50 years of educational progress and challenge in Ghana

In 2007 Ghana celebrated 50 years of independence from British colonial rule. The golden jubilee offered an opportunity to take stock of how the country had progressed in expanding education and the challenges for the future. This paper offers a critique of the journey, highlighting the challenges and progress. What reforms in education has taught Ghana is that it is much easier to fix the ‘hardware’ than the ‘software’ problems of education. With huge investments from internal and external sources structural and infrastructural problems of education can be fixed. With expanded facilities access can improve. However, completion rates remain the problem, especially at junior and senior secondary where low completion rates deprive the country of much needed educated youth prepared for work and for further education and training. TVET development plans faces the challenge of ensuring that sustainable capital and recurrent investment is available to improve infrastructural facilities and thereby improve the quality of products. Fifty years after independence, although Ghana has made good progress in expanding education provision, it is still faced with the problem of securing an education system that delivers on quality and provides equitable access for all, especially the poor and disadvantaged. Until and unless significant gains are made here, the goal of producing a workforce with the knowledge and skills for development would be hard to achieve. This is the task for the next fifty years

The role of schools in supporting HIV-affected children in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

Aim: To establish an overview of school-based interventions carried out to support the health and well-being of vulnerable children in Zimbabwe and similar socio-economic contexts in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: A literature search was carried out in Web of Knowledge using combinations of the following search terms: support, intervention, school, child, Zimbabwe, sub-Saharan Africa, health, well-being, inclusion and enrolment. A total of 12 articles were identified as relevant to the research question and included in this review. Findings: Interventions in sub-Saharan Africa have been successful in implementing health knowledge at schools. Whereas a few studies have acknowledged the potential of schools to go beyond knowledge and facilitate a supportive and caring environment for vulnerable children, they tend to refer to studies reporting on externally implemented and resourced interventions. Limited attention has been given to the psychosocial well-being of children and children’s own experiences of school environments. Conclusion: Existing literature needs to be supplemented with research exploring pathways through which schools in challenging socio-economic contexts manage to support HIV-affected children by drawing on already available resources and by involving local communities. Furthermore, more in-depth qualitative research from children’ is needed in order to understand the needs of HIV-affected children and how they themselves experience ways in which schools support them to cope with adversity in their everyday lives

Implementation of Information Communication Technology in the Teaching/Learning Process for Sustainable Development of Adults in West Africa Sub Sahara Region

This study examines the implementation of information technology in the teaching/learning process for sustainable development of adults in West Africa Sub Sahara Region (WASSR). Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The population for the study was 3071 participants and instructors drawn from 10 education centres that were selected for the study. The sample for the study was made up of 823 participants and 30 instructors that were selected. Simple random sampling technique was used in drawing the sample for the study. Questionnaires were administered to the 853 sample population in countries that make up the region. The result indicates that it is necessary to implement information communication technology in the teaching/learning process for the benefits of sustainable development for adults. The following major findings emerged: The participants believe that information technology will make them independent in their studies. The educators are of the opinion that information technology can expand the community of learners to include virtually anyone who wishes to obtain information and who is not excluded by policy or cost. The major recommendations: that government through the schools should initiate effective programmes to create mass awareness by educating the participants about the benefits of computer literacy in this 21st century. The schools should offer face-to-face workshops; self-placed learning modules and online courses that assist with the development of the essential skills. Formulating approaches to the use of information and communication technology and incorporating it into the curriculum of formal and non-formal education of adults and other learners with exceptionalities for sustainable development. Keywords: Information Communication Technology, Teaching/Learning Process, Sustainable Development

Reducing HIV/AIDS in young people in Sub-Sahara Africa: gaps in research and the role of theory

This paper discusses the role of education in preventing HIV in children and young people in sub-Sahara Africa and presents the results of policy advisory research conducted on behalf of the Belgian Development Cooperation. The research consisted of a literature review and a field study in Rwanda. Relative to the high number of HIV prevention activities in sub-Sahara Africa, there is a limited number of scientific data on HIV risk reduction interventions for young people in this region. Longitudinal studies are especially scarce. Preliminary results show that many interventions have only a marginal impact on reducing sexual risk behaviour. Factors influencing programme effectiveness include the consistency and accuracy of messages and information, the provision of life-skills, social support and access to contraceptives, the intensity and duration of the programme, the training of the facilitators and the age of the target population. The HIV/ AIDS pandemic has a potentially devastating impact on the education sector. Because few countries have monitoring systems in place that quantify the absenteeism, morbidity and mortality of teachers and students infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS, there is only anecdotal evidence available for illustrating this impact. The final section discusses the current gaps in research and the important role of theory in increasing the impact and improving the evaluations of HIV/AIDS education interventions

Designing a Framework for Training Teachers on Mobile Learning in Sub-Sahara Africa

Mobile technology has the potential to enhance the capabilities of students and educators in effective teaching and learning process. Understanding the factors that hinder integration of mobile technology in instructional delivery is key to the effective uptake of mobile technology for instructional purposes. The benefits of using mobile technology in the classroom can only be fully harnessed when teachers and other educational stakeholders are guided by framework that captures factors that enhance and hinder it use. It is against this background that this study seeks to design a framework for training teachers in the uptake of mobile learning in classrooms in Sub-Sahara Africa. The interactions among the factors considered suggest that Personal and Societal beliefs, Ownership of devices, Cost of devices and Type of devices contribute significantly to the teachers’ technology self-efficacy, mobile phone self-efficacy and readiness to use mobile learning for instruction. Training on pedagogy could also enhance uptake, likewise, technical, and instructional support need to be considered in content development, delivery and evaluation. Feedback constitutes an important variable throughout the process leading up to uptake. Therefore, these factors need to be properly considered in the uptake of mobile learning in classrooms in sub-Sahara Africa. This would engender seamless integration of mobile learning in instructional delivery at different levels of education. Keywords: Mobile learning, readiness, pre-service teachers training, mobile learning model, self-efficacy DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-32-07 Publication date: November 30th 202

A systematic review of school-based sexual health interventions to prevent STI/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa

Background The HIV/AIDS epidemic remains of global significance and there is a need to target (a) the adolescent age-groups in which most new infections occur; and (b) sub-Saharan Africa where the greatest burden of the epidemic lies. A focused systematic review of school-based sexual health interventions in sub-Saharan Africa to prevent HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) in this age group was therefore conducted. Methods Searches were conducted in Medline, Embase, Cinahl and PsychINFO according to agreed a priori criteria for studies published between 1986 and 2006. Further searches were conducted in UNAIDS and WHO (World Health Organization) websites, and 'Google'. Relevant journals were hand-searched and references cited in identified articles were followed up. Data extraction and quality assessment was carried out on studies selected for full text appraisal, and results were analysed and presented in narrative format. Results Some 1,020 possible titles and abstracts were found, 23 full text articles were critically appraised, and 12 articles (10 studies) reviewed, reflecting the paucity of published studies conducted relative to the magnitude of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Knowledge and attitude-related outcomes were the most associated with statistically significant change. Behavioural intentions were more difficult to change and actual behaviour change was least likely to occur. Behaviour change in favour of abstinence and condom use appeared to be greatly influenced by pre-intervention sexual history. Conclusion There is a great need in sub-Saharan Africa for well-evaluated and effective school-based sexual health interventions

Success Despite Starting out at a Disadvantage: What Helps Second-Generation Migrants in France and Germany?

The educational and employment trajectories of migrant children in France and Germany are extremely diverse. The few successful ones dominate the public eye. Yet successful biographies of young adults with a migration background are in no way a negligible exception. However, the picture is different in the two countries: while in France more migrants' descendants manage to reach their (secondary?) general qualification for university entrance in Germany they are overrepresented particularly at the Hauptschule (general secondary school). It is, however, considerably more difficult for these young people in France to gain a long-term foothold in the labor market, while in Germany they often take the chance to acquire a vocational qualification and have better job opportunities. As part of a three-year research project, the question examined was which social and institutional factors can stabilize educational attainment and professional orientation. On the basis of qualitative interviews, which were conducted with young adults with a migration background in four disadvantaged areas of Berlin and Paris, it is possible to name three factors that play an important role in the success and/or the stabilization of early educational and employment trajectories: the support provided by significant third parties, entry into milieus which are more socially and culturally diverse, and the prospect of a "second chance."Migration, integration, second generation, education, labor market, trajectories

Why Are Teachers “Overpaid” in Developing Countries?

Labor and Human Capital,

Tracking resource and policy impact in Malawi : Incorporating Malawi poverty reduction strategy paper indicators, millennium development goals & poverty monitoring across sectors

This report is prepared jointly by National Statistical Office in Malawi and Statistics Norway. The objective has been to establish a system for statistical information to follow the potential effects of resources related to poverty and/or allocated to social sectors and through all steps from available public service towards the final outcome and end goals. This has included overall national policies affecting resource allocation for social sectors; allocation and distribution of resources between and within sectors; access to and use of social service; outcome and achievements; poverty reduction and other end goals; and feed back to economic, human and social development. The information presented aims at allowing the reader to follow resource allocation from policy decisions towards human welfare and quality of life, and the feed back towards economic and social development. Data presented are selected to provide information for indicators of the Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and the Millennium Development Goal indicators and resources which potentially might affect these indicators

Institutions for Health Care Delivery: A Formal Exploration of What Matters to Health Workers Evidence from Rwanda

Most developing countries face important challenges regarding both the quality and quantity of health care they provide and there is a growing consensus that health workers play an important role in this. Although contemporary analysis of development emphasizes the central role of institutions, surprisingly little work looks at how institutions matter for health workers and health care delivery, which is the focus of this paper. One reason for the scarcity of work in this field is that it is unclear what the relevant theory is in this area. We carry out a formal exploratory analysis to identify both the problems and the institutional factors that offer an explanation. Using qualitative research on Rwanda, a country where health care problems are typical but where the institutional environment is dynamic enough to embody changes, we find that four institutional factors explain health worker performance and career choice. Ranked in order of ease of malleability they are: incentives, monitoring arrangements, professional norms and health workers’ intrinsic motivation. We discuss their role and the implications for future research.health workers, institutions