Issue

Vol. 20 No. 2 (2022): Journal of Higher Education in Africa: Special Issue on Conceptualising and Researching the Public Good Role of Universities in Africa

5 - Expanding Higher Education for the Public Good: Ghanaian Stakeholders’ Perspectives on the Quality Dimension

https://doi.org/10.57054/jhea.v20i2.2727
Christine Adu-Yeboah

Journal of Higher Education in Africa, Vol. 20 No. 2 (2022): Journal of Higher Education in Africa: Special Issue on Conceptualising and Researching the Public Good Role of Universities in Africa

Abstract

This study examined the views of twenty-three stakeholders connected to the Higher Education (HE) sector in Ghana, to understand the links they make between HE and the fulfilment of the public good. The study, which was conducted in 2018, was purely qualitative, employing individual interviews and focus group discussions. The results showed that stakeholders make strong links between the quality of inputs into HE, the approaches used in imparting and assessing relevant knowledge and skills, and the quality of graduates. They also drew links between the quality of HE, the products and their ability to serve the public good in addressing the problems of the society. The implication is that the quality of an institution is measured by the quality of investments made into it, the quality of faculty and instruction and its ability to serve the public good. The study recommends that HE institutions should design programmes that regularly develop the pedagogical competence of HE faculty to make HE pedagogy more relevant to societal needs. It also makes a case for the provision of academic/remedial support for students who may be underprepared for HE, while ensuring that the quality of HE practitioners and participants is of an acceptable standard. Lastly, higher education institutions should create conditions that can bring about innovations in funding, good governance and accountability.

Keywords

higher education public good quality inputs products Ghana
Adu-Yeboah, C. (2022). 5 - Expanding Higher Education for the Public Good: Ghanaian Stakeholders’ Perspectives on the Quality Dimension. Journal of Higher Education in Africa, 20(2), 89–110. https://doi.org/10.57054/jhea.v20i2.2727
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX
References
  1. Adenira, A., Ishaku, J., and Yusuf, A., 2020, Youth employment labour market vulnerability in Ghana: Aggregate trends and determinants, in McLean M. L., ed., West African youth challenges and opportunity paths, Newark, NJ: Rutgers University Press, pp. 187–211.
  2. Antwi, M. K., 1992, Education, Society and Development in Ghana, Accra: Unimax Publishers Ltd.
  3. Arum, R., and Roksa, J., 2011, Academically adrift: Limited learning on college cam- puses, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
  4. Baah-Boateng, W., 2015, Unemployment in Ghana: A cross sectional analysis from demand and supply perspectives, African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, Vol. 6, pp. 402–415.
  5. Blaich, C., and Wise, K., 2010, Wabash national study of Liberal Arts Education 2006-2009: Overview of findings from the first year, http://www.liberalarts. wabash.edu/study-4th-year-data/.
  6. Bri ish Council, 2015, University education, employability and the skills gap in Ghana: Perspectives of students, London, UK: British Council.
  7. Chapman, D., and Adams, D., 2002, Education in developing Asia. The quality of education: Dimensions and strategies, Hong Kong: Asian Development Bank, Comparative Education Research Centre, University of Hong Kong.
  8. Danish Trade Union Development Agency, 2020, Ghana labour market profile 2020, Copenhagen: DTDA.
  9. Darvas, P., and Palmer, R., 2014, Demand and supply skills in Ghana: How can training programmes improve employment and productivity, Report No. 89064- GH, Washington, DC: World Bank.
  10. Ghana Statistical Service, 2014, Ghana living standards survey round 6 (GLSS 6) labour force report, Accra: GSS.
  11. Gillies, D., 2015, Human capital theory in education, in Peters, M., ed., Encyclopedia of educational philosophy and theory, Cham: Springer Science + Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_254-1
  12. Goode, F., 2016, Approaches to Ghana’s higher education: Challenges drawn from the U.S. Community College model, Walden doctoral dissertation and doctoral studies, University of Walden.
  13. Hénard, F. and Roseveare, D., 2012, Fostering quality teaching in higher education: Policies and practices, An IMHE Guide for Higher Education Institutions, Paris: OECD Publishing.
  14. Hinton-Smith, T., 2012, Assessing progress and priorities in widening participation, in Hinton-Smith, T., ed., Widening participation in higher education: Casting the net wide? Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 295–311.
  15. Isa, A., and Yusoff, W. Z. W., 2015, State of physical facilities of higher education institutions in Nigeria, International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP), Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 1–5.
  16. Marginson, S., 2016, The worldwide trend to higher education: Dynamics of social stratification in inclusive systems, Higher Education, Vol. 72, pp. 413–434.
  17. McCowan, T., 2016, Universities and the post-2015 development agenda: An analytical framework, Higher Education, Vol. 72, pp. 505–523, DOI 10.1007/ s10734-016-0035-7.
  18. Ministry of Education [MOE], Ghana, 2005, Education sector performance report, Accra: MOE.
  19. Ministry of Education [MOE], Ghana, 2019, Education sector medium-term development plan: 2018-2021, Accra: MOE.
  20. Muthui, J. K., 2013, Factors influencing demand for higher education opportunities by primary school teachers: A case of Matinyani District, Kitui county, Master’s dissertation, University of Nairobi.
  21. NCTE, 2016, Statistics on Tertiary Institutions in Ghana, Accra, NCTE.
  22. Oketch, M., McCowan, T. and Schendel, R., 2014, The impact of tertiary education on development: A rigorous literature review, London, UK: Department for Inter- national Development (DFID).
  23. Powell, J. W., and Solga, H., 2011, Why are higher education participation rates in Germany so low? Institutional barriers to higher education expansion, Journal of Education and Work, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 49–68."
  24. Robeyns, I., 2006, Three models of education: Rights, capabilities and human capital. Theory and Research in Education, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 69-84.
  25. Schultz, T. W., 1961, Investment in Human Capital, American Economic Review, Vol. 51, pp. 1-17.
  26. Stufflebeam, D. L., 2003, The CIPP Model for Evaluation, Annual Conference on the Oregon Program Evaluators Network (OPEN), Portland, Oregon.
  27. Subair, T., Okotoni, C. and Adebakin, A., 2012, Perceived quality of infrastructure in selected Nigerian Universities, Makerere Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 4. DOI: 10.4314/majohe.v4i1.9.
  28. Teixeira, J., Amoroso, J. and Gresham, J., 2017, Why education infrastructure mat- ters for learning, Education for Global Development, https://blogs.worldbank.org/ education/why-education-infrastructure-matters-learning.
  29. UNESCO, 1998, World Conference on Higher Education in the Twenty-first Century: Vision and Action, Paris, https://unesdoc.unesco.org.
  30. UNESCO, 2003, Gender and education for all: The LEAP TO EQUALITY, EFA Global Monitoring Report, Paris: UNESCO publishing.
  31. UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2013, Gross enrolment ratio (per cent) in tertia- ry education, Paris: UNESCO, http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/tertiary-education.aspx.
  32. UNESCO, 2015, Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and challenges, Paris: UNESCO Publishing.
  33. Woessmann, L., 2004, Institutions for Better Education, CESifo DICE Report 4, Journal for Institutional Comparisons, Vol. 2, No. 4.
  34. World Bank, 2017, Higher education for development: An evaluation of the World Bank group’s support, Washington, DC: World Bank.
  35. Wright, E. and Horta, H., 2018, Higher education participation in “high-income” universal higher education systems: “Survivalism” in the risk society, Asian Education and Development Studies, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp.184-204. DOI:10.1108/ AEDS-07-2017-0061
Read More

Author Biography

Christine Adu-Yeboah

Associate Professor, Institute of Education, School of Educational Development and Outreach College of Education Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Email: cadu-yeboah@ucc.edu.gh

Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 1110 Download : 857