This study was based on the assumption that in Ghana, women who return late to higher education combine domestic and academic work and, in the process, experience tensions and difficulties in the face of cultural and academic prejudice. It employed an interpretive qualitative research approach via narrative interviews with eight mature undergraduate women from different socioeconomic backgrounds in one public university. The intention was to explore their experiences and use the findings to make suggestions for institutional development and learning. The data was collected in May 2009 from a sample of first-and final-year women from the Departments of Sociology and Basic Education in one of the oldest public universities in the southern part of Ghana. The women students found academic work difficult and made reference to gaps in terms of their knowledge deficit, unfamiliar courses and teaching methods. Recommendations from the study include the formulation of an institutional policy on mature women students in particular, and non-traditional students in higher education generally, and the regular provision of professional development programmes for higher education practitioners. Christine Adu-Yeboah &Linda Dzama Forde 401 Morley (2005), exclusivity in HE varies in respect of ethnic minority groups, the physically challenged, mature students (that is, those aged over 25 years), those possessing non-standard entry qualifications and women, among others. For them, this depends on the geographical, economic and cultural contexts. In the case of women, global statistics indicate that rates of HE participation are now slightly higher than for men. This is indicated by a Gender Parity Index of 1.08 in favour of women (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2009). In North America and Europe, the UNESCO report further indicates that the female participation ratio is one-third higher than that for men, and in Latin America, the Caribbean and Central Asia, as well as the Arab States, females outnumber men or are equal with them. The situation is, however, not the same in sub-Saharan Africa, where the report points out that in 2007, there were 66 female students for every 100 males, or 1.5 times more males than females in HE. This is the lowest such ratio anywhere in the world (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2009). The reasons for women's under-representation and lack of meaningful participation in HE in Africa include cultural and political obstacles (UNESCO, 2009, p. 6), as well as negative experiences in HE which impede their successful completion (Morley & Lussier, 2009). The implication is that beyond simply gaining access to HE, women's meaningful participation and qualitative experiences are not given due attention (Morley & Lugg, 2009; Morley et al, 2010). Women and Girls' Education in Ghana In Ghana, women's participation in HE has recorded some noteworthy increases. From as low as 3630 in 1993 (Ghana Statistical Service, 2001), women's participation increased to 29,059 in the 2005/2006 academic year (National Council...

No abstract

This study aimed to explore final-year mental health student nurses’ experiences of caring for the physical health and wellbeing of recovery patients. It examines what participants’ perceptions are of what they are taught and how they are prepared in university in relation to physical healthcare needs of recovery patients. One-to-one semi-structured interviews with seven final-year mental health-nursing students were conducted. The general consensus of the participants appeared to be that there is a need for more robust health promotion activity around physical health in mental health settings.

This study was carried out to investigate the common adjustment challenges freshmen in the University of Cape Coast experience during their first year in school, and the coping strategies they used in response to the adjustment challenges. A mixed model research design was used in carrying out the study. A sample of 355 students made up of 235 males and 120 females was selected through purposive and proportional stratified random sampling techniques. Adapted forms of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) developed by Baker and Siryk (1999) and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) developed by Folkman and Lazarus (1988) were used along with a semi-structured interview. Quantitative data was analysed descriptively while qualitative data was analysed thematically. The study found that freshmen in the University of Cape Coast encountered adjustment challenges such as difficulty handling the academic pressure and lack of involvement in social activities. In terms of coping, most respondents adopted Planful Problem Solving strategies which involved planning, concentrating and taking action to resolve issues. It was recommended that university authorities make the timetable of freshmen more flexible to enable them cope with the academic pressure.

Classroom discipline is one of the most thought-provoking issues in modern education.Studies has it that students’ classroom misconduct interferes with teaching and learning and is believed to be a precursor to later school dropout and similar negative social outcomes. This study aimed at investigating the knowledge of pre-service teachers of Colleges of Education in Ghana on the concept of behaviour modification techniques in the classroom. A cross-sectional survey design was used for the study. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to obtain a sample size of three hundred and sixty participants for the study. Data was collected using behaviour modification questionnaire developed by the researchers and analysed using SPSS data analysis software. The results show that most of the participants have insufficient knowledge on behaviour modification techniques for classroom management even though they exhibited strong knowledge on few of the items. At 5% level of significance, there was virtually no significant difference found to exist in pre-service teachers’ knowledge of behaviour modification practices in terms of gender difference. Furthermore, the study revealed that programme of study never had a significant effect on the pre-service teachers’ knowledge on classroom behaviour modification techniques. It is recommended that training programmes of teacher education should be reviewed to strengthen the knowledge of pre-service teachers on classroom behaviour modification techniques.