A survey on e-learning experiences of law students during Covid-19 in Ghana [Scholarly Article - The Law Teacher, June 2022]

Title:

A survey on e-learning experiences of law students during Covid-19 in Ghana

 

Author:

Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom

Public Law Department, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, kumasi, Ghana

 

Published:

The Law Teacher, 13 June 2022

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03069400.2022.2077517?src=

 

Abstract:

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, e-learning is no longer a choice but a need. In Ghana, the Covid-19 induced e-learning continues to form an integral part of higher education in most universities. Focusing on law students’ perspectives on e-learning in Ghana, this study used online survey data from 204 respondents at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Faculty of Law. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data while thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. The findings revealed, among other things, that although most law students enjoyed e-learning, they preferred blended learning to cater for the shortcomings of the former. The study argues that blended learning is a viable option for legal education in Ghana. As the first study on law students’ experiences of e-learning in Ghana during the pandemic, the study is timely and significant. The recommendations that follow from the study could be beneficial to legal education managers in Ghana and Africa.

Career aspirations and influencing factors among male and female students studying Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in Ghana [Scholarly Article - Ghana Journal of Geography, 2022]

Title:

Career aspirations and influencing factors among male and female students studying Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in Ghana

 

Authors:

Charlotte Wrigley-Asante, Department of Geography and Resource Development/ Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana 

 

Charles Godfred Ackah, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana 

 

Louis Kusi Frimpong, Department of Geography and Earth Science, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya, Ghana

 

Published:

Ghana Journal of Geography, Volume 14, Number 1,19 April 2022

https://www.ajol.info/index.php/gjg/article/view/224146 

 

Abstract:

This paper examines the career aspirations of male and female students studying Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects at the tertiary level in Ghana and the motivating factors for these aspirations. The study objectives were addressed using data gathered from a survey, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used in analysing the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The results show that there is no significant difference in the career aspirations of male and female students. However, we established that there are differences in the factors that influence career choices of male and female students. While economic consideration was a significant factor for males’ interest in pursuing a career in STEM, females were influenced by external motivation factors such as encouragement and motivation from role models. The authors recommend both formal and informal science-related mentorship programmes and internships as measures that could encourage females to actualise their career aspirations in STEM since it is an essential way of empowering them and building their capacities for national development.

Cocoa farmers’ perceptions of soil organic carbon effects on fertility, management and climate change in the Ashanti region of Ghana [Scholarly Article - Afr. J. Agric. Res., 2021]

Title:

Cocoa farmers’ perceptions of soil organic carbon effects on fertility, management and climate change in the Ashanti region of Ghana 

 

Authors:

F. Adiyah, Department of Soil Science, Szent István University, Hungary   

M. Fuchs, Department of Soil Science, Szent István University, Hungary

E. Michéli, Department of Soil Science, Szent István University, Hungary

E. Dawoe, Agroforestry Department, Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana                       

Kovács, Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Szent István University, Hungary 

 

Published:

African Journal of Agricultural Research, 17(5), pp. 714-725 (May 2021)

https://academicjournals.org/journal/AJAR/cited-by-article/A5F8CC466762

 

Abstract: 

Farmers can play an important role in climate change mitigation through sustainable soil management practices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the Atwima Nwabiagya municipality of Ashanti region, Ghana, to explore farmers' knowledge and perceptions of their soils, soil fertility, applied management practices, and climate change on soil organic carbon. The interviews included topics related to farmers’ access to training and its impact in adopting and changes in management strategies. Summary for interviews was prepared based on notes and recordings and analyzed with the Qualitative Content Analysis (QCAmap) software using emergent codes. Results show that farmers had a lot of knowledge on soil organic matter (SOM) and how it affects climate and the relationship between SOM and soil fertility. They also acknowledged that their management practices affect quantities of SOM in topsoil and subsoil and soil fertility. The adoption of current and new management practices including, the use of organic and inorganic fertilizers, manure, mulching, and shade management, is a reflection of their newly acquired knowledge and understanding of fertility sustaining processes.  The study highlights the relationship between farmers' training and changes in their adopted practices and how management practices affect SOC influencing climate change and soil fertility.

 

COVID-19 and Medical Education in Ghana: Assessing the Impact - by E Asumanu & L Tsevi [Preprint - medRxiv, 2021]

Title:

COVID-19 and Medical Education in Ghana: Assessing the Impact 

Authors:

Edward Asumanu & Linda Tsevi

Published:

medRxiv, 12 March 2021

[This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review.]

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.11.21253306v1

 

Abstract:

Medical education in Ghana has been affected in many ways by the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the pandemic has affected both preclinical and clinical segments of medical education, the effect has been felt more at the clinical stage. Medical students on vacation who started their clinical training abroad could not return to their destination of study to complete their programme because of COVID-19 linked travel restrictions. This qualitative study examined how COVID-19 impacted on teaching and learning at a public higher education institution offering clinical medical education in Ghana for over 200 medical students. These medical students were from three different higher education institutions with varied curriculum outcomes. Thus, for them to be considered as a single group required innovativeness on the part of administrators. Open-ended interviews were held with administrators and the outcome indicated that salient aspects of the clinical training process had been impacted. These included administration of clinical education, curriculum, student learning, student assessment and code of practice. As a result of the pandemic, student learning shifted from traditional face to face interaction to online learning at the beginning. Some of the administrative challenges that ensued included the need for reduced number of students per tutor and introduction of afternoon sessions with a limited budget. The paper concludes that COVID-19 has been disruptive to traditional medical education in Ghana. However, the novel learning processes may provide opportunities to increase access to medical education using a phased system of learning. The findings from this study should have implications for policy and contribute to the discourse on blended learning in medical education in Ghana while ensuring that quality is maintained in all instances.

BBC News, 29 June 2020 - Coronavirus: Ghana 'quack doctors' selling 'cure'

Title of video:
Coronavirus: Ghana 'quack doctors' selling 'cure'

Published:
BBC News, 29 June 2020
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-53199190/coronavirus-ghana-quack-doctors-selling-cure

Description:
An underworld of quack doctors and conmen have been exploiting the coronavirus pandemic and making money selling fake coronavirus cures.

Investigative reporter Anas Aremeyaw Anas goes undercover in Ghana, exposing a Covid-19 scam said to be worth thousands of dollars.

Ghana is considering a new law to govern universities. Why it’s a bad idea [The Conversation, 8 June 2020]

Title:
Ghana is considering a new law to govern universities. Why it’s a bad idea

Published:
The Conversation, 8 June 2020
https://theconversation.com/ghana-is-considering-a-new-law-to-govern-universities-why-its-a-bad-idea-139583

From the article:
Academic freedom in Ghana started well with the establishment of the University of Ghana in 1948. Special measures were put in place to insulate the academic staff from governmental interference.

This trend was continued into independence. But it began to deteriorate when respect for liberal democracy, embodied in Ghana’s Independence Constitution, started to wane simultaneously as the country morphed into a one-party state and later into military rule.

General News (GHANA) - Why Ghana’s smallholders aren’t excited by the latest ‘Green Revolution’

Title:
Why Ghana’s smallholders aren’t excited by the latest ‘Green Revolution’

Author:
Siera Vercillo, University of Waterloo

Published:
The Conversation, 13 April 2020

From the article:
"The Green Revolution – the introduction of new higher yielding seed varieties, increased use of fertiliser, irrigation and other mechanisation introduced since the 1960s – brought about a great increase in crop yields in some countries in the Global South. Hybridised seeds produced more grains per plant and were more responsive to fertiliser and irrigation.  

But the effects of this “revolution” were famously uneven, both between and within countries. The farming environment in sub-Saharan Africa wasn’t as well suited to the technologies as Asia and Latin America."

To read this article:
https://theconversation.com/why-ghanas-smallholders-arent-excited-by-the-latest-green-revolution-134804

EVENT (Ghana) & CALL FOR PAPERS: Repatriation in Africa, the African Diaspora and other Global Contexts: Histories, Practices, Understandings and Constructions

Title of conference:
Repatriation in Africa, the African Diaspora and other Global Contexts: Histories, Practices, Understandings and Constructions

Date of conference:
30 July - 1 August 2020

Place:
The University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

Subject fields:
African American History/Studies, African History/Studies, Humanities, Slavery, World History/Studies

Deadline for submissions of abstracts:
15 April 2020

Notification of acceptance:
30 April 2020

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