Critical Pedagogy: Teaching for Social Justice in Inner-City Classrooms

This paper addresses the social, cultural, and political forces within urban education that relate to teaching students of color. While the education problem in urban communities is a blend of social, cultural, and political factors, transforming pedagogical practices can present viable solutions to the disparities facing inner-city schools. Rather than devalue students\u27 racial and cultural experiences, teachers can activate students’ critical consciousness and integrate their cultural backgrounds into the content of their learning experiences. This builds student engagement and counters the phenomenon of student resistance and oppositional culture seen in urban settings. This paper fundamentally argues that urban public school teachers can become social agents. However, current data on the urban teaching workforce suggest that urban teachers are becoming increasingly young, inexperienced, and frustrated with inner-city school working conditions. Therefore, in order for critical pedagogy to be realized, other structural factors surrounding teacher effectiveness and teacher quality must also be addressed

Observing the Effects of Diversity on Performance in Ugandan Primary Schools

The goal of all firms is to improve efficiency and performance, and previous literature suggests that diversity among teammates is a mechanism to improve productivity. This research uniquely extends previous understandings of horizontal and vertical diversity by examining school performance metrics as an important indicator of economic outcomes. Using data from the Centre for the Study of African Economies(CSAE) at the University of Oxford, I analyze vertical and horizontal diversity and its effects on teacher groups within Ugandan primary schools. Overall, my results suggest a minimally significant, but positive effect of gender and ethnic diversity on student performance outcomes. My findings contradict existing research, which may be in part due to the difference in work environments that my study utilizes for analysis

A study of amateur groups’ re-interpretation of traditional dances in Ghana: Role on continuity and safeguarding

The amateur dance category in Ghana has been a vibrant force in the performance of traditional Ghanaian dancing for over 20 years. Fluid in ideologies, they have been able to affect the paradigms of traditional dancing in Ghana so much that their activities cannot be overlooked. Even though they are mostly taunted as the ‘destroyers’ of traditional forms by some schools of thought, this category’s input is especially important as they have a direct influence on dance structures in Ghana through their re-interpretations of traditional dance forms. This paper seeks to identify some distinctive re-interpretative styles/patterns this category exerts on traditional dances and their effects on preservation of traditional dances in Ghana

Personhood, Masculinity, and Male-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence: Understanding the Centrality of Culture and Context in Violence Research

Most international violence research that are firmly rooted in the ontology and cultural background of individualism make rash generalisations about violence and human nature by taking the examples of self and gender concepts in Western settings as the only reference point for their claims. Based on the understanding of self in Western cultures, many social psychological studies have over the years blamed interpersonal violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV), on perpetrators’ self-image. For example, while some studies indicate that people with low self-esteem are more likely to turn violent in order to gain esteem, others have theorised that individuals with inflated (high) self-esteem are more susceptible to use violence, particularly when the inflated self is threatened in interpersonal relationships. A growing body of interdisciplinary scholarship also traces the aetiology of IPV and the propensity for men to commit violence against women to the internalisation, endorsement and enactment of culturally defined male gender role. Despite the valuable contributions of these studies, there are significant challenges inherent in research that make broad universal claims about self and violence at the expense of culture and context. One of the most important phenomena that seems underexplored, overlooked or neglected in the context of violence research is how culture-specific notions of personhood and masculinity shapes male-perpetrated IPV. In this article, I explore the centrality of context and culture-specificities of personhood and masculinity in understanding male-perpetrated IPV. I discuss how the dialogical relationship between men’s psychological sense of who they are (personhood) and cultural notions of masculinity provides new insights for understanding violence research in context. I argue that, rather than a threat to a person’s dispositional self, the social pain of unfavourable third-party communal evaluations of masculine inadequacy threatens a man’s relational sense of personhood, and consequently provoke the use of violence towards the source of the threat in intimate relationships in Ghana

Conceptualizing Discursive Analysis as a Culturally Contextualized Activity

Discursive psychology recognizes the primacy of the social and relational nature of human life. Research participants whose discourses (empirical data) we analyze do not exist independent of material and social world. In this paper, I attempt to develop an understanding of discursive analysis of social and psychological phenomena as a culturally contextualized activity in which discursive researchers analyze and interpret participants’ discourses in the light of the cultural context in which the discourses are embedded. First, I provide a brief background to discursive psychology. Second, I discuss the cultural embeddedness of discursive analysis. I then conceptualize discursive data analysis as a culturally contextualized enterprise by drawing upon my own reflexive accounts on gender-based violence research to illustrate how discursive analysts can bring together an analysis of in-the-moment performative accounting with an understanding of the cultural context in which this accounting is embedded. I argue for and foreground research participants’ lived experiences and the embodied socio-cultural meanings as origins of the consciousness and social behavior of people with whom and about whom psychological research is conducted. I conclude that data analysis is not and cannot be an innocent activity; it involves active thinking through the cultural lens of both the researcher and the researched

Usage of Autogas within the Road Transport Industry in Two Contrasting Settlements in Ghana

Road transport carries beyond 95% of passenger and freight traffic in Ghana. Though autogas, also referred to as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) was traditionally encouraged to be used in residences and households, many road transport owners and drivers have shifted to the use of the fuel. The main objective of the study was therefore to ascertain the consumption characteristics of autogas in the urban and rural administrative districts in the Central Region of Ghana. The study adopted both quantitative and qualitative methods in gathering data, using questionnaire and interview schedule. Multistage sampling technique was used in choosing the region, Metropolitans, Municipalities and Districts (MMDs). Ten rural and urban districts were considered while five hundred and fifty-six drivers partook in the study. Open- and closed-ended questions were posed. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software (Version 21) was employed as the in the analysis. Descriptive tools such as frequencies, percentages, and tables were utilized in the analysis. It was found among others that between 19 percent (within the districts) and 39 percent (in the metropolis/municipalities) of the drivers use autogas to power their vehicles comprising taxis, private cars and minibuses. The ratios of autogas, gasoline and gasoil usage in the rural and urban districts were 19:29:58 and 39:20:45 respectively. This consumption can be said to be substantial enough to influence autogas shortages. The paper recommends that there must be an integrated and holistic approach, designed in a strategic fashion in dealing with the supply chain of the fuel to avoid frequent shortages. Keywords: liquefied petroleum gas; rural; transportation; urban

Procedural Fairness in Justice Adjudication of Motor Traffic Offences in Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana

The kind of treatment people receive in court is of more concern to most people than winning or losing a particular case. Though many traffic offences end up in court, studies concerning satisfaction of victims from literature reveal the area has not been proportionately researched into generally in Ghana, and particularly in the Cape Coast Metropolis. This study therefore looks at the degree of satisfaction among drivers who have been found culpable of traffic offences and have been tried in the law court, with reference to the six basic elements of procedural fairness, viz. neutrality, publicity, voice, respect, time and trust. Though the target population was 246 the purposive sampling method was employed to sample 41 subjects. A questionnaire and interview schedule was used. Chi-square, cross-tabulations, skewness, frequencies, percentages and tables were employed as descriptive tools using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software package, version 21, for the analysis. The study revealed skewness of responses rangeing between 0.241 and 1.287 with the exception of ‘’period within which adjudication ended” and “publicity of judgment of traffic offences in general’’ which were -0.13 and --0.806 respectively. Aggregate responses showed that about 56 percent had very low satisfaction level; 39 percent low; and 4.9 percent high satisfaction levels. The paper therefore recommends that stakeholders should holistically and aggressively organize education programs such as conferences, forums, colloquia, workshops and seminars for court officials to deal with the judicial procedural fairness challenge in the Metropolis. Keywords: court; fair; neutrality; publicity; respect; trust; voice

Of Marriage, HIV-test Certificate, and the Church: What does the Youth Say?

Matrimony is a universally cultural relationship between two persons with the aim of committing each other and their relations. In Ghana it is the tradition that parents should initiate the process. With modernity, peers and other bodies have taken over this responsibility. To ensure its members are well protected and safeguard its interest, the church needs to assume this noble but difficult role. It appears the church in Ghana has therefore added to its responsibility by demanding HIV-test certificate before approving marriages. This study sought to find out the extent to which this philosophy has permeated through the Christian domain.  As a case study, 466 students from Cape Coast Polytechnic were sampled. Quantitative methods were applied. Questionnaires with closed-ended questions were administered to the sampled population. The random stratified sampling method was employed. Gender, age, religious denomination and marital status were analyzed in relation to students’ opinions and perceptions regarding the role of the church in marriage and its demand of HIV test certificate from about-to-be-wedded couples.  SPSS version 17 was used to analyze data while tables with frequencies and percentages were also utilized to display same. Cross-tabulations and chi-square were employed in the analysis. The study found that majority of students (63 percent) support the philosophy that churches should demand HIV-test certificate before approving marriages of about-to-be-wedded couples. In spite of this, it is recommended that churches should be cautious in exercising their authority in this regard so that the rights of the minority within flock are not infringed upon. Key words: Christian, churchian, HIV/AIDS, religious denomination, wedloc

A Quantitative Analysis of the Economic Incentives of sub-Saharan Africa Urban Land Use Planning Systems: Case Study of Accra, Ghana.

A Thesis submitted to the School of Technology University of Wolverhampton in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThe deficiency of sub-Saharan Africa urban land use planning regimes has received extensive discussion in the literature. As yet, little is known of the extent and magnitude of the economic impact of these planning regimes on the economic wellbeing of individuals and the society. This situation is further compounded by the lack of simplified and bespoke methodologies for calibrating economic impacts of planning policies even in the developed world where there are relatively huge volumes of organised data. This study aims to prescribe a simplified quantitative methodology, which is subsequently employed to gauge the economic impacts of these regimes. It proceeds on the central argument that planning regimes in the sub-region are weak with low compliance with planning regulations, partly because they do not provide incentives for property owners/developers/land users. The study adopts a cross-sectional survey strategywith questionnaires and administrative data extraction to procure the requisite data from Accra, Ghana to feed the devised methodological framework. The study establishes that Ghana���s urban land use planning regime, in its current form, imposes huge cost on residential property owners compared to its benefits; it creates a disincentive for property owners. A substantial amount of this cost emanates from pipe-borne water, and tarred roads and concrete drain infrastructural facilities. It is further established that the cost of title formalisation requirement constitutes a huge portion of the cost on express requirements under the planning regime. A major portion of this cost results from the cost other than official fees. However, on individual basis the requirement generates marginal net benefit. Incidental costs for the other express requirements, architectural design and building permit are also substantial. In terms of benefits, tarred roads and concrete drains, formalised title, electricity and pipe-borne water, individually, are found to generate the most benefits under the planning regime. The study makes a number of recommendations. These include formulation of planning policies on the basis of providing incentives to property owners/developer/land users, strategies for reduction of infrastructural and amenities costs, as well as incidental cost relating to compliance with the subject planning regime express requirements

Public Perception on Health Risk Implications of Lead and Cadmium Ingestion through Consumption of Saratherodon Melanotheron in the Fosu Lagoon

Various research works have indicated that the Fosu Lagoon is polluted with lead and cadmium. The consumption of fish, particularly saratherodon melanotheron (blackchin tilapia) in the Fosu Lagoon in Cape Coast, Ghana, could therefore give rise to negative health implications. Yet people consume tilapia from the lagoon. The purpose of the study was therefore to ascertain public perception on the health implications of tilapia consumption due to the presence of lead and cadmium presence in the tilapia. A questionnaire and interview schedule was used to collect the data. Subjects were sampled using purposive sampling technique for a sample size of fifty-five from the Cape Coast Metropolis where the lagoon is located. Descriptive analytic tools such as frequencies, percentages and tables were employed utilising Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21software for the analysis. The study revealed that 60 percent of the respondents either strongly disagreed or disagreed that the lagoon and its content are polluted with lead and cadmium; though 65.5 percent had heard of the pollution of the lagoon and its content on one occasion or the other. It was also revealed that about 58 percent and 21.6 percent respectively strongly disagreed and disagreed that tilapia consumption has negative implications. The study further showed that about 80 percent of the respondents consume between 13.65-65.51g of tilapia per meal and an average of 175.8g per week (i.e. 4-5 days per week). The paper recommends that a strategic plan to educate the public on the consumption of tilapia from the lagoon and its health implications be drawn and implemented. Keywords: contamination; environment; heavy metals; pollution; tilapia; water bodies