College of Art and Built Environment

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    Accessibility and Utilization of Family Planning Services in Selected Districts in Central Region of Ghana
    (KNUST, 2015-08) Amankwaa ,John
    ABSTRACT Family planning has been considered to contribute immensely to child survival and reduction in maternal mortality, hence targeted as one of the main reproductive health services in achieving the fifth millennium development goal (MDG 5). The 2011 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey report indicates that use of modern contraceptives in Central region has improved from 17.0 percent in 2008 to 29 .1 percent in 2011 and subsequently decline of unmet need for contraceptives from 49.7 percent to 22.6 percent for the same years respectively. In spite of this improvement, there is huge variations in utilization of family planning methods especially between districts in the region, particularly in Upper Denkyira East and Mfantsiman, and the causes of this variations are not clearly known. Hence, the main aim of the study is to assess the level of accessibility and utilization of family planning services in the selected districts and factors influencing them. The study design adopted was descriptive cross –sectional, using both quantitative and qualitative approach for data collection. The sample size was 373 women of reproductive age 15 – 49 years. Again, 66 husbands/male partners were also interviewed to solicit for their views about the subject matter. Eight health institutions as well as 22 religious establishments were also interviewed. The study revealed high knowledge level of modern contraceptives among women of reproductive age (93 percent) and men (88 percent) in general. There is little (0.3 percent) difference in contraceptives use between the Upper Denkyira East (25.9 percent) and Mfantsiman (25.6 percent) district. Poor data management in facilities in Upper Denkyira East was accounting for the huge variations. Factors such as proximity to facility or clinic (12.5 percent), privacy and confidentiality at clinic (19.5 percent), wanting to delay pregnancy (49.2 percent) among others motivate use of contraceptives whiles factors such as desire for many children (14.8 percent) , health concerns (9.7 percent) and fear of side effects (7.6 percent) accounted for non-use. Again, social issues such as stigma of use (3.5 percent), husbands/partners opposition (4 percent) and religious prohibition (1.6 percent) among others hinder the use of contraceptives among women. There is good physical accessibility with respect to location of clinic providing family planning services in all study districts. Again financial accessibility to family planning services is good despite unapproved charges for family planning services by health facilities in the study districts. Social accessibility regarding service providers’ attitude, privacy and confidentiality is also good in FP facilities, however social factors such as stigmatization, husband/partner opposition, religious opposition among others hinder access and utilization of contraceptives. To improve on family planning services in the study districts, there is the need for family planning (FP) data collection tools’ training for all FP service providers in the facilities in order to improve on FP data quality. Also, family planning awareness or education should be intensified particularly with respect to health concerns, side effects as well as prices of contraceptives or FP services.
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    The use of kinaesthetic activities as art therapy tools to improve performance in pre-reading and pre-writing among kindergarten pupils.
    (KNUST, 2015-07) Baidoo, Gladys Starlinda
    ABSTRACT This study was conducted to find out the existing teaching strategies for teaching at the kindergarten, their usage in the classroom as well as their impact on pupils’ performance. The study sought to identify instructional materials and activities that teachers of KNUST Nursery School engaged the pupils in when teaching the English alphabet and their related sounds, as well as the challenges associated with them and what teachers do to manage such challenges. The study employed the qualitative research approach to critically study the Curriculum and Handbook for Pre-School Education, both of which guide the teachers in order to find out the existing strategies used in teaching the letters and sounds of the alphabet. Observation, questionnaire and interview were used to identify and study how teachers employ the existing strategies, activities and instructional materials in the classroom and their impact on the pupils’ performance in pre-reading and pre-writing. The major findings of the study indicated that the KG 1 and KG2 teachers in the school were not abreast with current strategies because their lessons centred mostly on patterns, joining of patterns and songs were used to teach the letter names and sounds. They employ child centred teaching approaches with play activities in the teaching and learning of the alphabet and sounds. Because some of the pupils had challenges writing the letters accurately, new art based activities were introduced for the teaching and learning of the alphabet and their sounds which made the pupils very active in class and got them fully involved. The activities motivated them to work sometimes without supervision and on the playground. At the end of the study, pupils’ showed positive signs of improvement in their reading and writing of the alphabets. To improve the pupils performance, it is recommended that the Kindergarten teachers be trained to use the kinesthetic teaching and learning strategies and related instructional materials to teach their pupils to learn to read and write the letters of the English alphabet and recognise them by their sounds.
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    Streamlining monitoring and evaluation systems in managing social development interventions: a study of Ahafo mine area livelihood programmes.
    (KNUST, 2015-05) Acheampong, Ernest Kwaku
    ABSTRACT Monitoring and Evaluation as a discipline, is increasingly recognized as an essential component in project management functions (Khalid, 2002). However, consciously or otherwise development programmes are faced with limited integration of monitoring and evaluation systems in the management functions to gauge its performance. This key planning and implementation weaknesses poses key challenges to the management functions of development programmes including livelihood programmes (Khan, 2003). The study therefore seeks to examine the extent to which monitoring and evaluation systems of development programmes adopts standard practices. The study adopted a case study approach where three livelihood programmes operating within the Asutifi District were chosen. Programme Managers, Staff, beneficiaries and key institutional stakeholders were selected as respondents for the study. The study revealed that, monitoring and evaluation systems of some livelihood programmes lacks critical tools like robust database, review and capacity building plans were found to be absent. Also it was revealed that some programmes operate without trained monitoring and evaluation practitioners. Despite these shortfalls the study affirmed that the practice of M&E influences programme decisions leading to reforms in the programme components. Also, the study identified a high level of stakeholder participation –groups and institutions supporting the implementation of the programme. It is therefore recommended for policy designs on programme monitoring and evaluation that programme managers should be obliged to include the design of a robust database for data capture and retrieval, review and capacity building plans in the set-up of programme monitoring and evaluation systems as the concept keeps evolving. Again, development programmes should engage the services of trained practitioners directly on programmes to coordinate the monitoring and evaluation activities of the programmes.
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    Evolution of “traditional funeral” songs among the inhabitants of Asante Mampong
    (KNUST, 2015-06) Asare, Desmond
    ABSTRACT In Ghana, indigenous songs are regarded commonly as songs of the olden days. People who understand the need to keep tradition agree that indigenous songs should be preserved. Most studies of traditional songs have focused on the need to preserve an aspect of the Ghanaian society, but the major aim of this study is to identify, documented and notate the traditional funeral songs in Asante Mampong. It will further throw more light on their role and significance and how they have evolved over the past three decades for cultural perpetuation. It also sought to identify and document indigenous funeral songs and the roles they play in the Asante Mampong. In accomplishing this, the various types of songs were considered namely; adowa, nwomkorɔ and ayinaa (dirge). These were used because the Municipal under study cannot do away with them during funeral ceremonies. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were adopted for the study. The study revealed that indigenous funeral songs in Asante Mampong are indispensable and play an integral role in the funeral celebration among the inhabitants. The role and the significance of the various types of indigenous songs were derived from the song text. There was the realization that each song came with its own purpose and has the reason which backs the composition. It was discovered that indigenous funeral songs performed in the Asante Mampong municipal are of rich value and have rich histories. It is however recommended that traditional leaders in Asante Mampong municipal should encourage the younger generation and adults to learn how to sing traditional songs for cultural perpetuation. It behooves on scholars in the municipal to document and notate the various types of indigenous funeral songs in Asante Mampong for future references.
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    Assessing the effects of mining on the educational life of children in the Asutifi district in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana.
    (KNUST, 2015-08) Ankutse, Bright
    ABSTRACT Many children in Africa especially in West and Central Africa are estimated to work full- or part-time, paid or unpaid in mining work. Many of the children are involved in hazardous, harmful and strenuous activities, such as digging underground pits, carrying sand from mine pits, and washing of sand, crushing and grinding of mineral-bearing rocks in mines. Even if the work itself is not hazardous, many working children are denied access to education, or drop out of school due to the remoteness and time-consuming nature of their work and perhaps as an opportunity cost to parents for keeping children in school. However, the time of some children is divided between work and school to help them earn income which may enable them to continue their schooling. Others work to assume a very profound economic role in their families and many other children also work to earn income to buy basic necessities they need. In some contexts, children derive a sense of meaning and responsibility from their work and the contributions they make to the family. Whatever the push and pull factors may be, the educational attainment and development of children in terms of enrolment, performance and retention are always affected. Education is seen as a master key which opens doors into development. It is also the means and an end in itself in the journey to development. Where the access to and quality of education are compromised, some children may prefer work to school and to take them away from work without replacing the meaning and status they needed can result in worse outcomes. Literature indicates that there is a continuous and persistent relation between child labour and children‟s education especially in mining communities which threatens to destroy the human capital formation of the nation at large. This phenomenon and its alarming increase necessitated this research to conduct an in-depth study into the effect of mining on the education of children in the catchment communities in the Asutifi District of the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. The case study method was used in the study since it is very important to researches with perspectives on contemporary developmental issues like child labour. The sample frame was the list of all the household heads, all working children, all teachers, local government officers and education officers in the selected communities from which a sample size of 156 was determined through the use of the mathematical formula given by Miller and Brewer (2003). The systematic, purposive, snowball and simple random sampling methods were used to sample the respondents for v interviews. The study relied on data gathered from the secondary sources and primary data from the field to do the analysis. The result of the study showed that, the major factor which has pushed or pulled many school-going children in the study area into mining is poverty. Other factors are peer influence, children‟s desire to quickly gain economic freedom, poor performance or poor educational results of children and inadequate educational infrastructure and logistics. Although enrolment has increased over the years since mining became operational in the study area, school retention (dropout has increased) has decreased and performance has also gone down in the face of vigorous mining activities in the area. The formal mining company; Newmont Ghana Gold Limited together with the teachers and the other stakeholders have helped in many ways to restrict and restore working children into the classroom. This is done through the building of new infrastructure, granting of scholarships, proving micro enterprises for parents and school leavers. The study made a number of recommendations such as; improving the local economy, increasing access, quality and relevance of education, motivating and remunerating teachers to give their best, integrating vocational education to the mainstream education system, provision of functional education to parents to sensitize them on the dangers involved in allowing their children to go into mining, enforcement of laws on child labour and punishment for offenders, promoting and ensuring all-inclusive responsibilities in tackling the problem.