Scholars Journal of Science and Technology

The Effects of Induction Programme on School Leadership, School Culture and Student Achievement

Monica Assifuah-Nunoo — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The research article examines the effects of the induction program on school leadership, school culture, and student achievement. The researcher employed qualitative analysis procedures. To analyze the qualitative data, the researcher deciphered the meaning underlying all the data gathered. Coding, thematic analyses, interpretations, and discussions were used to analyze the data gathered. From the findings, it was revealed that headteachers have seen some form of improvement in their administration, especially with regard to the promotion of a positive school culture, as a result of whatever form of induction they have undergone. The studies depicted that the induction of new headteachers can affect school improvement and students’ achievement. Especially when they put into practice the professional skills they have acquired through the training. Secondly, data revealed that headteachers sign performance contracts in which they are expected to reach a target. Respondents attested to the fact that a well-planned induction for headteachers can bring them together and support each other to meet the targets expected of them in the district. However, based on the finding that there is limited funding and resources for induction programmes in the district, it is recommended that the district education directorate seek further sources of funding aside from government sources since reliance on the central government for funding appears not to be working. The heads of basic schools should be encouraged to make some contributions to support their training programs.

The impact of school heads' leadership styles on students’ learning in the Sunyani and Sunyani West municipalities

Joseph Effah Boabeng — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the research study is to determine the impact of school heads' leadership styles on students’ learning in the Sunyani and Sunyani West municipalities. The study has shown that the age and academic credentials, as well as the work experience of school heads, however, the crucial factors shaping the style of leadership that they display is likely to infer that senior high school heads become more democratic with age, professional maturity, and experience. The study has shown that students have a high degree of regard for democratic leadership. This was the product of the answers received from the respondents. They argued that teachers and students are encouraged to exchange ideas and views even though the school head has the final say on decisions; teachers and students feel free to participate more in the process; creativity is promoted and rewarded in their schools; heads seek different views and do not attempt to suppress dissident voices or others who give a less common point of view; heads inspire confidence and respect amongst the school community; teachers and students easily address any school issues with their heads; The study also proofs that democratic school heads’ leadership style has some influence. The independent samples t-test analysis demonstrates that there is a significant difference in the views of the male and female teachers on the views that school heads’ leadership style has effects on students’ learning. To effectively conduct an in-depth review of the leadership styles used by the different heads in the selected schools, the researcher chose a descriptive research approach in order to collect quantifiable information for statistical analysis of the population sample. The study recommends that efforts should be made to hold meetings with the schools’ rank and file, including the School Management Committee and Parent-Teacher Association, to address specific issues and discuss ideas that can improve academic achievement.

Cotton Wool as Post-Exodontia Pressure Pack – A Dental Surgeon’s Experience

Joseph Edmund Sackey, Elizabeth Sackey — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Over the years Dental Surgeons have been taught not to use raw cotton wool as a pressure pack over the site of tooth extraction to achieve haemostasis. This research article presents the findings of a Dental Surgeon’s ‘compassionate use’ of raw cotton wool as a post-exodontia pressure pack and a subsequent clinical survey undertaken to evaluate those findings. In the cross-sectional comparative clinical survey, three Dental Surgeons undertook a total of 488 (four hundred and eighty-eight) simple extractions using alternately cotton gauze and raw cotton wool as pressure packs to achieve post-extraction haemostasis. Data comprising sex and age of the client, tooth extracted, number of cartridges of anaesthetic solution used, diagnosis for extraction, and post-extraction complication following use of the pressure packs were collected and analysed using the SPSS computer programme. Care was taken to eliminate confounding factors. It was further observed that under regular surgical conditions, there is no difference in effectiveness between cotton gauze and raw cotton wool when used as a pressure pack after simple tooth extraction. However, the study recommended that further research be carried out to assess the findings and the conclusions of the survey. Other incidental findings from the analysis of data collected were in consonance with the findings of other researchers.

Induction Programme in the Basic Schools of the Awutu Senya District and the Ghana Education Service

Monica Assifuah-Nunoo — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the study is to assess the Induction Programme in the Basic Schools of the Awutu Senya District and the Ghana Education Service, with particular reference to the Awutu Senya West District. It is to create more awareness of the importance of induction, recommend to the Ghana Education Service that it formulate policy on it, and make it mandatory for anyone who takes an appointment in the education sector. The researcher used a qualitative study underpinned by the interpretive paradigm. The findings showed that the programmes organized for the heads were all generally related to educational issues, with little attention paid to their own realities. This means the induction programme as organized in the Awutu Senya district was not context-specific. The result is that they tend to depend principally on experiential learning in carrying out their leadership tasks, and because they are often not officially inducted, they lack both in-depth knowledge and experience of induction in educational organizations, and since induction and support are usually limited, they have to adopt a pragmatic approach. However, the study recommended that a comprehensive training on leadership be organized within a year or two for newly appointed headteachers in the district. This will call for follow-ups with the newly appointed headteachers to ascertain whether they are practicing according to expectations.

Perception of the Effect of School Heads’ Leadership Style on Students' Learning

Joseph Effah Boabeng — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The study concentrated on three prevalent leadership styles: democratic leadership, authoritarian leadership, and laissez-faire leadership, and how each may impact kids' learning in school. To achieve these goals, appropriate research questions were developed to elicit opinions and general concepts about how respondents perceive their school leaders' leadership competencies and the typical leadership style they employ. The study focused on three common leadership styles: democratic leadership, authoritarian leadership, and laissez-faire leadership, and how each may affect children's school learning. To achieve these objectives, relevant research questions were devised to gather respondents' thoughts and basic notions about how they see their school leaders' leadership abilities and the usual leadership style they utilize. The study's overall sample size was 324 people, with 61 teachers (51 men and 10 females) and 263 pupils (151 males and 112 females) serving as responders. The study's findings revealed that the respondents had varying educational degrees and had worked in the schools surveyed for more than three years. This demonstrates that the respondents were already familiar with the leadership styles of their various school principals. The study established that the majority of the respondents who participated in the study were between 15 and 50 years of age. A descriptive design was implemented for a study using a simple random sampling technique to select participating teachers and students to respond to questionnaire items. The acquired data was efficiently analyzed using the Social Sciences Statistical Package (SPSS) version 28. The data findings were analyzed and discussed in light of the research study's objectives. The report also suggests that, because the study only looked at public senior high schools, a comparative study was carried out in private senior high schools in the towns for comparison.

Conceptualization of Conscience: Types and Moral Development in Society

Stephen Nanyele — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

While Conscience has been examined extensively in its different aspects, like in philosophy, psychiatry, neurophysiology, neuroplasticity, etc., conscience though it is an equally important aspect of human existence, remains an unknown to a great degree as an almost transcendental aspect of the human mind. It has not been examined as thoroughly as consciousness and largely remains a “terra incognita" for its neurophysiology, brain topography, etc. Conscience is part of a system of information that governs our experience and decision-making process. The article challenges the individualism and neutrality of modern moral conscience and looks at the types of conscience, which include Correct Judgement of the Conscience, Erroneous Conscience, Doubtful Conscience, and Perplex Conscience while arguing that dominant contemporary justifications of conscience in terms of integrity are inadequate without reintroducing these social and moral traits. Conscience is the first principle of moral development. A person is born into a family and a social environment, a society. As the person grows or develops physically, psychologically, and morally, the conscience also develops. Conscience, therefore, is the first principle of moral development This prompts a rethinking of the nature and value of conscience: first, by demonstrating that a morally-responsive conscience is neither a contradiction in terms nor a political absurdity; second, by suggesting that a morally-responsive conscience can be informed by the social world without being a mere proxy for social power or moribund tradition.