The Ghana Education Service (GES) is a government agency under the Ministry of Education responsible for implementing government policies that ensure that Ghanaians of school-going age irrespective of their ethnicity, gender, disability, religious and political dispositions receive quality formal education. The Ghana Education Service is governed by a fifteen-member council called the GES council.The agency was established in 1974 by the National Redemption Council. It partners with organisations and is demarcated into various units to ensure the effective execution of its mandate. to the Ghanaian society.
The motivation of teachers in sub-Saharan African educational settings has been a continuous dilemma, especially where the lack of resources clashes with the need for pedagogical creativity. This study examined the mediating aspect of teacher self-efficacy in the correlation between innovative leadership, teacher professional development (TPD), and teacher motivation among senior high school teachers in Ghana. The study utilised the positivist, explanatory, and cross-sectional survey design underlined by the Self-Determination and Social Cognitive theories. The survey questionnaire was self-designed and administered to a convenience sample of 351 Senior High School teachers in the public and private schools in the Volta Region, Ghana. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyse the data in 5,000 bootstrap sub-samples. Data analysis revealed that innovative leadership characterised had a positive, significant influence on teacher self-efficacy (= 0.459, p =0.001) but had no statistically significant direct effect on teacher motivation (=0.121, p=0.064). The effect of teacher professional development was found to have a direct significant impact on teacher motivation (= 0.583, p = 0.001) and teacher self-efficacy (= 0.132, p = 0.001). Teacher self-efficacy was a strong predictor of teacher motivation (0.209, p < 0.001) and mediated the relationship between innovative leadership and teacher motivation (0.099, p = 0.020) as well as the TPD - motivation relationship (0.027, p = 0.007). The structural model pointed out a 44.2% variance in teacher motivation. This suggests teacher self-efficacy is an essential psychological process that enables institutional leadership and professional growth to manifest into long-term motivational results for teachers. It is important that educational policymakers and administrators of schools incorporate efficacy-building measures in leadership development and teacher professional development programmes.
This study investigates the influence of Internal Quality Assurance Mechanisms (IQAM) on learners’ evaluation, research performance, and institutional efficiency in Ghanaian universities. Adopting a quantitative research approach, purposive and systematic random sampling techniques were used to select lecturers from four public and two private universities. Data were collected through structured questionnaires rated on a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics revealed that IQAM, learners’ evaluation, research performance, and institutional efficiency were functioning effectively, with mean scores ranging between 3.468 and 4.129. Further analysis indicated that IQAM significantly predicted learners’ evaluation (F=90.68, p<0.01), research performance (F=141, p<0.01), and institutional efficiency (F=80.451, p<0.01), explaining 39.1%, 50.1%, and 36.3% of the variance, respectively. These findings demonstrate the central role of IQAM in promoting quality assessment practices, improved research output, and enhanced institutional operations. The study offers practical implications for policymakers and university administrators to strengthen IQA systems for sustainable academic and operational excellence in higher education.
Introduction : Anxiety-induced sleep (AIS) and suicidal ideation (SI) are common mental health disorders among adolescents. Current evidence indicates that muscle-strengthening exercise (MSE) is associated with improved mental health among adolescents, but evidence from sub-Saharan Africa is lacking. This study examined associations of adherence to the MSE guidelines with AIS and SI among adolescents in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana. Methods : We examined secondary data from the 2022 subnational Ghana Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS), involving 3,577 adolescents (12–17 years). MSE was assessed using the World Health Organization guideline (≥3 vs <3 days/week). AIS and SI were assessed using GSHS questions. We estimated survey-weighted prevalence rates. Multivariable logistic regression models, adjusted for covariates, were used to estimate the odds of AIS and SI. Results : Overall, 33.4% of adolescents met the WHO MSE guideline, with boys significantly more likely than girls to meet the recommendation (42.2% vs. 29.7%, p <0.001). The weighted prevalence of AIS and SI was 14.7% and 21.0%, respectively. Compared with adolescents who did not meet the MSE guideline, those meeting the guideline had lower odds of AIS (aOR=0.71, 95% CI : 0.63–0.81) and SI (aOR=0.77, 95% CI : 0.65–0.93). Conclusions : These findings extend emerging evidence linking MSE with adolescent mental health by demonstrating significant associations with AIS and SI in an African setting. Given that muscle-strengthening activities require little or no specialized equipment, they may offer a feasible and scalable strategy for strengthening adolescent mental health promotion in resource-constrained settings. Longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Soybeans are widely cultivated in East Gonja, yet their household use remains uneven despite clear nutritional and livelihood benefits. This study assessed household consumption patterns, awareness and perceptions, and constraints shaping soybean utilization to inform targeted nutrition and livelihood interventions in the municipality. A cross-sectional mixed-methods design was applied to a sample of 384 households selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. Quantitative data were collected via structured questionnaires and analysed in the Statical package for the social sciences (SPSS) (descriptive statistics, χ² tests, and binary logistic regression). Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews were thematically analysed in NVivo to contextualize quantitative findings. Household utilization was high overall (289/384, 75.26%). Most users reported 1–2 uses in the prior 7 days (48.96%), with the majority indicating year-round use (58.85%). Typical monthly use clustered at 1–2kg (39.32%). Mothers were most often responsible for soybean meal preparation (94.46%), and local markets were the primary source (61.25%). Awareness of processing methods was high (87.50%); just over half had received preparation information (52.86%); nearly all believed recipe access would increase use (97.92%); and two-thirds reported household-level processing (67.71%). Bivariate analyses showed significant associations between utilization and sex, education, household size, and income (all p ≤.019), and between utilization and cultural acceptance, attitudes, awareness of processing, reported challenges, and belief that recipes would increase use (all p ≤.013). In the multivariable model (LR χ² = 182.688, p <.001; pseudo-R² = 0.737; n = 380), neutral attitude predicted markedly lower odds of utilization (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.018, p <.001), while awareness of processing methods predicted higher odds (AOR = 3.338, p =.016). Sex, education, household size, and reported challenges were not significant after adjustment. Soybean consumption is common in East Gonja but is shaped by attitudes and know-how. Neutral dispositions toward soybean meals constrain use, whereas awareness of processing methods enables adoption. Routine preparation roles held by mothers and reliance on local markets frame day-to-day use. These findings point to practical levers for improving household nutrition through soy.
