Rural-urban disparity in economic and social development in Ghana has led to disparities in educational resources and variations in students' achievement in different parts of the country. Nonetheless, senior high schools (SHSs) in rural and urban schools follow the same curriculum, and their students write the same West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE), which qualifies them to access higher education in Ghana's public universities. Urban SHSs are also recognized nationwide as good schools where students make it to university. Moreover, performance patterns with regard to admission of SHS graduates into university also vary between rural and urban schools; consequently, some parents do everything to get their children in urban SHSs, even consenting to placement in visual arts, a program deemed appropriate only for academically weak students. This study therefore adopted the qualitative-quantitative research approach with interview, observation, and questionnaire administration to investigate the critical factors that affect academic performance of SHS students, particularly those in visual arts as case study. Findings from six public SHSs in Kumasi-two each in rural, peri-urban, and urban areas-revealed that urban schools perform better than rural and peri-urban schools because they attract and admit junior high school graduates with excellent Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) grades, have better infrastructure, more qualified teachers, prestigious names, and character that motivate their students to do well. This suggests that bridging the rural-urban gap in educational resources could promote quality teaching and learning, and thereby raise academic achievement for SHS students in Ghana.
Verbal and non-verbal interactions that occur daily between teachers and headteachers, teachers and pupils, and among pupils can generate conflict that may adversely affect teaching, learning, and schooling effectiveness. Little attention is, however, paid to the quality of relationships that exists between teachers and pupils, among teachers, among pupils, between teachers and their school heads, and between schools and their local communities. This study sought to investigate conflict prevalence in Ghana's primary schools, and how relationship conflict is understood to affect teaching and learning at the level of headteachers as administrators, teachers as classroom managers, and pupils as learners, and direct beneficiaries of primary education. Using data gathered via interview, questionnaire administration, and observation in 30 public primary schools in 10 circuits of one district of Ashanti Region, the findings revealed a high prevalence of fighting, heckling, bullying, and other forms of relationship conflict among pupils; strained teacher-pupil relations due to insolence, indiscipline, and use of offensive language; and teacher-parent arguments and quarrels due to harsh punishment and verbal assault of pupils. Teacher-pupil conflicts may extend to teachers excluding the affected pupils from teaching and learning activities, denying them the rights to ask and answer questions, and have their class exercises marked, leading to lowered pupil self-esteem, reduced concentration during lessons, and passive involvement in learning activities, which could result in truancy and school dropout. Strengthening guidance mechanisms and encouraging peer mediation could significantly curb conflict in school environments and thereby raise educational standards in the district.
The purpose of this research was to explore waste materials and turn them into appropriate instructional resources for teaching art lessons in Ghana. This was necessary because primary, junior and senior high school art teachers in Ghana mostly teach their lessons without using instructional resources because of non-provision of instructional resources by the government. The study adopted the exploratory and descriptive research methods to carry out the study. Paper, fabric and plastic waste materials were selected and worked with. The research found that waste materials can be recycled to create appropriate and useful instructional resources that are very practical for teaching and learning of art lessons. This research projects to art teachers that they can freely turn collected waste materials into very useful instructional resources which they can use to teach effective lessons to help their students understand what they taught well and easily.
Teaching and learning in Ghana's Senior High Schools (SHSs) are guided by a centralized curriculum, teaching syllabus, textbooks, assessment criteria, and examinations, yet rural-urban disparities exist in educational resources provision, which significantly affect teaching and learning processes and student achievement in the SHSs, particularly those on the Visual Arts program. To understand the factors that cause rural-urban differentials in student performance in different SHSs in Ghana, we adopted a qualitative-quantitative research approach with interview, observation, and questionnaire administration to examine teaching and learning of Visual Arts in six public SHSs: two each in rural, peri-urban, and urban settings in metropolitan Kumasi. Findings from data sourced from 120 students (66 males; 54 females), 17 teachers (15 males; two females), and 24 Visual Arts lessons revealed that unlike Visual Arts education in urban SHSs, student achievement in rural and peri-urban schools is hampered by lowered criteria for admitting students into Visual Arts, large class sizes, lack of studio facilities, insufficient specialist teachers, and instructional time for teaching elective Visual Arts subjects, adoption of ineffective teaching strategies, setting of low academic standards, and inadequate funding for teaching practical lessons. Unlike rural and peri-urban SHSs, urban schools organize speech and prize-giving days to motivate students, and effectively collaborate with Visual Arts students to mount art exhibitions to showcase their creativity. Improving the quality and distribution of social infrastructure, educational facilities, and qualified teachers, and actively monitoring educational standards in rural and periurban SHSs could raise academic achievement for students in all parts of Ghana.
The study sought to examine girls' motivation for and subject preferences on the Senior High School Visual Arts programme in Ghana. Using findings based on the multi-site case study research method with direct observation and interviews, the study found that 54% of 300 girls in four schools in the Central Region made personal decisions to study Visual Arts while 34% were coerced into the programme by school Heads; only 12% were inspired or persuaded. Textiles emerged the most preferred elective subject because it involves "girl-friendly" skills and offers "female-appropriate" occupations. The Textiles-with-Graphic Design elective combination facilitates access into the fashion industry but many girls shun Picture-Making because girls generally lack the level of drawing skills required; Ceramics is "girl-friendly" except that clay easily dirties their clothes. Sculpture is the least preferred elective because it demands much energy and effort, involves using sharp tools and working of heavy materials; it is therefore an "inappropriate" subject for girls. This apparent discriminatory attitude towards some Visual Arts subjects impacts negatively on girls' academic achievement on the programme and undermines gender equality in learning, educational and career development. Effective delivery of the Visual Arts curriculum and counselling could encourage more girls to participate fully in the programme.
Although mural art, unlike pottery, is not widely practised by African women, the predominantly female art known as ‘Bambolse’ in the indigenous language of Sirigu, in the Upper East Region of Ghana, performs a number of important social functions, from adornment and communication to the assertion of cultural identity and the preservation of traditional values. The murals employ traditional motifs and symbols, and are either representational, geometric or a combination of the two. Despite Bambolse’s significance in the local culture, however, there has been very little formal chronicling of its aesthetics and iconography, and it is the aim of this study to address that shortfall. In examining the cultural, symbolic and aesthetic aspects of this unique art form, we will demonstrate, using findings based on a qualitative research approach, how it not only empowers its practitioners as artists but also plays an influential role in the region’s socio-economic development.
Natural dyes from plant, animal and mineral sources have been used for centuries across the world. This study however, describes art studio quasi experiments conducted with the leaves, barks, seeds, roots, and fruit pods of 21 local plants to ascertain their potential for yielding dyes that would colour cotton fabrics and withstand frequent laundering. The methodology involved boiling the crushed leaf samples or chopped woody samples for between 15 and 30 minutes, draining the liquor into a plastic bowl, immersing the test cotton fabric and dyeing it hot or cold. With the exception of Adansonia digitata dye which was too weak to stain the fabric and Bixa orellana dye which was not colourfast and faded beyond recognition within six weeks, the other 19 plants yielded highly coloured, light-and wash-fast dyes of varying strengths, suggesting their feasibility for teaching basic skills in tie-dyeing, batik, watercolour painting and printmaking, which constitute integral aspects of the Visual Arts curriculum in Ghana. The study identified sodium carbonate as an effective mordant for improving the colour, strength and fastness of the brown Bridelia ferruginea dye which is the backbone of the indigenous textiles industry.
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