ABSTRACT
The study assessed perceptions of institutional stakeholders
regarding the role of university environment on the teaching and learning
processes in the University of Cape Coast. The descriptive survey design was
used for the study. The population for the study was all lecturers and
administrators in the University of Cape Coast. The simple random sampling
technique was used to select 125 lecturers and 98 administrators for the study.
Four research questions guided the study. A 42-item questionnaire was used for
data collection. The Cronbach’s coefficient alpha for the questionnaire for
lecturers and administrators were 0.73 and 0.78. Frequencies, percentages,
means, standard deviations and one sample t-test were used to analysed data.
The results showed that, to a great extent, lecturers and administrators
perceived physical facilities such as university library, size of lecture
halls, laboratories to affect teaching and learning process. Lecturers and
administrators indicated that, class sizes affected teaching and learning
processes. Lecturers and administrators also reported that university location
affected the process of teaching and learning. It was found out that the
emotional state of a lecturer, an administrator and motivation affected
teaching and learning processes. It is recommended that government resource
allocation for physical facilities should be improved. Additionally, the
university management should put students into smaller class sizes.
Furthermore, government and communities are to ensure that students have access
to the institutions near to their areas of residence. Incentive packages by
university authorities should be given to motivate lecturers and
administrators.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
It is generally accepted that education enables individuals
to contribute to the development and improvement in their quality of life,
their communities and the nation as a whole. Higher education prepares
graduates for a vision of the local and global society one aspires to become.
Education also focuses on advancing social progress and is equitable,
interdependent, sustainable, innovative, and economically secure for the
welfare of all. This new vision of society which calls for equipping diverse
students with the values, skills, and knowledge to become complex thinkers and
ethical decision-makers in a society is currently plagued with conflict and
inequality (Alvarez, Konkle & Brady, 2009).
As post-secondary institutions enter this era of
“evidence-based” practice, and take greater responsibility for monitoring
student outcomes, one must aim to assess the context of diverse learning
environments that impact these outcomes (Mege, 2014). When one does not assess
diverse learning environments, it would be difficult to tell the extent to
which learning environments impact student outcomes. The institution
environment refers to factors within the institution that influence the
teaching-learning process. The institution environment includes: Instructional
materials classrooms, library, technical workshops, teachers’ quality, teaching
methods and peers (Ajayi, 2001).
The general condition of our schools, colleges and
universities are a matter of great concern to the nation. It plays a
significant role in the development of the personality of the students. As the
students spend most of their lives at school, the institution environment is
highly responsible for the inculcating high values into them. For example, the
Kothari Commission (1964-1966) cited in Ajayi (2001) posited that “The destiny
of Indian is now being shaped in her classroom” (p.2). This quotation indicates
the significant role an institution environment plays in a student in
particular and the nation in general. Therefore, as education is the backbone
of every nation, students’ wellbeing so long as institution environment is
concerned is needed to support them to perform well.
It is believed that a well-planned higher institution will
gear up expected outcomes of education that will facilitate good social,
political and economic emancipation, effective teaching-learning process and
academic performance of students. Relating this study to international
occurrences are the assertions of Williams, Persaud and Turner (2008) citing
Marsden (2005) reported that safe and orderly lecture hall environment,
institution facilities were significantly related to students’ academic
achievement in higher institutions. The extent to which students learn could be
influenced positively or negatively depending on what the higher institution
environment provides to learners and lecturers.
Studies have shown that a hostile or discriminatory
psychological environment negatively impacts students’ transition to college
and sense of attachment to the institution (Cabrera, Nora, Terenzini,
Pascarella & Hagadorn, 1999; Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pederson & Allen,
2000). Research has established that perceptions of a hostile climate are
associated with a lower sense of belonging among both students of colour and white
students, in addition to informing how successful students of colour feel in
managing the academic environment in the first year of university (Locks,
Hurtado, Bowman, Oseguera, 2008; Hurtado, Han, Sáenz, Espinosa, Cabrera &
Cerna, 2007).
Nora, Barlow, and Crisp (2005) introduced a new model of
student integration that includes student perceptions of the campus climate,
sense of belonging, validating experiences from faculty and peers, family
support and environmental pull factors, financial assistance/need, academic
development, and interactions in the social and academic environment. In
effect, they have extended the integration concepts of Tinto’s (1993) model of
student departure based on research on minority, low-income, and
non-traditional students that document psychological, behavioural, and
environmental factors that influence persistence in university. These studies
and new models highlight the social and psychological context for learning,
retention, and success among students in the universities.
In the developing countries, poor learning environments have
always been identified as key factors that lead to poor performance in public
universities (UNICEF, 2003) due to overstretching of the available resources as
a result of increased enrolment. In Ghana, physical characteristics of the
universities have a variety of effects on the lecturers, students and the
learning process (Adams, 2000). Poor lighting, noise, high levels of carbon
dioxide in lecture theatres and inconsistent temperatures make
teaching-learning process difficult (Adams, 2000). Poor maintenance and
ineffective ventilation systems lead to poor health and higher truancy rates
among students (Frazier, 2002; Lyons, 2001; Ostendorf, 2001).
Class size has also been an issue that affects the teaching-learning
process in most institutions of higher education in the developing countries
(Adams, 2000). Zainul-Deen, (2011) cited Ankomah et al. (2005) that education
quality is much higher and improves students’ achievement when the
student-teacher ratio is much lower in class. A study conducted by Beebout
(1972) cited in Adams (2000) on class size in Malaysia colleges proves that,
fewer students per teacher in a class improves the quality of interaction and
for that matter raises accomplishment. In Ghana, it appears that most
institutions of higher learning do not have adequate lecture theatres. Some
students stand during lectures hours instead of sitting comfortably to
concentrate on instruction. This does not enhance teaching and learning processes.
According to UNESCO (2005), the achievement of teaching and learning is
influenced by the availability of resources to use for the process and how
these resources are regulated. Higher education that does not have textbooks
and learning materials or well-equipped libraries and good infrastructure
cannot do effective and efficient work. Adeyemi (2010) citing Gibbs (1990)
maintains that a well-equipped library provides assortment of material
resources like books, journals and CD ROM. The library is a reference source
for any higher institution of learning and a point of individual studies in
higher institutions where relevant information can be extracted. Adequacy of
library resources and their usage by students and teachers are therefore,
associated with better learning results.
Watkins (2000) affirms that the university physical
environment reassures parents about the safety and performance of their
children at the place of learning hence, its influence on the institution
enrolment rates. A research by Sunday (2012) revealed that there is a
significant relationship between physical university environment and students’ academic performance in colleges.
It was also discovered that poor facilities and inadequate space, as well as
the arrangement of items including seats in the lecture halls, library and
laboratory, would affect the organisation of learning environment (Watkins,
2000). Favourable university climate gives room for students to work hard and
enhance their academic achievement. In the views of (UNESCO, 2005, p.28;
Watkins 2000), expansion in educational facilities improves the social,
economic and political benefits for students. Besides that, parents are
motivated to invest in the education of their wards because it offers them high
knowledge, reasoning abilities, skills and the cherished values that they need.
Twenty-first century learning environments are envisioned as places where the
learner is engaged in self-directed and co-operative learning activities, and
the physical environment is planned so that it can be routinely re-organised to
mediate learning (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2002).
The university administration is a crucial factor in the
success of a university. The quality of administrative support and effective
leadership for supervision is another critical element in university processes
for both students and lecturers. At a more macro level, lecturers need governments
who are supportive and provide machinery for inspection of education systems.
Organizational support for teaching and learning takes many forms, including
such measures as advocating for better conditions and professional development,
respecting teachers’ autonomy and professionalism and developing inclusive
decision-making processes. Such support has been shown to have impact on
student learning (UNICEF, 2000). In Malawi, for example, supervisors in the
universities that showed the greatest learning gains regularly evaluated teachers, contributing to professional development
and improved teaching practice (Miske & Dowd, 1998).
In universities, emotional factors may also inhibit learning
and the need for a highly supportive and respectful environment to enable
learners to validate and express their personal goals. This suggests that the
emotional factors at universities contribute immensely to the learning
potentials of students. The teaching and learning environment of universities
should be designed such that students would be free from emotional factors
which may affect their academic work. Also, in universities, the importance of
a high degree of learner participation in co-structuring progress towards
desired ends, and the critical pedagogy should be generally stressed. This
would help empower students based on increased collective, historical and
political awareness of what students are supposed to learn at universities
(Boud, 2013). It is essentially to note that emotional aspects of learning,
such as feelings of self-worth and autonomy are likely to be important factors
in deep engagement of learning.
Generally, in the universities the administrator is
responsible for establishing work in connection with teaching and non-teaching
staff, the preparation of teaching and examination time, control and
maintenance of equipment, liaise with the Estate Officer for accommodation of
teaching staff, preparation of annual budget and administration of expenditure
from funds available to Supervision of staff (non-teaching) and others
(Agyei-Bieni & Abedi-Boafo, 2015). As indicated in this chapter, university
environmental factors such as availability of physical facilities, class size
and others play an invaluable role on teaching and learning processes. The
study is therefore intended to assess the perceptions of institutional
stakeholders regarding the role of university environment on the teaching and learning
process in the University of Cape Coast.
For more Educational Planning & Administration Projects Click here
===================================================================Item Type: Ghanaian Topic | Size: 127 pages | Chapters: 1-5
Format: MS Word | Delivery: Within 30Mins.
===================================================================
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.