Obstacles to Women Representation and Participation in Local Governance: A Case Study of Sissala East District of Ghana

The study set out to investigate the obstacles to participation of women in local governance in the Sissala East District of Ghana. It covered 56 respondents made up of 11 assembly members, 30 Unit Committee members, six women group leaders, three female candidates in the 2015 District Level Election and six Non-Governmental Organization gender desk officers. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were employed to select the respondents.  The main instrument used to gather data was semi-structured questionnaire using interview approach. The study showed that women’s participation in local governance was low as evident by the low representation of women in local governance. The factors that contributed to low women participation included cultural and male prejudices against women, low economic empowerment of women, the low self-confidence of women, low educational levels and excessive marital obligations. The study, therefore, recommended that civic education, economic empowerment, and leadership training should be embarked upon to improve women’s participation in local governance in the district. Key words: Local governance, District assembly, women participation, obstacles

Prospects and Enhancing Factors of Women Representation in Local Governance in the Sissala East District of Ghana

The study set out to investigate the prospects of women participation in local governance as well as factors enhancing election and appointment of women in local governance in the Sissala East District of Ghana. Fifty-six (56) respondents made up of 11 assembly members, 30 Unit Committee members, six women group leaders, three female candidates in the 2015 District Level Election and six Non-Governmental Organization gender desk officers. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the respondents.  The main instrument used to gather data was semi-structured questionnaire using interview approach. The study revealed that the majority (76.8%) of the respondents were in favor of more women participation in local governance. Also, the majority (71.4%) of the respondents reported that female candidates had lower chances of getting elected as assembly members than their male counterparts. Factors that could enhance the election of female candidates were adequate financial resources for embarking on electoral campaign, party affiliation, experience and competence, active campaign and strong campaign message and educational qualification level. Similarly, the factors that appointing authority take in consideration when appointing female assembly members included party affiliation, experience and capability,  educational qualification, choice by local chiefs and elders, gender balance and ethnicity. Keywords: decentralisation, district assembly, women participatio

Factors Influencing Teachers Take-up of Continuing Professional Development: the Perspectives of Basic School Citizenship Education and Social Studies Teachers of Sissala West District, Ghana.

This study focused on the factors that influence take-up of CPD activities by Basic School Social Studies teachers and the relationship between teacher characteristics and teacher participation in CPD. The used of the mixed-method approach which involved two phases of quantitative and qualitative data. A total of 185 respondents were purposively sampled. Data on factors that support CPD take-up as well as the relationship between teacher characteristics and teacher participation were gathered using questionnaire and semi-structured interview. Qualitative responses were coded, categorized and analyzed into themes. Quantitative data were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Most teachers felt that consultation, good content and organisation as well as delivery were the key factors which contributed to the success of CPD activities in the district. It could be concluded from the findings of this study that linear relationship existed between the variables (teacher qualification, teacher experience) and participation in CPDs. Keywords: Staff development, professional development, continuing professional development, participation of teachers