Junior High School Science Teachers’ Knowledge, Practice and Challenges of Differentiated Instruction in Kpandai District, Ghana

This study investigated knowledge practice and challenges of Junior High School Science teachers in Differentiated Instruction (DI) in Kpandai District of the Northern Region of Ghana. The study employed the concurrent nested design. Out of 268 teachers, a sample size of 31 science teachers was drawn to participate in the study through questionnaire and a sub-sample of five teachers was purposively selected for interviews. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics while the qualitative data was analysed thematically. The study concluded that most JHS science teachers in Kpandai District possessed required knowledge on DI and they actually differentiated the instruction in their Science classes. However, they faced some challenges when differentiating their instructions. The study recommends that knowledge of DI possessed by most Science teachers should be strengthened through regularly organizing in-service training for them. This should be done by GES Directorate of Kpandai to enable the teachers improve their knowledge of DI. Teachers should be supported by SISOs to practice every aspect of DI especially when assessing the learners.  Finally, the government and other educational stakeholders should ensure that textbooks and other materials/resources are readily made available to Science teachers for effective implementation of DI in schools

Glaucoma Awareness, Knowledge, and Eye-Care Seeking Behaviour Among First-Degree Relatives of Glaucoma Patients at a Regional Hospital in Ghana

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Early detection and treatment can prevent blindness. Individuals, especially those with positive family history of glaucoma ought to have knowledge of the disease and seek assessment regularly for early detection and treatment of the disease. The study explores and describes glaucoma awareness, knowledge, and eye care-seeking behavior of first-degree relatives of glaucoma patients who attend the Accra Regional Hospital Eye Unit. The descriptive cross-sectional study utilized a questionnaire to interview 306 conveniently sampled participants with mean ± SD age of 35.5 ± 10.3 years. Among participants, 52.6% were males. There was a moderate level of awareness of glaucoma (60.8%) among study participants. Most respondents did not know the risk factors of glaucoma (66.3%), the asymptomatic nature of glaucoma (80.7%), and irreversibility of vision loss in glaucoma (89.6%). Only 23.2% of respondents had screened for glaucoma. Social media was the main source of glaucoma awareness (45.7%) and information to screen for glaucoma (52.4%). The occupation (p=0.001) and level of education (p<0.0005) of respondents were significantly associated with knowledge of glaucoma. Similarly, the occupation (p=0.001), level of education (p=0.035), and being informed to screen for glaucoma (p<0.0001) were significantly associated with glaucoma screening. Knowledge of glaucoma and glaucoma screening among first degree relatives of glaucoma patients is low. There is the need for eye-care professionals to provide accurate and comprehensive education on glaucoma and also embark on targeted glaucoma screening programs. &nbsp