Assessment of Random and Blocked Practice Schedules on Motor Skills’ Acquisition, Retention and Transfer Among Selected Senior High School Students

Medina S-S, Hagan Jr. JE, Baba J-A, Schack T. Assessment of Random and Blocked Practice Schedules on Motor Skills’ Acquisition, Retention and Transfer Among Selected Senior High School Students. American Journal of Sports Science. 2019;7(1):26-33

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

Occupational related stress: assessing the prevalence and sources of stressors among elite coaches and players in the ghana premier league

Srem-Sai M, Hagan Junior JE, Ogum PN. Occupational related stress: assessing the prevalence and sources of stressors among elite coaches and players in the ghana premier league. In: International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Vol 19. Abingdon: Routledge; 2021: S283-S284

Assessing the prevalence, sources and selective antecedents of organizational stressors among elite football players and coaches in the Ghana premier league: Empirical evidence for applied practice

Srem-Sai M, Hagan Jr. JE, Ogum PN, Schack T. Assessing the prevalence, sources and selective antecedents of organizational stressors among elite football players and coaches in the Ghana premier league: Empirical evidence for applied practice. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. 2022;4:1-13.Globally, job-related stress has been classified as a health epidemic which is common among many individuals across diverse populations. Despite this established knowledge, research has primarily focused on the general population and among health workers. Therefore, understanding stress related experiences in the context of professional sport would help design appropriate stress management interventions for effective coping. The overarching aim of this research was to assess occupational stress related experiences among players and coaches in the Ghana premier league. The study sought to assess: (1) the prevalence and sources of stressors among players and coaches, and (2) how age and years of experience influenced the stressors they experienced. Using a census survey, 44 premier league coaches and 424 players who were officially registered by 17 premier league clubs completed the intensity dimension of the Organizational Stressor Indicator for Sport Performers which has 5 subscales namely: Goals and Development, Logistics and Operations, Team and Culture, Coaching and Selection. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviation) and multivariate analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that stressors were prevalent among football players and coaches, with these being significantly more dominant among coaches,p< 0.001. Selection was identified as the most predominant stressor for coaches (i.e., selecting players to play) and players (i.e., being selected). Age and experience were found not to be significant predictors of stressors for players and coaches in Ghana. Findings suggest that generally, stressors are common among football players and coaches, especially on issues related to selection. Sport psychologists and team managers in the various premier league clubs should incorporate appropriate interventions (e.g., stress inoculation training) aimed at providing adequate psychological support to promote players' and coaches' wellbeing

Linking Competition Related Emotions with Conventional and Unaccustomed Coping Strategies Among Elite Student-Athletes

Hagan Junior JE, Kloboito Y, Srem-Sai M, Pollmann D, Schack T. Linking Competition Related Emotions with Conventional and Unaccustomed Coping Strategies Among Elite Student-Athletes. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2020;42(S1):83

Evaluating Teachers’ Workplace Climate and Anxiety Response during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Information Seeking Platforms

Srem-Sai M, Quansah F, Agormedah EK, Hagan Junior JE, Schack T. Evaluating Teachers’ Workplace Climate and Anxiety Response during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Information Seeking Platforms. COVID. 2024;4(3):378-390.The COVID-19 disease affected the school workplace climate for teachers and led to psychological consequences. However, it is not clear how the workplace climate affected the anxiety levels of teachers. This study assessed the connection between workplace climate and COVID-19-related anxiety among senior high school (SHS) teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study further examined the moderating role of professional and social media platform use on the relationship between workplace climate and COVID-19-related anxiety among teachers. Through a cross-sectional survey design, 395 high school teachers were conveniently sampled from various schools in the Central Region of Ghana. A questionnaire was used to survey participants, and the obtained data were analysed using descriptive statistics as well as simple linear regression and moderation analyses with Hayes’ PROCESS. This study revealed a negative association between workplace climate and anxiety. The relationship between workplace climate and anxiety was contingent on social media use but not professional platform use. Therefore, the consumption of unscrutinised COVID-19-related information on social media heightened fear and anxiety among teachers, even in the midst of a safe workplace environment. An effective strategy against teachers’ COVID-19-related anxiety required the provision of accurate science-driven information about the virus. School counselling psychologists, school welfare officers, and school health coordinators are encouraged to collaborate towards designed interventions that promote a safe working environment and the mental health of teachers

Cross-Cultural Applicability of Organizational Stressor Indicator for Sport Performers Questionnaire in Ghana Using Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Srem-Sai M, Quansah F, Frimpong JB, Hagan Jr. JE, Schack T. Cross-Cultural Applicability of Organizational Stressor Indicator for Sport Performers Questionnaire in Ghana Using Structural Equation Modeling Approach. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021;12:1-10.The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-cultural validity of the Organizational Stressor Indicator for Sport Performers (OSI-SP) scale by investigating its psychometric properties with Ghanaian footballers. The study particularly sought to assess in the Ghanaian context, 1, the convergence validity and reliability of the OSI-SP scale, 2, the discriminant validity of the OSI-SP scale to understand the applicability of its factor structure, and 3, whether the OSI-SP hypothesized model fits the data collected within the study context. The intensity aspect of the OSI-SP questionnaire was administered to 424 Ghana Premier League (GPL) male footballers who took part in the 2020/2021 season. Quality control strategies were put in place to ensure consistency across interpreters and as well improve the validity of the data. The results from a multi-factor first-order confirmatory factor analysis showed some level of convergence validity of the OSI-SP scale in the Ghanaian context using football players. Out of the 23 items on the original scale, 20 met the factor loadings criterion. In assessing the discriminant validity of the OSI-SP scale using Heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT), 50% of the correlation ratios met the criterion for the original 23-item instrument. Comparing the new model (with the 20-items) with the original model (with 23-items) using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) value, the model fit indices for the modified model (20-items) appeared better than the original model with 23-items. Generally, there was minimal support for the applicability of the OSI-SP instrument across the sample of Ghanaian footballers. The implications of these findings are discussed in detail

Effectiveness of Video Modeling in Improving Technical Skills in Young Novice Basketball Players: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Tannoubi A, Ouergui I, Srem-Sai M, Hagan Jr. JE, Quansah F, Azaiez F. Effectiveness of Video Modeling in Improving Technical Skills in Young Novice Basketball Players: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Children. 2023;10(4):1-12.(1) Objective: This is a quasi-experimental study that investigated the effect of four weeks of training sessions using video modeling (VM) on individual and collective technical skills in young novice basketball players. (2) Method: 20 players were equally assigned to either a control group (CG, n = 10; 12 ± 0.7 years) or a video modeling group (VMG, n = 10; 12.5 ± 0.5 years; visualizing videos before each session) were assessed before and after the four-week training period using the Basketball Skill Test of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance for individual techniques and three vs. three small-sided games for collective aspects. (3) Results: For the passing test, VMG induced higher performance than CG (p = 0.021; d = 0.87). For offensive balls post-intervention, higher values were recorded for VMG compared to CG (p = 0.003; d = 1.81). In addition, the number of attack balls index post-intervention was higher for VMG compared to CG (p = 0.001; d = 0.28). For losing the ball, VMG induced lower values than CG after the training intervention (p < 0.001; d = −3.23). The efficiency index was higher post-training compared to pre-training for VMG (p = 0.013; d = 1.24). (4) Conclusion: The study highlighted the importance of using video modeling as an effective strategy to improve technical skills and collective performance in novice young basketball players

Examining Risk Perception and Coping Strategies of Senior High School Teachers in Ghana: Does COVID-19-Related Knowledge Matter?

Frimpong JB, Agormedah EK, Srem-Sai M, Quansah F, Hagan Jr. JE. Examining Risk Perception and Coping Strategies of Senior High School Teachers in Ghana: Does COVID-19-Related Knowledge Matter? COVID. 2022;2(5):660-673.Previous research has established the link between COVID-19 risk perception and the coping behaviors of teachers in different countries. However, these studies have revealed inconsistent result patterns. Moreover, little is known about the role of COVID-19 knowledge in the link between risk perception and the coping strategies of teachers. This study, therefore, examines the relationship between COVID-19 risk perception and the coping behaviors of teachers, as well as the moderating effect of COVID-19 knowledge in this link. Through the convenience sampling technique, a cross-sectional sample of 376 teachers was recruited to respond to a questionnaire. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used in analyzing the data. It was revealed that COVID-19 risk perception was positively correlated with active coping strategy and negatively associated with emotional support. Further, results showed that with the a high level of COVID-19 risk perception, teachers with a high level of knowledge are less likely to adopt emotional support coping. In contrast, teachers with low knowledge levels will exhibit a higher probability of adopting emotional support coping. The study projects the need for enhancing the knowledge of teachers while conscientizing them on the risky nature of COVID-19 through health education and promotion

Reproducibility of the brief religious coping inventory with African athletes’ sample using ordinal factor analytical approach

Agormedah EK, Quansah F, Srem-Sai M, Ankomah F, Hagan Junior JE, Schack T. Reproducibility of the brief religious coping inventory with African athletes’ sample using ordinal factor analytical approach. Frontiers in Psychology. 2023;13:1-11.**Background** Previous studies have revealed that religious coping strategy is common among athletes due to the stressful experiences before and during competitions as part of the mental preparations they go through, the uncertainty of sporting outcomes, and other organizational issues they encounter. This research assessed the reproducibility of the Brief Religious Coping (RCOPE) instrument in an African setting using athletes’ samples from different countries. Particularly, the research sought to assess the (1) factor structure of Brief RCOPE with an African sample, (2) construct validity of the RCOPE measure, and (3) measurement invariance of the RCOPE instrument based on gender and nationality. **Methods** The study surveyed a convenient sample of 300 athletes, including 164 male and 136 female athletes, from 3 African countries (Benin, Ghana, and Nigeria) who participated in the 2018 West African University Games. The Brief RCOPE instrument was administered to the athletes for validation purposes before the competition. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using the ordinal factor analytic approach. **Results** This validation study confirmed the two-factor dimension (positive and negative religious coping) of the Brief RCOPE measure. Further, all items for each of the dimensions of the inventory contributed significantly to the measure of the Brief RCOPE domains. The positive and negative religious coping dimensions contributed more than half of the variance of their respective indicators. Measurement invariance across gender and nationality was confirmed. **Conclusion** Sufficient evidence was gathered to support the interpretation and use of the Brief RCOPE measure. Coaches and sports psychologists could adopt the Brief RCOPE measure to understand the mental or thought patterns of religious athletes based on existential concerns or stress accrued from impending competitions to inform appropriate religious coping interventions. This notwithstanding, the Minimum Clinical Important Difference (MCID) of the Brief RCOPE should be further investigated to enhance the utility of the instrument for use in intervention-based studies