ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT BACKGROUND AND STUDYING CERAMICS

For almost a decade, the Ghanaian educational system for ceramics studies at the tertiary level has allowed senior high students with various academic backgrounds to specialize in ceramics at the tertiary level. Though a very laudable idea, there has yet to be an assessment of their performance in a studio-oriented ceramic programme to inform policy and institutional decisions. This study, therefore, assesses the performance of ceramic students with diverse academic backgrounds. The study used quantitative and qualitative approaches, revealing that students with no background in art struggle with ceramic studio assignments, especially those that studied Home Economics and General Arts. Though students with a Science background appear to do well in the soil science-related courses of ceramics, there are still challenges with art concepts and art history. It is recommended that there is a need for counseling and orientation of mind for students who did not choose ceramics as their first choice and those without art backgrounds

Performance of Ceramic Students with Different Backgrounds at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana

This study assessed the performance of ceramic students with different backgrounds at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, using the cross-sectional design. A total of 170 students were sampled using a simple random sampling technique. A questionnaire yielded the Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.89 which confirmed the required reliability of the instrument. Data was treated using t-test and ANOVA so as to establish the difference in performance by learners categorized according to their backgrounds. The study established no significant difference in performance between students with arts and those without arts background in SHS. The study did not establish difference in performance by students categorized according to their genders. The performance of second year students was significantly lower than that of the first and third and fourth years combined. This might be due to the fact that second years curriculum is the beginning of studio practice where students struggle to learn how to throw on the potter’s wheel and begin producing arts works. The study recommends that SHS teachers should enhance the teaching strategies of arts studies at the SHS level so that students who went through the studies might even outperform those who did not take the subject at the SHS level. Students in second year of studies need more attention as they navigate their path in the manipulation of clay for them to perform better in their studies before they join the two final years of ceramic studies

The Brick Industry in Ghana: Historical Contexts, Advocacy and Way Forward

The paper looked at historical antecedents of bricks industry in Ghana, its challenges and how governments and individuals have supported bricks advocacy in Ghana. The properties of clay minerals for structural products are tolerable among Ghanaian clays and though composite formulations have improve the suitability of the clay material for bricks production, its advocacy for construction in Ghana has not been fully pushed for. Through historical and descriptive methods, the study revealed that the brick industry in Ghana have suffered challenges such as poor management, limited technical-know-how, weak infrastructure, quality control and socio-cultural issues. Governments over the years have tabled good policies but implementation have been poor. The paper recommended among others that cottages and other projects such as public buildings, government affordable housing projects be built with bricks to encourage individuals to patronize bricks