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p-ISSN: 1694-2620
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Vol 7, No 1 January 2016
Table of Contents
Analysis of preferred teaching styles used by History tutors 1
Edmund Selorm Sosu
Entrepreneurial skills and farming performance: Implications for 14

improving banana farming in Sri Lanka
Dr. Shirantha Heenkenda and Dr. D.P.S. Chandrakumara
Effects of single parenting on students academic performance: A case 27

study at Amamoma Presbyterian junior high school
Simon Ntumi, Felix Larbi and Linda Adjeibea Yirenkyi
Hidden curriculum: Does it matter in a Ghanaian school setting 36

Edmund Selorm Sosu
Which Causal Relationship Established the Effect of the Control 47

Technique Contraceptives On Weight Gain Case Housewives
Newlyweds.
Dr. Zerf Mohammed
Spirituality, age, gender and academic self Efficacy as determinants of 59

psychological well being of secondary school students with hearing
impairment in Enugu state, Nigeria
Oyewumi, Adebomi (Ph.D) and Anieke, Lazarsus
National Morality and Government Openness: The Panacea to 72

Government Effectiveness
Dr. William DiPietro
The clash of two cultures: A historical analysis of social changes in the 80

gold coast in the twentieth century
Abdul Kuba
International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
p-ISSN: 1694-2620
e-ISSN: 1694-2639
Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 1-13, IJHSS
Analysis of preferred teaching styles used by History tutors
Edmund Selorm Sosu

Department of Arts & Social Sciences Education
University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
edmundsosu@gmail.com
Abstract
Teachers preference to a particular or multiple teaching styles stems from certain inherent and
external conditions that influence their choice. Their preference may be from externalities
irrepressible to them. Given this background, this paper embarks on an analysis of preferred
teaching styles such as the cooperative teaching style, direct style, and inquiry-base style used by
history tutors. The descriptive research design was used with a sample size of 32 history tutors.
The quantitative approach was used for the analysis of the data. The results revealed that the
preferred teaching style used by history tutors falls in the areas of inquiry based approach, the
coach based approach, cooperative approach and direct style which have inherent and external
conditions underpinning them. The study indicate the major conditions such as the subject
rationale, developmental abilities of students, number of students in classroom and lastly, the
available teaching resources. Based on these findings, it is suggested that since the motives
behind history tutors preferred teaching styles fall in line with the modern day way of choosing
teaching styles, appropriate structures should be put in place to heighten the image of history
education across countries.
Keywords: Coach teaching style, Cooperative teaching style, Direct style, Inquiry-base teaching
style, History tutors.
Introduction
Teaching is regarded as an important skill in any educational sector. This is partly due to the
assertion that not all can teach and not all are born teachers (Candal, 2015; Malikow, 2006).
Thus, to acquire the act of teaching is a great skill that one needs to cherish. The act of teaching
serves as the drive by which the content and objective of any educational curriculum is
communicated to its consumers. On one hand, it is the focal point for reinforcing learning,
strengthening thinking and reflection while on the other hand, it serves as the medium of de-
emphasising a learnt behaviour or action through the help of a teacher. On this, teachers who
facilitate these acts of inducing knowledge in students end up adopting differing approaches in
1 http://aajhss.org/index.php/ijhss
bidding to transmit instructional contents to learners (Blumberg, 2010; Carr, Eireann, Cliath &
Runai, 2007; Marble, Finley, & Ferguson, 2000).
Currently, teaching in any subject demands that tutors of instructions channel
instructions to meet learners varied needs of which the teaching of history is no exception.
History teaching, according to Oppong and Quan-Baffour (2014) demands that tutors employ
certain models such as the line of development model, the colligation model, the covering law
model and narrative law model in their teaching with the intention of teaching the subject
effectively. Aside these models, teachers still go about the complex of way of teaching with
issues stemming from their understanding of the subject, availability of resources and lastly, the
understanding of their leaners. To this, the method in which they introduce a topic and pose
questions to their audience informs and reflects their orientations and make-ups (Genc and
Organ-Bekiroglu,2006). Hence, the latter denotes the source of teaching methods or teaching
styles used by teachers. Teaching styles are mediums employed to convey knowledge and skills in
order to enhance and guide successful learning (Mwathwana, Mungai, Gathumbi, &
George,2014). To Trowbridge and Bybee (1996), teaching styles are the most effective and
efficient means of presenting a subject to students in any given classroom. Thus, the aura of
understanding for a particular subject and the values relative to a particular subject is provided
through the medium of teaching styles. Appropriate teaching to Mwathwana et. al. (2014) is
characterized by narration, discussion, reciting, identifying, explaining, role playing,
dramatization, audio visual, and modelling.
In the field of history education, Nasibi and Kiio (2005) assert that the teaching styles
used in the history classroom are lecture method, discussion, narrating, reciting, identifying, role
playing, explaining, audio visual, visiting, modelling, dramatizing, note-making, practicing
observation, participating, reading and group projects, brainstorming, debates, panel discussion,
educational visits, imaginary educational visit and project method. These styles according to the
authors are alternatively employed by history teachers in their classroom discussion. But the issue
on board is what really influence history tutors choice of the teaching styles? Is it solely the
pedagogical needs of the students that influence teachers choice of their instructional method?
What are these hidden, uncaptured elements that really necessitate history teachers choice of
teaching styles (Ruff, 2013)? Based on the aforementioned, this paper expounds on an analysis of
the preferred teaching styles used by history tutors.
Specifically, the following questions were addressed in the study:
1. What are the preferred teaching styles used by History tutors?
2. What factors underpin History tutors choice of teaching style?
Review of Literature
This section looks into the available literature on the various issues regarding teaching styles
classification and the possible factors that could inform their preference. Though literature on
teaching styles and factors that inform their use are not much (Chapman, Hughes, & Williamson,
2001; Grasha,1996; Onstein & Miller,1980; Peacock,2001), it is necessary to consider them in
this study so as to help the researcher gain insight into fundamental issues underlying the study
and relate the findings to the existing literature related to the study.
Teaching styles models
Though studies on teaching styles occur in many research works, Grashas (1996) model for
teachers teaching style served as the circumference in determining history teachers preferred
teaching styles. To Grasha (1996), the style in teaching can be catergorised as expert style, formal
authority, personal model, facilitator and delegator.
Expert style is highlighted by teachers who have the knowledge and the know-how in the
subject matter. Teachers who demonstrate this model teach into detail alongside their attitude of
always encouraging their students to excel in their studies. Teachers who practise this style
require their students to always prepare and emphasize the diffusion of information to the
maximum. The danger associated with this style are that the overt display of knowledge by
teachers to an extent intimidate learners and also the underlying thought process of teachers to a
lesser extent is not clear to students.
The formal authority style informs teachers to give negative and positive feedback to
students in their course of teaching. With this method, teaching is expected to be in an accurate
and standard form alongside with specific goal endorsed by a school. Teachers with this style go
about their delivery in a structured form. The flip side of this style is that it leads to rigid,
standardized ways of managing students concerns (Audette & Roush, 2013; Shaari et al, 2014).
With the personal model style (Coach style), teachers teach using personal examples that
is they teach by example. Teachers tend to act as models to students on how to think and
behave. They tend to direct and guide the students to observe and imitate the method they show
to them. They go about this same style by giving guidance and direction through asking
questions, giving options to explore, giving recommendations for alternatives and developing
criteria for solving a problem. The overall goal of the style is to develop students ability to be
self-reliant, creative and responsible. Teachers with this style prefer to teach using projects in
developing students. The flip side of this style is that teachers are tempted to believe their style is
the best way whiles students may feel inadequate if they are not able to meet teachers
expectation (Audette & Roush, 2013; Shaari et al, 2014).
The delegator style is concerned with students ability to learn autonomously. Students
are encouraged to carry out tasks independently when implementing a project. Teachers assist
when the need arise. The approach aims at helping students to become self-reliant and self-
supporting. However, the dangers associated to this style is that teachers at times misread
students readiness to work independently and also some students become anxious when given
autonomy to work on their own (Audette & Roush, 2013; Shaari et al,2014).
Aside Grashas (1996) teaching model, Onstein and Miller (1980) have also classified
teaching styles as expressive teaching styles and instrumental teaching styles. Expressive or
dramatic teaching style refers to the emotional relationship created by teachers to the students as
a whole, including warmth, authority, sympathy, trust and some emotional aspect shown by the
teacher. The use of the expressive teaching style works in the area of controlling sand managing
classroom activities. The style imbibes a sense of confidence in students through their
understanding on the general purpose of education. Teachers who prefer the use of this style
serve as mentors and tolerate their students (Shaari et. al, 2014). With the instrumental style,
teachers roles are seen in the assisting of students, planning of lessons and setting up classroom
activities according to an appropriate standard.
Factors influencing teachers teaching styles
On factors influencing teaching styles usage, a study conducted by Peacock (2001)
unearthed that teaching styles used by teachers stem from their ethnicity of which he found out
that Chinese teachers avoided auditory style teaching to a more demonstrative style. In a
different study conducted by Chapman, Hughes and Williamson (2001), it was revealed that
gender, seniority at the workplace and time played major influence on teaching styles used by
teachers. To this, they observed that, teachers went about their approach of delivery as result of
the factors they were repressed with. To Zhorik (1990) teachers' teaching styles are also
influenced their personal ideology and beliefs accrued over years.
In a review conducted by Boz & Aydin (2009), it was highlighted that the motives that
prop up teachers style of teaching span across the following, that is, the subject-area taught, the
developmental ability of students, teacher relation with colleagues and school principals, teacher
current status and available teaching material. With this, teachers were of the opinion that
inasmuch the syllabus indicate the type of style to use for a particular content, they were also
influenced by other factors.
In a prior study by Shulman (1990), it was also established that teaching styles used by
teachers are influenced by their demography (immediate environment). To him new teachers
adopt teaching styles used by their training developers or teachers at the expense of the ideal
method prescribe from the syllabus. Thus, the orientation and the relationship new teachers
guzzled from their trainers affect their preference for a particular teaching style. Rotumoi and
Too (2012) also opine that the availability and adequacy of classroom space, teaching/learning
facilities and the number of children a teacher handled were also found to have had great
influence on the teaching methods the teacher adopted.
Methodology
The study adopted a descriptive research design, precisely a self-report survey to

elucidate the circumstances supporting the preferred teaching styles used by history tutors during
their teaching. The rationale for adopting this approach was that it helps researchers to retrieve
personalised statements from respondents after posing a series of questions and statements to
them (Hawton, Rodham, Evans, & Weatherall, 2002). By this, the researcher was able to set
aside his opinion and experience to retrieve information from respondents objectively
(Westerman, 2001; Harwell, 2011). Consequently, the approach enables the researcher to
quantify the responses of history tutors on the assumption underpinning the study (Driessnack,
Sousa & Mendes, 2007). The population for the study comprised all history tutors in the Central
Region of Ghana. The intention behind the choice of the history tutors was that the researcher
wanted to ascertain the medium history tutors employed in teaching. Again, the researcher chose
the history tutors in the region because they were convenient to him. The purposive sampling
technique was employed to reach out to thirty-two (32) history tutors in the region.
Since the study was quantitative in outlook, data was collected by the researcher from
respondent who were willing to partake in the study. The data collection instrument was a
questionnaire that was designed by the researcher, based on the key issues emerging from the
literature. The questionnaire was made up of two sections, section A addressing the preferred
teaching style used by history tutors and section B addressing the motives that prompts history
tutors teaching style. The items on the preferred teaching style were ranked from one to five (1-
5), with five (5) been the highly preferred teaching style and one (1) been the not preferred teaching
style. The items on the factors underpinning the preferred teaching style used by history tutors
were made up of close-ended questions based on a four-point Likert-scale format ranging from
strongly disagree (SD), disagree (D), agree (A) and strongly agree (SA). In all, the data were
coded and fed into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to perform statistical
analysis of the data into percentages, means and standard deviations. The findings were
presented statistically by merging similar responses and discuss in relation to the theories and
studies circumventing the study.
Results
Research Question 1: What are the preferred teaching styles used by History tutors?
The views of history tutors were sought on the preferred style or approached adopted in
teaching history and the responses are presented in table 1.
Descriptive statistics
Table 1
Teaching styles Not- Less- Preferred Higher- Highly-
preferred preferred preferred preferred
F(%)
F (%) F(%) F(%) F(%)
1 2 3 4 5
Direct style 16(50) 12(37.5) 4(12.5) - -
Co-operative style - 8(25.0) 1(3.1) 5(15.6) 18(56.3)
Inquiry-base style - 1(3.1) 3(9.4) 13(40.6) 15(46.9)
Lecture style 13(40.6) 15(46.9) 4(12.5) - -
Coach style 4(12.5) - 4(12.5) 24(75.0) -
Total number of participants was 32. From the table, 12.5% of the respondents stated
that they prefer the direct style of teaching whiles 87.5% of the teachers also put forth that they
least consider the direct style in their quest of teaching history. Similarly, 12.5% of respondents
prefer the use of the lecture style whiles 87.5% least consider the use of the lecture style. This
detestation of the lecture method highlights the dwindling fortunes of that method in the
teaching of History at the second-cycle level of education.
On the preference of co-operative style of style of teaching, 75% of history tutors prefer
to use a community base approach in teaching history students whiles 25% of them least
consider that. Also, on whether history tutors prefer the inquiry-base style of teaching in their
quest of teaching history, 96.9% history tutors rank the inquiry approach to teaching as the
preferred style whiles 3.1% mildly prefers it. Finally, on the issue of coach style of teaching, that
is history tutors directing students with what they think they should learn, 87.5% history tutors
emphasise on preference of the coach style in teaching history whiles 12.5% least considers it.
In effect, the critical thinking component to historical teaching is gradually shaping and
undergirding the preference of teachers in choosing the modern day way of teaching.
In all, the results shows that the preference of teaching styles used by history tutors in
teaching is in the following order, that is, the inquiry-base style, the coach style, the co-operative
style, and finally, the direct and lecture style of teaching respectively.
Research Question 2: There was the use of means and standard deviations to ascertain the
summary of factors underpinning history tutors choice of teaching style. Results are shown in
table 2.
Table 2 shows that a considerable number of factors underpin history tutors choice of
teaching style and this is indicated with a mean of means score of 2.82, which indicate that
majority of history tutors agree to the posed statement personalised to them. In detail, it can be
gathered that history tutors are in consonance with some of the statements. Statement like my
personal orientation, believes and values influences my style of teaching, the purpose and design
of the course, the norms of the institution I teach, class size, developmental abilities of
students, , available teaching materials, presence of the school principal interaction with
fellow teachers, duration on timetable and class space were the factors underpinning history
tutors teaching style. These factors were indicated with mean scores of 2.88, 3.38, 2.38, 3.38,
3.50, 3.38, 2.38, 2.50, 2.80 and 2.88 respectively. On the flip side, the only factor that seems not
having any relation to the choice of teaching styles adopted by history tutor was the current rank
or status of tutor and this was indicated with a mean score of 1.63.
In all, results from table 2 shows that the most emerging issues underpinning history
tutors choice of instructional style are the purpose and design of the various history courses,
teacher immediate class size, and developmental abilities of history students and lastly, available
teaching materials and these were indicated with mean scores above 3.10.
Table 2: Factors underpinning History tutors choice teaching style
Statement Sum(N) Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly Mean SD

Disagree Agree
% % % %
1 2 3 4
My personal orientation, beliefs and values influence my teaching style. 32 25 - 37.5 37.5 2.88 1.18
The purpose and design of the course influence my teaching style. 32 - - 62.5 37.5 3.38 0.49
The norms of the institution I teach in influence my teaching style. 32 12.5 50 25 12.5 2.38 0.87
The immediate class number/class size influence my teaching style. 32 - - 62.5 37.5 3.38 0.49
The developmental abilities of my students influence my teaching style. 32 - - 50 50 3.50 0.51
My current rank or status in the school influences my teaching style. 32 37.5 62.5 - - 1.63 0.49
The availability of teaching materials influences my teaching style. 32 - - 62.5 37.5 3.38 0.49
The presence of the school principal influences my teaching style. 32 25 37.5 12.5 25 2.38 1.13
My interaction with fellow teachers/head of my department influences 32 12.5 37.5 37.5 12.5 2.50 0.88
my teaching style.
The duration on the time table for teaching influence my teaching 32 - 50 25 25 2.80 0.84
style.
The classroom/ lecture theatre space influence my teaching style. 32 - 37.5 37.5 25 2.88 0.79
Mean ranges: Strongly Disagree (0.00 1.00); Disagree (1.10 2.00); Agree (2.10 3.00); and Strongly Agree (3.10 4.00).Mean of Means = 2.82,
Mean of Standard Deviation = 0.74
Discussion
Preferred Teaching Styles Used By History Tutors
The results indicate that history tutors have preferred teaching styles they use during their
instructional process. The styles to an extent deviate from the prescribed activity stipulated in the
history programme. The results further shows that teachers do not tightly follow already
prescribed activity in instructional outline whenever they attempt to bring a change in behaviour
in learners. To this, it is obvious that the what (preferred teaching style) and why (reasons behind the
teaching styles) aspects of history tutors teaching styles practices should not be left unexamined.
On the what aspects, history tutors preference for the inquiry based style compared to
teacher-centered approach of teaching, shows that history are employing Grashas(1996)
delegator style in teaching history. The rationale behind the style according to Grasha (1996) is to
make learners seek and construct knowledge independently so as to become self-reliant and self-
supporting. With this, history tutors give students tasks to do independently whiles they act as
shadows or coaches or experts behind what they see appropriate for learners to construct. Thus,
history tutors do not leave the inquiry approach of teaching learners to chance, but still ensure
that they act to students what to think and the approach to use for a problem. In doing this, they
provide directions to students by asking questions, giving options to explore, providing
recommendations on alternatives and also develop a criteria for selecting an apt method to a
problem.
Still on the what aspect, history tutors aside preference for the inquiry-base and coach
style of teaching, give premium to the co-operative style of teaching. With this approach, history
tutors create a communal approach in efforts to engage students emotion and mental faculties
through real life experience which to Young (2002) enables learners relate personally to the
experiences they receive from classroom discussion.
The focus on the inquiry-based style, coach and co-operative style of teaching indicate
that history tutors are coping with a student-centered approach in teaching students than the
teacher-centered approach (direct and lecture style). Thus, the direct and lecture style which
Goby & Lewis (2000) and Wilson (2011) asserts as making history tutors final authority in
classrooms is fading away and premium is now given to the inquiry and coach style of teaching
which to Alesandrini and Larson (2002) make learners explore and discover knowledge with or
no assistance from tutor.
Factors underpinning History Tutors choice of Teaching Styles
The teaching styles aspects of history tutors do not just happen in a vacuum. With this, history
tutors are influenced by certain personal and external factors that exert pressure on what
approach to use in teaching history. The internal factors are what Chapman et. al (2001) and
Zhorik (1990) postulates as stemming from tutors gender, ideology and beliefs. With this, history
tutors exemplify what they teach from their personal orientation, belief and values.
External factors repressive on history tutors teaching style stem from a micro and macro
level perspective. On a micro level, history tutors are influenced by their institutions when it
comes to what teaching style to use in the classroom. This, according to Peacock (2001), has its
basis from the immediate environment a tutors teaches which tells that the rules in some
institution do not only end at teachers and students conducts but also at the type of teaching
styles adopted by a history tutor.
Still on the micro-level, history tutors seemed to be influenced by what Rotumoi and Too (2012)
discovered as the exerting influence on the teaching style used by history tutors. To them, it was
discovered that the art and style teachers used in class delivery props from the class space
available which to a degree is in congruence with the finding of this study. This indicates that
class size do not only inform the approach adopted by history tutors on the micro level but also
tells that a tutors teaching style is likely to change when exposed to a larger or small class space.
In relation to the fact that history tutors approach to teaching are susceptible to external micro
factors, it can also be established that teacher relation with colleagues, presence of school
principal during tutors instructional delivery and available duration for instructional deliver all
play roles on the why aspects behind history tutors instructional style. With this, what
Goodson (cited in Harris-Hart, 2002) refers to as the middle ground curriculum, that is the
subject department and teacher-culture (collegiality) do come to play in the relation to the
influence from the history department and fellow colleagues in the same field of teaching.
On a macro-level, in terms of external factors repressive on history tutors teaching style,

what Boz and Aydin (2009) stressed as motives that informs teachers teaching styles also fall
under the purview of possible factors influencing history tutors teaching style. To this end, what
the authors hinted as the possible factors, that is the purpose and design of the course, teacher
immediate class size, developmental abilities of students and available teaching materials are in
congruence with the macro or major possible factors established by history tutors as
underpinning their teaching style. Thus, it is obvious that student characteristics, structure of a
course coupled with the available teaching materials acts as shadows behind the styles a history
tutor employ to teach the subject.
Conclusion
The study gives backing to the assertion that the conditions surrounding individuals influence
their choice (De Melo, Denizer, Gelb & Tenev, 2001). Thus peoples choices are likely to change
based on certain irrepressible situations they face. In effect, teachers methods of teaching are
susceptible to change based on pressing issues they face in and outside their classroom. The
preference for the inquiry base approach shifts the focus of transmitting historical contents from
a subject base approach to an activity and integrative method in learning. This direction by
history tutors would de-emphasis the memorization of facts as demanded by the direct or lecture
style but to a modern way that makes learning meaningful to learners.
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Appendix
A. Preferred styles used in teaching history
Kindly rank the following teaching style as often used in teaching of History using the scale of 1-
5, with 5-Highly preferred teaching and - not preferred teaching style.
Teaching styles Rank
1. Direct style: Using a strict styles that give students the

knowledge and information they need to succeed.
2. Inquiry-Based style: Allowing students to explore and actively

participate in learning by given assigned tasks through careful
support and guidance..
3. Cooperative style: Teaching students in as in a community and

also making them responsible for their own learning and
development.
4. Lecture Style : Acting as sage in teaching students on stage in

delivering instructional content without implicit active
participation from students.
5. Coach Style: Demonstrating expertise to showing students

what they need to learn.
B. Factors underpinning History tutors choice teaching style
Kindly tick [] the factors that influence your choice of the teaching style you preferred above.
NB: SD- Strongly Disagree D- Disagree A- Agree SA- Strongly Agree
Extent of
agreement
Statements
SD D A SA
7. My personal orientation, beliefs and values influence my

teaching style
8. The purpose and design of the course influence my teaching

style
9. The norms of the institution I teach in influence my teaching

style
10. The class number/class size influence my teaching style
11. The developmental abilities of my students influence my

teaching style
12. My current rank or status in the school influence my

teaching style
13. The availability of teaching materials influences my teaching

style.
14. The presence of the school principal influences my teaching

style.
15. My interaction with fellow teachers/head of my department

influences my teaching style.
16. The duration on the time table for teaching influence my

teaching style.
17. The classroom/ lecture theatre space influence my teaching

style.
p-ISSN: 1694-2620
e-ISSN: 1694-2639
Entrepreneurial skills and farming performance:

Implications for improving banana farming in Sri Lanka
Dr. Shirantha Heenkenda1

Department of Economics
University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Email: shiran@sjp.ac.lk
Dr. D.P.S. Chandrakumara

Department of Economics
University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Email: chandra@sjp.ac.lk
Abstract
Banana farming in Sri Lanka has been identified as a potential alternative sub-sector to make
dynamism in the rural economy. However, this sector still remains predominantly traditional in
most parts of the country. As such, it was identified that the attention of researchers should be
granted for collecting evidence-based suggestions to make this sector more dynamic in the
economy. This paper examined the relationship between entrepreneurial skills of banana farmers
and their farmer performance using entrepreneurial skill variables of farmers and farmer
performance variables namely profitability, financial performance, marketing orientation and
productivity. Finally, the study found that collective action and cooperation, readiness to change
and innovativeness, and visionary and profit oriented nature had a significant association with
the farmer performance factors. The strongest relationships remain between collective action
and cooperation, readiness to change, innovativeness and the farm productivity. Therefore, it is
recommended to use these variables as the policy variables that can activate this alternative
subsector of the rural economy.
Keywords: Entrepreneurial skills, farming performance, banana cultivation, Sri Lanka
Introduction
This paper attempts to describe the nature of entrepreneurial skills and examines the association
between entrepreneurship skills and farm level performance of small scale banana farmers in Sri
Lanka. In developing countries, many traditional and small scale farmers attempt to convert their
farms into commercial farming and cash cropping. The entrepreneurship is one of the key
factors that determine the success of this transformation process. If the farmers equipped with
necessary entrepreneurial skills, this process can be expedited with more and more lands are
1
Corresponding author
being allocated to the banana sub-sector so that it will contribute to the GNP and employment
of the country significantly. Thus, in order to convert the traditional farmers into such
commercial entrepreneurs they must be trained with new skills to engage in farming more
competitively. In a word, to build up agro-entrepreneurs is the need for the success of this
process.
In Sri Lanka, banana production provides an alternative avenue to add to GNP, create
employment and uplift the livelihood of people in the rural areas. According to available
statistics, 56216 ha of land in the country are under banana cultivation and it produces about
44177 bunches (,000) of annual production (DCS, 2015). However, Kudagamage, Chandrasiri,
and Razmy (2002) highlighted a declining trend in the productivity of banana in relation to land.
Sri Lanka government policies and strategies of agricultural development have focused
on crop diversification and facilitating the creation of self-supporting, self-reliant and prosperous
transformation of the rural sector subsistence agriculture into profitable commercial ventures.
Under the programs initiated with that purpose, the farmers are encouraged for banana farming
in some areas of the country. Udawalawe irrigation scheme in South Sri Lanka is one of these
areas. The Government has taken policy steps in transforming conventional agricultural
production into commercial cash crop production. In this irrigation scheme, banana crop was
initially cultivated in the lands where the water supply was sufficiently available for the rice
cultivation. The process of agricultural modernization in the area has been an important
influence to increase the farm productivity, increase income of people and their living standards.
Above all, in the banana development process, the entrepreneurship can be hypothesized as the
most important factor that use achieves the objective. Some authors also agree with this idea and
mention that the farmers should be strengthened with entrepreneurship skills in order to
perform better in their ventures (McElwee, 2006).A substantial amount of banana harvest is
wasted due to the lack of post harvest management skills. It has been estimated that the
postharvest loss of banana is about 28.5% from the farm gate to the retailer (Wasala, et al., 2014
p.087). Information asymmetries or gaps are also hypothesized to be obstacles to this post
harvest wastage. Considering all these developments, this study focuses on the analysis of the
association between entrepreneurship skills and farm level performance of small scale banana
farmers in Sri Lanka.
Literature review: Importance of entrepreneurial skills of farmers

It is argued that implanting entrepreneurial skills in people increases their productivity and also
the income. The theoretical basis for this argument is strongly provided by the human capital
theory initiated by Schultz (1961) and many others developed that theory after Schultz. In short,
the human capital theory says that since education and training embedded in humans increase
their productivity, such people can be considered as valuable capital assets that increases the
productivity similarly to physical capital assets (Schultz, 1961). As such, having entrepreneurial
and other necessary skills in farmers should necessarily increase their productivity than those
who are not having such skills.
However, the human capital theory does not say that what kind of skills the different
kind of entrepreneurs including farmers should have. This problem should be addressed only by
empirical studies conducted targeting on the particularly sector or sub-sector crop which is in
question. Again the empirical studies which have been directly focused on the effect of
entrepreneurial skills of farmers on their farmer and farming performance are infrequent.
However, the studies focused on the effects of entrepreneurial skills of farmers on their
performance are to a certain extent available in both developed and developing countries other
than Sri Lanka. As such, the review of empirical literature on this issue covers the studies done
15
with regard to the entire agricultural entrepreneurial activities or the sub-sectors of the
agricultural sector.
Siriwardene and Jayewardene (2014) conducted a research on socio-demographic factors

contributing to the productivity in paddy farming in Sri Lanka. They found that innovation and
adoption of new practices as the major contributing factor of paddy productivity. This finding
shows an association with the entrepreneurship of farmers since generally the innovations and
adoption of new practices are remained among the basic attributes of successful entrepreneurs.
Weir (1999) studied the effects of general education on farmer productivity in the rural
sector in Ethiopia. According to him, the education system in Ethiopia is characterized with very
low rates of participation in rural areas. The empirical analysis employed in studying the effect of
education on farmer productivity found that farmer was benefitted by their education in terms of
efficiency gains. However, in order to make that effective, they found that a minimum of four
years of education was required for a farmer. This is in a traditional society where the majority of
people were not educated. However, in the case of Sri Lanka, almost all the farmers at present
have completed the primary education and they are in a position to get advantages of additional
skills if they are provided with.
Hanf and Muller (1997) as cited by McElwee (2005) suggest that in a dynamic world that
the technical progress is fast, only the open-mined farming entrepreneurs are able to recognize
more problems. As they mention, an agro entrepreneur should create and maintain the cognitive
side sufficiently for problem solving by allocating time to management, decision making tasks,
etc.
Anglo et al (2014) conducted a study on the influence of the entrepreneur and enterprise
characteristics on the success of cage fish farming in Ghana. They found that technical
knowhow, attitudes towards work and managerial skills had significant association with the
profitability and the customer satisfaction as well. They recommended encouraging the cage fish
farmers to invest more in their technical education.
Mbam and Nwibo (2013) conducting a research on entrepreneurship development as a

strategy for poverty alleviation among farming households in Igbo-Eze North local Government
area of Enugu state, Nigeria. Having analyzed the data collected from 120 respondents, they
revealed that development and acquisition of entrepreneurship skills among the farmers were
limited by inadequate power supply, high taxation, poor access to credit, high taxation and the
poor government policies on entrepreneurial development. Furthermore, they found that
entrepreneurial development had contributed to the poverty reduction in the area.
Titianne (2013) also conducted a study on the entrepreneurship and the effect on small
dairy farming in Kenya. He mentions that smallholder activity is the backbone of the agricultural
sector in Kenya. Since, donors and different development agencies attempted to develop the
agricultural sector mostly through the intervention of adopting the value chain approach. The
study aimed at understanding whether entrepreneurial value chain drivers such as access to
finance, training, resources, etc. had an influence on the performance of smallholders within the
dairy value chain. The data suggested that training and also the access to incentives and resources
had improved the performance of smallholders in Kenya. A larger impact had been reflected on
the quantity of milk which was followed by increased revenue, herd and also the quality of milk.
This means that training provided to farmers in combination with other services and resources
significantly affect the farmer performance.
16
Noor and Dola (2011) studied the impact of far training on farmers perception and
performance regarding Malaysian livestock farmers. A total of 323 farmers and training
personnel had been participated as respondents in this study. The findings revealed that there
was a positive trend had been emerged due to the training of farmers. The perception of the
farmers also was that the training had been contributed to change them and to make them better.
The impact could be seen in the increased quality of work, farm products, income and
networking while the cost and time were decreased.
Feder, Murgai and Quizon (2004) reveal that better knowledge of farmers reduces the
use of pesticides in farming while trained farmers were more successful in that attempt.
However, they had also observed that there was no diffusion of the knowledge of the trained
farmers to those who were not trained. They may have got such a result because, under
competitive circumstances, farmers may be reluctant to pass the knowledge to the other rivals of
the same area.
The above review of the literature is sufficient to understand that the provision of
different kinds of entrepreneurial skills to farmers in whatever the field that they are engaged in
will generate important outcomes for the farmers themselves and also for the economy or the
society. However, it shows that skill types and the socio-economic variables involved in raising
the productivity are dependent on the type of crop, related farming practices and the socio-
economic-demographic attributes of farmers. When considering the banana farming in Sri
Lanka, no study has been conducted so far according to the review of literature. Therefore, this
review provides the basis for such a study.
Statement of the Problem
Banana farming in Sri Lanka have been identified as one of the alternative sectors which is
potential to generate multiple benefits to the society and the economy. However, this sector still
remains traditional with very low contribution in almost all aspects. It is assumed that in order to
make this sector dynamic, it is necessary to convert this sector from the traditional standing to
the commercialized farming. However, the commercialization is much dependent on the
possibility of increasing the productivity. As both theoretical and empirical literature suggest, the
productivity again largely dependent on the entrepreneurial skills of the farmers. However, again
the literature shows that the farmer productivity becomes a function of farmer entrepreneurial
skills which are associated with. Therefore, the study intends to solve the problem that how the
profitability, financial performance, marketing orientation and productivity are associated with
the entrepreneurial skills banana farmers.
Objectives
The main objective of the study is to examine whether there is a relationship between
entrepreneurial skills of banana farmers and the farmer performance which can be measured in
terms of profitability, financial performance, marketing orientation and productivity. The study
examines how the entrepreneurial skills are combined with the farmers each and every
performance variables related to the banana cultivation. Finally, it is intended to draw
implications for improving the banana farming in Sri Lanka.
Methodology
The study was totally dependent on the quantitative method of analysis which was designed
under the positivist approach. The study was conducted using quantitative methods under the
17
positivist paradigm. The entrepreneurship skills of small scale farmers and their level of
performance were investigated through the study. It includes the variables of the study, methods
of analysis and the details about the data and collection of data.
Study Area and the sample
The banana cultivation in Sri Lanka has been largely concentrated in the Southern region. As
such, the study was carried out in the southeastern dry zone in the Hambantota district of the
Southern province in Sri Lanka. Multi stage sampling procedure was used to select sampling
units for the study. The first step was the selection of a Divisional Secretariat Division (DSD)
from the Hambantota district and it was the Suriyawewa DSD which was selected on judgmental
basis. Second step involved in selecting Grama Niladari (GN) divisions from the Suriyawewa
DSD and it was completed by selecting four (4) GN divisions on random basis. Step three was
the selection of 250 respondents randomly from the four DN divisions. Out of 250 banana
farmers 200 farmers had responded successfully for the questionnaire survey. The questionnaire
was formulated using both structured and unstructured open-ended questions. The survey
questionnaire developed basically based on the entrepreneurship skills section of a previous
questionnaire (European Certificate in Entrepreneurship ECENT, 2006as cited in Morales, &
Marquina, 2012) as well as the logically developed questions. Data collection was carried out in
August, 2014.
Measurement of variables and methods of analysis

First, factor analysis was conducted in order to identify the factorable entrepreneurial skills of
farmers. Then, a canonical analysis was conducted for determining the association between
entrepreneurial factors and farm level performance related variables, profitability, financial
performance, marketing orientation and productivity. Farmers' entrepreneurship skills were
measured with the help of likert scale that varies from 1 to 5. Using a likert scale was appropriate
since it expected to have the advantage of allowing the farmers for degrees of their opinion
(McLeod, 2008).
In assessing the farm level performance, many researchers use different kinds of
variables. This study uses profitability, financial performance, marketing orientation and
productivity as a set of farm level performance variables to determine the magnitude of the
relationships with farmers' entrepreneurship skills.
Profitability: Profitability variable is constructed by deducting the variable cost of production of

banana farming from the total revenue obtained from the harvest. Many other researchers are
agreed in measuring the profitability using this method of calculation (Sulumbe et al., 2010;
Olayiwolaa, 2008). As such, the profitability is dependent on sale price per unit, quantity of sales
and on the costs of production.
Financial performance: A composite indicator was used as a proxy for financial performance
of the farmers. This was an aggregated index comprised of several individual performance
indicators and scales related to finance. The indicators were self-reported profit of the last
consecutive three years, debt-income ratio, household savings of farmers, capital investment in
the last three years, and the insurance usage.
Marketing orientation: In order to measure the marketing performance, an index was

constructed using six marketing methods practiced by banana farmers in Sri Lanka (Wasala et al.,
2012). A high score of the index indicates a greater degree of marketing. The famers used
several channels of marketing, such as 1). Selling their products to the collectors, who came to
their farms, 2).Selling their product to the whole sellers, 3).Taking their harvest to the closest
18
economic center for sale. 4).Selling the harvest to retail outlets, while 5) and 6) included, in turn,
selling the harvest within their own district and selling the harvest outside the district. A low
score on the index shows that a famer does not make a big effort for selling the production.
Productivity: Agricultural productivity is determined by number factors. According to Fried et

al. (2008), productivity is the ratio of its output to its inputs. This study defines the productivity
as the ratio of value of the total farm output to the value of total farm inputs which were used in
production in the two consecutive cropping sessions.
Results and Discussion
Study population profile

The study population consisted of a majority (98%) of male heads of households who were the
main decision makers in their families. The age distribution shows that majority of respondent
farmers are middle-aged, while about 65 percent for those within the age range of 35-59 years
while the average age of the sample was 47 years. Every respondent farmer had completed some
level of formal education while almost 45 percent had completed primary education that ranges
from grade 5 to grade 10. The remaining 37 percent and 18 percent, respectively obtained the
G.C.E. Ordinary Level and G.C.E. Advanced Level qualifications.
To categorize factors affecting entrepreneurship skills of small scale banana farmers and
to determine the variance explained by each factor, an exploratory factor analysis was performed.
The four commonly used decision rules were applied to identify the factors (Hair et al, 2005): 1)
minimum eigenvalue 2) minimum factor loading of 0.5 for each indicator item; 3) simplicity of
factor structure, and 4) exclusion of single item factors.
19
According to Table I, there are five factors that explain entrepreneurial skills. The first factor is
defined as Confidence and risk taking behavior. The second factor can be named as Collective
Action and Cooperation. The third factor is recognized as Readiness to change and
Innovativeness while the fourth factor is referred to as Drive and Administrative Skills. Finally,
the fifth factor is labeled as Visionary and Profit Oriented.
Canonical Correlation Analysis

After the factor analysis a canonical correlation analysis was performed, exploring the
relationship between two sets of variables, the entrepreneurial skills and the farmer performance
factors. The analysis expected to determine the extent of the relationship between the predictor
variable set of entrepreneurship skills variable and the dependent variable set of farm level
performance variables of small scale banana farmers.
20
Table 2: Multivariate Tests and correlations
Multivariate Tests of Significance (S = 4, M = 0, N = 94 1/2) Panel A

Test Name Value Approximate Hypothesis Error DF Significance of F
F DF
Pillaiss .63906 7.37750 20.00 776.00 .000
Hotellingss 1.05440 9.99047 20.00 758.00 .000
Wilkss .44621 8.73792 20.00 634.43 .000
Royss .45792
Eigenvalues and Canonical Correlations Panel B

Root No. Eigenvalue % Cumulative Canonical Squared Correlati
%. Correlation on
1 .84474 80.11549 80.11549 .67670 .45792
2 .18204 17.26478 97.38027 .39244 .15401
3 .02153 2.04144 99.42170 .14516 .02107
4 .00610 .57830 100.00000 .07785 .00606
Dimension Reduction Analysis Panel C

Roots Wilks F Hypothesis Error DF Significance of F
DF
1 TO 4 .44621 8.73792 20.00 634.43 .000
2 TO 4 .82315 3.23313 12.00 508.28 .000
3 TO 4 .97300 .88664 6.00 386.00 .505
4 TO 4 .99394 .59146 2.00 194.00 .555
Source: Author constructed.
This study used an interpretation similar to that of Sherry and Henson (2005). The
canonical correlations show how much variance of the dependent variables is explained by the
dimensions. Table 2 shows the overall multivariate tests for dimensionality. The testing of latent
successive roots, the eigenvalues and canonical correlation coefficients yielded by the analysis are
presented in Panel A and Panel B of Table 2. The canonical correlations show how much
variance of the dependent variables is explained by the dimensions. This model shows four
canonical dimensions of which only the first two are statistically significant. The first test of
dimensions that tested whether all dimensions combined were significant, found that it was
significant. The second test of dimensions that tested whether dimensions 1 to 4 combined were
significant also found that it was significant. The third test of dimensions that tested whether
dimensions 2 to 4 combined were significant, found that it was also significant. However, it was
found that the third and fourth tests were not significant.
Canonical correlation reflects the percentage of variance in the dependent canonical

variate explained by the predictor canonical variate. The result indicates a highly significant
function (p < .000) and provides the proportion of total variability not explained, i.e. it is the
converse of the squared canonical correlation. The key statistic indicating whether or not there is
a relationship between the criterion and predictor variables is the significance test for Wilks
lambda. Wilks' lambda, being the proportion of the total variance scores not explained by
differences among the groups shows about 43% of the variance which has not been explained by
21
group differences. Wilks lambda test statistic is used for testing the null hypothesis that the
given canonical correlation and all smaller ones are equal to zero in the population. Each value
can be calculated as the product of farm level performance for the set of canonical correlations
being tested. In this analysis, the canonical correlations are 0.67670, 0.39244, 0.14516 and
0.07785and so the value for testing all four of the correlations are zero (1- 0. 67670)*(1-0.
39244)*(1-0. 14516)*(1-0.07785)* = 0.44621.
Figure 1 depicts the canonical correlations for an uncomplicated

interpretation of results. It shows that the correlations between the two sets of variables are 0.67
for root 1 and 0.39 for root 2. These indicate statistically significant correlations between the two
constructs, accepting that there is a significant correlation between farm level performance and
the entrepreneurship skills. Two sets of variables show a strong relationship when all
dimensions (roots) are taken together while it gradually declines from 0.67 to 0.39 when the
dimensions are reduced from 4 to 2.
An interpretation of the correlations (factor loadings) between the

canonical variables and the dependent variables, which represents latent factors, provides crucial
economic insights. The factor loadings of Confidence and Risk Taking Behavior', 'Collective
Action and Cooperation', 'Readiness to change and Innovativeness', 'Drive and Administrative
Skills' and Visionary and Profit Oriented' 0.67, 0.30, 0.81,0.82,0.42, and 0.68 respectively. On the
other hand, factor loadings shown in the right hand side of the figure indicate how much of the
variation in the dependent variables is explained by the independent latent factors. It shows that
factor loadings of Profitability', 'Marketing Performance', 'Financial Performance', and
'Productivity' are respectively 0.39,0.67,0.59 and 0.80. The root 2 of 4 also can be understood in
the same way as above.
22
Figure 1: Canonical correlation of likelihood of risk tolerance behavior and investment in
education
Root 1 of 4
.30 Confidence and
Risk Taking
Behavior
.39 Canonical Correlation .81 Collective Action

Profitability
and Cooperation
0.67
.67 .82 Readiness to
Marketing Performance change and
Innovative
Farm Level Entrepreneurship
.59 Performance Skills .42 Drive and
Financial Performance Administrative
Skills
.80 .68 Visionary and

Productivity
Profit Oriented
Root 1 of 4
-.48 Confidence and
Risk Taking
Behavior
-.23 Canonical Correlation -.50 Collective Action

Profitability
and Cooperation
0.39
-.58 .12 Readiness to
Marketing Performance change and
Innovative
Farm Level Entrepreneurship
-.27 Performance Skills .36 Drive and
Financial Performance Administrative
Skills
.57 .50 Visionary and

Productivity
Profit Oriented
Source: Authors constructed.
The canonical correlation analysis was conducted using four farm level performance
variables as predictors of the five entrepreneurship skills variables to evaluate the multivariate,
the shared multivariate relationship between the two sets of variables. The analysis obtained two
functions with squared canonical correlations (Rc2) of .45792 and .15401 for each successive
function. The full model across all functions was statistically significant using the Wilkss =
.44621 criterion, F (20, 634.43) = 8.73792, p<.000. Wilkss represents the variance unexplained
by the model and, thus, 1- means the full model effect size in an r2 metric.
23
The dimension reduction analysis obtained by the analysis was made use for testing the
hierarchical arrangement of functions for statistical significance. The full model and also the
functions, and 2 to 4 were statistically significant, F (20, 634.43) = 8.73792, p<.000 and F (12,
508.28) = 3.23313, p<.000 respectively. Functions 3 and 4 did not explain a statistically
significant amount of shared variance between the variable sets, F (6, 386.00) = 0 .88664, p<
.505 and F (2, 194.00) = 0.59146, p<.555. From Rc2 effects obtained for each function, only the
first two functions were considered and respectively represented 46 percent and 15 percent of
shared variance. The last two functions only explained 2 percent and less than 1% respectively,
of the remaining variance in the variable sets after the extraction of the first two functions.
Table 3:Canonical association of entrepreneurship skills and farm level performance
Function 1 Function 2
Variables Coef rs rs2(%) Coef rs rs2 h2(%)
Profitability .0769 .3930 0.15 -.1299 -.2393 0.057 0.21
Marketing Performance .4063 .6723 0.45 -.7161 -.5866 0.344 0.80
Financial Performance .3490 .5949 0.36 -.2359 -.2732 0.079 0.45
Productivity .6095 .8024 0.64 .8385 .5777 0.334 0.98
RC2 67.67 39.24
Confidence and Risk Taking .0136 .3064 0.09 -.4357 -.4817 0.232 0.33
Behavior
Collective Action and .4634 .8143 0.66 -.7732 -.5082 0.258 0.92
Cooperation
Readiness to change and .4377 .8294 0.69 .3459 .1205 0.015 0.70
Innovative
Drive and Administrative Skills .0323 .4237 0.18 .1137 .3606 0.130 0.31
Visionary and Profit Oriented .3524 .6861 0.47 .6238 .5042 0.254 0.72
Note. Structure coefficients (rs ) greater than |.45| are underlined. Communality coefficients (h2)
greater than 45% are underlined. Coef .= standardized canonical function coefficient; rs =
structure coefficient; rs2= squared structure coefficient; h2 = communality coefficient.
Table 3 presents the standardized canonical function coefficients and structure

coefficients for function 1 and 2. The squared structure coefficients (rs2) and the communalities
(h2) are also given for the two functions and each variable. Function 1 reported a canonical
correlation of 0.67 between two sets of variables. In terms of original variables importance in
predicting the identified canonical correlation (rs> 0.45), "Marketing Performance", "Financial
Performance" and "Productivity" were found that positively contribute to the canonical
correlation. In the first dependent variate, the three variables have loadings equal to or
exceeding 0.59, indicating a strong degree of inter correlation among the three variables,
suggesting that all three measures are strongly representative of farm level performance of small
scale banana farmers. However, the ranking of the average share of canonical loading indicates
that productivity, marketing performance and financial performance are the best indicators of
farm level performance.
In function 1, set of independent variates display positive loadings, ranging from 0. 3064
to 0.8294 The extraction of the variates in canonical correlation is to maximize the predictive
objectives, so it is not surprising that the three variables with the highest loading are "Collective
action and cooperation" (0.8143), "Readiness to change and innovative" (0.8294) and "Visionary
and profit oriented "(0.6861), are the variables that contribute most to farm level performance of
the framers. However, "Drive and administrative skills" (0.4237) and Confidence and "Risk
24
taking behavior" (0.3064) also represents considerable amount of the observed variation in farm
level performance of the framers.
Moving to Function 2, the coefficients in Table 3 display quite a different pattern,

"Marketing performance" was found to be the one that strongly contributes to the canonical
correlation (-.5866) even though it was inversely related and Productivity variable (.5777) also has
some predictive power. According to this function, "Collective Action and Cooperation" skills (-
.4817) was the dominant predictor alone with a negative coefficient for "Confidence and Risk
Taking Behavior"(-.4817). It can also be seen that "Collective action and cooperation" skills were
positively related for "Visionary and profit oriented" (.5042) skills of the farmers.
Conclusion
The aim of the study was to examine how far the entrepreneurial skills of banana farmers are
associated with the farmer performance factors. The study recognized that collective action and
cooperation, readiness to change and innovativeness, and visionary and profit oriented nature
have a significant association with the farmer performance factors. It also identified that the
marketing performance, financial performance and productivity were the main contributors of
the performance of the banana farmers.
The association between variables shows that collective action and cooperation, readiness
to change and innovativeness and visionary and profit oriented are significant policy variables
that can raise the marketing performance and financial performance and the productivity in
banana farming. Among the relationships which have been revealed from the analysis, it shows
that the strongest is the relationship between collective action and cooperation, readiness to
change and innovativeness and the farm productivity. As such, it can be suggested to strengthen
the farmers with these skills so that nearly all economic performance variables are positively
directed.
It is also interesting to see that confidence and risk taking behavior of farmers have a
negative relationship with the productivity. The farmers who take the risk of planting banana
during severe droughts may face such a low productivity problem.
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p-ISSN: 1694-2620
e-ISSN: 1694-2639
Effects of single parenting on students academic

performance: A case study at Amamoma Presbyterian
junior high school
Simon Ntumi, Felix Larbi & Linda Adjeibea Yirenkyi

Department of Educational Foundations
College of Education Studies
University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Abstract
The phenomenon of single parenting is a social problem in various countries in the world today.
It has become a global concern which deprives many school children the opportunity to attain
academic excellence in their lives and excellent labour factor for national productivity and
progress. The objective of the study was to determine the effects of single parenting on the
academic performance among the students of Amamoma Presbyterian Junior High School in the
Cape Coast Metropolis. The study aimed to contribute to knowledge by shedding light on the
effect of single-parenting on the academic performance of students. The study again aimed to
come out with evidence that will generate enough data for teachers, social workers, counsellors,
psychologists and parents on the effects of single parenting on students academic performance.
To accomplish this, the researchers employed descriptive survey as the research design. The
study sample consisted of 47 students who were identified to be living under single parents. The
instrument used for data collection was solely questionnaires. The key findings of the study
revealed that, a larger percentage of the respondents are sometimes depressed and not
emotionally sound and this makes them feel uncomfortable in their academic pursuit. Again, the
results of the study showed that single parents do not regularly monitor and supervise the
academic progress of their wards and in effect, these children are normally not provided with the
necessary learning materials to aid their learning. It was concluded that single parenting is a social
cancer in Amamoma Presbyterian Junior High and its leads to poor academic performance.
Based on the findings, the researchers recommended that parents should be educated on the
effects of single parenting on their wards academic performance through workshops, seminars
and the mass media. This will help them to be more responsible towards their children
education.
Keywords: Parents, Parenting, Single Parenting, Academic Performance, Ghana
Introduction
Background to the study
It is evident that parents are the first point of contact of children and when both parents are alive
and responsible, it implies that the child would derive effective care from the parents (Tan-
Kuick, & Ng, 2011). They further asserted that, when one of the parent is absent in the life of a
child a gap is created as the child would lose the support from the parents. In the view of Addo-
Adeku, Opare and Banini (2003), it has been affirmed that single parenting comes as a results of
divorce or from the death of one spouse which leaves the roles of child rearing in the hands of a
one parent. In the work of Benokraitis (2002), there is enough evidence that the magnitudes of
parental divorce is different from others and are mostly depends on a lot of factors. He further
argues that the absence of one parent has serious effects on the child which eventually influences
the educational opportunities and success of the child in school. The above ascensions show that
single parenting can have effects on children in diverse ways for example academic performance
of children. Parents plays a major role in educating their children and the type of parenting they
offer to their children have the ability to influence their thinking and learning abilities at the
formative years of children (Sulaiman, 2012).
It appears that, there is relationship between parenting and students academic performance.
That is, single parenting can affect students performance. It is against this backdrop that Addae-
Boahene and Akorful (2000), Boardman and Evans (2000) and Nyarko (2011) in their study
believed that in order to help alleviate the problems that plague in educational system today, the
right parenting should be given to children so as to help raise the standard of quality education.
To them, parenting is crucial in developing the right human resources who can take part in the
national development. If the childs cognition may develop positively or negatively and affect
educational attainment, it is based largely on the type of parental care the child is given.
In Ghana, not until recently, most studies were concentrated on the impact of community
participation and its involvement in school activities and how it can influence on students
academic performance. Most studies were not recognising the significant impact of parenting on
students academic attainment (Addae-Boahene & Akorful, 2000; Boardman & Evans, 2000;
Nyarko, 2011).
Statement of the problem
The falling standards of education in Ghana today can be attributed to many factors. The
government of Ghana and other concern cooperate bodies have tried to put many strategies and
policies in place to help solve these problems through a number of educational reforms. The
government is still spending huge sums of resources to help in improving these educational
problems and challenges that plague in our educational system. However, statistics still gives
evidence that these problems are still within the Ghanaian educational system which has
reflected poor performances among students most especially at the basic schools level.
According to Nyarko (2011), he attributed the falling standard of education in Ghana to of lack
of parental involvement in their wards education. He further asserted that lack of parental
supervision and monitoring also leads to poor academic performance among students. This
situation is quite evident in the Cape Coast Metropolis where majority of children are not been
supervised and monitored due to the fact that they are living under single parents. This therefore
gives the researchers the impetus to conduct an empirical study to find out the effect of single
parenting on students academic performance at Amamoma Presbyterian Junior High School in
the Cape Coast Metropolis.
Purpose of the study
The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of single parenting on the academic
performance among the students of Amamoma Presbyterian Junior High School in the Cape
Coast Metropolis. The purpose of study was also to come out with the extent to which single
parenting has affected the academic performance of students. This will help contribute to
knowledge by shedding light on the effects of single parenting. The study again aimed to
generate enough data for teachers, workers, counsellors, psychologists social and parents who are
concerned with the care and welfare of the basic school students on the issue of single
parenting.
Research Questions
1. What are the attitudes of students towards of living under single parents?
2. What are the effects of single parent on students academic performance?
Review of Related Literature

Single parenting and its effects on academic performances of students
Conducted studies on effects of single parenting gives ample evidence that single parenting
generates a lot of effects on the well-being of the students living under such conditions. Hilton
and Desrochers (2002) posits that the parents psychological that occurs in children after a
divorce has a direct effect on their well-being. Undeniably, all parents want their children to do
well at school, but not all parents are willing in putting strategies in place to facilitating the
success and progress of their children (Nelson, 2009). Adolescents and young adults need
educational assistants from their families, especially with their immediate parents to be able to
succeed in their higher education and their life as well. Tope (2012) pointed out that, because of
the impact that single parenting has on the development of childrens personality traits, as well as
social and academic achievements, it is necessary and worthwhile that it should be given the
needed attention.
Similarly, Jacobs and Harvey (2005) indicated in their study that single parenting serves as one of
the major contributors to students academic attainment in schools. They further established that
most children under the guidance of single parents are seriously affected in the pursuit of their
educational career as they grow. According to them, these effects comes most of the time from
the single mother or father who does not have adequate resources to support their childrens
educational enterprise. Clark and Hamplova (2013) found out that most children under the
supervision of single parenting lose concentration of their academics. The above ample evidence
in literature insinuates that single parenting is correlated with childrens school achievement.
Inconsistency and poor parenting given to children are correlated with lower grades in children
performance.
Tope (2012) again, reported that recognising the impacts of education in the world today, it is
very imperative that parents are encouraged and motivated to make positive efforts to ensure an
active involvement and participation in the education of their wards so as to provide their
children with the capacity to receive all the necessary assistants in their education. Tope further
indicated that although students are primarily the ones for whom curricula are designed,
textbooks are written, and schools are built for. However, parents are chiefly the ones who are
held responsible for preparing their children for learning, preparing them physically,
psychologically, behaviourally, attitudinally, emotionally, and motivationally. From the assertions
of Tope it therefore means that without the appropriate parenting children are more likely to
perform poorly in school especially at their formative years of age.
Many studies have documented the challenges faced by children living under single parents and
its d sized effects on their performance. Even though, some of these studies have been
unconvincing, a majority of them reviewed show that children from single-parent homes score
lower on tests items in their class, poor thinking abilities and eventually complete fewer years of
school as compared to children from two-parent homes (Glasgow, Dornbusch, Troyer,
Steinberg, & Ritter, 2004).
In a study conducted by Kim (2004), it was pointed out that parental involvement in the school
environment appears greater because most parents engaged themselves in some school activities
such as Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA). Some also spends enough time to discuss the
potentials of their children, others parents discuss school work and make sure that their children
do their exercises, homework, projects. The results further showed that responsible couples are
more likely to involve in their childrens education than single parent.
In another research conducted by Clarke-Stewart, Vandell, McCartney, Owen and Booth (2000),
the findings revealed that parental involvement is positively associated with students academic
performance in school but students will turn to perform poorly when their parents are not much
involved in their education. In a related way, Donkor (2010) in his study indicated that lack of
proper supervision and monitoring of their wards progress in schools leads to poor performance
of their children. He further expanded that parents who actively engage themselves in the
academic activities of their children, are most likely to have a positive influence on their
academic performance.
According to Berk (2000), the differences in academic performance of children will exist when
children living under single parents are provided with the need academic as compare to children
who enjoy all the academic benefits. Berk further explained that in two parents homes, both the
parents have a significant role to play in childs education lifetime. The role of the father is to
give the necessary learning aids for the child educational advancement, whilst the mother is to
serve as a supplement to the father's efforts in order to give the best to the child. Kelly and
Emery (2003) in their study examined the effects of family structure and parenthood on the
academic performance of students. They pointed out that students from single sometimes
perform poorly due to the fact that they do not get external support from the parents.
Methodology
Research Design
The research design adopted for the study was descriptive survey. The descriptive survey design
was employed or deemed appropriate because the study sought to collect data from students on
their attitudes towards single parenting and the effects of single parenting on their studies
through the use of questionnaire.
Sample and sampling procedure
Forty seven (47) students living under single parenting at the Amamoma Presbyterian Junior
High School were identified and considered for the study. Purposive sampling was used in
selecting participants in the school. The rationale for using this sampling technique in selecting
the participants was informed by the fact that the respondents constitute the core subject for the
study. Besides, they are the students who possess the appropriate information for the study.
Instrument
The instrument that was used for the data collection was solely questionnaire. Care was therefore
taken to ensure that the questions were clear and unambiguous and easy for the students to
understand and respond accurately.
Data Collection
The questionnaires were self-administered. Items in the questionnaire were thoroughly explained
to the students before they were made to provide responses to the items. This ensured clarity
and accuracy of the responses. The questionnaire was administered and collected the same day.
This was to ensure 100% return rate. Basically, data gathered in the study were analysed
descriptively (using tables, frequencies and percentages). The results of the findings were then
interpreted.
Data Analysis
Demographic Data
Table 1 shows the gender distribution of the respondents involved in the study. Gender is an
important social, cultural and psychological construct which describes the expected attitudes and
behaviours a society associates with sex.
Table 1. Demographic Data (N=47)
S/N Demographic of respondent N (%)
1. Gender - Male 35 (74.5)
- Female 12 (25.5)
2. Age -10-12 yrs. 13 (27.7)
-13-15 yrs. 18 (38.3)
-16-18 yrs. 16 (34.0)
3. Grade/Class - JHS 1 11 (23.4)
- JHS 2 23 (48.9)
- JHS 3 13 (27.7)
Key: N- Number of respondent. %- Percentage.
Source: Authors Survey, November, 2015
Table 1 represents the demographic data of students living under single parents who participated
in the study and their corresponding percentages. From the table, it is indicated that 35 (74.5%)
were males, 12 (25.5%) were females. The table further shows that between the ages of 10- 12
there were 13 (27.7%) of the respondents. 18 (38.3%) of them fell within the ages of 13-15 and
16 (34.0%) were between the ages of 16-18 yrs. with respect to their grades or class, 11 (23.4%)
were in JHS 1, 23 (48.9%) were also in JHS 2 whilst 13 (27.7%) were in JHS 3.
Research question 1.
What are the attitudes of students towards single parenting?
The objective of this research question was to find out the attitudes of students towards single
parenting. The results are presented in Table 2.
Table 2: The attitudes of students towards single parenting (N=47)
Statements Yes No Total

N % N % N %
1. Do you feel depressed living
under a single parent? 39 82.9 8 17.0 47 100
2. Do you like to be taken care of
by one parent? 3 6.30 44 93.6 47 100
3. Are you emotionally disturbed
living under a single parent? 42 89.3 5 10.5 47 100
4. Do you like the conditions of
living with one parent? 4 8.50 43 91.5 47 100
Key: N- Number of respondents, %- Percentage.

From the above table, it is revealed that 39 (82.9%) respondents confirmed that they feel
depressed living under a single parent. 8 (17.0%) students also responded that they do not feel
depressed living under a single parent. The table again shows that 44 (93.6%) students responded
that they do not like being taken care of by one parent. 3 (6.3%) students also responded that
they like to be taken care of by one parent. It is again evident from the table that 42 (89.3%)
students feel emotionally disturbed living under a single parent whereas 5 (10.6%) students are
not emotionally disturbed living under a single parent. Finally from the table 43 (91.5%)
indicated that they do not like the conditions of living with one parents and 4 (8.5%) said they
like the conditions of living with one parent.
Research question 2.
The effects of single parenting on students

The objective of this research question was to investigate and find out the effects of single
parenting on students. The results are presented in Table 3 below
Table 3.The effects of single parenting on students academic performance (N=47)
S/ Statements Yes % No %
N
1 Are you provided with enough learning materials at home to 3 6.30 44 93.6
aid your studies?
2 Does your parent pay your school fees regularly? 8 17.0 39 82.9
3 Does your parent get time to attend school meetings such as 13 27.6 34 72.3
PTA?
4 Does your parent assist you in doing your homework? 4 8.50 43 91.4
5 Does your parent monitor and supervise the progress of your 10 21.2 37 78.7
academic?
6 Are you made to be engaged in any commercial activities 29 61.7 18 38.2
such as selling, fishing to support your education?
7 Does your parent involve you in some co-curricular activities 12 25.5 35 74.4
such as excursions?
8 Do you partake in extra classes in the school? 11 23.4 36 76.5
9 Are you given enough feeding money when going to school? 7 14.8 40 85.1
10 Does your parent regularly buy your school uniform? 14 29.7 33 70.2
Key: N- Number of respondents. %- Percentage.
From the above table, it is shown that, 44 (93.6%) students answered that they are not provided
with enough learning materials at home to aid your studies. Only 3 (6.3%) of them answered that
they are provided with enough learning materials at home to aid your studies even though they
live under single parent. Again, 39 (82.9%) of the students agreed that their parent does not pay
their school fees regularly. Eight (17.0%) agreed that their parent pay their school fees regularly.
Thirty four (72.3%) admitted that their parent does not get time to attend school meetings such
as PTA. Thirteen (27.6%) admitted that their parent gets time to attend school meetings such as
PTA. 43 (91.4%) said that their parent does not assist them in doing your homework. Only 4
(8.5%) agreed that their parent assists them in doing their homework. Thirty seven (78.7%) of
the students responded that their parent does not monitor and supervise their progress in
academics whiles 10 (21.1%) answered that their parent monitors and supervises their progress
in academics. Twenty nine (61.7%) admitted that they are made to engage in some commercial
activities such as selling and fishing to support their education. Eighteen (38.2%) answered that
are not made to engage in some commercial activities such as selling and fishing to support their
education. Thirty five (74.4%) agreed that due to lack of financial support, their parent does not
involve them in some co-curricular activities such as excursions. Only 12 (25.5%) students said
their parents involve them in some co-curricular activities. The table still show that 36 (76.5%)
agreed that they do not partake in extra classes in the school. A minimum of 11 (23.4%) students
said that they partake in extra classes in the school. A large population of the respondents, that
is, 40 (85.1%) agreed that they are not given enough feeding money when going to school. A few
of them, that is, 7 (14.8%) agreed that they are given enough feeding money when going to
school. Finally, 33 (70.2%) said their parent does not buy their school uniform regularly whereas
14 (29.7%) agreed that their parent buys their school uniform regularly even though they are
living under single parent.
Results and Discussions
The first research question was to explore the attitudes of students towards single parenting.
Considering the nature of single parenting in Amamoma Junior High School and its effects on
students reactions and attitudes, it is not surprising for one to realised that the key findings of
the study gave evidence that majority of the students living under single parent have negative
attitudes and reactions towards single parenting. It was affirmed that students living under single
parent care are mostly depressed and emotionally not sound in their educational endeavours,
making them reluctant towards their academic progress and subsequently they perform poorly as
compared to their peers living under double parents. The findings of the study is parallel to the
study of Berk (2000) that, differences in academic performance of children exist when those
living under single parents are emotionally disturbed and cannot cope with their learning and
usually perform worse than from two parent families. That notwithstanding, Kelly and Emery
(2003) in their study which examined the effects of family structure and parenthood on the
academic performance of students, agreed with this study that children living under single
parents are less privileged to most of the parental care and are less likely to perform well in
schools.
The second research question was also to investigate the effects of single parenting on students
academic performance. The findings of the study revealed that most children living under single
parents are challenged with a lot of factors that retards their academic pursuit. Noticeable ones
among them is that, majority of students living under single parents are not provided with
teaching and learning materials to aid in their learning. The results of the study further shows
that single parents do not have enough time to monitor and supervise their childrens academic
performance. A large percentage of the sampled students for study confirmed that their parents
do not assist them in doing their homework. The overall findings was that single parenting affect
students expectation thus leading to loss of control and responsiveness toward the academics
and this eventually affect the childs academic outcome at all levels of education. This postulate
to the idea that students struggling to pursue their education do not get any external assistance.
The findings of the study lends support the work of Donkor (2010) who indicated that, the poor
performance of children living under single parents emanates from the parents. To him, these
parents do not provide proper supervision and monitoring of their wards academic progress.
The findings of the study is also in relation to the study of Clarke-Stewart, Vandell, McCartney,
Owen and Booth (2000) who revealed that parental involvement is positively associated with
students academic performance in school but students will turn to perform poorly when their
parents are not much involved in their education.
Conclusions, Recommendations and Implications of the Study

Considering the findings of the study, it can be concluded that the effects of single parenting on
students academic performance in Amamoma Presbyterian Junior High is quite severe and
eventually leads to their poor academic performance. The study produced real evidence which
can be concluded that students living under single parents feel depressed and are emotionally not
sound and this makes them feel uncomfortable in their learning. It can also be drawn from the
study that academic performance and single parenting are negatively related; hence the more the
cases of parents being unconcerned about their childrens education, the poorer the academic
performance of their children in school.
Based on the findings, the following recommendations are hereby made. Firstly, teachers of
these students should transcend beyond teaching and imparting knowledge but also by going a
step to offering counselling, encouragement and sharing personal experiences that will go a long
way to motivate them to excel in their education. Secondly, all the concerned bodies within the
school community such as Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), TeacherParent
Associations (PTA), Counsellors, Psychologist, Commission for Human Right and Justice
(CHRAJ) must help in educating parents about the effects of single parenting on their wards
academic performance through workshops, seminars and the mass media. This will help them to
be responsible towards their childrens education and also provide the needed support necessary
for their wards to achieve academic success.
For the implications of the study, the findings of the study has academic, parenting and
educational impact as it would help in educational policy making. This will help them to come
out with polices that will make parents aware about the impact of their parenting on their
childrens performance. The study would again help educators such as teachers, care givers and
school administrators to educate parents on the need of their involvements in the childrens
education. This will help to gather the right support from parents towards their childrens
education in order to improve the educational knacks of students and advance the standard of
education in the country.The study has also generated data for teachers, social workers,
counsellors, psychologists and parents who are concerned with the care and welfare of children
and this will them to come out with policies that will assist children living under single parents to
excel in their education.
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p-ISSN: 1694-2620
e-ISSN: 1694-2639
Hidden curriculum: Does it matter in a Ghanaian school

setting
Edmund Selorm Sosu

Department of Arts & Social Sciences Education,
University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
edmundsosu@gmail.com
Abstract
Preferably, the focus of every school curriculum should be a complete merger between the
formal (written) and hidden (unwritten) curriculum. But as it is, scholars and concerned citizens
assert whether the hidden curriculum should be of concern in a schools setting, which
presupposes that the formal curriculum is considered paramount to the hidden curriculum. This
paper, therefore examines whether the hidden curriculum should be given premium in a school
settings. The interpretative phenomenological research design was employed. Qualitative data
were obtained by way of interviews with nine (9) teachers. Results reveals that the hidden
curriculum elements that prevails in school settings fall in the area of teacher demeanor, teacher
choice of language and teacher teaching method. The initiation of total development and
assimilation of social values are considered as the essence of the hidden curriculum in schools. In
all, the findings indicate that the hidden curriculum matters in school setting. It is therefore
suggested that teachers see the hidden curriculum as another medium to teach students
unknowingly. Furthermore, teachers and administrators should be cautious in their choice of
words in their quest of communication, having it in mind that, their words create reality for
students.
Keywords: Hidden curriculum; School setting; Teachers.
Introduction
Education as said by R.S. Peters is the initiation of an individual into an intrinsically worthwhile
activity (cited in Kelly, 2004, p.47). By implication, education is to transform and expose learners
into a spacious community that thrives on morals and ignore amoral acts. To this end, education
functions as a threshold of values present and not presents to be conveyed to coming
generations so as to be abreast with certainty in their society (Yksel, 2006). In this era of
modernization, education serves as a medium of bringing character formation in students which
teachers, who are seen as agents of the change, are supposed to acknowledge the ethical
complexities attach to their profession since they impact on their students morally (Dally &
Toomey, 2011; Sanger & Osguthorpe, 2005; Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2011, Zuhal, 2012). To
Narvaez and Lapsley (in press), teachers impact values on their students in the practices they
engage their students in, that is, insisting on correct response form students; encouraging
students to seek the truth of a matter; establishing classroom routines, enforcing discipline
among student and finally, encouraging excellence in students actions which at the end foster a
degree of development in students.
With this in mind, the development of students with a formal curriculum should be in
balance with the social and cultural aspects of any school, which in this place is the second
curriculum or hidden curriculum so as to ensure a holistic development of students (Zuhal,
2012). Currently, the development of students in the education enterprise is seen as a formalized
standardized intellectual activity (Sager, 2013). To this end, the focus of education is placing of
much premium on content such as history and social studies at the expense of the other
components unconsciously taught in schools. These unconscious components which is in this
case are called hidden curriculum encompasses behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge that are
communicated without conscious intent, and it is also represented by accumulation of values
communicated indirectly, through actions and words that are part of everyday life in a school
(Dickerson, 2007; Wear, 2009).
The missionized statements of formal schools today are all geared towards transforming and
shaping learners to become fitting members in a worthwhile society through the school (Ghosh,
2008; Marsh, 1997; Stone, 2005). As a society, schools are expected to enforce or de-emphasize
behaviors and attitudes demonstrated by students through its systems. According to Meighan
(1981), these systems are not much given attention compared to the operational school
curriculum. Could it be that teachers and administrator do not place premium on the hidden
curriculum systems in their schools, since on a different pedestal, scholars and educationists
continues to contend that schools should focus on higher learning through stipulations in the
formal curriculum at the expense of the hidden curriculum (Blumberg & Blumberg, 1994;
Dickerson, 2007, Kimberlee, 2013). Informed by these contentions, this paper embarked on an
interpretative phenomenological approach in explaining teachers positions as whether the
hidden curriculum is of essence in a Ghanaian school setting. Specifically, the following
questions were addressed in this study:
1. What are teachers perceptions on the hidden curriculum element that transpire in their
schools?
2. What are teachers positions on the essence of the hidden curriculum in a school?
Theoretical Grounding
Hidden curriculum conceptions have been looked at by different scholars from different lenses
(Kentli, 2009; Ruff, 2013; Sager, 2013). To Apple (1993), the hidden curriculum aspect in a
school serves as reinforcement to basic rules circling the nature of conflict in schools. With this,
it brings to light plausible boundaries that students are expected to internalized in their daily
activities. From an explicit end, the hidden curriculum talks about the rules and regulations that
students are expected to adhere to in a school so as to avoid the situation of coming into conflict
with school authorities. Hence in the words of Durkheim (1961):
there is a whole system of rules in the school that predetermine the childs conduct. He must come to class
regularly; he must arrive at a specified time and with an appropriate bearing and attitude. He must not
disrupt things in class. He must have learned his lessons, done his homework, and have done so
reasonably well, etc. There are, therefore, a host of obligations that the child is required to shoulder.
Together they constitute the discipline of the school. It is through the practice of school discipline that we
can inculcate the spirit of discipline in the child. (p.148)
In the works of Philip Jackson (cited in Kentli, 2009), the features of the hidden
curriculum are manifested in the classroom life which are inherent in schools social relations. By
this , the values, dispositions and socio-behavioral expectation that bring reward to students in
the classroom situations are features of the hidden curriculum, which are seen as learning to wait
quietly, exercising restraints, completing work, partaking in group work, showing allegiance to
both teachers and peers, being neat and punctual, and conducting oneself courteously. Thus, the
essence of the features is to construct worthwhile and meaningful pattern of judging behaviours
that transpires in classroom. This, according to Livesey (2006), will also thrive on social
consensus that involves the use of a commonly accepted norms, values, and beliefs. Parallel to
the latter, Bloom (2006) introduces the assumptions underpinning the hidden curriculum in the
light of schooling and learning. To Bloom (2006) learners demonstrate of knowledge of learning
that a teacher is in control or is the center of attention when a teacher teaches in front of a class
which, to a degree, inform students that the teacher is the center of attention in the class. Also,
to him, the value deduced form of a particular topic is communicated in respect to the time
spent on the topic, the tone of voice, and lastly how the topic is treated e.g. highlighted or
trivialized. Hence, these components on the large extent communicate effectively and have
impact on teaching and learning in classroom.
Kern (2007) argues that the hidden curriculum operate under the values within a school
and a classroom. The values to him are inherent in the disciplinary measures, the stated goals,
and also the communication between the school, the community, and the daily schedules on the
school time table and duration for class instruction (Moroye, 2009). Thus, the inherent
dispositions carried on by teachers coupled with stated classroom rules, guidelines and goals all
carry the message of the hidden curriculum (Ruff, 2013). To Sheikhzade (2011), the hidden
curriculum also consists of implicit messages in the socio-educational atmosphere of a school
which results in impact on the behavior interaction between teacher and student and school
environment at large.
Review of Literature
Studies conducted on variables relating on the concept of hidden curriculum are overwhelming,
but to these studies, only a few scholars outside Ghana have delved into teachers perspectives on
the hidden curriculum in formalized schools (Booher-Jennings,2008; Lea & Griggs,2005). By
definition Vang (2006) postulates that hidden curriculum are instructional norms and values not
openly acknowledged by teachers or school officials but form part of the elements in a school
context. To Sambell and McDowel (1998), hidden curriculum are an opposite metaphor to
describe the shadowy, ill-defined and amorphous nature of that which is implicit and embedded
in contrast with the formal statements about curricula and the surface features of educational
interaction(p. 391). In other words, hidden curriculum is seen as various elements in school
climates that produce changes in students values, norms, and perceptions but are not written in
any official document. In conformity to the latter, Kelly (2004) categorically postulate that
hidden curriculum refer to:
those things which pupils learn at school because of the way in which the work of the school is planned
and organized, and through the materials provided, but which are not in themselves overtly included in the
planning or even in the consciousness of those responsible for the school arrangements.(p.5).
In a study conducted by Kohlberg (1981, 1983), it was established that hidden curriculum
exert pressure on the moral development of students in schools. By this, Kohlberg (1981, 1983)
indicated that the aspect of been discipline in a classroom and avoiding certain amoral act like
cheating are values that are catered for by the hidden curriculum and for that matter policy
makers should have in mind that formal curriculum cannot curtail the problems faced by
societies without the help of the hidden curriculum. In view of this, Eisner(1985) claim that the
other aspect not taught by the formal curriculum is of educational significant and in his own
words he says that
what is not taught may be as educationally significant as what is taught: I argue this position because
ignorance is not simply a neutral void; it has important effects on the kinds of options one is able to
consider, the alternatives one can examine, and the perspectives from which one can view a situation or
problem ( p. 97).
In effect, Eisner (1985) asserts that hidden curriculum is of importance and complete ignorance
of it would jeopardize those unconcern. This then means that constituents of it should be
recognized which to Glatthorn and Jailall (2009) fall under the activities carried out by teachers
and administrators namely: time allocation for a subject, space allocation for a subject, student
discipline, physical appearance, student activity programs and communication which to a degree
produces constant variables that bring changes in learners in school environment.
In a study conducted by Vajargah and Choukadeh (2006), it was revealed that the hidden
curriculum brings to the awareness of students certain skills and viewpoints such as respect,
tolerance, honesty, patriotism, democracy, obligation and responsibleness. These awareness
creations imbibe in students virtues expected of them as members of societies.
Similarly, a study carried out by Hashemi et.al. (2011) also established that hidden
curriculum has positive and negative effects on the education of students. To him the
irresponsibleness of students to societal ills is as a result of the learning situations they are expose
to in the school environment. Thus, students learning to communicate and work collaboratively
prepares their personality to be stronger, effective, and helpful for society.
Methodology
The study is grounded on the qualitative approach. The choice of the qualitative approach
according to Curry, Nembhard and Bradley (2009) is to investigate comprehensively complex
phenomena that are difficult to measure quantitatively. In accordance with this viewpoint, the
interpretative phenomenological approach was used to explore participant conception and
perception of their experience about the phenomenon under study (Smith & Osborn, 2007).
This approach was adopted on the grounds that there was the need for an insider perspective of
phenomenon to be examined (Conrad, 1987). The approach was also considered on the assertion
made by Miles and Huberman (cited in Oppong, 2014, p. 154) that it is fundamentally well
suited for locating the meanings people place on the events, process and structures of their
lives. The purposive sampling was considered for the study. This according to Welman and
Kruger (1999) is the most important kind of non-probability sampling that helps the researcher
to identify the primary participants and also for the purpose of the study to look for people who
have experienced the phenomenon to be researched. To Oliver (2006), the choice of the
techniques is also based on the premise that participants have special knowledge of the research
issues and are willing to participate in the research. In all, a sample size of nine (9) teachers was
used. This, according to Boyd (2001), in phenomenological research two (2) to ten (10)
respondents are sufficient to reach saturation. An informal conversational interview was used for
the study (Turner, 2010). This according to Gall and Borg (2003) is a type of interview which is
purported entirely on the spontaneous generation of questions in a natural interaction,
typically one that occurs as part of ongoing participant observation fieldwork (p. 239). The
responses solicited were sorted into categories and were analyzed thematically so as to put
respondents views into perspectives (Marais & Meier, 2004).
Results and Discussions

Teachers perceptions on hidden curriculum element that transpire in their schools
The study basically embarks on a search to elicit information from teachers on their views on the
hidden curriculum and its relevance in schools. On this premise, research question one solicited
the responses of teachers on their perception of the hidden curriculum element in their school.
Under this section, respondents views were categorized under the following heading: teacher
demeanor; teacher choice of language, and lastly, teacher-teaching method.
From the interviews conducted, interviewees responses on the hidden curriculum on teacher
demeanor were unanimous. The respondents opined that in their own view they succumb to the
idea they are in school to teach and learn respectively as prescribed by the formal curriculum,
however, the way they are to conduct themselves in the school vicinity is not explicitly stated in
the school rules. For that matter, they take cognizance of what they deem fit and apt for the
school environment put up best conduct. The response of the teachers captures this clearly:
The dressing of a teachers forms part of the hidden curriculum. Although it is not stated explicitly the
dress a teacher is supposed to wear, if as a teacher I do not dress well it would have a negative effect on my
students behavior (Respondent TH, November 13, 2015).
Another respondent remarked that:
the dress I bring to school are normal that my students will be proud of since I dress modestly and I
expect them to learn from me even though the unwritten curriculum does prescribe so (Respondent
TE, November 14, 2015).
In a follow-up to probe the reasons why these teachers assert that the their conduct in terms of
their dress forms an element in the hidden curriculum and why they dress as such, one of the
respondents asserted that since the hidden curriculum is a curriculum that focuses on elements
not explicitly taught or formalized in school instruction, they do their best to also teach their
student how to dress by demonstrating it themselves. Another respondent indicated:
If perhaps I dress shabbily it will inform my students that I am not a serious teacher, if really want to
make an impact on my students learning Ive to dress well so as to create the serene environment that
foster discipline and respect in my class Also for learning to be possible there is the need for connection
between the teacher, subject matter and the learner, the teacher carries the subject matter and if a teacher
does not present himself well he/she should not expect his students to take him serious in his teaching.
(Respondent TX, November 14, 2015).
These responses indicate that teachers perceive their conduct in terms of what they dress and
how they dress as profound element forming part of the components of the hidden curriculum
transpiring in their school. It can be inferred that teachers have positive regard for their student
learning outcomes but whenever they are planning to teach the planned instruction, they also
factor the unplanned instruction that is- how their dress would compel students to take their
lesson serious. As rightly said teachers are compelled to put up a positive impression before their
students because they have their students in mind and yearn for them to learn from them as
exemplars. Hence, as said by Kenner and McCune (2002) and Glatthorn and Jailall (2009)
teachers appearances form part of the hidden curriculum and have effect on classroom
atmosphere. The effect is brought forth as a result of teachers dressing professionally which on
the one hand influences students impression and the course of teaching. This is in conformity to
Barocas and Karoly (1972) studies which posited that teachers dress create an impression that
will have an effect on students through time. Thus, teachers demeanor on how they dress to
school exert an amount of influence on students learning which transpires unconsciously
through to the behaviours exhibited by students in all facet of their life, that is socially,
economically and politically which last permanently in their minds.
With regards to how languages used by teachers form an element or component of a

hidden curriculum, participants responses were unanimous. The respondents remarked that the
choice of words a teacher uses in his language construction and how he goes about it is a vital
component of the hidden curriculum. This is evident in the submission of one of the
respondents who remarked that:
the way a teacher talks in the class forms part of the hidden curriculumchildren (students) learn
most lessons through observation than through any other medium, so if they observe a teacher for instance
talking in a particular manner which is not ethical or does not encourage societal values, students will
learn from that (Respondent TH, November 13, 2015)
In another response a participant remarked:
the choice of language a teacher use in classrooms forms part of the hidden curriculuminsulting
students in the course of trying to reinforce a positive behaviour whiles teaching does not fall in the purview
of the written curriculum but that of the hidden curriculum which even emphasis a positive reinforcement
in the form encouragement and not insult. (Respondent ES, November 15, 2015).
The responses show that participants are in consonance with the idea that the involuntary or
unconscious assertions carried out by teachers in classroom discussions form part of the hidden
curriculum. Also, teachers teach through well-rehearsed plans of instruction at which they talk
unconsciously to their students. These claims concord Taylors (2008) study which revealed that
unconscious lessons are often taught through language - not precisely through what is said but
the ways in which they are said of which instructors have to be vigilant of. In a hunt to probe
why respondents posit that teachers language form an element in the hidden curriculum, a
respondent asserted that:
if education is to train people to become morally fit for a society, then the language a teacher use should
be of the best, devoid of insults but sound judgment that depict and unearth the hidden values in society
which is to be taught by teachers through their action, especially their words(Respondent AN,
November 16, 2015).
From this, it is clear that participants are aware that the way and manner teachers words in
language emanate unconsciously form part of the hidden curriculum which manifests in students
actions consciously. Thus as said by Sager (2013), words do not always create reality for those
who speak it but the postures at which they are spoken unconsciously shape the view of the
people of the world (society).
On the issue of the art of teacher-teaching method falling under the domain of the
hidden curriculum that transpires in classroom setting, respondents undisputedly posited that
though the formalized curriculum stipulates the approach a teacher should use in teaching an
instruction, that notwithstanding, respondents assert that the formal curriculum to a degree
cannot be employed in all aspects of the teaching context. In consonance with their stance, a
respondent remarked:
my students are unique beings and sometimes when they are faced with problems, I do something
outside the formal curriculum by introducing some jokes in my lesson the jokes enlighten my classroom
and even release the stress and the emotional traumas my students bring to the classroom.
(Respondent LS, November 13, 2015).
Thus, teachers discretion on the choice of jokes as a method employed in teaching is influenced
by teachers intuition that learners are ill-prepared for learning because of their demeanor and for
that matter teachers go outside the prescribed curriculum to introduce the innovative aspects of
teaching so as to enliven a classroom setting. In furtherance, a participant asserted, when asked
why they sometimes pay heed to the use of jokes in class teaching:
if I decide to be strict and go by the formalize curriculum my students may be in the class but will not
participate fully in the class discussion. Thus in other to involve everyone and cater for their needs there is
the need to make the classroom lively which sometimes is catered for by jokes. (Respondent CH,
November 17, 2015).
The responses from the respondents show that teacher have much concern of the well-being of
their students at the expense of the formalized instruction they are to comply. In doing this, they
offset some of the duties expected of them in the classroom by introducing some intuitive
element apt to meet the needs of learners in a given context of teaching. With this in mind,
teachers show great deal of concern by going to the extent of demonstrating societal values
itching to the ears of students so as to ensure that they chip in to the learning process.
Teachers positions on the essence of hidden curriculum in a school
The second research question under this study sought to find out from teachers whether the
place of the hidden curriculum in the classroom aura is of relevance and whether the matter
should be of concern to appropriate stakeholders. Under this theme, balance in students
development and assimilation of social values were issues addressed by participants.
Information gathered from the interviews indicates that respondents asserted that the
bringing of balance in the total development of students makes the place of the hidden
curriculum in classroom learning relevant. By this, respondents are of the view that the hidden
curriculum caters for the aspect needed for the developments of students, which to a degree are
not prescribed by the formalized curriculum. To this a respondent remarked:
the hidden curriculum should be practiced alongside the written curriculum. This will help shape the
total developments of students. Also since we want the best for our students we should also consider given
premium to the hidden curriculum so as to ensure equilibrium in their development. (Respondent
CH, November 17, 2015).
This demonstrates that participant are bringing to light that the formal curriculum cannot
initiate a total development in students, that is cognitively, affectively and practically, morally,
socially or culturally. Thus, the place of the hidden curriculum is to cater for the moral, affective
or cultural aspects which to a lesser extent is most often neglected at the expense of the cognitive
base and practical base of learning. The role of the hidden curriculum is to replace and fill the
gap created by the cognitive and formalized curriculum. By this, the hidden curriculum replaces
the missing link in students learning that bring a complete balance in their development. These
assertions of the teachers concurs with Zuhal (2012 studies which established that social
developments of students are important as well as their cognitive development and the place of
social developments is the place given to a second curriculum that includes the social and
cultural features of a school which is referred to as the hidden curriculum. Thus, hidden
curriculum furnishes the feelings, attitudes and habits of students which is neglected by cognitive
base or formalized curriculum.
Away from the issue of development of students, respondents ones again unanimously
posited the need to consider the place of the hidden curriculum in school base on its role of
assimilation of societal values requisite for students in their society. With this, respondents
exemplified that the hidden curriculum should be of great concern in the school setting because
of its substitution role it plays on behalf of societal members and parents. In accordance to this
stance, respondents asserted that:
the hidden curriculum provides mediums by which students learn certain societal values expected of them
by society but unfortunately students today spend more time at schools at the expense of the societal values
and traditions they are to be taught at home. trying to remove the hidden curriculum (societal values)
from a school setting will create cultural lag among students leading to the graduation of students who
have no knowledge of societal values.(Respondent TK, November 13, 2015),
the school provides the atmosphere for students to be discipline in life and also learn essential values
admonished by society since they spent 90% of their time at school. (Respondent TH, November
13, 2015).
The response from the respondents indicate that the hidden curriculum is of great importance in
school setting because of the role it plays in inculcating moral and societal values expected to be
imparted by society and parents on learners to make them responsible members in alleviating
societal ills. However, with this flaw on the part of societal members and parents, schools ensure
learners are taught to be responsible through the values taught them so as to be problem solvers.
This, according to Hashemi, Fallahi, Aojinejad, and Samavi, (2011), responsible attitudes are
accrued through learning to communicate effectively and working collaboratively with colleagues
in a responsible manner. Their responsible attitude prepares them concerning the problems of
life and causes their personalities to be stronger so as to be effective and helpful in the society
they belong to.
Conclusion
The findings clearly inform that stakeholders in schools setting admit that hidden curriculum is
of great concern in the school environment. As seen in the study, the hidden curriculum has the
tendency of satisfying the unfinished role of the formalized curriculum by serving as supplement
for students total development. The hidden curriculum in school further acts in a shadowy
manner by taking up the role of instilling in students requisite values needful for survivor in any
thriving society. On the basis of what the hidden curriculum elements in school setting as
perceived by teachers, the curriculum is seen not only as non-empirical but as constructs
manifested in demeanors and conducts explicitly not prescribed by any formal documents. The
elements close and create lasting impact or impressions on students learning outcome.
Therefore, as note, students observe and emulate anything mounted by teachers since they
perceive them as role models and repertoires of knowledge in the school setting. In view of this,
the hidden curriculum is of relevance in school settings and for that matter stakeholders in
education should give due cognizance to its presence in schools.
Recommendations for Policy makers

Principals and administrators of various school should ensure that teachers conducts on how and
what to dress and structure language are stipulated in teachers conduct books so as to make
teachers more informed on what they do.
Principals and Administrators should encourage and reward teachers who demonstrate in
developing students holistically, that is, cognitive, affective and psychomotor.
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e-ISSN: 1694-2639
Which Causal Relationship Established the Effect of the

Control Technique Contraceptives
On Weight Gain Case Housewives Newlyweds.
Dr. Zerf Mohammed
Physical Education Institute Laboratory OPAPS
University of Mostaganem, Mostaganem 27000, Algeria
E-mail : biomeca.zerf@outlook.com
Abstract
Our objective in this modest study interest focus on the adverse effects of the contraceptive
control technique, where the exposure to the topic leads to divergent views in the judgments of
the Causal relationship, which established the Effect of the control technique contraceptives.
Whereas some medical clinical similar studies confirm that, the side effects of the pills
contraceptive consistently in weight gain and fatigue due to the adverse effects contraceptives on
weight body composition fat distribution in young women. Some sports medical studies confirm
that, their effects consisted in small changes in body weight and body composition associated
with the take of the contraceptives in women sport. Through the above, our 20 voluntaries
participants Samples were distributed into two groups homogeneous experimental conditions.
Basing on their average age 24 and five-test fitness. (G1: group1 take Pill and practice sport
with the G2: group2 do not take Pill and practice sport) as a condition experimental 1 and (G3:
group3 take Pill and do not practice sport with G4: group4 do not take Pill and do not practice
sport) as a condition experimental 2, for four cycles of ovum with same marital lifestyle. As a
statistical processing, we used the independent Samples T test, Paired T-test and correlation
Paired, Samples Test to confirm or reject the Causal relationship between the control technique
contraceptives and weight gain.
Base on the analyses statistics of the two conditions experimental chosen as an experimental plan
We confirm:
The proposed control technique Prevent pregnancy.
The pills contraceptive increase the Body Composition, which Decline the level of Body
Health fitness case condition experimental 2.
Sport decreased the Body fat and improved the level Body Health fitness case condition
experimental 1.
There is a strong positive relationship between control technique contraceptives and the
Body Composition where the technique contraceptive and lifestyle effect the level of the
body health fitness.
Keywords: birth control technique, Body Health Fitness, Housewives case Newlyweds.
Introduction
Discuss the human reproductive systems, we exposed to the ethical debates from birth control
to infertility (Kara Rogers, 2010). Where the history of Pill which returns at1960, we reveal that
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of oral hormonal contraceptive
agents for women according to (Howard I. Shapiro, 1988). Seeing its importance in the
prevention of pregnancy the pill become one of the most widely prescribed, drugs in history
based on the confirmations of (Sandra J. Judd, 2004), (Rachel Snow, Peter Hall, 2012) and
(Sirakov M, Tomova E. 2015). Whereas, the medical clinical similar studies signal that the
contraceptive pills contain hormones, which prevent a woman's ovaries from producing a
mature egg (Mayo Clinic, 2009). Where (John P. Bilezikian, Lawrence G. Raisz, T. John Martin,
2008) mentioned that the examination of detrimental side effects on the musculoskeletal and
reproductive systems needs to be thoroughly addressed. From the proof, our aims came to focus
on studying the Effect of the contraceptive control technique on Body Health Fitness where the
evidence shows that, health women is related to the level physical fitness, which reduced the
fatigue (John Saxton, Amanda Daley, 2010. Thing confirm by (Thomas F. Cash, Linda Smolak,
2012) who mentioned that, health and fitness are the predictors of self-esteem comparing to
appearance evaluation in women's behavior. Where the (Military Women, Institute of Medicine,
1998) affirm The Relationship of Body Composition and practice of the Physical exercise.
Otherly said (Ballor D, Keesey R, 1995) confirm that the exercise-induced changes in body mass,
fat mass and fat-free mass in females. Where (IDEA Health & Fitness, 2003) reveal that, the
Promoting Health Habits to Reduce-the Risk of Amenorrhea. Whereas (Morteza Abdollahi,
Mary Cushman, Frits R. Rosendaal, 2003) confirm that oral contraceptive farther increases the
effect of obesity. Since the regarding appearance have a great impact on Opinion women. Our
mediation in this study is based on the confirmation of (William J. Kraemer, A. D. Rogol, 2008
who set that, the impact associated with oral Contraceptive has a small change in female athlete.
While (Nathalie Boisseau, Martine Duclos, Auteur Michel Guinot, Michel Guinot, 2009) warns
this Effect in female athletes. Our involvement based on progress report set by (Patricia Floyd,
Sandra Mimms, Caroline Yelding, 2007 that the surgeon general's report, 25% of women are
sedentary and more than 60% do not exercise regularly thing Positive effects on blood lipids
(fats) and stress thats Improves the body's metabolism. Whereas (Hales, 2000) reveal that, the
assessing health and fitness refers to the relative amounts of two bodily components: lean
Fitness and Health Percentage of body fat. While (Michele Kettles, Colette L. Cole, Brenda S.
Wright, 2006) confirm that, the Effects of pills contraceptives on the fat distribution in young
women. Base on similar studies conflicts judgments, our evocations revolve on the adverse
effects of the contraceptive control technique on Body Composition and their relationship with
the fitness Body Health Housewives.
Method
Our assessments are based on the background (Maria F Gallo, Laureen M Lopez, David A
Grimes, Florence Carayon, Kenneth F Schulz, Frans M Helmerhorst, 2014) who confirm that,
weight gain is often considered a side effect of pills contraceptives where many women and
clinicians believe that an association exists. However, a causal relationship between pills
contraceptives and weight gain has not been established. While (Chebet JJ, McMahon SA,
Greenspan JA, Mosha IH, Callaghan-Koru JA, Killewo J, Baqui AH, Winch PJ. 2015) set that
the Respondents detailed, side effects weight gain and fatigue. From this conflict, as specialist on
evaluation sportive we refer to the Military Women, Institute of Medicine, (1998), which affirm
the importance of Physical exercise. Where our evaluation methods were based on the Fitness
Standards tests for Women U.S. Federal Government (2015) for four cycle of ovum.
Design
To control the random variables our sample were repertoire in homogeneous groups based on
two condition experimental:
For the conditions, we are focused on:
The same marital lifestyle education and the social status.
Both genre in good health - able to give birth and the same numbers and dates Sexual
intercourse.
For the finality, of the experience we distributed the sample based on:
Test Fitness Standards for Women (U.S. Federal Government, 2015)
Voluntary commitment to apply the conditions chosen for this experience:
Condition experimental 1 practice sport :
*G1: group1 take Pill *G2: group2 take Pill
Condition experimental 2 do not practice sport:
*G3: take Pill *G4: do not take Pill
For sports practice our two group choose swimming three sessions per Weeks for one hour per
sessions with specialized trainers of physical education and sport
Materials
Our evaluation methods were based on the Fitness Standards tests for Women U.S. Federal
Government (2015) for four cycle of ovum. See table 1.
Table 1. Fitness norms tests Category: Age 20-29 (U.S. Federal Government, 2015)
Body Fat Sit and Reach Push-Ups Sit-Ups 1.5 Mile Run
Superior <10.9 >24.4 --- >50 <10:48
Excellent 10.9-17.1 22.5-24.4 >24 44-50 10:48-12:51
Good 17.2-20.6 20.5-22.4 20-24 38-43 12:52-14:24
Fair 20.7-23.7 19.3-20.4 14-19 32-37 14:25-15:26
Minimum 22.1 18.3-19.2 16 35 14:55
Poor 23.8-27.7 17.0-18.2 9-13 27-31 15:27-16:33
Very Poor >27.7 <17.0 <9 <27 >16:33
Procedure
Our Samples were 20 Housewives Newlyweds distributed in two groups homogeneous, based on
Conditions experimental. Where their average age 24 and their homogeneity were calculate
based on the independent T-test present in the table 2.
Table 2. Description pre-test Fitness body health Results from the condition experimental
Fitness Results pre-tests Mean SD independent pre-test Sig.
% Body Fat Condition experimental 1 G1 18.89 1.29 .082 .937
&G3 18.81 1.41
Condition experimental 2 G2 18.83 1.36 -.025 .981
&G4 18.82 1.18
Sit and Reach Condition experimental 1 G1 17.52 0.97 -.068 .947
&G3 17.57 1.15
&G4 17.60 1.00
Push-Ups Condition experimental 1 G1 11.60 1.14 -.037 .971
&G3 11.62 2.07
&G4 11.41 2.70
Sit-Ups Condition experimental 1 G1 43.60 1.14 -.027 .979
&G3 43.62 1.13
&G4 43.40 1.14
1,5 Mile Run Condition experimental 1 G1 11.40 0.55 .033 .975
&G3 11.38 0.61
&G4 11.35 0.67
Results
Base on the hypothesis that, the causal relationship between combination contraceptives and
weight gain has not been established to the literature review, which revealed us that, the use of
the pills contraceptive increase the Body Composition, where sport decreased the Body fat and
promised the live of body health. Our data analysis procedures used in this study consisted of the
computation of the means, standard deviations, the independent T retest, T- Paired Samples and
Correlation Paired, Samples. We have chosen the Descriptive statistics where we have calculated
the conditions chosen (pill with sport and pill no sport) as plain for this experience. With a
Significance level was set at 0.05. Statistical procedures were done using SPSS 21.0.
Table 3. Descripted the level of fitness body health as

External comparison between the two case chosen to study
Fitness Results pre-tests Mean SD independent pre-test Sig.
% Body Fat Condition experimental 1 G1 18.97 1.22 -0.08 .93
&G3 19.02 1.47
Condition experimental 2 G2 21.11 0.77 3.32 0.01
&G4 19.48 1.26
Sit and Reach Condition experimental 1 G1 18.61 1.03 -1.92 0.09
&G3 19.46 1.05
Condition experimental 2 G2 16.85 1.09 -0.79 0.44
&G4 17.40 1.27
Push-Ups Condition experimental 1 G1 12.69 1.16 -0.23 0.82
&G3 12.95 1.73
&G4 10.51 2.62
Sit-Ups Condition experimental 1 G1 44.77 1.26 -0.54 0.59
&G3 45.30 1.18
&G4 42.54 1.21
1,5 Mile Run Condition experimental 1 G1 10.82 0.78 0.59 0.56
&G3 10.69 0.37
&G4 11.84 0.81
From the Table 3 as External comparison between the two Condition experimental chosen to
study, we confirm that not all the comparisons with the independent T retest are significant in
the results as External comparison. While the independent T retest, case Condition experimental
2 are significant in body fat and 1,5 Mile Run retest in the beneficed of G4 compared with G3
on the other hand all de comparison Condition experimental 1 are not significant from those
result we confirm:
The pills contraceptive increase the Body fat, which promoted the increase of the weight
gain, and the Decline of the level Fitness Body Health Case Condition experimental 2:
Where the side effect is present in the % Body Fat thing, which we confirm that the pills
contraceptive increase the Body Fat and promoted the increase of the weight gain whose
conduct to negative Fitness Body Health. Where our results line with the confirmation of the
medical clinical studies which confirm that, weight gain is often considered a side effect of
combination hormonal contraceptives, and many women and clinicians believe that an
association exists. (Maria F Gallo, Laureen M Lopez, David A Grimes, Florence Carayon,
Kenneth F Schulz, Frans M Helmerhorst, 2014) and (Lopez LM, Edelman A, Chen M, Otterness
C, Trussell J, Helmerhorst FM. 2013. From that we agreed to (Chebet JJ, McMahon SA,
Greenspan JA, Mosha IH, Callaghan-Koru JA, Killewo J, Baqui AH, Winch PJ. 2015) That the
side effects of the pills contraceptive consistently in weight gain case body fat and fatigue case
the1, 5 Mile Run as test of endurance case of women that do not sport. Where (Eric J.
Bieber, Joseph S. Sanfilippo, Ira R. Horowitz -, 2015) we confirm that women have both a
higher frequency of body fat changes and different presentations for causes we rely the
explanation presented by (Terry Mahan Buttaro , 2013) that pills contraceptive can increase
appetite and promote weight gain.
Sport decreased the Body fat and improved the level Fitness Body Health:
Where our results confirm that Condition experimental 1 practice sport reduces the side effect of
the pills contraceptive, we Agree the judgment that pill contraceptive causes a small change in
body weight. Where our results line with the confirmation of the medical sport studies batch in
this study. Thing confirmed by John Saxton (2010) that, growing body of evidence shows that
woman experience improved health-related physical fitness and reduced fatigue through exercise
physical as well, that Exercise also promotes that decrease in body weight and fat stores (Sana
Loue, Martha Sajatovic, Keith B. Armitage, 2004) and (Zerf Mohammed, 2015).
Table 4. Describes the level of body health fitness inter group comparison test and retest
Fitness pre-test &Results T- Paired Sig. R- Paired Sig.
% Body Fat Condition experimental 1 G1&G1 -1.49 .21 .99 .00
G3&G3 -1.29 .27 .97 .00
Condition experimental 2 G2&G2 -5.59 .005 .89 .04
G4&G4 -6.13 .004 .99 .00
Sit and Reach Condition experimental 1 G1&G1 -3.73 .020 .87 .04
G3&G3 -8.91 .001 .89 .04
Condition experimental 2 G2&G2 2.68 .04 .922 .026
G4&G4 3.44 .026 .994 .001
Push-Ups Condition experimental 1 G1&G1 -5.15 .007 .921 .027
G3&G3 -6.50 .003 .994 .001
G4&G4 3.16 .034 .991 .001
Sit-Ups Condition experimental 1 G1&G1 -6.00 .004 .942 .02
G3&G3 -3.67 .021 .931 .022
G4&G4 9.00 .001 .981 .003
1,5 Mile Run Condition experimental 1 G1&G1 5.79 .004 .956 .011
G3&G3 7.16 .002 .936 .019
Condition experimental 2 G2&G2 -5.13 .007 .89 .04
G4&G4 -3.59 .023 .937 .019
From the Table 4 as the Search limits, we confirm that all the comparisons with, T- Paired and
correlation Paired Samples Test to compare implementations are significant case the condition
experimental 2 in the results of % Body Fat where We recommend to our women to practice
sport. In other, we confirm:
The proposed control technique Prevents pregnancy
where our results line with (Ann Pietrangelo, 2015) (Ann Pietrangelo, 2015) that Birth control
pills, Preservative and patches, when they used correctly, are very effective in preventing
pregnancy. They are safe for most healthy women and can even be used to treat a few health
problems. However, (Micromedex, 2015) report; as with almost all drugs, there are also some
potential unwanted side effects and risks set in fig1 by (Ann Pietrangelo, 2015).
Fig1 shows the 17 Effects of Birth Control on the Body
Mention by Health line and Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
body health fitness:
Where the calculate correlation Paired Samples Test we confirm the strong positive relationships
between the compositions of body composing weight and the level Fitness Body Health. Where
our results line with (Michele Kettles, Colette L. Cole, Brenda S. Wright, 2006) that any use of
medications should be directed by a qualified healthcare provider after consideration of the
individual woman's health. We agreed with (Vincent Antonetti, 2013) that House Woman should
have a medical assessment and physical fitness program. Which is consistent with the results of
the current study case Condition experimental 2 and approved with case Condition
experimental1.
Discussion
From the approve through table 3, 4 and the fig 1: Where our results line with the
diagnostic of medical sport studies according to (Dagny Scott, Dagny Scott Barrios,
2000) which set that the Birth Control Pill Side Effects Researchers disagree about the
impact of birth control pills on athletic performance. Where the same hormones that the
Pill regulates to prevent pregnancy, can affect the way your body feels and functions. In
our case, we referee to the clarification of (Susan E. Hankinson, JoAnn E. Manson,
Graham A. Colditz, 2002) that, Studies have shown that above a certain amount, the
accumulation of body fat begins to have adverse affects on health. Base on laws of Isaac
Newton (1642-1727) which characterized the relation between force and motion with
three statements, known collectively as the laws of motion. These laws, which are
referred to as the laws of inertia, acceleration, and action-reaction (Roger Eston, Thomas
Reilly, 2013) we referred to (Clode bouchard & all, 2010) which confirms that,
Relationship body weight as resistance with repetitive motion or physical activity return
to the composition of the body mass and its Relationship with the Obesity and the
Straight Power. Whereas (Henriques A, Severo M, Alves L, Barros H, Azevedo A., 2015)
confirms that the woman which takes, Pill risks weight increase progressively more with
increasing fertile time. Our results line with confirmation of Lopez LM (2013) [20],
Richard K (2000) and Chebet JJ (2015) that side effect was consistently in weight gain
and fatigue, our discussion based on the Body Fat as body gain composing added as
resistance that requires a large force to move it (Zerf Mohammed, 2015). Where the
account of Paired T-test and correlation Paired Samples Test to compare
implementations of the proposed conditions as intergroup comparisons set in Table 4,
we confirm:
In case of the % Body Fat we agreed with (Rose E. Frisch, 2004) that Female Fertility
and the Body-Fat Connection is a cornerstone to understanding the health of girls and
women. Our results confirm that it has a strong positive correlation between methods
and Fitness Body Health where the conditions in case Condition experimental 2 taking
pill and do not practice sport as G3 foster the obesity. Whereas all intergroup
comparisons are for the benefit of Condition experimental 1, for G2, which practices
calculus or hoods method and makes sport followed by the G1 who take pill and
practices sports. Thing whom, we confirm that the regularity practice of activity physique
improves the level of the Fitness Body Health Cases Condition experimental 1. Whereas,
included the pill in life conjugal without partied sports increase the weight and the level
of the fitness body health case Condition experimental 2. Where our results are
consistent with (Linda Lewis Alexander, 2013) that, the Side Effects several pill
contraceptive, are in obese women. Thing confirmed in the study of Richard K (2000)
(Richard K. Riegelman, 2005) that, the side effects of birth control pills was conducted
by comparing 1,000 young women taking the pill with 1,000 young, which does not take
it where the study was conducted to the relationship between obesity and menstrual
regularity. Where (Kazuyuki Kanosue, Tomoyuki Nagami, Jun Tsuchiya, 2015) confirm
that the body mass tends to be decreased by level of body fat percentage in both
forwards and backs. This indicates the qualification require to performance your body.
In the case of the test Sit and Reach as flexibility physical quality (Wener Hoeger, Sharon
Hoeger, 2014) Where our results confirm it has a strong positive correlation between
Condition experimental and level of the Fitness Body Health. Where our two conditions
confirm the impact of the increase of the % Body Fat as body gain composing added as
resistance in level of the body health fitness, thing which we confirm the judgment of
(Peter J. Maud, Carl Foster, 2006) that, the relationship between strength and flexibility
will result in agonistantagonist imbalance. Where (Cissik, John, Dawes, Jay, 2015)
explain in relation strength with body weight, we can see that the heavier athlete
produced more power because he or she had to move a greater mass. Logical thing that
the woman must require much strength to lift his overweight. That (Roger
Eston, Thomas Reilly, 2013) explains on the fixed external resistive force might not
satisfy muscle force velocity relationships, so values of peak power output are probably
affected adversely. Thing confirm by (Roger Bartlett, Chris Gratton, Christer G. Rolf,
2012) that the flexibility rehabilitation aspects has been associated with difficulty in
performing motor tasks, increase in the risk of injury, reduction in physical performance,
reduction in sports performance, and increase in the energy.
In the case of Push-Ups test as strength physical quality were the test evaluate muscular
fitness of the upper body (Cheryl L. Hyde, 2002) our results confirm it has a strong
positive correlation between methods and Fitness Body Health. Where our two
conditions confirm the impact of the increase of the % Body Fat as body gain
composing added as resistance case Condition experimental 2 in the level of the fitness
body health. Which affirm us to the judgment of (Cissik, John, Dawes, Jay 2015) that
comparison of strength with body weight, we can see that the heavier athlete produced
more power because he or she had to move a greater mass. Logical thing that the woman
must require much strength to lift his overweight. Where (Robert Lynn Carroll, 1997)
explains it in The relationship between the force of gravity and the capacity of muscles to
produce power for flight acts as the ultimate constraint to the mass thing consisting with
the judgment of Lopez LM (2013) and Chebet JJ (2015) side effects of pills method are
consistently in weight gain and fatigue. However, (Heyward, Vivian H. Gibson, Ann,
2014) confirm that the Performance on some endurance tests (e.g., pull-ups and push-
ups) is highly dependent on the strength of the individual.
In the case of Sit-Ups test as strength, physical quality where (Daniel N. Kulund, 1982)
set that this test has been picked as a test of muscular endurance (Frank Galligan, David
White, 2001) our results confirm it has a strong positive correlation between methods
and Fitness Body Health. Where our results are consistent with (Cissik, John, Dawes, Jay
2015) that, comparison of strength with body weight, we can see that the heavier athlete
produced more power because he or she had to move a greater mass. Logical thing that
the woman must require much strength to lift his overweight case Condition
experimental 2 in level of the fitness body health. Where the Recent research has shown
that the loss of muscle power (the ability to produce force quickly) are due to the loss of
muscle mass, which contributes to the overall decline in lean body mass (the mass of the
bodymuscles) not overweight (Kay A. Van Norman, 2010). Thing consisting with the
judgment of Lopez LM (2013) and Chebet JJ (2015) [18] side effects of pills method are
consistently in weight gain and fatigue. While our conditions experimental, line with
confirmation of (Q. Ashiton Aston PHD, 2011) that the relationship between BMI and
fitness varied among tests. Lower fitness in three items (sit-ups, jump, distance run) was
evident in boys and girls with higher BMIs in each age group.
In the case of 1.5 Mile Run test as endurance physical quality our results confirm it has a
strong positive correlation between the two condition experimental and level of the
Fitness Body Health where the conditions in case two taking pill and do not practice
sport case Condition experimental 2 which risks the obesity. Where our results are
consistent of (Neil Armstrong, Willem van Mechelen, 2008) that, the effectiveness of
body mass ratio to produce a size-free performance variable can be judged. By the
relationship between consummation V02 and representation anaerobic power. Thing
consisting with the judgment of Lopez LM (2013) and Chebet JJ (2015) side effects of
pills method are consistently in weight gain and fatigue.
Conclusion
From the proof as the results of our two conditions experimental, we refer to our data analyses,
which conclude, lead us to:
(John McLester, Peter St. Pierre, 2007) that, the ability to produce human power are in the %
muscle mass not in % lipids mass. Where he confirms the relationship between the
increasing of body mass and the increases power production. Whereas McCole (2) showed a
similar relationship among oxygen consumption, speed, and body weight. (William E.
Garrett, Donald T. Kirkendall, 2000) case of the physical quality chosen In this modest
study.
(Philip Maffetone, 2012) that, a woman who is taking birth control pills, these medications
have potential side effects that can affect health, muscles, metabolism, and other systems of
the body that promote health and fitness. For (Philip Maffetone, 2015) which concluded that
their take could adversely affect exercise activity as few monthly cycles (Jane Kelly
Kosek, Allison McNeill, 2000).
(Evvie Becker, Elizabeth Rankin, Annette U. Rickel, 1998) that, nevertheless, the fact
remains that, the most effective pregnancy- prevention measures are hormonal interventions,
such as oral contraceptives. Whereas (Estanislao Gacita-Mari,Quentin Wodon, 2001) set
"it is not good to use modern methods (the pill) because your menstruation is not like
always, and that means that your body is not healthy.
(Rachel Snow, Peter Hall, 2012) confirms that, the Steroid Pharmacokinetics Side-Effects in
the Body fat, and the menarche dispositive to keep fitness health as fertility to Confront life.
For our experience on this topic, according to a study by B. Pehlivanov, 2008, which focus on
their influence on the menstrual cycle, as well as on some physical side effects such as the
appearance of hair growth, weight gain, bloating etc. We agreed with (Vincent Antonetti, 2013)
that Housewife should have a medical assessment and physical fitness program. Base on the data
Collection and analysis we refer to (Lorraine Tulman, Jacqueline Fawcett, 2003) that Body weight
is an important aspect of a woman's adaptation. Yet, although some attention has been given to
the pattern of weight lossor gain, very little information is available about how a woman's
lossor gain body due to products medical. In addition, we consigned our women that the
individual trains dynamically, not static, assess strength or endurance levels training. Where they
should to control their body fat as direct relationship between their body size and their muscle
strength in generally. Vis-a-vis our results and limits of this modest study, we rely on the
recommendations of (Janet M. Howle, 2012) who set that the Physical fitness is
multidimensional and involves cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle strength and endurance,
flexibility, and conditioning (Stout, 2000b). Where the impact of Strength is necessary for
movement and has a direct impact on effective performance.
In another hand, our modest study is offering comprehensive, easy-to-understand answers to
questions (Niels H. Lauersen, Eileen Stukane, 2000) about Housewives Case Newlyweds bodies
and health conjugal life. We confirm:
Using the pills contraceptive requires practice sports to move effects of Body gain case
lifestyle Condition experimental 2.
Practice the technique based on calculus ovule requires practice sports to develop physical
qualities Fitness Body Health case lifestyle the Condition experimental 2.
Side effects more returns to domestic and the marital lifestyle choice by the woman and her
partner.
Recommendation
The proposed control technique Prevent pregnancy.
Taking pills contraceptive requires medical assessment and physical fitness program to
monitor the lifestyle housewives to control their weight gain.
body health fitness.
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p-ISSN: 1694-2620
e-ISSN: 1694-2639
Spirituality, age, gender and academic self Efficacy as

determinants of psychological well being of secondary
school students with hearing impairment in Enugu state,
Nigeria
Oyewumi, Adebomi (Ph.D) and Anieke, Lazarsus
Department of Special Education,
University of Ibadan, Ibadan
oyedebomi@yahoo.com
Abstract
This study investigated the influence of spirituality, age, gender, and academic self-efficacy
on the psychological well-being of secondary school students with hearing impairment in
Enugu State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. A
multistage sampling technique was used to select one hundred and twenty five students
with hearing impairment. Four research questions were raised and answered. The Ryff
Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS), Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES) and Spiritual
Experience Index-Revised (SEI-R) were used for data collection. Data was analysed using
frequency counts, Pearsons product moment correlation and multiple regression. The
results revealed that psychological well-being has a significant correlation with sex, age,
academic self-efficacy and spirituality experience of the respondents. It is therefore
recommended that the government and its agencies, as well as spiritual/religious leaders,
should place more emphasis on how to improve psychological well-being for students with
hearing impairment.
Keywords: Psychological well-being, spirituality, academic self-efficacy, hearing

impairment.
Introduction
Psychological well-being is about emotional stability of an individual. Huppert (2009)
considered the idea of feeling good to incorporate not only the positive emotions of
happiness and contentment, but also such emotions as interest, engagement, confidence,
and affection. Similarly, the notion of functioning effectively, according to Huppert (2009),
involves the development of ones potential, having some control over ones life, having a
sense of purpose (e.g. working towards valued goals), and experiencing positive
relationships. Studies have shown apparent emphasis between well-being and positive
mental health (e.g. Seligman, 2002, 1991; Kahneman, 1999; Ryff & Singer, 1998). This
positive perspective of relationship between well-being and mental health is also
enshrined in the constitution of the World Health Organisation, where health is defined as
a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity (WHO, 1948). More recently, the WHO has also defined positive
mental health as a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own
abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and
is able to make a contribution to his or her community (WHO, 2001).
Obviously, certain factors have been identified to influence the psychological well-being
level of individuals. Adejumo and Adewale (2011), in their own findings, concluded that
demographic factors such as age, gender, and marital status can influence changes in the
psychological well-being of an individual with disabilities. It is therefore important to
identify the factors that can influence or predict the psychological well-being of individuals
with hearing impairment. Hence this study examines spirituality, age, gender, and
academic self-efficacy as determinants of psychological well-being of secondary school
students with hearing impairment in Enugu State, Nigeria. Hearing impairment, deafness,
or hearing loss refer to the inability of an individual to perceive sound, either totally or
partially (Mohanraj & Selvaraj, 2013). It is caused by dysfunction of the inner ear, the
cochlea, auditory nerve, or brain damage and the impact of the disability ranges in severity
from mild to moderate and moderate to profound. According to Dash (2000), hearing loss
refers to a defect in or damage to the hearing mechanism which leads to hearing disability
or hearing loss. Besides the primary effect of hearing impairment which is the inability to
perceive and produce speech, there are still other various forms of difficulties associated to
the disorder. Students with hearing impairment usually encounter some social, economic,
psychological, and developmental difficulties resulting from their inability to hear or
produce speech. Consequently, students with hearing impairment undergo some psycho-
social related problems such as anxiety, depression, isolation, rejection, self-pity, and
aggression. That is why Myklebust (1996) observed that severely deaf people think and
behave differently from hearing people in order to make sense of the world. For him,
severely hearing impaired persons have be variously described as impulsive and socially
immature, less able to care for their own needs, lacking self direction, and more dependent
on adults, than normally hearing peers.
Similarly, Panda (1997), opined that hearing impaired subjects feel inferior, helpless, have
poor self-concept, temper tantrums, are submissive, have poor gross motor coordination,
hyperactivity, short attention span, emotional inability, slightly low IQ than normal
persons, poor language and communication skills. They also experience difficulty in
understanding abstract concepts and have difficulties in vocational adjustments. Monzani,
Galeazzi, Genovese, Marrara, & Martin, (2008) while investigating the psychological
distress dimension of the hearing-impaired subjects, held that they were more prone to
depression, anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, and hostility than subjects with no hearing
problems. In his own study, Tidball (1990) found deafness leading to a lot of psychological
problems and sociological maladjustment. Moreover, according to Dharitri and Murthy
(1990), hearing impaired subjects were found to be more restless, distractible, irritable,
hypersensitive, aggressive, lack perseverance, self conscious, crying over minor
annoyances, shy, suggestible, lack self confidence, show temper outbursts, demanding and
nail biting. Further they reported that the anxiety level was found to be significantly more
among hearing impaired subjects. Hence Oyewumi, Akangbe, and Adigun (2013) observed
that hearing impairment or delayed language development generally effects on every
aspect of a childs psychosocial development, self esteem, self efficacy, emotional
development, family concern, social competence and over all perceived quality of life of the
hearing impaired person. They therefore concluded that children with hearing impairment
present more behavioural and social problems than their hearing peer.
From the above development, it seems evidently certain that persons with hearing
impairment virtually experience little or poor level of psychological well-being. The lives of
hearing impaired students are saddled with various forms of negative emotions resulting
from social, economic, psychological, and developmental difficulties associated with the
disorder. It is therefore pertinent that this study examines the influence of spirituality, age,
gender, and academic self-efficacy on the psychological well-being of secondary school
students with hearing impairment in Enugu State, Nigeria. It is believed that certain factors
may predispose individuals to react in a specific way in given situations. Oluwole, (2012)
observed spirituality as one of those factors that has significant influence on an individual's
disposition towards the events that occur in certain aspects of life. It implies that
spirituality is a vital psychological factor as well as an essential individual difference factor
that can affect and shape people's sense of meaning to life (Matrecia, 2005). This
understanding explains how spirituality can predict the psychological well-being of an
individual.
In the view of some researchers, (Sheldrake, 2007; Bellamy, Jarrett, Mowbray, Macfarlane,
Mowbray, & Hotler, 2007) spirituality can be described as an inner path enabling
individuals to discover the essence of their being, or the deepest values and meanings by
which people live. They emphasize that spirituality refers to the central way of life which
guides people's conduct, and is the essence of an individual's existence that integrates and
transcends the physical, emotional, intellectual, volitional, and social dimensions of life.
Based on the definitions of spirituality and theories related to it, one could therefore
recognize the reason Oluwole, (2012) maintained that the sense of spirituality remains one
of the vital reasons individuals differ in their reactions to given situations. In essence,
spirituality is expected to moderate between an individual and his given situations. The
perception here indicates that spirituality could be explained in relationship to coping
(Ogundayo, 2007: Oluwole, 2008).Consequently, an individual's level of spiritual well-being
could invariably influence other aspect of well-being such as physical well-being, social
well-being, economic well-being, and psychological well-being. Similarly, this would also
imply that with a strong sense of spirituality, a secondary school student with hearing
impairment would also experience a better psychological well-being and other forms of
well-being in life as well as enhance his or her self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy could be described as the learned expectation of success, the belief that one
can perform behaviour regardless of past failures or current obstacles. Similarly, academic
self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief or conviction that he or she can successfully
achieve at a designated level on an academic task or attain a specific academic goal (Eccles
& Wigfield, 2002; Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002 Bandura, 1997). This is closely related to
academic self-concept which refers to the personal beliefs about one's academic abilities or
skills. Salami (2005) and Adegoke (2012) have found that there is always a relationship
betweens self-efficacy and psychological well-being. The above assertion reveals that self-
efficacy has a moderating effect on the psychological well-being of an individual. Evidently,
this finding supports the view of Bandura (1982) which observes that self-efficacy interacts
with expectancies about the outcome of behaviour in general and the result of this
interplay helps to shape an individual's psychological well-being. Downey, Eccles and
Chatman (2005) also suggest that having high self-efficacy when attempting difficult tasks
creates in a student feelings of calmness and serenity while low self-efficacy may result in a
student perceiving a task as more difficult than reality, which, in turn, may create anxiety,
stress, and a narrower idea on how best to approach the solving of a problem or activity.
This perception implies that a student with high sense of self-efficacy is one who has
learned to believe that his/her efforts can lead to success, but a student with low sense of
self-efficacy believes that his/her efforts leads to nothing but failure, and the result is likely
to be self-disparagement and depression. It is therefore pertinent in this study to examine
the effects of academic self-efficacy on the psychological well-being of secondary school
students with hearing impairment.
It is believed that the age or gender of student with hearing impairment could influence
their sense of concentration in handling their disorder as well as some psycho-social and
economic difficulties associated with the disorder. This suggests that age and gender are
critical and can influence the psychological well-being of secondary school students with
hearing impairment. This also explains why Oyewumi, Akangbe, and Adigun (2013),
considered gender as a significant factor that generally impact upon the growth,
demonstration and manifestation of perceived quality of life among adolescents with
hearing impairment. Considering the vulnerability and challenging situations of students
with hearing impairment, and the negative impact the disability creates in their
psychological well-being, this study therefore examines spirituality, age, gender, and
academic self-efficacy as determinants of psychological well-being of secondary school
students with hearing impairment in Enugu State, Nigeria. Researchers have identified
certain factors as predictors of the level of psychological well-being of students with
hearing impairment, but to the best of the researcher's knowledge, little has been done on
the areas of spirituality and academic self-efficacy as some of the predictors.
Research Questions
The following research questions are raised for the study:
1. What is the profile of the students with hearing impairment with respect to
spirituality, age, gender, and academic self-efficacy?
2. What is the relationship between spirituality, student's age, gender and academic
self-efficacy and psychological wellbeing of students with hearing impairment?
3. To what extent would spirituality, student's age, gender and academic self-efficacy
jointly predict the psychological well-being of secondary school students with
hearing impairment?
4. What is the relative contribution of each independent variable (spirituality, age,
gender, academic self-efficacy) to the dependent variable (psychological well-being)
of the study?
Methodology
This study adopted a descriptive survey research design of the correlational type. The
choice for this research design is because the study investigated only the existing variables
of the study which was the influence of spirituality, age, gender, and academic self-efficacy
on the psychological well-being of secondary school students with hearing impairment in
Enugu State. Purposive sampling technique was used to select two secondary schools in
Enugu State which were the Government Secondary School for the Deaf, Ogbete and
Therapeutic Inclusive Secondary School, Abakpa Nike, Enugu State. The study also used the
simple random sampling technique of the balloting type to select one hundred and twenty
five (125) Senior Secondary School students with hearing impairment from the selected
secondary schools.
Instrumentation
Three instruments were used for data generation. These are Psychological Well-Being Scale
(PWBS) developed by Ryff (1989), Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES) developed by
Zajacova, Lynch and Espenshade (2005) and Spiritual Experience Index Revised (SEI-R)
developed by Genia (1997). The Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS) was adapted by
the researcher to measure the psychological well-being of the students with hearing
impairment. The instrument consists of ten (10) items comprising Ryff's six (6)
dimensional model of psychological well-being. The items were presented in a four Likert
scale scoring of Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree. The Psychological
Well-Being Scale was revalidated and was found to be reliable at 0.76. Similarly, The ASES
was adapted by the researcher to measure academic self-efficacy of the students with
hearing impairment. The instrument consists of ten (10) items which were presented in a
four Likert scale scoring of 1-4, which ranges from not confident at all to extremely
confident. The ASES was revalidated and found to be reliable at 0.88. The study also
adapted the Spiritual Experience Index Revised (SEI-R) to measure spirituality of the
students with hearing impairment. The instrument comprised of ten (10) items which were
presented in a four Likert scale scoring of 1-4, which ranges from strongly disagree to
strongly agree. The reliability value of the Spiritual Experience Index Revised (SEI-R) was
found to be 0.65. The data obtained through the instruments were analysed using
descriptive statistics involving frequency counts and simple percentages and inferential
statistics involving Pearsons Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression.
Results
Research Question 1: What is the profile of the students with hearing impairment with
respect to spirituality, age, gender and academic self-efficacy?
Table 1: Profile of the respondents on spirituality, age, gender, and academic self-efficacy
Item Standard
deviation
Spirituality I often feel strongly related to a greater 2.62
power than myself
My faith gives my life meaning and purpose 2.73
My faith helps me to confront tragedy and 2.78
suffering
I believe that the world is basically good 2.91
I feel a strong spiritual bond with all of 3.08
humankind
My spiritual beliefs change as I encounter 2.66
new ideas and experiences
I believe that the world is basically evil 2.93
My spirituality is an important part of my 2.74
individual identity
Persons of different faiths share a common 2.98
spiritual bond
I gain spiritual strength by trusting in a 3.11
higher power
Academic Asking questions in class 2.79
self- Understanding my teachers 3.29
efficacy Understanding my peers 2.90
Taking good class notes 2.88
Preparing for exams 2.47
Managing time efficiently 3.01
Improving my reading and writing skills 2.22
Participating in class discussions 2.95
Getting assignments done on time 3.14
Getting help and information at school 3.26
Table 1 showed that students with hearing impairment are average with confidence with
respect to academic self-efficacy since their mean response on all the items on academic
self-efficacy is approximately 3. In addition, the profiling of the participants showed that
they all agree to the statement attached to spiritual experience and the modal response
rate is 3. This indicates they are all spiritual being.
Research Question 2: What is the relationship between sex, age academic self-efficacy,
spirituality and psychological wellbeing of students with hearing impairment?
Table 2: Relationship between the independent and dependent variables among
respondents
Mean Std Sex Age Academic Spirituality Psychological

Dev Self well being
Efficacy
Sex - - 1.000
Age 30.64 4.06 -.249** 1.000
Academic 28.54 7.25 0.005 -.017 1.000
Self Efficacy
Spirituality 28.93 4.60 -.204* -.056 0.249** 1.000
Psychological 28.13 4.80 -.240** 0.151* -.180* 0.496** 1.000
well being
N.B: ** Significant at p<0.01 *Significant at p<0.05
Table 2 showed that psychological well-being of secondary school students with hearing
impairment had significant correlation with sex (r = -0.240, p<0.05), age (r = 0.151,
p<0.05), academic self-efficacy (r = -0.180, p < 0.05) and spirituality experience (r = 0.496,
p <0.05). This implies that sex, age, academic self-efficacy and spirituality are influences the
psychological wellbeing of students with hearing impairment.
Research Question 3: To what extent would spirituality, students age, gender, and
academic self-efficacy jointly predict the psychological well-being of secondary school
students with hearing impairment?
Table 3: Regression Analysis of the combined Prediction of spirituality, students age,

gender, academic self-efficacy and psychological well being
R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate

0.619 0.383 0.362 3.82995
SUMMARY REGRESSION ANOVA
Sum of Df Mean Square F P Remark
Squares
Regression 1091.73 4 272.93 18.61 0.000 Sig
Residual 1760.23 120 14.67
Total 2851.95 124
Table 3 showed that the prediction of all the four independent variables to the dependent
variable. That is, psychological well-being of secondary school students with hearing
impairment correlated positively with the four predictor variables. The table also shows a
coefficient of multiple correlations (R) of 0.619 and a multiple R square of 0.383. This
means that 38.3% of the variance in the psychological wellbeing of secondary school
students with hearing impairment is accounted for by all the four predictor variables, when
taken together. The significance of the composite contribution was tested at p<0.05 using
the F- ratio at the degree of freedom (df = 4/120). The table also shows that the analysis of
variance for the regression yielded F-ratio of 18.61 (significant at 0.05 level). This implies
that the joint contribution of the independent variables to the dependent variable was
significant and that other variables not included in this model may have accounted for the
remaining variance.
Research Question 4: What is the relative contribution of each independent variable

(spirituality, age, gender, academic self-efficacy) to the dependent variable (psychological
well-being) of the study?
Table 4: Relative contribution of each independent variable to the dependent variable
Unstandardized Standardized
Coefficients Coefficients
Model B Std. Error Beta T Sig.
1 (Constant) 16.279 3.090 5.268 .000
sex -.800 .733 -.083 -1.092 .277
age .865 .409 .157 2.113 .037
ASE -.211 .049 -.319 -4.297 .000
SEI .592 .080 .567 7.441 .000
a. Dependent Variable: Psychological wellbeing
Table 4 reveals the relative contribution of the four independent variables to the
dependent variable, expressed as beta weights. The partial correlation coefficients of age,
sex, academic self-efficacy, and spirituality have positive relationship with the
psychological wellbeing of secondary school students with hearing impairment. The
positive value of the effects of age, and spirituality experience is actually determined by
positive reinforcement of these two variables. Using the standardized regression coefficient
to determine the relative contributions of the independent variables to the explanation of
the dependent variable age (B = 0.865, t= 2.113, p < 0.05) is the most potent contributor to
the prediction followed by the spirituality experience (B = 0.592, t= 7.441, p<0.05),
followed by academic self-efficacy (B = -0.211, t = 4.297, p<0.05) and finally followed by sex
(B= -0.800, t= 1.092, p > 0.05) in that order.
Discussion of results
The results of table 1 revealed that it was no longer the case as in the past when students
with hearing impairment lack opportunities of academic awareness and could not even
express themselves. This could be as a result of the increasing number of private and public
special schools for persons with hearing impairment, as well as Non Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) who are carrying this awareness to every corner. Besides parents are
becoming much interested in the education of their children despite any level of disability,
with the sure conviction that education is liberation. This findings support the previous
findings of Santos, Magramo, Oguan, and Paat (2014) who maintained that high self-
efficacy is related to positive well-being. This indicates that at their age, they already see
their capacity in exercising some measure of control over lifes events and as a
consequence they become satisfied with their life. This finding is also consistent with
previous findings of Bisschop, Knegsman, Beekman, and Deeg, 2004 which maintained that
high self- efficacy is related to positive well-being, regulation of stress, higher self esteem,
better physical condition, better adaptation to and recovery from diseases. On the other
hand, the results of this study contradict the findings of Panda (1997), Dharitri and Murthy
(1990) who concluded that hearing impaired subjects feel inferior, helpless, have poor self-
concept, low IQ than normal persons, and lack self-confidence. The result also indicates
that spirituality or spiritual experience of the respondents has a mean score of 3. This
shows that students with hearing impairment are currently looking towards the
transcendent dimensions of their lives. This set of participants would seem not to favour
the illusion of superstitions or false beliefs about hearing impairment. This is consistent
with the previous findings of Al-Zboon, Ahmad and Theeb (2014) who reported that
students rated religious and spiritual domain as the highest mean of quality of life domains.
The finding of this study also revealed that sex, age, academic self-efficacy, and spirituality
show positive and significant correlation with psychological well-being. This shows that
academic self-efficacy and psychological well-being have direct relationship because of the
positive relationship. This result corroborates Muller, Creed, and Francis (2001) who
reported that well-being is directly influenced by spirituality, and those with better
spiritual outlook are in turn associated with better well-being. The results also provides
support for Oluwole (2012) who found out that stronger spiritual beliefs can lead to a
greater sense of control, meaning, and deeper intimacy, buffer the effects of negative
perceptions, as well as positive attitudes and outlooks. With regard to age, the results
reveal that there is a positive and significant correlation with age psychological well-being.
Hence the works of Mohanraj and Selvaraj (2013) which reveals that increase in age of the
hearing impaired adolescents tends to have decreased frustration level, and that they might
easily adjust as they grow in age corroborate this recent finding.
The results further indicate a significant relationship between gender and psychological
well-being. This result is in agreement with the research findings of Visani, Albieri, Offidani,
Ottolini, Tomba, and Ruini (2011) who explored gender differences in the levels of
psychological well-being and distress. They found out that, girls reported higher levels of
distress than boys especially during the adolescence period of development. The results
also support the findings of Perez (2012) who determined gender differences in various
aspects of psychological well-being and found out that females reported significantly
higher scores in the aspects of daily spiritual experience, relationship with peer, positive
relationship with others, and purpose in life. Furthermore, the results from this study
indicated that there is a significant relationship between academic self-efficacy and
psychological well-being. The results of this study corroborate the research findings of
Adegoke, (2012), who found out that there is a significant effect of self-efficacy on
psychological well-being. It also supported the findings of Alarape and Afolabi (2001), and
Salami (2005). According to these authors, self-efficacy interacts with an individual's
behavioural expectancies, and the result of this interaction helps to shape an individual's
psychological well-being. They concluded that an individual with high self-efficacy have the
learned belief that his or her efforts will lead to success which leads to better psychological
well-being.
Implications and Recommendation
The research findings of this study have enormous implications for the government and its
agencies, spiritual/religious leaders, parents, hearing impaired individuals, special
educators and regular teachers, and employers of labour. These students are part of the
future leaders and future work force of the nation, efforts should therefore be made by the
government and the policy makers to reflect a shift from what presently obtains in the
current educational system of individuals with hearing impairment to a new emphasis on
how to improve their psychological well-being in their system of education. The
government would thus provide the enabling environment for the policies to be
implemented, and also ensure that qualified personnel would handle the psychological,
educational, emotional, and social affairs of students with hearing impairment. Teachers
assigned to teach the students with hearing impairment must be qualified not only in their
area of specialization or subject, but also in skills and ability to handle both the academic
and psychological life of the students. School proprietors, NGOs, and employers of labour
should partner with the government and teachers to provide adequate infrastructural
facilities for the proper education and training of students with hearing impairment at
various levels. Finally, religious / spiritual leaders are encouraged to work towards
improving the spirituality of students with hearing impairment through spiritual
counselling and religious activities.
Conclusion
This study has been able to examine the influence of spirituality, age, gender, and academic
self-efficacy on the psychological well-being of secondary school students with hearing
impairment. The study has established that there are positive significant relationships
between spirituality, age, gender, academic self-efficacy and psychological well-being of
secondary school students with hearing impairment. The findings clearly show that the
relative influence of spirituality, age, gender, and academic self-efficacy on the
psychological well-being of secondary school students with hearing impairment is
significant. This simply means that if the students with hearing impairment have an
improved self-efficacy and are spiritual, their level of psychological well-being will be
improved. It is therefore important that students with hearing impairment should be
assisted towards an improved psychological well-being, given the effects of hearing
impairment and various forms of difficulties associated with the disorder. Besides,
psychological well-being should be perceived as a topic of considerable interest for
students with hearing impairment since it is likely to influences their lives significantly. To
this end, their level of spirituality and self-efficacy ought to be considered and be assisted
to improve.
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p-ISSN: 1694-2620
e-ISSN: 1694-2639
National Morality and Government Openness: The

Panacea to Government Effectiveness
Dr. William DiPietro

Daemen College
Amherst, NY USA
Abstract
This paper proposes that more openness in government and higher levels of national morality
are both favorable forces for attaining greater government effectiveness. Regression analysis is a
powerful statistical tool for estimating and examining relationships between variables. The paper
tests these notions using cross-country regression analysis on one hundred different countries.
The results of the empirical work provide support for the contention that government
performance is directly related to government openness and to national morality. Based on the
findings, the paper recommends cultivating morality and openness to enhance government
performance.
Keywords: morality, government openness, sources of government effectiveness
Introduction
Identifying the determinants of government performance is extremely important. Government is
responsible for so many of the critical functions of a nation, including public investment in
infrastructure, policy formation and implementation, education, and overall leadership. Because
government behavior is so highly consequential, a corrupt, an inefficient, a poorly managed, or
an unstable government is almost certain to lower a country's economic growth way below its
long run potential. Bad government is generally identified by development economists as one of
the major obstacles that developing countries need to be overcome in order to successfully move
on the path from being poor to being rich.
Two factors that may be relevant in shaping the extent of government effectiveness in a
country are national morality, and the degree of government openness. National morality is likely
to enhance government performance for two major reasons. First, more morally-minded citizens
are more disposed to hold the government accountable, and more accountable, for its actions.
Second, in a society with high moral standards, government officials, administrators, and workers
are likely themselves to be more moral, internalizing civic mindedness, defining themselves as
civil servants, and basing their behavior on what is good for the society as a whole, and, not on
their own interests.
The second factor, government openness, is also apt to improve government performance. In
the accounting profession, transparency is consistently touted as a means to reduce fraud, the
manipulation of the books, and other illegal activity. In the Netherlands, there is a cultural
tradition to keep the front windows of houses open so that others feel safe that their neighbors
are not engaging in any threatening activities.
This paper empirically investigates whether government openness and national morality are
indeed important for government performance.
The paper is composed of six parts. The first section reviews some of the recent empirical
literature regarding government performance. This section provides a flavor of some of the
variables that have already been used in the literature to explain government quality. The next
section presents a formal model of government effectiveness, highlighting transparency in
government and national morality as key its determinants. The next section, section three,
identifies the data sources for the variables. The fourth section presents the findings from
regressions of government effectiveness on government openness and national morality. The
fifth section provides a short discussion on the regression results, and the sixth section
concludes, by summarily reviewing the findings of the paper, and by offering a few policy
suggestions.
I. A Review of Some Recent Literature

In their cross country empirics, Lee and Whitford investigate potential reasons for differences in
country government effectiveness (Lee and Whitford 2009). Some of the potential explanatory
variables they consider include country legal origin, country income classification, type of
governmental system (presidential, assembly elected presidential, or parliamentary), having a
military or non-military president, existence or non- existence of election fraud, and country
classification based on the kind of federalism. They find, In their multiple regression, that brings
into play all of their explanatory variables, that only two of their variables, income classification,
and French legal origin, are statistically significant determinants of government effectiveness. In
addition, country income classification is found to be responsible for almost all of the explained
cross country variation in government effectiveness.
In his regression analysis, Al-Marhubi considers a variety of political, cultural, and economic
variables as potential determinants of governance (Al-Marhubi 2004). Using averages of various
combinations of Kaufmann's six governance as measures of governance, and employing a cross
country data set consisting of eighty six countries, he finds that greater Western European
influence, English common law origin, trade openness, and per capita GDP have a significant
positive effect on country governance.
In their investigation for reasons for differences in institutional quality between nations,
Alonso and Garcimartin select variables for consideration by using four different criteria (Alonso
and Garcimartin 2013). Their criteria are whether a variable might contribute to static
institutional efficiency, to dynamic institutional efficiency, to institutional legitimacy, or to a
reduction in uncertainty in human affairs from institutions (Alonso and Garcimartin 2013).
Using the World Bank's governance indicators as a basis for an overall measure and other
measures of institutional quality, and treating the level of economic development, income
inequality, the soundness of the tax system, and trade openness as endogenous variables, while
treating education alternatively as an endogenous and exogenous variable, they employ
instrumental variables estimation on a sample of seventy eight countries to look at potential
determinants of institutional quality. Their findings suggest that greater development, greater
income equality, a sounder tax system, and better education are favorable for institutional quality,
but that differences in trade openness are not consequential.
In their article, Garcia-Sanchez and Cuadrado-Ballesteros propose a model in which

government effectiveness is determined by organizational environment, organizational
characteristics, and political characteristics (Garcia-Sanchez and Cuadrado-Ballesteros 2013). In
their empirics, they employ generalized method of moments estimation on a panel of two
hundred and two countries for the years 2002 through 2008. Using the government effectiveness
variable of the Word Bank's Governance Indicators as the their dependent variable, they run
government effectiveness on the proportion of seats occupied by women in national
parliaments, population density, literacy, GDP per capita, and a political constraint variable.
They find that each of the variables is significant at the ten percent level of significance or better,
with diversity, literacy, and GDP per capita, having a positive effect on government
effectiveness, and density, and reduced political constraint a negative effect.
Guedes de Oliveira regresses three different objective measures of government efficiency, a

hundred less the infant mortality rate divided by the percentage of public health expenditures to
GDP, a hundred less the school dropout rate divided by the percentage of public expenditure to
GDP, and a hundred less the illiteracy rate divided by the percentage of public education
expenditures to GDP, on various economic, political, and cultural variables using a sample
consisting of two hundred and eight countries (Guedes de Oliveira 2012). His findings show that
GDP per capita, government size, and trade openness are consistently relevant in a positive way
for all three of his measures of government efficiency, that ethnic fractionalization and the
urbanization are significantly positive for two of the three measures, and that income inequality
has a negative and significant effect for two of the three measures.
Kalona-Kanyama and Kodila-Tedika propose that national intelligence may be of

consequence for national institutional quality, theorizing that national institutional quality
depends directly on national intelligence (Kalonda-Kanyama and Kodila-Tedika 2012).
Employing a cross-country sample composed of one hundred and thirteen countries for the year
2006, and controlling for some of the common variables used to explain institutional quality in
the literature (trade openness, GDP per capita, legal origin, and natural resource exports),
Kalonda-Kanyama and Kodila-Tedika run ordinary least squares regressions for each of the five
World Bank's Governance Indicators (government effectiveness, voice and accountability,
political stability, regulatory quality, and rule of law) on national average IQ. Right In line with
their hypothesis, they find that average national IQ is positive and statistically important for each
and every one of the five dimensions of institutional quality.
It appears that the segregation may be pertinent for the quality of government. In their article,
Alesina and Zhuravskaya develop indexes for ethnic, linguistic, and religious segregation for
countries (Alesina and Zhuravskaya 2011). They employ each of their indexes as a potential
explanatory variable for each and every one of the six World Bank governance indicators in cross
country regressions, adjusting for the extent of fractionalization, and for a whole host of other
variables (GDP per capita, population size, democratic tradition, latitude, mountain coverage,
legal origin, and shares of major religions). They run their regressions for their entire sample, and
also when restricting their sample to democratic countries, first using OLS, and then using two
stage least squares. For their entire sample, when using OLS, their results show that ethnic
segregation has a negative and significant effect on all of the six government indicators except
for voice that language segregation has a negative and significant effect on four of the six
indicators, but that religious segregation is not statistically relevant for any of the governance
indicators. When the sample is restricted to democratic countries and either OLS or two stage
least squares is employed, both ethnic segregation and linguistic segregation are negative and
statistically significant for every single one of the six governance indicators, while religious
segregation continues to be statistically unimportant.
There may be a nonlinear relationship between the quality of government and democracy.
Within a theoretical framework that considers both the supply of good government, in terms of
rulers incentives for providing better government, and the demand for quality government in
terms of citizens demands for better government, citizens demands that are expected to change
with the level of economic development as perceived future discount rates fall with greater
economic development, Charron and Lapuente posit that greater levels of democracy have a
negative effect on government quality at lower levels of economic development, but have a
positive effect on government quality at higher levels of economic development (Charron and
Lapuente 2010). They test their hypothesis by running regressions of government quality on
democracy and on an interaction term between democracy and the level of economic
development, adjusting for various control variables such as trade openness and British
colonization, using a cross country, time series panel data set, and employing panel corrected
standard errors estimation. In support of their hypothesis, they find, in their regressions, just as
would be expected on the basis of their theory, that democracy is consistently negative and
significant, but, at the same time, that interaction term between the level of economic
development and democracy is consistently positive and significant.
II. The Model

The model considers government effectiveness as a function of two key arguments, openness
and national morality. The model is as follows.
E = f(O, M, C) E/O> 0, E/M> 0
In the model, E stands for government effectiveness, O for government openness, M for
national morality, and C for a set of control variables. As indicated by the partial derivatives,
both government openness and national morality are expected to have a positive effect on
government performance.
Government performance is predicted to be directly related to national morality for a

number of reasons. First, greater national morality means that the people in government are
more moral, and, even without any outside pressures, will strive on their own to perform well.
Second, the citizens in a country with greater national morality are more disposed to expect the
government to perform appropriately, and to feel it to be their duty to take appropriate action if
it does not. Third, more moral government personal in a country with greater national morality
are apt to be more sensitive to how they are viewed by the public, and as a consequence of this,
have a greater incentive to work well and do a good job in order to avoid negative public
censure.
The reason government openness is anticipated to be a positive force for improved

government performance is that greater openness allows the general public, and professional
people in various walks of life outside the government such as the news media, to better see
what is going on within the government, and, by doing so, better enable them to monitor the
government, to offer informed criticism, and to bring pressure to bear for change in unwanted
government behavior. In addition, the awareness by individuals working in the government of
potential public reaction and potential consequences for ineffective or inappropriate government
behavior in a more open regime is also a strong preemptive deterrent to poor performance by
individuals employed in government.
Two control variables will be considered. The first is the level of economic development and
the second is the percentage of natural resource rents to GDP. Not surprisingly, government
effectiveness is expected to be positively related to the level of economic development. For one
thing, countries with higher levels of economic development are able to pull form a far wider
field of highly educated and technologically skilled people for employment in government.
Government effectiveness, on the other hand, is expected to be negatively related to the

percentage of natural resource rents to GDP. The government, instead of serving the public by
providing public goods and operating efficiently, may alternatively be used as a prime vehicle by
the elites to redistribute income toward themselves by creating and extracting rents. The
percentage of natural rents to GDP is a gauge of the extent of rent seeking behavior by elites
and, more importantly, the degree to which they involve government in setting conditions to
obtain these rents.
III. Variable Sources

The measure of government effectiveness that is employed is one of the six World Bank
governance Indicators, the government effectiveness indicator, for the year 2010 (World Bank
2014). The World Bank governance effectiveness indicator tries to capture the perceptions of the
quality of government services and of quality government policy. The government effectiveness
indicator has a potential range between negative 2.5 and positive 2.5 with higher values indicating
greater government effectiveness.
The openness of the government to the public is quantified by using the numbers for the
open budget index for the year 2012 of the Open Budget Survey of the International Budget
Partnership (International Budget Partnership 2012). The open budget index assesses the extent
that government budget information is open to the public, and the degree that public is able to
participate in the government budget process. The index has a potential range between zero and
one hundred. It is available for one hundred countries.
The measure of national moral character employed in the paper is the 2013 Crabtree' s index
of morality, conscience, and the good life(Crabtree 2013). The Crabtree index is a compilation
based on eighteen different criteria. These include such things as life satisfaction, economic
freedom, gay rights, life expectancy, economic freedom, and press freedom. For the year
considered, the low country value for the index is 27.4 and the high country value for the index
is 90.7.
GDP per capita for 2010 is used as a measure of economic development. Just as for the data
on the government effectiveness index, the data come from the World Bank (World Bank 2014).
Finally, the percentage of natural resource rents to GDP for 2010 is used as a proxy to
measure the extent that government may by captured by elites and used as a vehicle to obtain
rents. Natural resource rents are obtained summing the rents for all natural resources (oil, natural
gas, coal, minerals, and forests). For each commodity, rents are obtained by taking the difference
between the prices of the commodity less the average cost (including normal profits) of
producing the commodity. The numbers for the variable, the percentage of rents to GDP for
2010, once again, come from the World Bank.
IV. Empirical Results

Table I provides the outcomes for estimated cross-country regressions of government
effectiveness on government openness and national morality.
The table consists of four regressions equations. The first is a simple regression of
government effectiveness on government openness alone. The second equation is a multiple
regression of government effectiveness on both government openness and on national morality.
The third equation is an equation of government effectiveness on the two major potential
explanatory variables of interest, government openness and national morality, adjusting for the
level of economic development, using per capita GDP as a measure of economic Development.
Lastly, the fourth equation adds one additional control variable as an explanatory variable to the
third equation, the percentage of natural resource rents to GDP.
The organization of the table is as follows. With the exception of the first column, which
lists the potential explanatory variables that can enter the equations, each column shows the
results of a individual regression run. These equations are labeled in the first row of the table.
The cells in the body of the table contain the estimated coefficients and their individual t-
statistics. For any given explanatory variable, the top number in the cell for that variable in an
equation is the estimated coefficient for that variable in that equation. Beneath the estimated
coefficient is the individual t-statistic. It is in parenthesis. An asterisk indicates that a variable is
significant at the one percent level of significance or higher in an equation. Lastly, for each
equation, the r-squared value and sample size are shown in the last two rows of the table.
Table I
Cross-Country Regressions of Government Performance On Government Openness And On
National Morality
(1) (2) (3) (4)

CONSTANT -1.1217 -2.8967 -2.5439 -2.1315
(-8.29) (13.27) (-12.46) (-8.78)
* * *
BUDGETOPENNESS .0219 .0074 .0089 .0078
(7.94) (2.85) (3.79) (3.43)
* * * *
MORALITY .0420 .0311 .0263
(9.12) (6.740) (5.53)
* * *
PERCAPITAGDP .000015 .000018
(5.23) (6.02)
* *
%RENTSTOGDP -.0105
(-2.90)
*
RSQ .392 .673 .748 .769
N 100 100 98 98
The results provide support for the notion that both government openness and national
morality are relevant for government performance. Government openness, as measured by the
government budget openness index, is positive and significant at the one percent level of
significance or better in each and every one of the four equations in table I. National morality is
positive and significant at the one percent level of significance the three equations that it appears
(equations (2), (3), & (4)). Whether used together without adjusting for any control variables as in
the second equation, or when adjusting for one or more control variables as in the third and
fourth equation, the coefficients on both government openness and national morality continue
to be positive and highly significant. On its own, government openness explains over thirty nine
percent of the cross country variation in government effectiveness (equation (1)). The two main
explanatory variables of interest, government openness and national morality, taken together, on
their own, in a sample of one hundred countries, explain, over sixty seven percent of the cross
country variation in government effectiveness (equation (2)).
The two control variables, also work quite well. Economic development, measured by GDP
per capita, is positive and significant at the one percent level of significance in the two equations
in which it appears (Equations (3) & (4)). This suggests, just as theoretically anticipated, that
higher levels of economic development are associated with greater government effectiveness.
Right in line with theoretical expectations, in the single equation that that the percentage of
natural resource rents to GDP appears (equation (4)), its estimated coefficient is negative and
significant at the one percent level of significance, suggesting that greater rent seeking behavior is
unfavorable for government performance.
V. Discussion
While many people have considered a lot of other factors that may be important for government
effectiveness, it appears, at least from the findings of the paper, that national morality and
government openness should not be ignored when considering the underlying reasons for good
government. In the old days of the classical economists, when economics was known as political
economy, this position would come as no surprise. Adam Smith, the father of economics, saw
morality as the necessary underpinning of both the operation of the market economy and of
government. Today, economists are coming to see that morality, the willingness of people to live
by the rules of the game, is indispensable for effective institutional operation. Of course, future
studies, using different measures of national morality, of government openness, and employing
alternative methodologies need to be undertaken to confirm the findings of the present study,
and to provide greater insights into the relationship between government and morality.
VI. Conclusion
The cross country regressions in the paper, National Morality, Government Openness, and
Government Effectiveness: The Panacea to Government Effectiveness, indicate that both
government openness and national morality matter for government performance. Each of the
two key variables, government openness and national morality, are positive and highly significant
when used as explanatory variables in cross country regressions to explain government
effectiveness.
The obvious policy implication is that in order to increase government effectiveness policy
makers need to implement policies that are designed to increase national morality and to achieve
greater openness in government. This means citizens need to be bought up with a desire to
provide for the common good, with a greater willingness to sacrifice their own interest for the
public good, to do the right thing, and to really want to do positive things for their fellow
citizens. Selection of politicians and of people for government employment, to act as decision
makers, administrators, or as plain ordinary government workers, must be made, not just on the
basis of their skills and qualifications, but also on their public spiritedness, with their real
sincerity in identifying themselves as public servants, and with their perceiving their personal
status as a function, not of the money they make, nor of the position they hold, but of how well
they serve the public.
Openness combined with morality is likely to have a powerful synergistic effect on government
quality. More moral citizens will feel greater responsibility to monitor their government for poor
performance, for corruption, and for abuses, and to take actions to rectify these problems.
Enhanced government openness provides them with greater monitoring ability, thereby better
enabling them to effectively perceive problems, and to act on them. With greater openness,
politicians and government workers who deviate from the correct path run a greater risk of being
found out and being shamed, both in their own eyes and in the public's eye, and, thus, have a
greater incentive to act professionally and uprightly. In addition, politicians and government
employees who are more moral are more innately prone to do positive things of their own
accord, more predisposed to do things for the public good even in the absence of third party
oversight, and more sensitive to failure to do right because of greater pain of conscious.
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p-ISSN: 1694-2620
e-ISSN: 1694-2639
The clash of two cultures: A historical analysis of social

changes in the gold coast in the twentieth century
Abdul Kuba
University of Cape Coast
Department of History, Cape Coast
Abstract
Throughout history there had existed clashes of cultures of different regions. Whenever there is a
clash of cultures the superior culture tends to exert its supremacy on the weaker. The Gold Coast
now Ghana is not an exception of this phenomenon. With the Gold Coast contact with the
Europeans certain changes occurred in the way of life of the people of the Gold Coast this changes
made most Gold Coasters turn away from their traditional way of doing things to adopt the alien
culture that was introduced to them. The adoption of the alien culture by some Gold Coasters
resulted in a conflict between the traditional order and the new order as most people who adopted
the new order were made to segregate themselves from the traditional order and regard it as
barbaric. With this insight, this paper presents content and context information on the various social
changes that took place in country in the twentieth century.
Keywords: acculturation, contact, segregation, indigenous
Introduction
Societies all over the world undergo changes with time which are mostly dependant on certain
factors. These factors may include education, religion and even due to contact with new group of
people. These changes are normally associated with specific dates or periods of human civilizations
or development. In view of this, one can say that the contact between Europeans and people of the
Gold Coast obviously resulted in some changes in the conception of life and the indigenous value
systems. Through acculturation, the Gold Coast people lost many aspects of their cultural behaviour
and heritage, and instead adapted the European way of life. Social changes had earlier been
narrowed to the coastal areas of the Gold Coast as a result of the earlier European presence in the
coastal areas, and their commercial activities which attracted many people to those areas. However,
by 1900, the establishment of the British authority in the Gold Coast had been accomplished. In
view of this, British political influence was extended to all parts of the Gold Coast, and thus no
community was excluded from the cultural modifications that accompanied the latters exercise of
authority in the Gold Coast in the twentieth century (Kimble, 1983).
The purpose of this essay is to discuss the various changes in the way of life of the people of Gold
Coast as a result of their contact with European culture and the effects of these changes on the
people.
Growth of Urban Centres
One of the notable social developments in the twentieth century was the growth of many urban
centres. All the heterogeneous groups in the Gold Coast lived in isolation from one another. This
was as a result of poor transport system, fear of warfare and slave raiding. However, European
presence and activities attracted many people to the coastal villages and other commercial areas
which increased in population, and eventually developed into the status of urban centres. The rise of
these settlements started from areas that were close to European forts and castles in the Gold Coast.
Such towns included Cape Coast, Elmina, Komenda, Accra, and James Town among others which
evolved due to the presence of the Europeans. Towns like Sekondi, Accra, Kumasi, Suhum, Tamale,
Koforidua and Agona Swedru also developed in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
Thus, urbanization spread gradually to every part of the Gold Coast. (Boahen, 2000) listed a number
of factors (basically a drift of people from the villages into towns) which contributed to the growth
of the above urban centers. Among these factors included the search for quality education for the
children of wealthy people, the search for jobs with better pay, the search for good standards of
living or with the view of investing their capital.
Likewise, improvement in the communication sector in the twentieth century also contributed to the
movement of people from rural areas into these places. A significant outcome of the construction of
the Takoradi harbour, railway and roads was the growth in the population of the town. (Webster,
1980) In other words, there was a steady increase in the population of Takoradi when the harbour
was constructed in 1928. Also, the people of Gold Coast were able to travel from one region to the
other without much difficulty. Further, the discovery of precious metals in towns like Konongo and
Obuasi contributed to its increase in population. At a point, Cape Coast became the commercial hub
and the stronghold of the British in the Gold Coast. By virtue of these functions, the size of Cape
Coast progressively grew such that by the 1931 census it had a population of 17,685 (Kuba, 2014).
In this same year, there were about six more towns, namely Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi, Tamale,
Winneba, and Koforidua, that had over 10,000 inhabitants (Webster, 1980). Nineteen towns had a
population that ranged between 5,000 and 10,000 with about 349 towns having a population ranging
between 2,000 and 5,000 in this same period. Thus, in the twentieth century, Gold Coast passed
from one state to the other with respect to community development where different people with
diverse backgrounds settled in one area or urban center. The Europeans that settled in these places
carried with them their architectural designs (Amenumey, 2008).
Population Increment
The development of urban centres was made possible as a result of the increment in population.
The Gold Coast society which previously consisted of indigenous people of African heritage saw the
coming and settling of expatriates from the fifteenth century right into the twentieth century. By the
twentieth century the population of the Gold Coast included a large number of foreigners of which
the Europeans dominated in numbers. Expatriates from Syria, Lebanon, India, and the Americas all
contributed to the rise in the census of the twentieth century Gold Coast society. In 1911, the
Colonial Government reported 2,245 European residents in the Gold Coast (Boahen, 1980).
Expatriates in the Gold Coast settled along the coast of the country and their presence there
attracted Gold Coasters from all parts of the country. The steady increase in population of the
country also resulted from the establishment of law and order throughout the country and the
improvement in health care of the people (Boahen, 1986).
Emergence of New Social Class
Another major social change in the twentieth century was the emergence of new social class. This
was brought in by western education and urbanization. Before European contact there existed three
principal groups: the ruling aristocratic class which was based partly on achievement but mainly on
birth, the non-chiefly class and the slaves. The last group was in extinct as a result of the anti-slavery
measures introduced in the 1870s and 1880s (Perbi, 2007).Three new groups steadily emerged: the
educated Ghanaian elite, the European elite and the wage-earning class. These groups emerged
primarily from the mission education system, and from the economic and political developments
that took place in the twentieth century. Within the educated group, sub groups emerged from them
(Boahen, 2000). These groups included; the educated professional elite or the intelligentsia, most of
these professionals belonged to families along the coast of the Gold Coast especially Anomabu,
Accra and Cape Coast. Some of these families included Bannermans, Quartey-Papafios, Hutton
Mills, Grants, among others. Below them were the lower elite (these were teachers, clergymen,
catechists, junior civil servants and educated few traders. The third sub group consisted of
elementary school leavers employed as clerks, messengers, shop assistants, apprentices and so on.
With the construction of roads, railways and above all with the development of the mining and
cocoa industries, a further class began to emerge. These additional groups composed of illiterate and
semi-skilled workers, cocoa farm labourers, mine workers, railway and road labourers, canoemen
who operated the Accra surf boats and other artisans. The semi-skilled workers included tailors,
masons, mechanics, printers and motor drivers (Kimble, 1963).
Change in the Role of Women
The change in the role of women was another major social change in the twentieth century.
Marriage and house-wifery were the roles of women in traditional African society prior to the
twentieth century. Women were limited to the activities in the home; and they were not as free as
men. A man could marry as many women as he liked but a woman was culturally restricted to one
husband. Men provided money for the up keep of the home. In this way women tended to become
economically limited, of course, this does not mean traditional women had no role in leadership in
the Gold Coast before the twentieth century, Yaa Asantewa; queen mother of Ejisu is just but a few
women who were leaders before the twentieth century. In the twentieth century women in the Gold
Coast rose in the social ladder, this was depending on their education rather than birthright. Some
rose to become doctors, lawyers, teachers, bankers and politicians. These women included Prof.
(Mrs.) Florence Dolphye (first Ghanaian female professor), Dr. Susan Barbara de Graft-Johnson
(first female doctor), and Dr. Ruby Quartey Papafio (first Ghanaian headmistress) among others
(Akrofi, 1978). In the twentieth century marriages, women felt equal as their husbands and could
choose their professions ahead of their marriages. All these new developments were as a result of
education and Gold Coasters contact with the Europeans (Vieta, 1999).
Introduction of New Architectural Style
Another development that was closely connected to urban settlement was the sudden change in the
architectural development of the people of Gold Coast. In the urban centers, new architectural
designs of European origins were introduced by the missionaries in the nineteenth century. By the
twentieth century, there were a number of attractive solid brick or cement buildings, generally
European or Brazilian in style, with fortified iron or shingle roofs and consisting of two or more
storeys (Buah, 1980). As a result, foreign architectural designs replaced the traditional round mud
houses roofed with grass. The Basel missionaries were noted to have constructed rectangular houses
roofed with shingles. Their leader, Andreas Riis, was nicknamed Osiadan (builder of house) by the
indigenous people for his contribution to architectural development in the Akuapem area of Gold
Coast. The Wesleyans were also believed to have encouraged the building of better houses in the
western region, and they were known to have spent a great deal of time finding suitable roofs for
houses in the tropics (Boahen, 2000). Wealthy Gold Coasters in the twentieth century copied the
building styles of the European in the urban centers. The layouts of the mission township, (known
as Salem or Sukuum), with rectangular houses neatly arranged and well spread out with broad streets
and open gardens, were also transferred to the urban centers by the wealthy Gold Coasters. Wealthy
individuals like the merchants, lawyers, and later the cocoa farmers were the class of people who
were able to fund the construction of these types of buildings and thus lived together with the
European minority in the same section of the urban centers.
Most of the urban areas were segregated; the houses built in areas where the Europeans and
wealthy Gold Coast merchants lived were made of bricks, flat-roofed, and well white washed and
generally of relatively higher quality standard; on the other hand, the area settled by the poor natives
had houses terribly huddled together in a filthy environment (Boahen,2000). The segregation which
started in the twentieth century due to European presence still lingers on in the twenty first century
where wealthy Ghanaians have converged and built their houses in areas like East Legon, Dansoman
all in Accra, Atasomanso in Kumasi among others. Evidence from oral traditions and some
photographs shows that Kumasi underwent a change in appearance during the exile of Prempeh I
(Okyere, 2000) while in 1896, all the houses of that town were single-storey houses built of swish
and roofed with thatched leaves, upon his return to Kumasi in 1924, Prempeh I witnessed a change
in the architectural design of Kumasi from a single-storey, roofed with thatched or leaves, to two-
storey houses roofed with corrugated iron sheets. The concentration of large number of people in
the urban centers put pressure on housing (Webster, 1980).
As stated earlier the population of Ghana steadily increased in the twentieth century and
thus put much pressure on housing facilities in the urban centers. This challenge worsened after
colonial rule. In tackling the gap between housing and population, the Nkrumah led government
after colonial rule established the Ministry of Housing, State Housing Corporation and the Tema
Development Corporation to ensure the provision of house for workers. To this end, an European
firm, A.V. Shokbeton was contracted to provide accommodation for government staff and the
general urban dwellers. The project spread generally in most places in the country but Tema in
particular because it was the commercial hub of the country (Amenumey, 2008).
The housing project mainly focused in the urban centers; however, the government
instituted a loan scheme which was accessible to rural dwellers for the purpose of building houses.
The government also encouraged people to patronize the services of the First Ghana Building
Society which provided a mortgage scheme that aided people to own houses. Individuals were able
to own houses built by statutory bodies by paying instantly or through the hire-purchase or house-
ownership scheme. However, majority of the government houses were lease to low income earners
(Buah, 1980). The twentieth century also saw the introduction of pipe borne water and electric
lighting. Accra had its first drinking fountain in 1910 and Kumasi also had its first piped water
supply in 1934. The first electricity installation was carried out in Sekondi, and then the main port, in
1919, in Accra in 1921, in Koforidua between 1921 and 1925 and in Kumasi in 1927. Some towns
were provided with street drainage, latrines, incinerators, streets and market areas. Many people in
the urban centers abandoned their fabric of being Gold Coasters and adapted foreign culture
(Boahen, 2000)
Change in the Social life of the Gold Coasters
In the early nineteenth century, many Gold Coasters fancied turning away from customs
they were born into for an alien culture. Actually, this became clear in the twentieth century. Many
believed that it was the only way to express or demonstrate the knowledge acquired through formal
education. In places like Cape Coast, the patterns of behaviour had already been created by the
European merchants on one hand and the wealthy indigenous merchant and educated elites on the
other hand in this century. The educated Gold Coasters especially organized meetings and specially
taught their members European way of life (Boahen, 1989). Books like Beetons Complete Etiquette for
English Gentlemen were recommended for use by members of diverse associations. Important
personalities in the society to whom many considered role models embraced western way of life.
Nene Mate Kole of Krobo is believed to have opted for European dress on a special occasions of
the traditional calendar on the grounds that he had embrace western education and enlightened
ideas. This development obviously encouraged many to have a repugnance attitude to the Gold
Coast traditional way of life (Webster, 1980). This was especially associated with beneficiaries of
western education and the respected people in the community. R.J. Ghartey effort of introducing
the Kabasrotu, cover shoulder, faced stiff competition from European dress as many preferred
appearing European than in Kabasrotu.
Females who wore the Kabasrotu were called women whereas those who appeared in
European dress were referred to as ladies. Interestingly, the Ladies Mutual Club, founded in 1904
in Sekondi made a rule against its members to go out in traditional dress. Members who went against
this ruling were fined. Initially, it used English language in its meetings which it later permitted
members to speak the local dialect once a month in its meetings (Amenumey, 2008). The growth of
the urban centers was accompanied by some unfortunate developments, especially, during the
colonial period.
Problems of Urbanization
Urbanization increased some social problems like the outbreak of diseases, example, bubonic
plaque in Accra in 1908 and the virtual reduction of the powers of the chiefs. In 1908, there was an
outbreak of a bubonic disease in Accra. Also, between 1913 and 1914, there was an outbreak of
yellow fever in Accra, Saltpond, and other Coastal towns together with Asante and the Northern
Territories. (Amenumey, 2008) The missionaries made the first attempt in dealing with the issue of
diseases in Gold Coast. However, little was achieved in the area before the twentieth century,
particularly before the Second World War (Buah, 1980). The missionaries themselves suffered from
tropical diseases. Individual missionary societies managed to keep doctors at a few major mission
stations like Aburi, Christiansborg and Odumase. The medical work of the missions was mostly a
dispensary service. Generally the missionaries brought along chests of medicine for themselves, their
converts and would-be converts. Individual missionaries who had some knowledge of health care
attended to the sick. Often the dispensary service was properly organized (Buah, 1980). In 1929, for
example, the Roman Catholic White Fathers started a dispensary at their new station at Jirapa in the
north. In the 1931, the Basel mission opened a hospital at Agogo in Asante Akyem. On a whole,
before the Second World War, missionary medical work was not considerable. Outside the activities
of the traditional healers, who ministered to the great bulk of the population, the main bulk of
European medical work, such as it was, was undertaken by the government. There was a renewed
commitment from the government in dealing with the spread of diseases in the urban centers (Buah,
1980). The government constituted the Improvement Committee which later made
recommendations for a healthy society. In 1908, a public device that supplied drinkable water was
opened in Accra as part of measures to reduce the outbreak of diseases. In 1918, there was a
renewed press criticism of the lack of drainage and proper condition for sewage and garbage
collection and disposal.
The criticisms mounted on the colonial government by the Gold Coasters showed likelihood
of success with the establishment of a Public Health Board in Kumasi in 1925 (Amenumey, 2008).
This was followed with a programme for town planning by which the colonial government
established rules and laws to control town development. The Guggisberg-led administration adopted
the plan of Clifford, his predecessor, where they proposed an expanded version of the initial plan to
the building of a hospital to include a medical school and a teaching hospital to train the human
resource locally rather than training them abroad. The hospital was completed in 1923 but
unfortunately the plans for the medical school became a reality only after 1957. Initially these
hospitals catered for the Europeans and their families. However, under pressure from the Gold
Coasters it was made open to the general public.
By 1939, there were about 38 hospitals which were provided by both the government and
the missionary societies (Boahen, 1989). At independence, appropriate attention was given to the
provision of improved health care under the general programme for improved welfare services.
Already existing health facilities were expanded and equipped with modern equipment while new
hospitals like the Okomfo Anokye and Efia-Nkwanta hospitals were constructed. Polyclinics were
also constructed to provide mainly out-patient services. The government approved the opening of a
number of nurses training schools, the establishment of a medical school and the establishment of
the faculty of pharmacy at the University of Science and Technology.
Introduction and spread of Christianity
Christianity played a significant role in the establishment of European influence in the Gold
Coast. Before the arrival of the European, the Gold Coasters already had an idea and believed in a
Supreme Being and ascribed to Him the attributes of the Almighty (Mbiti, 1991). Thus, religion
played an important aspect in the life of the Gold Coasters; they had the consciousness of god in all
they did. They made daily prayers and sacrifices to the Supreme Being through intermediary deities
(Danquah, 1968). The chiefs and lineage heads combined their political offices with religious
functions. By this, chiefs and lineages heads were considered as conservers of tradition, that is, a
living link with the ancestors.
When the European missionaries arrived, they realised that they need not introduce god to
the Gold Coasters because they already had an idea about Him. However, they realized that their
conception of god differed from the Gold Coasters to which they were eager to convert the latter.
From the start, the Christian missionaries faced frightening situations relating to local diseases and
the sporadic hostility from the Gold Coasters, yet, they persevered (Boahen, 2000). Initially,
Christian activities were done side-by-side with their commercial ventures and therefore could not
achieve much result as expected. However, by the twentieth century, the activities of the Christian
missionaries had been dissociated from their commercial enterprise and thus progress was achieved
in their evangelisation mission. For instance, early in the twentieth century, that is 1900, the
Wesleyan mission boasted of at least sixteen centers with a minimum of 164 church members and at
least 451 scholars. This was not achieved on a silver platter as there were open clashes between the
conservatives, mostly the traditional rulers, and the newly converts. The idea that Christians were
those who were free of the restraints and taboos of the heathen town was a major source of
friction between the traditional leaders and converted Gold Coasters.
In view of this, there were occasional outbreak of violence, (especially in the Akyem
Abuakwa and Asante areas), between traditional leaders and newly converted Christians as the latter
failed to observe certain cultural practices (Boahen, 1986). An idea of these conflicts could be found
in the conclusion of the 1909 Colonial Report which observed that, the Ashanti organization which
was powerful in older days became disintegrated as a result of spread of western civilization and
more liberal ideas. To solve this problem, a joint committee of government officials and
missionaries met in Kumasi in 1912 to draw demarcation between fetish and purely ceremonial
services. The aim was to compel Christians to perform ceremonial services and avoid the fetish
practices. An extreme decision was reached when the government encouraged Christians to form
separate settlements in order to reduce the possibility of conflicts (Buah, 1980). In this same century,
the unnecessary demand of the Christian missionaries for their converts to part way with indigenous
practices, (that were undesirable to them but not necessarily sanctioned by the Christian faith), was
firmly entrenched which produced a lot of changes. They insisted on their converts to appear in
decent clothes and change their heathen names. Thus, European clothes and names, (after
baptism), became postulates of the Christian life. Surnames of fathers were added to the names of
their children.
Again, by 1884, Gold Coast recognised three types of marriage which became obvious and
recognised by many in the twentieth century. These were; 1.Through customary law 2.Christian rite
and 3.The legal law (Kimble, 1963). Marriage union between a Christian and an unbeliever was
considered as not expedient though not prohibited. By the twentieth century, the major Christian
societies started organising Christian rite of marriage for all their members. They also promoted their
individualistic tendencies and by that they sought to create a distinct family from the traditional
extended family system. This was alien to the indigenous Gold Coasters who cherished the larger or
broader extended family which served as a basic unit of their existence (Boahen, 1986).
Christianity was branded as the white mans religion by the indigenous people in the
periods before the twentieth century. A change ensued in the twentieth century when the Christian
societies realised the need to use the African in the evangelisation process and thus adapted the
policy to win Africa with the help of the Africans. This was to erase the description of Christianity
as being the white mans religion. In view of this, the Wesleyan mission achieved a great feat with
respect to the training of Gold Coasters; there were 47 African ministers, 367 catechists, 479 day-
school teachers, 1,500 local preachers, 2,500 class leaders, and 2,600 Sunday school teachers
(Gifford, 1998).
Also, the twentieth century witnessed the formation of many separatists churches by the
Gold Coasters most of which were inspired by a combination of dissatisfaction, the advancement of
personal ambition, and spiritual conviction (Boahen, 2000). Others broke away from the main
churches with the view of Africanising churches and a complete break from the irksome discipline
of the European authority. An example was the Nigritian Church which aimed to use local languages
to attract members. It was founded by the Rev. J.B. Anaman. Prophet Jehu Appiah, of the
Methodist church who broke away on the grounds that he needed maximum attention for his desire
to establish a prayer-healing ministry also founded the Musama Disco Kristo Church in 1922
(Boahen, 2000). Thus, in the twentieth century, there was a change where Gold Coast had
indigenous ministers and churches founded by black people which also promoted Christianity from
the African way. By 1980 more than 50% of Ghanaians were recorded as Christians. The churches
were held high esteem and the voices of the leaders were heard and carry great influence over
government policies and decisions (Buah, 1986).
Introduction and the spread of Western Education
Before European presence, the home served as the main and immediate agency responsible
for the education of individuals. Parents served as teachers in this arrangement. Children were
expected to learn from their parents. This type of education was described by a Danish merchant as
thus: From the age of eight or nine the boys would follow their father to learn some trade and be
initiated into the customs and traditions. As the Fetu knew no alphabet, the young had to seek
information about the past by listening to their elders (Buah, 1986). The young men especially had
to attend sessions of the law courts, to become acquainted with tribal law. This was how
traditionally, the Gold Coasters imparted knowledge to the young; fathers taught their sons whereas
mothers taught their daughters. However, Western education, (which was organized and done in a
precise manner), accompanied European settlement and absorbed the traditional mode of education
(Foster, 1965). In pre-colonial times education was part of the daily activities of the people of Gold
Coast. Traditional education was aimed at introducing the people to traditions and instruction to
help the individual to live according to the dictates of the traditional order. Western form of
education was however, introduced to the people in order to enhance evangelical activities of the
Europeans (Antwi, 1992).
It started in the sixteenth century from the castles, mostly, for children of European
merchants and later wealthy indigenous merchants. However, there was a change in the twentieth
century as formal education was made accessible to every child of school going age (Amissah, 1992).
Before the twentieth century, the provision of formal education was largely the work of the
missionary societies. The provision of education was considered a means to furthering missionary
work. The idea was to provide schools where the young could be educated and converted in the
process. The schools taught English grammar, catechism, arithmetic, Bible study; and the history
and geography of Europe. However, education became the official policy of the British government
in 1850 which was subsequently institutionalised in 1852 when Governor Hill passed the Education
Ordinance to provide for the better education of the inhabitants of His Majestys forts and
settlements on the Gold Coast (Amissah, 1992). Having passed the bill, the twentieth century
witnessed a commitment from the British colonial government to the provision of adequate schools
in response to the increasing number of children of school going age (Bening, 1990).
In 1901, there were 122 schools in the Gold Coast. The colonial government provided seven
of these schools whereas the missionary societies provided 115 of these schools. In 1903, the
colonial government introduced the awarding of certificates for primary school leavers who passed
the Standard Seven Examinations. Provision of schools was mainly restricted to the coastal towns of
the Gold Coast. However, in 1907, it was extended inland to cover Asante and the Northern
Territories (Bening, 1990). This was made possible because of some political developments which
started from the nineteenth century and ended in the twentieth century. By 1901, the northern areas
including (Asante and the territories lying above it), had been captured and brought under British
authority, Provision of school therefore extended to cover these places. In 1909, the colonial
government established a technical and teacher training schools in Accra. Between 1913 and 1918,
Government and Assisted schools increased to 154 and 204 respectively. Assisted schools were
mission schools that were supported by the colonial government. At the same time, pupil enrolment
increased from 18,609 to 26,496 while the average attendance also increased from 13, 894 to 21,317
(Antwi, 1992).
The first secondary school was established by the Wesleyan Mission in 1876 which was later
developed into Mfantsipim School. This was followed with the establishment of the Church of
England Grammar School, 1910, and the St. Augustines College, 1936 by the Church of England
and the Catholic Missions respectively. The establishment of secondary schools by both the
missions and the colonial government spread from the coast of Gold Coast to other parts of the
country. The Presbyterian Mission, formerly known as the Basel Mission, registered its name in this
regard when it established the Odumase Krobo Secondary School in 1938 (Antwi, 1992). The
curriculums of the early schools were characterised with a foreign dominated way of appreciation
where it employed European system of teaching. Reading, writing and religious instruction were the
subjects taught. The advanced level students did arithmetic, geography and history in addition to the
above three subjects. This was prevalent in the missionary schools (Antwi, 1992). The provision of
schools by the colonial government witnessed some structural changes under the administration of
Guggisberg.
Prior to the appointment of Guggisberg, many Europeans took little interest in the customs
and institutions in the Gold Coast and, in fact, condemned certain traditional practices to the core.
However, in order to appreciate indigenous institutions for a sound and peaceful administration,
Guggisberg established the Anthropological Department where he appointed Capt. R.S. Rattray as
its boss in 1921 (Guggisberg, 1927). This speaks volume of how Rattray made significant scholarly
contribution to the history, culture, art, religion of some traditional institutions in the Gold Coast.
Largely through the anthropological department, Rattray was able to study some selected local
institutions and documented some of them. Notably among his works include; the Asante Law and
Constitution; The Tribes of the Ashanti Hinterland etc. Indeed, the Europeans studied and appreciated the
way of life of the Gold Coasters through this department. It is therefore not surprising when R.S.
Rattray emphasized in the 1920s the fact that to the African religion was co-extensive with every
action and thought; that it is not possible to pick and choose from his culture and say, I will retain
this and this The appointment of Guggisberg brought a change to the curriculum (Antwi,
1992).
His initial work as a surveyor exposed him to the nature of education provided by the
missionaries. As governor, he opposed it on the grounds that much emphasis was not paid to the
practical aspects and thus introduced the kind of education he preferred for the colony. He
introduced the Sixteen Principles of Education in a bid to improve the provision of education in
the country. Some of the principles included: increasing enrolment of girls; building training
colleges; instructing pupils in their local history and languages etc. He established the Achimota
School as a model school together with four vocational schools (Antwi, 1992). The School was
opened in 1927 with a kindergarten, primary, secondary and a university college. He was much
concerned with practical and equipping students with skills needed to become professionals right
after their period of education. This was evidenced in a remark he made in 1920, continue their
education for one-third of their time, the remaining two-thirds being employed in learning the latest
methods of cultivation of one or more commercial agricultural products In view of this, he
established four industrial schools to serve the needs of the Colony, Asante and the Northern
Territories. Thus, formal education witnessed a number of changes during the Guggisberg-led
administration (Antwi, 1992).
The legacy of the Europeans in the provision of schools continued during the limited self-
government and after colonial rule where the Nkrumah-led government carried out two main
objectives for the provision of education in Ghana. The first was the extension of education to
many parts of the country, so that the individual could live a life in line with modern way of life.
The second was to equip people with skills needed for general administration and industrial services.
It was to the attainment of these goals that the government drew up educational policies which
incorporated all aspects of formal education that is, from primary school to the university level and
in effect brought some changes to what it inherited from the colonial government (Kwarteng, et al,
2012).
Even before the attainment of independence, the Nkrumah led CPP Government
introduced the Accelerated Development Plan for Education (ADPE) in 1951. The main reason for
the introduction of the ADPE was to expand the provision of primary schools, thereby, increasing
access to education at the primary level for children in that stage of development. Through the
ADPE, 500,000 primary school locations were established. This was accompanied with an increase
in the enrolment of middle schools. In effect, the expansion and increase access to primary
education called for an increment in the enrolment in secondary school as well as an increased
demand for teachers. Increase in enrolment contributed profoundly to the rise in governments
expenditure from 207,500 in 1950-51 to over 900,000 in 1952 (Kwarteng, et al, 2012).
In September 1961, the government introduced a compulsory free tuition for primary
education in an attempt to ensure education for all. This plan however came with a difficult task
because an additional one thousand schools were to be built to meet the increment that followed the
fee-free education (Kwarteng, et al, 2012). Such a project was not financially viable because the
government was not financially positioned to provide the one thousand schools. In view of this, the
Ministry of Education introduced the shift system, where two streams of school were organized
each day in the same educational facility. The number of hours spent by each stream of school was
four and a half hours. Before long, the free-tuition was extended to the second cycle educational
institutions with an arrangement for free textbooks in the 1962-1963 academic years. At the second
cycle level, schemes started emphasizing diversified curricula and syllabuses.
The aim of this trend was to produce manpower for skilled and manual work rather than for
white-collar jobs alone (Amenumey, 2008). The government through the Ministry of Education
introduced the Ghana Education Trust, a statutory institution, which speeded up the provision of
educational facilities especially at the secondary school level in the country. The government and
other private institutions and individuals awarded scholarships to brilliant but needy students in a
bid to encourage schooling among Ghanaians and also to train the manpower needs of the country
(Amenumey, 2008). The tertiary level was also expanded to include polytechnics, teacher training
colleges, universities and institutes for professional studies like medicine and nursing. In 1958, the
government established the National Research Council to promote research and scholarship among
Ghanaians.
The Ghana Academy of Learning, now Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences was also
established in 1959 (Kwarteng, et al, 2012). In 1961, the University College of the Gold Coast was
granted a full university status and named, the University of Ghana. In the same year, the University
of Science and Technology was established at Kumasi in the Ashanti region. In an attempt to ensure
the supply of graduate teachers and also to promote research in education, the Nkrumah-led
government founded the University College of Education in 1962 which was later renamed
University of Cape Coast after it had attained full autonomy in 1971 (Kwarteng, et al, 2012).
Outside the educational institutions, the government was also committed to educating
members of the society on their cultural heritage. To this end, a department in the Ministry of
Education and the Arts Council were set up to ensure the campaign for cultural studies. With the
initiative of Dr. Kyerematen, the government founded a cultural center, now Centre for National
Culture, in Kumase. Centers for cultural studies spread throughout the country. Attention was also
paid to the development of education among adults (Antwi, 1992). This was done under the
patronage of the University of Ghana, Legon. Students were instructed, (in the evening after close of
work), on how to read and write the vernacular and also mounted general subjects like economics,
history et al to widen the knowledge scope of its students (Buah, 1980). The Department of Social
Welfare and Community Development in conjunction with other government agencies also ensured
the promotion of informal education to adults and children above school going age especially on
health and sanitation.
This approach to education was known as the Mass Education which spread all over the
country (Amenumey, 2008). The government funded the cost of textbooks to pupils in the primary
and middle schools. In the 1964/1965 academic year, the combine number of schools for both
primary and middle schools were 9,988 with a population of 1,286,486. In this same period, Ghana
had 89 registered secondary schools and 47 teacher training colleges with a student population of
32,971 and 10,168 respectively. Attention was also paid to technical education. A number of
technical schools were opened to equip students with skills in various trades namely, masonry,
welding, carpentry among others. Tamale, Sunyani, Koforidua, Asuansi, Kikam, Ho, Kpando, were
some of the places with technical schools. The technical schools established in the above places
were funded by a UK/Ghana Technical Assistance Scheme in 1960. As at the 1964/1965 academic
year, there were about eleven technical schools in the country (Amenumey, 2008).
After the overthrow of the first independent government in 1966, several attempts had been
made by both civilian and military regimes to improve upon education and social services in the
country. The National Liberation Council, NLC, which assumed control after the fall of the CPP
government, established the Centre for Civic Education. This body was given mandate to educate
Ghanaians in their duties and on citizens responsibilities. The Centre through the organization of
open lectures reached out to many Ghanaians (Buah, 1980). The NLC also decided on uniform fees
to be charged in private schools and colleges. It also decided that only academic performance should
be considered for the award of scholarships for education.
The government of the Busia-led Progress Party, (PP), made remarkable strides in rural
development when it took over from the NLC as a civilian government. In reducing the rural-urban
drift, the government provided the rural areas with facilities found in the urban centers. The
government launched a programme for the construction and maintenance of feeder roads to link up
major roads, an extended programme for water supply and general health care (Buah, 1980). Thus,
between 1969 and 1971, thirty-five water projects were completed whereas sixty-four were also
under construction. The government also contributed profoundly to health care delivery and
communication in the country by constructing 54 health posts and upgraded 150 miles of gravel
roads to all weather. Fifty-four health facilities were also completed across the country. Thus, the
PP government brought changes and comparatively made rural settlement an attractive one
(Amenumey, 2008).
In 1974, a noteworthy reform in the history of education in Ghana came into existence. This
was the Dzobo educational reforms by the National Redemption Council (N.R.C.) government
under the leadership of Ignatius Kutu Acheampong. It reduced the number of years spent during
pre-university education from seventeen years to thirteen years. Before the enforcement of this
reform, pre-university education in the country was characterised with a six year primary school
which ushered students into the elementary school for a four years period of study (Antwi, 1992).
After successful completion of the elementary school, students continued their education with a five
year secondary school course where they were expected to complete by sitting for the Ordinary
Level Examination. Students finally ended their pre-university education at the sixth form which had
two stages of Lower Six and Upper Six and students finished this level with the Advanced Level
examinations for admission into the university.
This was however replaced in 1974 when the Dzobo reforms came into existence. Primary
school leavers proceeded to the junior secondary school, thereby, avoiding the elementary education,
and continued with the senior secondary school upon completion. The junior secondary and senior
secondary schools lasted for three and four years respectively. There was another reform in 1987
(Antwi, 1992). This was the initiative of the Provisional National Defence Council. It reduced the
Dzobo reform to twelve years. Primary school lasted for six years. Junior and senior secondary
schools both lasted for three years.
Without breaking stride in the provision of schools, Ghana achieved remarkable successes
fifteen years after independence. Primary and middle school enrolment increased from 571, 580 to 1,
365, 203, that of secondary schools from 9, 860 to 71, 860 and that of training colleges from 3, 873
to 18, 814 (Antwi, 1992). In 1952, the West African Examination Council, WAEC, was established
to organize and administer exams and revised syllables to meet the requirement of member states.
Ghana benefited from this examination body as it organised exams to the needs of West Africa.
WAEC actually took over from the Cambridge University Local Examinations Syndicate in 1960.
Thus, secondary school examination in Ghana assumed the name, School Certificate Examination
of the West African Examinations Council. By 1970, the content of subjects taught was Africanised
in a varying degree. Students at the secondary schools studied predominantly African history and
literature for O level courses. Education played a far greater role in the social structure of twentieth
century Gold Coast (Buah, 1980).
However, it must be stated that the magnitude of these social changes were not felt equally
in all the various regions of Gold Coast. The northern territories for instance, were regarded as
commercially and economically negative area which offered none of the readily exportable minerals,
forest and agricultural resources as compared to that of the Ashanti and the Gold Coast colony. As a
result, the region was conveniently relegated to the background in most of the schemes of the
development initiated by the colonial government in the early part of the twentieth century (Buah,
1980).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it has been revealed that, the twentieth century social changes in the Gold
Coast to a larger extent were facilitated by the indoctrination of the Gold Coasters. This
indoctrination made the so called African educated elites to fancy the alien culture to the detriment
of the traditional order. It also made them see themselves to be better than those who had not
received western education. In pursuance to this, there were series of clashes between the new class
westernised Africans and the indigenous Africans. The result of these clashes led to segregation
between the new class and the old traditional order. Despite all these conflict, European contact
with the people of the Gold Coast contributed to the growth of certain towns that might have not
existed if not for the people contact with the European. Better building style, health conditions and
improved sanitary conditions were introduced to the people that helped to improve the living
condition of the people of Gold Coast.
References
Akrofi, A.K, (1978). School Organisation in Modern Africa, Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation.
Amenumey, D.E.K, (2008). Ghana: A Concise History from the Pre-Colonial Times to the 20th Century,
Accra, Woeli Publishing Services.
Amissah, J.B, (1992). Introduction to Education in Ghana, Accra: Sedco publishing limited.
Antwi, M.K, (1992), Education, Society and Development in Ghana, Accra: Unimax publishers limited.
Assimeng, Max, (1999). Social Structure of Ghana: A Study in Persistence and change, Tema: Ghana
Publishing Corporation.
Bening, R.B, (1990). A History of Education in Northern Region, 1907-1976, Accra: Ghana university
press.
Boahen, A.A, (1989). African Perspectives on Colonialism, Maryland: John Hopkins press,.
Boahen, A.A, (2000). Ghana: Evolution and Change in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries,
Accra, Sankofa Educational Publishers.
Boahen, A.A, (1986). Tropics in West Africa History, Harlow: Macmillan publishers limited.
Buah, F.K, (1980). A History of Ghana, London: Macmillan publishers.
Danquah, J.B, (1968). Akan Doctrine of God: A Fragment of Gold Coast Ethics and Religion,
London: Frank Cass and company limited.
Foster, Philip, (1965). Education and Social Change in Ghana, London: Routledge and Kegan
Gifford, Pual, (1998). African Christianity, Its Public Role, London: Hurst and company limited.
Guggisberg, F.G, (1927). The Gold Coast: A Review of the Event of 1920-26 and prospects of 1927-
28, Accra: Government printer.
J.B, Webster, (1980). The Revolutionary Years: West Africa Since 1800, Harlow, Longman Group Ltd.
Kimble, D, (1963). A Political History of Ghana, 1850-1928, Oxford: Clarendon Press,
Kuba, Abdul,( May 2014). A History of Fishing in Cape Coast From 1946-2000, A Project work
presented to the Department of History, University of Cape Coast, (unpublished).
Kwarteng, K.O, Boadi-Siaw, S.Y., and, D.A Dwarko, (2012). A History of the University of Cape Coast:
Fifty Years of Excellence in Tertiary Education (1962-2012), Cape Coast, University of Cape
Coast Publishing.
Mbiti, John, (1991). Introduction to African Religion, London: Clay limited.
Okyere N. Vincent, (2000). Ghana, A Historical Survey, Accra: Royal Crown press.
Perbi A. Akosua, (2007). A History of Indigenous Slavery in Ghana, from The 15th to The 19th Century,
Accra: Sub-Saharan publishers.
Vieta T. Kojo, (1999). The Flagbearers of Ghana, Accra: Ena Publications.

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Aajhss.org Aajhss.org Aajhss.org Aajhss.org Aajhss.org Aajhss.org Aajhss.org Aajhss.org Aajhss.org Aajhss.org Aajhss.org Aajhss.org Aajhss.

Entrepreneurial skills and farming performance: Implications for 14

Effects of single parenting on students academic performance: A case 27

Hidden curriculum: Does it matter in a Ghanaian school setting 36

Which Causal Relationship Established the Effect of the Control 47

Spirituality, age, gender and academic self Efficacy as determinants of 59

National Morality and Government Openness: The Panacea to 72

The clash of two cultures: A historical analysis of social changes in the 80

Analysis of preferred teaching styles used by History tutors

Edmund Selorm Sosu

The study adopted a descriptive research design, precisely a self-report survey to

Direct style 16(50) 12(37.5) 4(12.5) - -

Co-operative style - 8(25.0) 1(3.1) 5(15.6) 18(56.3)

Inquiry-base style - 1(3.1) 3(9.4) 13(40.6) 15(46.9)

Lecture style 13(40.6) 15(46.9) 4(12.5) - -

Coach style 4(12.5) - 4(12.5) 24(75.0) -

Statement Sum(N) Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly Mean SD

Preferred Teaching Styles Used By History Tutors

Factors underpinning History Tutors choice of Teaching Styles

On a macro-level, in terms of external factors repressive on history tutors teaching style,

Alesandrini, K. and Larson, L. (2002). Teachers Bridge to Constructivism. Clearing-House.

Blumberg, P. (2010). Learner centered teaching. University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

Oppong, C.A.,& Quan-Baffour,K.P.(2014). The nature of Historical Facts: History teachers

Young, M.R. (2002), Experiential Learning = Hands-On + Minds-On, Marketing Education

Westmarland, N.(2001). The Quantitative/Qualitative Debate and Feminist Research: A

A. Preferred styles used in teaching history

Teaching styles Rank

1. Direct style: Using a strict styles that give students the

2. Inquiry-Based style: Allowing students to explore and actively

3. Cooperative style: Teaching students in as in a community and

4. Lecture Style : Acting as sage in teaching students on stage in

5. Coach Style: Demonstrating expertise to showing students

B. Factors underpinning History tutors choice teaching style

7. My personal orientation, beliefs and values influence my

8. The purpose and design of the course influence my teaching

9. The norms of the institution I teach in influence my teaching

11. The developmental abilities of my students influence my

12. My current rank or status in the school influence my

13. The availability of teaching materials influences my teaching

14. The presence of the school principal influences my teaching

15. My interaction with fellow teachers/head of my department

16. The duration on the time table for teaching influence my

17. The classroom/ lecture theatre space influence my teaching

Entrepreneurial skills and farming performance:

Dr. Shirantha Heenkenda1

Dr. D.P.S. Chandrakumara

Keywords: Entrepreneurial skills, farming performance, banana cultivation, Sri Lanka

Literature review: Importance of entrepreneurial skills of farmers

Siriwardene and Jayewardene (2014) conducted a research on socio-demographic factors

Mbam and Nwibo (2013) conducting a research on entrepreneurship development as a

Statement of the Problem

Study Area and the sample

Measurement of variables and methods of analysis

Profitability: Profitability variable is constructed by deducting the variable cost of production of

Marketing orientation: In order to measure the marketing performance, an index was

Productivity: Agricultural productivity is determined by number factors. According to Fried et

Results and Discussion

Study population profile

Canonical Correlation Analysis

Multivariate Tests of Significance (S = 4, M = 0, N = 94 1/2) Panel A

Eigenvalues and Canonical Correlations Panel B

Dimension Reduction Analysis Panel C

Source: Author constructed.

Canonical correlation reflects the percentage of variance in the dependent canonical