near ly very walk of life have to face it. The pur... more Stress is a universal element and persons from near ly very walk of life have to face it. The purpose of the study was to investigate the stress level among distance education students and the management strategies in coping with the stress . The study was delimited to University of Applied Management, a specialized distance educatio n institution in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. One hundred (100) students who wer e s lected based on simple random sampling technique from all the departments of the university were involved in the study. The questionnaire which was adapted to suit the study e nvironment was pre-tested on some distance education students of the University. The results of the study showed that the prevalence of stress among distance education learn ers is high. Stress levels differ among gender and working status of students. Also the maj or source or cause of stress among student identified were excessive assignment, inadequate ti m o study, work, financial fears ...
The purpose of the study was to investigate into the influence of teacher classroom practices on ... more The purpose of the study was to investigate into the influence of teacher classroom practices on the self-concept of children with disabilities in upper primary schools in the Tano North District. The expost-facto research design was used for the study. The instruments used in gathering data for the study were questionnaire and observation guide for teacher classroom practices and a structured interview guide to measure the self-concept of pupils with disabilities. A total of 98 respondents were used. This comprised 30 teachers and 68 pupils with disabilities. Four research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Results indicated that teacher classroom practices have a moderate relationship with the self-concept of children with disability. There was no relationship between type of disability and self-concept. Gender of children with disabilities was found to be related to their self-concept. From the findings it is recommended that educational policies should provide equal ...
Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science, 2020
The study explored teachers’ attributions in addressing misbehaviour of students in the class... more The study explored teachers’ attributions in addressing misbehaviour of students in the classroom. To achieve this, a descriptive survey was adopted through the use of quantitative approach. A sample size of 140 teachers was selected for the study using cluster sampling technique. Questionnaires were used to elicit responses from the selected teachers. Inferential statistics and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the research questions. The findings from the study revealed that generally, teachers in the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem Municipality attribute students’ disruptive behaviours to blame and intentionality of the students. Again, in the quest for managing these attributed behaviours, supportive measures were identified by the teachers to be very effective. It was recommended that teachers’ beliefs about causality with reference to student misbehaviour be improved by training teachers to embrace controllable as opposed to non-controllable attributions. Teachers wh...
African Research Review, 2019
The study explored the prevalence of dating violence and its impact on learning among undergradua... more The study explored the prevalence of dating violence and its impact on learning among undergraduate psychology students in the University of Cape Coast. The descriptive survey design was employed for the study with a total of 376 students made up of 193 males and 183 females drawn from the department of education and psychology. Proportional and systematic sampling procedures were employed to obtain the sample. Results revealed that undergraduate psychology students experience dating violence ranging from physical, psychological and sexual. Results indicated that dating violence has negative impact on students academically, socially and psychologically. It was again discovered that female undergraduate students and young undergraduate students experience dating violence more than male undergraduate students and older under undergraduate students. It was recommended that undergraduate students should postpone dating while in school and concentrate on their learning. Besides, those who may be affected should seek counselling.
International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 2017
The study examined the effect of age, rank, marital status and gender on job satisfaction among a... more The study examined the effect of age, rank, marital status and gender on job satisfaction among academic staff of universities in Ghana. The descriptive survey design was employed for the study. A proportional stratified random sample of 361 academic staff made up of 287 males and 74 females completed a validated survey questionnaire. The results of ANOVA show a significant positive effect of age, rank and marital status on job satisfaction among academic staff of universities in Ghana with senior lecturers being the most satisfied academic staff among the ranks. Independent samples t-test results found no significant difference between male and female members of the academic staff with regard to their levels of job satisfaction. It is recommended from the study that universities in Ghana engage young academics who have the opportunity of progressing on the academic ladder.
The aim of the study was to find out the bi-directional relationship between workstress and marit... more The aim of the study was to find out the bi-directional relationship between workstress and marital relation. The purpose was to develop an understanding of the psychological interface of such a complex relationship by specifically examining the positive and negative spill over between work and marital roles with their antecedents and outcomes. Using mail survey and a total sample of fifty (50), dual earner persons made of twenty one (21) females and twenty nine (29) males from Ghana, linear regression analysis was employed to test the various hypotheses. Findings indicate that the hypothesis that workstress would impact negatively on marital relations was supported (P 0.05,F (1, 19)= 0.23); (P>0.05,F (1, 23)= 0.69). Finally, the hypothesis that there would be significant relationship between one’s coping strategy and the quality of family relations was not supported (P>0.01, F=. 653).
The aim of the study was to investigate stress levels, experiences of stress and coping strategie... more The aim of the study was to investigate stress levels, experiences of stress and coping strategies of non-UK students studying at the University of Manchester, UK. The main purpose was to consider their perceived stress levels, their experiences of stress and their coping strategies and to link these to the continents from which they came, their gender and whether they were graduates or undergraduates. This research consisted of two phases. The first phase was a survey that used self-administered structured questionnaire of 329 non-UK students who completed the perceived stress scale (PSS), the inventory of college students recent life experiences (ICSRLE) and the coping inventory for stressful situations (CISS). In addition, a further 74 UK students completed only the (PSS). Phase two was a qualitative study consisting of open-ended in-depth interviews of 16 volunteers. In all, 403 students participated in this study. Key findings indicated that, time pressure and work demands were the non- UK students’ most stressful experiences. Anxiety, academic alienation and future academic prospects and unfamiliarity with the educational and cultural norms added to their difficulties. Gender was the most significant predictor of non-UK students’ stressful experiences, whilst female students expressed higher levels of distress than their male counterparts. In addition, task and avoidance strategies were used by all non-UK students to cope with stress, but European students tended to use more adaptive coping strategies than did Asian and African students.
Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, Dec 29, 2014
Effective written language expression is generally conceived as an important tool in communicatio... more Effective written language expression is generally conceived as an important tool in communication. Using the work samples of sixty eight primary six pupils drawn from public primary schools in Cape Coast and Twifo Breman in the Central Region of Ghana, the investigators examined the pattern of errors pupils make in English Written Language and factors accounting for the errors. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design and two validated instruments involving questionnaire and a hundred and seventy-five word passage selected from Grade Six English Reader. The results showed that most pupils omitted, substituted and wrongly spelt words in their written expressions. It was also revealed that diverse factors affected pupils’ written English expression. There were significant differences in pattern of errors in written English expression between urban and rural schools as well as between male and female pupils. On the basis of the findings, recommendations were made for teachers and parents to engage their pupils more in reading and writing activities. Keywords: English, written expression, primary, learning difficulties, communication.
Journal of Education and Practice, 2014
For an effective and a successful internship programme, the competency and motivation of all part... more For an effective and a successful internship programme, the competency and motivation of all parties involved are indispensable and studies have revealed that internship experiences have surfaced as important factors that may positively improve the job placement of students. Using descriptive cross sectional survey design, the investigators assessed the relevance and experience of internships of undergraduate psychology students in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The study adopted a validated questionnaire and a proportional stratified sampling technique, involving 200 students made up of 115 and 85 males and females respectively.Results underscored the relevance of internship experience with greater sense of responsibility and career development it provides. It also suggested that career focus is associated with positive beliefs about intern's career choice and future job satisfaction. It revealed a statistically significant association between type of organization and the relevance of internship programme to students. The results also showed significant differences in experience of internship programme across respondents' age and gender.On the basis of the findings, recommendations were made for educational institutions to provide skills that organizations can capitalize on to give work related training during internships.
International Journal of Social Science and Human Research, 2021
This study assessed the class level differences in stress experiences and coping strategies among... more This study assessed the class level differences in stress experiences and coping strategies among undergraduate students in Ghana. The study employed a descriptive survey design. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 265 undergraduate students out of the 846 student population in the Department of Education and Psychology. The research instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire entitled “Stress Experiences and Coping Strategies” (SECS). Means and standard deviations were used to analyse the research questions. The findings revealed that common stress experiences varied, with lack of social contact with students of other faculties in the University as the most common stress experienced among the respondents. Also the most commonly used coping strategy was having enough rest. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the University should champion and promote inter-faculty, social and academic programmes and activities that would enable students to inte...
For an effective and a successful internship programme, the competency and motivation of all part... more For an effective and a successful internship programme, the competency and motivation of all parties involved are indispensable and studies have revealed that internship experiences have surfaced as important factors that may positively improve the job placement of students. Using descriptive cross sectional survey design, the investigators assessed the relevance and experience of internships of undergraduate psychology students in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The study adopted a validated questionnaire and a proportional stratified sampling technique, involving 200 students made up of 115 and 85 males and females respectively.Results underscored the relevance of internship experience with greater sense of responsibility and career development it provides. It also suggested that career focus is associated with positive beliefs about intern’s career choice and future job satisfaction. It revealed a statistically significant association between type of organization and the rel...
The purpose of this study was to assess the mental toughness of senior high school football playe... more The purpose of this study was to assess the mental toughness of senior high school football players in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Descriptive survey design was employed and 30 male student football players sampled from a twelve week football training programme were studied using convenience and purposive sampling techniques. Their psychological factors of mental toughness were tested by Loehr’s (1986) mental toughness test. The factors recorded for mental toughness indicated controlled attitude, self-confidence, positive energy, motivational level, attentional control, visualisation and imagery. Players tested average in all the factors with controlled attitude being the highest and control of attention their lowest. From the findings it is recommended that, high school football players should be trained to enhance all the seven factors for mental toughness. Again an examination of differences between players at all levels in a variety of sporting and physical activities and...
The study investigated the relationship between teachers’ personality traits and their desired le... more The study investigated the relationship between teachers’ personality traits and their desired leadership styles in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. The descriptive survey design was used for the study with a total of 417 employees randomly selected from five secondary schools in the metropolis. Results indicate that all the five personality traits had significant positive relationship with transformational leadership style, with conscientiousness having the strongest relationship and neuroticism the weakest. Thus conscientious teachers have higher preference for transformational leadership than employees of the other personality traits. Neuroticism had the strongest positive relationship with transactional leadership style among the other traits. Agreeableness and openness also had significant (weak) positive relationship with transactional leadership style. Conscientiousness however did not have significant relationship, with extraversion relating negatively with transactional ...
The main purpose of this study was to examine the role incentives in employee retention of Small ... more The main purpose of this study was to examine the role incentives in employee retention of Small to Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs). Research for the study included a literature study of both content and process theories of motivation in order to identify those factors that are important when evaluating incentives on employee retention. Survey design was employed for this study and stratified and convenience sampling techniques were used in selecting seventy-five respondents from SMEs within Ghana Industrial and Commercial Estate. Data was elicited from respondents using questionnaires and analyzed with descriptive statistics. The major findings indicate that, incentives have an impact on employee retention in SMEs. It was revealed that SMEs do not have incentive packages for their employees and the major cause of employee turnover is job insecurity. However, to prevent high employee turnover, the most effective strategies are to provide employees with bonus and job security. The stu...
American Journal of Educational Research
The study explored the relationship between parental involvement in education and academic perfor... more The study explored the relationship between parental involvement in education and academic performance of senior high school students in the Ashanti Mampong Municipality of Ghana. The descriptive correlational research design was used to conduct the study. Stratified random sampling procedure was employed to select a total sample of 471 respondents made up of 186 males and 285 females. Questionnaire and test items on Mathematics and English Language were the research instruments used to collect data for the study. Data analysis was conducted by employing descriptive statistical tools (mean and standard deviation scores) to examine students’ perceived parental academic ambition and involvement in their education while the Zero-order correlation was used to examine the relationships between parental involvement in education and academic performance. The results of the study show a significant positive relationship between parental involvement in education and students’ academic performance. It is recommended from the study that parents should play a leading role in supporting their children’s education since they are the first to expose children to the social and academic world.