Does Emotional Intelligence Influence an Employee's Job Satisfaction? An Empirical Assessment

Since job performance is a function of job satisfaction and emotional intelligence, the current research empirically evaluates the association between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction of respondents. The research tests whether emotional intelligence significantly affect job satisfaction or not. The research is based on a quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional survey. The sample size is 140 and they were selected through the convenience sample method. Primary data was collected using a self-designed questionnaire in the Likert scale format, and were administered at the job places of the respondents. Data were analysed using the Pearson correlation and the linear regression analysis methods, and presented in Tables. The research findings of the study indicated a positive significant association between overall emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. There is also a positive significant association between three out of the four dimensions of emotional intelligence evaluated and job satisfaction. The findings indicate that respondents higher on the emotional intelligence scale are more satisfied than respondents lower on the emotional intelligence scale. The findings imply that emotional intelligence is a multidimensional construct. Management of organisations should consider implementing measures that will improve emotional intelligence to ensure job satisfaction of workers. Further study should consider the causal analysis and also introduce control variables such as gender and age to determine if the current findings will be replicated

Does School Environment Exacerbate Achievement Gaps? Evidence from Ghanaian Public Senior High Schools

Learning achievement gaps continue to be experienced in many learning institutions despite various policy and institutional measures to reduce learning inequalities among various categories of learners especially in developing nations. This study attempted to establish whether or not school environment exacerbated learning achievement gaps among students in senior secondary schools in Ghana. The study utilized mixed methodology in addressing the relevant research questions in the study. The study established that pertinent elements of within class and within school learning environment like proportion of poor students in the school or class, proportion of students from low SES, and proportional of most at risk students in classrooms, and level of student truancy was associated to incremental achievement gaps among students in senior secondary schools in Ghana. The study recommends for an affirmative action in the management of such cohorts of students in senior secondary schools so as improve schools learning environment and reduce achievement gaps in such schools. Keywords: Achievement gaps, senior secondary schools, school environment. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-7-09 Publication date:March 31st 202

TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIP AND STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES IN SENIOR PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN GHANA

The influence of teaching quality on student outcomes in Ghanaian public senior high schools has dominated education discourse in recent past. However, few studies have attempted to establish how teacher-student relationship influences their classroom engagement and learning outcomes. This study attempted to address this gap by utilizing a sample of 220 students and 160 teachers to establish the perception of teachers concerning their relationship with students and how this perception of teacher-student relationship influences student learning outcomes. The study established that teachers with a minimal conflicting relationship with students experienced positive learning outcomes. The study further found that teachers who are professionally close with their students and have made their students professionally dependent on them experienced an increase in their level of student behavioural and instructional engagement. This study recommends that teachers must inculcate a positive teacher-student relationship which will improve both school and classroom learning environment as well as student academic achievement.  Article visualizations

“I Have to Further My Studies Abroad”: Student Migration in Ghana

The literature on migration intentions of university students and their decisions to travel abroad as student migrants is limited. This article outlines how the thought of student migration is created and nurtured. It investigates how facilitators and/or constraints influence the decision to migrate as students. Using a multi-sited approach, fieldwork in Ghana focused on prospective student migrants, while fieldwork in the Netherlands provided a retrospective perspective among student migrants. Life story interviews were adopted in the collection of data. In the minds of the respondents, there is a clear distinction between the idea of ‘migration’ and the idea of ‘student migration.’ The article concludes that childhood socialization shapes the idea of ‘migration’ that culminates in the thought of ‘student migration.’ Apart from studies, experiencing new cultures and networking are among the notableexpectations that inform the thought of studentmigration. Religiosity categorised as prayers and belonging to religious community is a cultural principle employed to facilitate the fulfilment of student migration intentions. With a shift from the classical economic models of understanding the decision to migrate, this article elucidates the fears, anxiety, joys and perplexities that are embedded in the thought of student migration

Endothelium-derived fibronectin regulates neonatal vascular morphogenesis in an autocrine fashion

Fibronectin containing alternatively spliced EIIIA and EIIIB domains is largely absent from mature quiescent vessels in adults, but is highly expressed around blood vessels during developmental and pathological angiogenesis. The precise functions of fibronectin and its splice variants during developmental angiogenesis however remain unclear due to the presence of cardiac, somitic, mesodermal and neural defects in existing global fibronectin KO mouse models. Using a rare family of surviving EIIIA EIIIB double KO mice, as well as inducible endothelial-specific fibronectin-deficient mutant mice, we show that vascular development in the neonatal retina is regulated in an autocrine manner by endothelium-derived fibronectin, and requires both EIIIA and EIIIB domains and the RGD-binding α5 and αv integrins for its function. Exogenous sources of fibronectin do not fully substitute for the autocrine function of endothelial fibronectin, demonstrating that fibronectins from different sources contribute differentially to specific aspects of angiogenesis

MAKING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION A REALITY: THE ROLE OF TEACHERS, PARENTS AND ADMINISTRATORS

The study used basically a survey design which employed the quantitative approach to investigate how children with special learning needs (SENs) are supported to learn together in the inclusive classroom with the focus on finding the level of support for children in five (5) inclusive schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana. The sample size involved 86 teachers, 6 administrators (Head teachers) and 40 parents. In all, a total of 132 participants were involved in the study. Questionnaire was designed in close-ended format for the teachers, administrators and parents. The basic structure of the instrument was based on four Point Likert-type scales. The Likert-scale items questionnaire was analysed using frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation. A tally sheet was used to generate frequency counts out of which percentages were calculated based on the scores assigned to each rating. These data were then analysed using the SPSS computer system. It was found from the study that, there are low levels of material or human support for pupils with special educational needs in inclusive classrooms. On material support, the parents indicated that their children do not receive any material support from Ghana Education Service to support their children and they do not get any financial support from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s). It is recommended that teachers, parents and administrators should come together to provide the needed support for pupils with special education needs to ensure the success of the inclusive agenda.  Article visualizations

Effect of Thermotherapy in the Elimination of Viruses on Four (4) Mosaic Diseased Cassava Cultivars

In Ghana, cassava is the most favoured among all the root crops and indeed all food crops by consumers. Its per capita consumption (PCC) index is as high as 148kg/year followed by that of plantain (83kg/year: Annor-Frempong, 1991). Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) is considered the most important biotic constraint as it greatly reduces yields (Calvert and Thresh, 2002) significantly. Application of meristem culture combined with thermotherapy is reported to increase the survival rate of in vitro explants (Manganaris et al., 2003). It is against this background that this study was undertaken to ascertain the effectiveness of thermotherapy to generate large numbers of virus-free plants. The study assessed the effect of thermotherapy in the regeneration rate and eradication of cassava mosaic virus disease in four (4) local cassava cultivars. The cuttings of the four cassava accessions showed varying degrees of foliar symptom severity typical of the cassava mosaic disease. Shoots that were subjected to pre-culture thermotherapy at 35-37°C appeared to be disease-free of the cassava mosaic symptoms after three to four weeks of treatment. Thermotherapy treated meristem showed better survival rate in larger explant size than smaller ones in the cassava accessions studied indicating that virus-free planting materials could be produced using thermotherapy. Keywords: Thermotherapy, cassava mosaic, meristem tip, tissue culture

COVID-19 in Ghana: Knowledge, perception and practice among health trainees

Objective: This study assessed the knowledge, perceptions and practices among health trainees in Ghana regarding COVID-19. Understanding the knowledge, perception and practices among health trainees can provide important information for policy formulations and proper planning.Method: The survey was conducted through a Google form link shared on students’ social media networks mainly through Facebook, and WhatsApp platforms. Responses received were imported to SPSS version 24 for cleaning and analysis. Output measures were demonstrated in simple frequency and percentages, using tables and charts. Fisher’s exact test was used to assess the effect of potential covariate on practice of preventive measures with their corresponding p-values.  Results: Twenty-five percent (25%) of respondents had good knowledge, 69% had moderate knowledge and 6% had poor knowledge on COVID-19. Regarding perception of health students on COVID-19, 8.47% indicated that drinking alcohol could protect them from the virus. More than 90% of participants’ practice the general preventive measures. Gender and level of program of study was found to be significantly associated with practice of preventive measure. Male students (54.64%) were engaged in good preventive practices compared to female students (43.75%).Conclusion: Majority of the health trainees had basic information and proactive practice towards COVID-19. Most trainees had good perception on the disease, however, a few still believe that drinking alcohol will prevent them from being infected with the disease. Gender and level of trainees are significant predictors of proactive practices towards COVID-19