A brief history of science education in ghana from the colonial era to present day Essay Example for Free

A brief history of science education in ghana from the colonial era to present day Essay Science education is the cultivation and disciplining the mind and other faculties of an individual to utilize science for improving his life, cope with an increasingly technological world, or pursue science academically and professionally, and for dealing responsibly with science related social issues (Akpan, 1992). Ghana, formerly known as the Gold Coast, was the first African country to the south of the Sahara to gain political independence from colonial rule in 1957. This former British colony of 92,000 square miles (about 238,000 square kilometers) shares boundaries with three French-speaking nations: the Cote dIvoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north and Togo to the east. The Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean is to the south of the country. EARLY HISTORY OF EDUCATION BEFORE INDEPENDENCE As was the case in many colonies during the early colonial period, the main goal of education was to ‘make civilization march hand-in-hand with evangelization’ (Anum –Odoom, 2013). This statement gives a clear description of how education in Ghana was implemented at that time. The formal, western-style education in Ghana is directly associated with the history of European activities on the Gold Coast The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive at the Guinea coast in 1471. Their intention to establish schools was expressed in imperial instructions that, in 1529, encouraged the Governor of the Portuguese Castle at Elmina to teach reading, writing, and the Catholic religion to the people. It is imply proven that the Danish, Dutch and the English merchants also set up schools in their forts and castle to educate their mulatto children by native women. Unmistakably linked to the implementation of formal education in Ghana with the Christian missionaries, who realized that in order to spread the word of God, they needed well- educated local assistants. Following the consolidation of the coastal region as the British Gold Coast Colony, the administration became more aggressive in pursuit of its educational policy. This was precipitated by the British purchase of the Danish property at Christiansborg in 1850 and the Dutch Elmina Castle in 1872. To help redress problems faced by the mission schools—such as training local teachers and improving the quality of education—the administration made grants to both the Wesleyan and Basel missions in 1874. In the Educational Ordinance of 1882, government grants to denominational schools were made dependent on an assessment of the level of efficiency. The schools receiving grant-in-aid were defined as government assisted schools, but their primary funding was to come from the missions themselves and from other private sources. On the Gold Coast, the appointment of Brigadier General Gordon Guggisberg as governor brought its own advantages. During his tenure from 1919 through 1927, Governor Guggisberg initiated several major developmental programs that included educational improvements as a critical ingredient in his construction of a modern Gold Coast. While the previous administration had seen the provision of elementary schools by the various Christian missions as adequate, Guggisberg was of the conviction that the current system could not sustain future developments. In fact, only a few months after his arrival, the governor presented a 10-year development plan for the Gold Coast. Among other things, funding was aggressively sought for post elementary education for boys and girls. Even though the administration proposed a technical college for Accra, the Prince of Wales College (now Achimota College) was the real trophy of the administrations educational program. This non denominational school catered for students from kindergarten to the pre university level. THE BIRTH OF SCIENCE EDUCATION The inadequacies inherent in the system of education were observed in the post-World War I appeal made by the Foreign Missions Conference of North America to the Phelps-Stokes Funds for a review of the state of education in Africa. The Phelps-Stokes Commission on Africa issued reports in 1922 and 1925 in which educators were criticized for inadequately catering to the social and economic needs of the continent. The commission of which James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey was a member, called for instructions in the mechanical operations necessary for the improvement of the condition of the mass majority of the people. This included science education and character training. The Phelps-Stokes funds founded in 1920, is an African Education Commission represented one of the early attempts to link black Africa with Negro America. The attempt to forge this link represented a concerted policy on the part of a number of missionary and philanthropic groups in the United Kingdom and the United States to draw attention to what seemed to be analogous situations-politically, socially, and economically. Ghana is said to be the first independent sub-Saharan African country outside South Africa to embark on a comprehensive drive to promote science education and the application of science in industrial and social development (Anamuah-Mensah, 1999). Science Education after Independence After Phelps- stokes commission had pushed for the birth of science education in Africa in general and in particular, Gold Coast, there has not been any clear cut national policy for science education in Ghana up to date (Ahmed, 2013). Dr Kwame Nkrumah who aimed at achieving Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education instituted an Act called 1961 Act, (Act 87) . This Act was to make Basic education free and Compulsory and anyone who fails to send his or her child to school was made to pay a fund by the Minister for education. The education system at that point consisted of six year of primary education, followed by four-years of secondary education. At the end of the four years suitable students went on to do a two-year sixth form course that could lead to a three year University course. Students, who were not suitable to continue, completed two- year of pre-vocational classes. The Nkrumah government encouraged the learning of science by instituting a special scholarship scheme which enabled science and agriculture undergraduates to enjoy scholarships a little higher than those of their counterparts in the humanities. This facility was withdrawn after 1966. Science and mathematics teachers were also paid a little more than their colleagues in the humanities. (Djangmah, 2007) The Reforms The seven year development plan instituted by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was short lived. The system was later regarded as too long and too academic. Thus Dzobo Education Reforms of 1974 saw a reform of the system, instating the Junior Secondary School (now Junior High School) on an experimental basis. The Junior Secondary School introduced practical subjects and activities allowing students to acquire occupational skills, which after an apprenticeship lead to the qualification for self-employment. Due to a wide range of factors such as the economic decline, bureaucracy and sheer lack of interest the JSS-system never went beyond the experimental phase. By 1983 the education system was in a state of crisis. It faced drastic reductions in Government financing, lack of educational materials, and deterioration of school structures, low enrollment levels and high dropout rates. With the assistance of several development partners (World Bank, Department for International Development (ODA) and international grants) the education system was reviewed and proposals were implemented in 1987 known as Evans-Anfom reforms. In 1987, Ghanas Ministry of Education introduced a restructured educational system that gradually replaced the British-based O-level and A-level system. The transition was completed in June, 1996, when the last class took A-level exams. The last O-level exams were administered in June 1994, although a remedial exam was offered through 1999 (Keteku, 2013) The 1987 Reforms had strengths as well as weaknesses. One of the strengths was that it provided a comprehensive Basic Education which improved access to education for more children of school-going age. Junior Secondary Schools were provided throughout the country and this helped to increase literacy levels. The reform also introduced Continuous Assessment which formed part of the final examination. This ensured that internal assessment in schools was included in the final examinations and this ended the single-shot examination existing in the old system. The Anamuah-Mensah Report recommended similar structure of education just like the Evans-Anfom Report of 1986. The difference was the inclusion of two (2) years of Kindergarten education as part of Basic Education and Apprenticeship training for leavers of the Junior Secondary School who unable to or do not want to continue in the formal sector. The implementation of the Anamuah-Mensah Reforms began in September 2007, and it was faced with initial problems. These problems included delay in the supply of syllabuses and textbooks for the smooth take-off of the programme, and teachers were not adequately prepared in terms of training to implement the reforms. These problems were later dealt with as the implementation of the reforms progressed. The next major problem being anticipated is the inadequate classrooms and other facilities as students will enter the fourth year of Senior High School in September 2010. The Way Forward For Science Education Promotion of science education in the country will depend on three drivers of change, namely, funding, teaching and interventions, and research (Akyeampong ,2007) Funding Knowledge is not cheap. Science, technology and mathematics knowledge required to move the country into the knowledge society can never be cheap. Government’s commitment to science education should be demonstrated in the level of resources allocated to science and technology. Laboratories and workshops in the schools, teacher training colleges, universities and polytechnics should be well equipped and new ones constructed to take into consideration the increasing student population. Research The knowledge society thrives on the creation of new knowledge. Research provides the means by which new knowledge is created. Resources, both material and human, for research in science and technology are woefully inadequate or non-existent. This has had a profound effect on the development of post graduate research in the universities. A number of measures need to be taken to strengthen research in science and technology in order to meet the demands of the country. The following are being suggested: †¢Research in research institutions and the universities should be adequately funded. †¢Most researches carried out in the universities are those that interest the researchers and are hence supply-driven; the Government should challenge our scientists and provide funds to carry out research on problems confronting the country. This can be done through the provision of research funds to be competed for by all scientists in the country. †¢Establish a National Science Research Facilities Centre equipped with world class specialized facilities which are normally expensive and therefore beyond the means of single institutions, to provide opportunities for Ghanaian researchers to carry out scientific research and development and retain local researchers as well as attract foreign ones. †¢To improve the quality of science education at all levels, research in science and technology should include research on teaching and learning science, technology and mathematics. †¢Institute special awards for best researchers and science teachers. This could be termed the President’s Award for Science to be given annually. We need to celebrate achievement. †¢Set up a formal scheme for mentoring the Youth- This is critical to the development of a career path in science for the youth. Mentors excite interest in junior colleagues and help them to â€Å"walk the path†. This experience is however rare in the universities. These days, newly recruited scientists struggle to keep afloat with little or no support. A formal mentoring system should be established in all institutions to ensure that young scientists recruited into the universities or research institutions are attached to professors and senior scientists in their fields of study to receive advice and support. The mentoring can take the form of joint research, publications and presentations at conferences and seminars. †¢To raise the level of awareness of science and technology innovation (research) and foster a synergy among education, industry and research institutes, a project referred to as SMART MOVES in some countries should be established in secondary schools. This project will involve encouraging schools through visits, presentations and seminars to work on problem solving projects with support from the community. The projects will be assessed and students with innovative and creative projects will be invited to present their projects at a Junior Scientist Conference which will be attended by senior scientists who can later act as mentors for the students. Prizes will be given to students based on the quality of project and presentation. The Ghana Academy of Science and Arts can take up this. Conclusion The vision of the National Science and Technology Policy is: â€Å"to support national socio-economic development goals with a view to lifting Ghana to a middle income status by the year 2020 through the perpetuation of a science and technology culture at all the levels of society, which is driven by the promotion of innovation and the mastery of known and proven technologies and their application in industry, and other sectors of the economy†. (MEST, 2000) This vision can become a reality when science education is given a boost at all levels of education. It has been suggested that the promotion of science education hinges on three pillars – funding, teaching and intervention, and research. Without adequate funding, quality teachers, supportive intervention activities and research to illuminate our understanding, science education will have no impact on the everyday lives of Ghanaians; and the observation made by the National Development Planning Commission will remain true. Our national vision for science and technology will be therefore be meaningless. REFERENCES Ahmed, M. (2012). Ghana to launch National Science policy. Retrieved 4th October, 2013, from http://www. ghanaweb. com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel. php? ID=235350. Akpan, O. E. (1992) Toward Creative Science teaching and learning in West African school. Ghana: catholic Press Akyeampong, K. (Centre for International Education, University of Sussex, England) in his lecture on â€Å"50 Years of Educational Progress and Challenge in Ghana†, at Parliament House, London, England; 2007 Anamuah-Mensah, J. (1999). Science and Technology Education in Ghana. A paper delivered at the National education Forum on the theme: Towards Sustaining an Effective National Education System, held at the Accra International Conference Centre, Accra, 17-19th November. Anum-Odoom, A. K. M . Educational Reforms in Ghana, 1974-2007. Retrieved on 12th October, 2013, from http://www. ghanaweb. com/GhanaHomePage/blogs/blog. article. php? blog=2091ID=1000004125- Djangmah, J. S. Clarifying Ghana’s national vision for the application of science and technology to development. Retrieved on 12th October, 2013, from http://www. ghanansem. org/index. php? option=com_contenttask=viewid=234 Keteku, N. W (EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN GHANA: THE SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL). Retrieved 10th October, 2013, from http://www. bibl. u-szeged. hu/oseas_adsec/ghana. htm Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) (2000). National Science and Technology Policy Document. Accra: MEST.

Marriage Essay -- Literary Analysis, Gary Chapman

Introduction What is needed for a marriage in today’s world to last? Have you all heard the song, "All you need is love? Is that a misconception? After being married for 14 years, I believe so. Author Gary Chapman states that what is the real meaning of love? He examines how we as individuals throw the term around so easily in our everyday lives. He explores how we can love anything from dessert to a favorite rock band. Is the true definition of love, being valued and respected in our marriages today? (Chapman, 2010). Is love a feeling of expression and is there such a thing as love? Couples marry because they love each other correct? Then why are there so many divorces happening everyday. â€Å" What leads a couple to a divorce?† There could be many reasons, for example, the death of a child, infertility, drug/alcohol abuse, or physical abuse. One of the biggest reasons for divorce is Infidelity, which in many instances can lead to divorce and is probably one of the most damaging things that can happen in a marriage. Wilmot & Hocker state, Infidelity is one of the most common problems married couples face today. â€Å"When people experience conflicts, much of their energy goes into emotions related to those conflicts† (Wilmot & Hocker, 2). For example in infidelity, some of those emotions can be stress, sadness, depression, and anger. Statistics may vary, but they show for the most part, that 60% of men and 40% of women will participate in or be faced with an extramarital affair at some point in their marriage. The relationship rapidly shifts from madly in love to signing the divorce paper and sharing custody of the children (Fisher, 2008). The Emotions of Infidelity If you or someone you loved have experienc... ...ch this conflict in a rational and collaborative style. Conclusion I have explored how the emotions of anger, denial, rejection and guilt can save a marriage if approached with the right conversations and clarity. We have learned from the research that peoples perceptions of a conflict like an affair, can lead them to feel negative emotions that can be very difficult to overcome. By understanding the emotions that can enter after infidelity, more people faced with this conflict might be able to save their own marriage. As we know, conflict occurs when people are not capable of controlling their emotions in certain situations (Bell & Song, 2005). Therefore, if a married couple would like to try to save their marriage after infidelity, they should try to better understand what their spouse is feeling and how they can overcome those emotions together.

Backup Criteria Essay

A company should have backup files of anything important and pertinent to their business. Any data and files that are stored on their computer should be backed up. I would suggest a full backup which includes all files whether they have been changed or not. I would have 8 datasets which includes User Acquisition Costs, Abandoned Carts, Visitor Value, Lifetime Value, Traffic, Lead Source ROI, Purchase Funnel and Percentage of Mobile Visits. I would use a File History back up. Before you start using File History to back up your files, you need to first select where your backups are saved. You can select an externally connected drive, such as a USB drive, or you can save to a drive on a network. There are other choices, but these two provide the best options to help protect your files against a crash or other PC problems. File History only backs up copies of files that are in the Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop folders and the OneDrive files available offline on your PC. If you have files or folders elsewhere that you want backed up, you can add them to one of these folders. The data should be taken offsite every night. Data backup is extremely critical to the survival of your business. There are numerous potential hazards that threaten your data. Equipment failures, crashes, theft, fire and flood are just a few examples of the dangers. Your company needs a solid plan in place to assure that all of your important data is retrievable. If a crash occurs, you can such utilities as fdisk, dinit, chkfsys, and spatch to detect and repair any damage that happened to files that were open for writing at the time of the crash. In many cases, you can completely restore the filesystem. Sometimes the damage may be more severe. For example, it’s possible that a hard disk will develop a bad block in the middle of a file, or worse, in the middle of a directory or some other critical block. Again, the utilities provided can help you determine the extent of suc h damage. You can often rebuild the filesystem in such a way as to avoid the damaged areas. In this case, some data will be lost, but with some effort, you can recover a large portion of the affected data. When backing up your data, you need to decide whether to back up each file and directory separately, or in an archive with a collection of other files. You also need to decide  whether or not to compress your data to reduce the storage requirements for your backups. The time lost to compression and decompression may be offset to a degree by the reduced time it takes to write or read the compressed data to media or to transfer it through a network. To reduce the expense of compression, you may choose to compress the backup copies of your data as a background task after the data has been copied, possibly days or weeks after to reduce the storage requirements of older backups while keeping newer backups as accessible as possible. You should back up often enough so that you can recover data that’s still current or can be made current with minimal work. In a software development group, this may range from a day to a week. Each day of out-of-date backup will generally cost you a day of redevelopment. If you’re saving financial or point-of-sale data, then daily or even twice-daily backups are common. It’s a good idea to maintain off-site storage.

Twinkle, who had been napping in front of a blazing fire,...

Twinkle, who had been napping in front of a blazing fire, woke with a start. â€Å"What’s that swishing sound?† she asked Charlie, who had been sleeping on the back of her old ratty armchair. Charlie yawned and rubbed his eyes with his tiny paws. â€Å"I slept so well,† he moaned. â€Å"You always sleep well, Charlie,† Twinkle said. Whoosh. Whoosh. What a strange noise, Twinkle thought. Whoosh. Whoosh. â€Å"What is that?† she asked again. â€Å"It’s Swifty, the swallow,† Alfie croaked from the top of the bookshelf. And really, when Twinkle looked towards the window, she could see Swifty dashing past the house. He was shouting something, but Twinkle couldn’t hear what he said. She threw her comfy quilt on the floor, struggled up, stepped over Hugo,†¦show more content†¦Twinkle had been living a peaceful life with her friends, the animals, for many years, but she always feared, things might change some day. She knew it was only a matter of time and her big sister Storm would find her. Maybe Storm didn’t know yet where Twinkle lived, but Twinkle assumed she was on her way. Why else would she leave the beautiful island in the sea and their family home? â€Å"Did you make sure she didn’t follow you when you flew back?† she asked Swifty. â€Å"Yes, I did. She left a few days before I arrived. If my calculations are correct, and she has found out where you live, she could turn up any day.† How awful, Twinkle thought. â€Å"We have to go to the village tomorrow, to buy food,† she said. â€Å"It will be a perfect opportunity to find out if she’s sneaking around. Until then I will renew the protective spell around the clearing. She may very well find the forest, but she will have a hard time to find the house.† It was early in the morning and Twinkle, Alfie, and Charlie were getting ready for their trip to the village. Alfie had cleaned his feathers until they were nice and glossy. Twinkle had brushed Charlie’s fur with her own comb and he looked as if he’d taken a bath. She had much less luck with her own hair and, in the end, decided to use some of the lovely smelling hair gel she only used on special occasions. It was warm outside; she didn’t need a coat. She was wearing a pair of purple jeans, a bright green pullover, and her favoriteShow MoreRelatedAutomatic Sliding Glass Doors Whoosh Open1572 Words   |  7 PagesTwo automatic sliding glass doors whoosh open. You walk in, nervous and scared faces surround you. A stale bleach smell fills your lungs. Men and women, young and old dressed in varying shades of blue scrubs file paperwork, pound on a keyboard, or chat with patients families. You are in the Desert Springs emergency room in Las Vegas, Nevada. People say that it takes a special kind of person to work in the emergency room. 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