http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9338 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 23:26:34 GMT 2026-04-14T23:26:34Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9378 Why are non-routine mathematics word problems difficult?: Lessons from preservice basic school teachers in Ghana Wilmot, Eric Magnus; Davis, Ernest Kofi; Ampofo, Charles Bediako This study sought to contribute to the literature on why non-routine word problems in Mathematics often seem difficult for learners. Three hundred and sixty-nine Primary and Junior High School teacher trainees from three Colleges of Education in Southern Ghana participated in the study. A non-routine mathematics word problem achievement test was administered to the teacher trainees, after which 18 (out of the 369) were interviewed to explain their processes. The difficulties encountered by participants were analysed using Newman􀂶s (1977/1983) Error Analysis as the theoretical framework. The results revealed that the pre-service teachers generally had weak proficiency in non-routine word problem solving. The majority of participants could not solve problems at the Junior and Senior High School levels. Implications of the findings for pre-service teacher preparation at the College of Education level in Ghana and countries that have similar mode of teacher education are provided. Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9378 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9376 The Health Behaviour Inventory: Initial Development, Factor Structure and Evidence of Reliability Awabil, Godwin; Anane, Eric This study explored the factor structure and reliability of a new Health Behaviour Inventory (HBI) to assess the health behaviour of adults. Data in this study were collected from a total of 581 postgraduate students of the University of Cape Coast. The HBI was subjected to principal component factor analysis with Varimax (Kaiser Normalization). The Kaiser Meyer–Olkin measure was used to verify the sampling adequacy for the factor analysis, which yielded KMO of .808. This indicated that the sample size was adequate and factor analysis could be performed on the data set. Bartlett’s test of Sphericity (χ2 = 8133.626, p = 0.000) was significant for the sample. The analysis yielded six factors with robust reliabilities. The six factors were: alcohol intake, smoking, dietary behaviour, physical exercise, salt intake and weight management. With respect to the reliability of the instrument, the HBI items yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of .792 for the total scale. The exploratory factor analyses demonstrated good factor structure and internal consistency. However, since this is the first study to explore the HBI structure, the researchers recommended that further investigations into the psychometric properties (such as the predictive validity) of the instrument be carried out. Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9376 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9374 Teachers Scoring and Grading of Students’ Responses to Tasks: The Ghanaian Basic School Experience Anane, Eric; Adu-Mensah, Jephtar This paper explored the scoring and grading practices of teachers in basic schools. The study sought to understand the various factors teachers take into account when scoring students’ responses to tasks in the classroom. The stratified sampling procedure was used to select 278 primary and junior high school teachers from whom data were collected for the study. In the descriptive analysis, the results revealed that teachers considered students’ behaviour such as punctuality, interest in subject and neatness of work presented, and number of questions attempted by a student, and awarded marks when grading. These academic and non-academic factors considered by teachers in this study during scoring and grading are consistent with the literature. In independent samples t-test analyses, primary school teachers did not differ significantly from their counterparts in the junior high schools in terms of factors they considered during the scoring and grading of students’ responses to tasks in the classroom. This study adds a circumstantial data to the existing debate on teacher classroom assessment practices. Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9374 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9372 Socio-Cultural Factors: A Missing Variable in Mathematics Pedagogy in Ghana Davis, Ernest Kofi; Seah, Wee Tiong This study draws on theories relating to the local aspects of mathematical knowledge and to mathematics pedagogy to explore how the teaching and learning activities carried out in mathematics classrooms in Ghana deal with these aspects. It focussed on the teaching of measurement of money at the primary school level. The primary school level was considered in this study because it is during this period of time that pupils develop the foundation for learning mathematics at higher grade levels. The current Ghanaian primary school mathematics curriculum, three of the popular primary school mathematics textbooks, and lessons from two experienced primary school teachers constituted the main sources of data for the study. The data collected were analysed qualitatively and presented as narrative description with some illustrative examples. The study revealed amongst others that the approaches used by teachers in the lessons observed reflected those suggested in mathematics curriculum and the textbooks, and these approaches pay very little attention to the social and cultural contexts of the pupils. By way of recommendation the authors provide an alternative approach to the teaching of measurement of money in context, based on a three-tier teaching strategy. Fri, 01 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9372 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z