Traditional or Performance Assessment: What is the Right Way in Assessing Leaners?

Assessment is one of the critical components of classroom instruction. People within the educational community, which includes policymakers, educators, students, parents, administrators, have different ideas regarding the implementation of assessment strategies. While some believe traditional assessment methods are more effective, others are of the view that performance and portfolio assessment tools are superior. Alternative assessment started being used as a means for educational reform due to the increasing awareness of the influence of testing on curriculum and instruction. Currently, “traditional assessment, which is generally called testing, is challenged by alternative assessment approaches. Which form of the assessment procedure is appropriate in assessing learners? Traditional or alternative assessment procedures? This paper seeks to compare traditional assessment procedures (e.g., multiple choice and essay) with performance and portfolio assessments with the view of unearthing which assessment procedure should be adopted in this current generation. Keywords: Alternative assessment, performance assessment, multiple choice, portfolio assessmen

Attitude of Senior High School Teachers Toward Test Construction: Developing and Validating a Standardised Instrument

Test construction is an essential part of teachers’ responsibility. Teachers are therefore supposed to craft well-functioning items in ensuring effective teaching and learning. This study seeks to develop and validate a standardised instrument in measuring teachers’ attitude towards test construction. The study further explores the attitude of teachers towards test construction. The instrument was developed based on literature as well as personal experiences of the researchers. The developed instrument was administered to 432 Senior High School teachers in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Through an exploratory factor analysis, four dimensions were obtained which include: planning, item construction, item review and assembling. A confirmatory factor analysis was then conducted to examine the factor loadings of the items. After critical evaluation, the items on the instrument remained 32 which was on a four point Likert scale. Further analysis revealed an overall negative attitude of SHS teachers towards test construction. It is recommended that Ghana Education Service (GES) together with headteachers of various SHS should ensure effective supervision of teachers in constructing test for students. Keywords: Item construction, Item review, Testing, Assembling, Test constructio

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF LECTURERS’ ASSESSMENTS: A CASE OF UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST, GHANA

Assessment approaches employed by lecturers in higher education institutions play a significant role in the quality of teaching and learning. While instructors see the goals of the curriculum as basics for school assessments, learners have their own perception of assessments which shape their future learning activities. This study aimed at examining students’ perception of lecturers’ assessments at the University of Cape Coast. An explanatory sequential design was adopted by first selecting 830 students through a multi-stage sampling procedure and later, randomly sampled 12 students to be interviewed based on the quantitative results. A standardised questionnaire called “Students’ Perception of Assessment Questionnaire” (SPAQ) was adapted and used to gather the survey data. An interview guide was employed to collect the qualitative data. Students were of the view that assessments in their institution are congruent with their learning activities. Further analysis discovered that assessments in the university, as perceived by the students, failed to reflect the activities of the world of work. Conclusions and recommendations were outlined based on the outcome of the study. Article visualizations

DETERMINANTS OF STUDENTS’ ENROLMENT IN HOME ECONOMICS PROGRAMME IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN GHANA

Students’ enrolment in Home Economics programme in Senior High Schools (SHSs) in Ghana has been low in recent times. This has become a concern for major stakeholder in education. This study examined the determinants of students’ enrolment in Home Economics programme in SHSs in Ghana. The cross-sectional descriptive survey design was employed for the conduct of the study. The target population comprised first year Home Economics students from 16 selected SHSs in three administrative regions (i.e., Western, Central and Greater Accra Region). A simple random sampling technique (lottery method) was employed to sample 4 schools in the Western Region and 6 each from Central and Greater Accra Region. A census sampling technique was then utilised to include all Home Economics first-year students in the selected schools. A sample size of 1,136 students from 16 schools participated in the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to analyse the data using 1,000 bootstrap samples with 95% confidence interval with bias-corrected accelerated and 2,000,000 seed for Mersenne Twister. It was revealed that factors which significantly influenced students’ decision to enrol in the Home Economics programme were interest, job prospects, fathers, teachers, BECE grade, family relatives, and perceived workload among others. The study recommended that management of basic schools in Ghana should organise educative programmes to enlighten students and teachers on vocational and technical related courses and as such arouse students’ interest in enrolling in such programmes.  Article visualizations

Modeling unit non-response and validity of online teaching evaluation in higher education using generalizability theory approach

IntroductionUnit non-response is a common phenomenon in online teaching evaluation in higher education institutions. However, little is known about the relationship between the rates of unit non-response and the quality of online teaching evaluation exercise. This study explored the incidence of unit non-response and how this phenomenon relates to the reliability of students’ responses to online teaching evaluation.MethodsAdopting the generalizability theory approach, students’ evaluation of teaching data from a university in Ghana was analyzed by conducting both generalizability study (G-study)- and decision study (D-study) analyses.ResultsThe results revealed that unit non-response among students was predominant in online teaching evaluation exercise. The study demonstrated that higher rates of non-response among students were associated with high levels of measurement errors and low reliability of responses.DiscussionThe findings of this study have implications for the accuracy of online evaluation data obtained for decision-making in higher education contexts. The study calls on higher education administrators to embark on sensitization and awareness campaigns that target students on the need to actively participate in the appraisal of teaching at the university to address the issue of unit non-response

Repositioning community-based family planning in Ghana: A case study of Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS)

The Population Council conducted a diagnostic appraisal of delivering family planning services using the community-based health planning and services (CHPS model) in Ghana. This study’s results indicate that the CHPS program is well appreciated by rural communities where it is operational. However, the study identified several developments with implications for service delivery: increased community health officer (CHO) workloads and concomitant reductions in outreach services and home visits by community health visitors (CHVs) have weakened the CHO-CHV working relationship, leaving both cadres working in isolation. CHPS has significantly improved health indices but its contribution to increasing family planning is limited and seems to have decreased from the original model’s initial promise, mainly due to CHPS restructuring, change in priority and focus, with increased a range of services required of CHOs. The report recommends interventions and strategies for addressing identified gaps, strengthening the model, and thereby increasing family planning service access

Factors influencing the intention of women in rural Ghana to adopt postpartum family planning.

BACKGROUND: Uptake of postpartum family planning (PPFP) remains low in sub-Saharan Africa and very little is known about how pregnant women arrive at their decisions to adopt PPFP. This information is needed to guide the development of interventions to promote PPFP. METHODS: We conducted a survey among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in a rural district in Ghana. We used univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis to explore how knowledge of various family planning (FP) methods, past experience with their use and the acceptability of PPFP to male partners and close relations influenced the intention of pregnant women to adopt PPFP. RESULTS: We interviewed 1914 pregnant women in four health facilities. About 84% considered PPFP acceptable, and 70% intended to adopt a method. The most preferred methods were injectables (31.5%), exclusive breastfeeding (16.7%), and oral contraceptive pills (14.8%). Women whose first choice of PPFP method were injectables were more likely to be women who had had past experience with its use (O.R = 2.07, 95% C.I. 1.50-2.87). Acceptability of PPFP by the pregnant woman (O.R. = 3.21, 1.64-6.26), perception of partner acceptability (O.R. = 3.20, 1.94-5.48), having had prior experience with the use of injectables (O.R. = 3.72, 2.61-5.30) were the strongest predictors of the intention to adopt PPFP. Conversely women who knew about the diaphragm (O.R. = 0.59, 0.38-0.93) and those who had past experience with IUD use (O.R. = 0.13, 0.05-0.38) were less likely to want to adopt PPFP. CONCLUSIONS: Acceptability of PPFP to the pregnant woman, male partner approval, and past experience with the use of injectables are important factors in the PPFP decisions of women in this population. Antenatal and early postnatal care need to be adapted to take these factors into consideration

Perceived Safety of Learning Environment and Associated Anxiety Factors during COVID-19 in Ghana: Evidence from Physical Education Practical-Oriented Program

The outbreak of COVID-19 led to the swift migration to alternate instructional delivery models and pedagogical practices in educational institutions. This study examined the perceived safety of the learning environment and associated anxiety factors among physical education students amidst COVID-19. Using a cross-sectional design, a sample of 638 students drawn purposively and conveniently from a public university in Ghana completed a self-developed questionnaire. Frequency counts, percentages, and ordered logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Findings of the study showed that students perceived the practical lesson environment as unsafe, with self-reported moderate to high levels of anxiety during their practical lessons. The ordered logistic regression results revealed that varied factors such as age, COVID-19 information platforms, certainty about personal safety, and adequacy of preparation to manage COVID-19 cases were associated with anxiety. The study concluded that an unsafe practical physical education learning environment increases the anxiety levels of students. Academic departments/units should provide periodic interventions (e.g., positive self-talk, mental rehearsal, cognitive restructuring) and counseling services for students amidst the ongoing pandemic to help moderate situational-specific anxiety. In addition, key to the management of students’ anxiety is the provision of a safe and supportive school environment, including the provision of adequate personal protective equipment for practical lessons by school authorities

The associations between pro-environment behaviours, sustainability knowingness, and neighbourhood walkability among residents of Accra Metro in Ghana: A cross-sectional analysis

Background Physical activities such as walking are a form of transportation in the neighbourhood; people reach their destinations through walking. Research to date has substantially evidenced the beneficial effects of walking and other physical activities on health outcomes. From these perspectives, neighbourhood walkability and behaviours that improve it play a crucial role in healthy transportation. Aim To assess the associations between pro-environment behaviours (i.e., socially responsible consumption (SRC) and pro-environment behaviour (PEB)) and neighbourhood walkability, and to ascertain whether these relationships are moderated by sustainability knowingness. Methods This study employed a cross-sectional design with sensitivity analysis and recommended steps against common methods bias. The participants were residents in the Accra Metropolitan Area (Accra Metro), Ghana. Self-reported questionnaires were used to gather data from 625 residents. Exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical linear regression analysis were used to present the results. Results PEB and SRC had a positive association with neighbourhood walkability, with the latter having a stronger association with neighbourhood walkability. The relationship between these behaviours and neighbourhood walkability was significantly strengthened by sustainability knowingness. Conclusion Higher neighbourhood walkability was associated with higher SRC and PEB, which means that residents can contribute to improved neighbourhood walkability with their pro-environment behaviours. Residents’ sustainability knowingness or their knowledge about sustainability and its importance can enhance the positive influence of pro-environment behaviours on neighbourhood walkability

The Generation R Study: design and cohort update 2010

The Generation R Study is a population-based prospective cohort study from fetal life until young adulthood. The study is designed to identify early environmental and genetic causes of normal and abnormal growth, development and health during fetal life, childhood and adulthood. The study focuses on four primary areas of research: (1) growth and physical development; (2) behavioural and cognitive development; (3) diseases in childhood; and (4) health and healthcare for pregnant women and children. In total, 9,778 mothers with a delivery date from April 2002 until January 2006 were enrolled in the study. General follow-up rates until the age of 4 years exceed 75%. Data collection in mothers, fathers and preschool children included questionnaires, detailed physical and ultrasound examinations, behavioural observations, and biological samples. A genome wide association screen is available in the participating children. Regular detailed hands on assessment are performed from the age of 5 years onwards. Eventually, results forthcoming from the Generation R Study have to contribute to the development of strategies for optimizing health and healthcare for pregnant women and children