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Education is a fundamental human right and should be made accessible to all learners. However, lack of knowledge and preparation adversely affect teachers' willingness to embrace children with special needs in their classroom. This study ascertained teachers' perception and attitude to embrace children with special needs in regular classroom in the East Mamprusi Municipality in the Norther region of Ghana. The study used a descriptive design and qualitative data collection method to collect information on the topic from five basic schools in the East Mamprusi Municipality. Convenience, purposive, and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the schools and 40 respondents, comprising five head teachers, and 35 classroom teachers. In-depth interviews were used to elicit responses from participants. The data were analyzed thematically. The findings indicated that teachers had little knowledge of inclusive education. It also revealed that classroom teachers were not adequately prepared towards the implementation of inclusive education. The researchers recommend that Ghana Education Service, in collaboration with the Special Education Division, should make adequate provision to introduce more practical courses on special needs education (Sign language and braille) in teacher training institutions (colleges).

Objectives: This study assessed pre-service teacher stressors, coping strategies, and achievement during teaching practicum in a Nigerian public university. Method: The study adopted the quantitative case study approach. The population consisted of all 300-level students in the faculty of education in the university who had completed their teaching practicum for the first semester of the 2020-2021 academic session. The quota sampling technique was used in selecting a sample of 130 pre-service teachers. We analysed data using multiple regression. Results: Findings revealed the stressors and coping strategies, controlling for gender, did not significantly predict achievement in the teaching practicum. Several coping strategies and sources of stress were identified among student teachers. Conclusion: Although pre-service teachers in many Nigerian teacher training institutions report various stressors and coping strategies, these do not predict their achievement during practicum. Implication for practice: The results can be useful in curriculum planning and policy design, especially for methodologies of coping and overcoming the various stressors accruing from the teaching profession in general. For universities and colleges of education, teacher trainers have knowledge about the teaching practicum, stressors, and the various coping strategies to be considered and appropriated into pre-service teachers' training for optimal performance.

Robust understanding of geometry is important for students' future studies in mathematical sciences, many careers, and for understanding the world around them. Therefore, the aim of this study was to understand the geometric thinking levels of 9th graders in Ghana before they enter the Senior High School. This study used the van Hiele theory (Van Hiele-Geldof, 1957) to understand geometric thinking levels of 400 9th graders in western Ghana. These students were given the van Hiele Geometry Test (VHGT) developed by Usiskin (1982). The results showed that 56.2% of 9th graders demonstrated thinking at the pre-visualization level, 30.75%of the graders attained level 1(visualization), 12.5% reached level 2 and only 0.5% demonstrated level 3 thinking. These findings indicate that students are struggling to meet the Ministry of Education's curriculum standards. Additional analysis points to reasoning about properties of geometric figures using definitions and informal deductive reasoning, instead of relying on visual characteristics of diagrams as a specific obstacle for students. Recommendations are made for improving the teaching and learning geometry based on our findings.

The study focused on the relationship between social media usage and test anxiety. It investigated how specific uses of social media are associated with test anxiety. The study classified the uses of social media into four dimensions and explored the relationship between each of the four dimensions and test anxiety. The study also explored the test anxiety levels of students before, during, and after the test. A descriptive survey design was used for the study. This survey used a Test Anxiety and Social Networking Questionnaire to collect data from 106 College of Education students sampled using a multi-stage sampling procedure. The data collected from the respondents were analyzed using scatter plots, Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient, mean scores, and independent samples T-test. It was found that the respondents' test anxiety was generally high and it progressively increased from before to after the test. There was a strong positive correlation between test anxiety during and after the test. This finding suggests that if the students are well prepared for a test and can answer questions to their satisfaction, their anxiety during the test will be low and this will, in turn, reduce their anxiety after the test. The study also found that excessive use of social media networking sites essentially increases test anxiety during and after the test. This implies that students can reduce test anxiety by using social media networking in moderation and focusing on their academic work.

Background: Mature age admission at universities is increasing rapidly all over the world and Ghanaian universities, both private and public, are no exception. The language proficiency of the admitted mature students, especially in reading, is often low, which affects their comprehension abilities and academic work. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a task-based language teaching approach to improve the reading proficiency of mature students. Method: An intervention using a designed instructional model was undertaken with a group of mature students. Control groups were included and instructed through the traditional mode. The study used a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, with pre and post-tests, interviews, and observations. The quantitative data were analysed using t-tests in combination with effect sizes, and the qualitative data were analysed through content analysis. Results: The results showed that the mature students who participated in the intervention obtained higher post-test scores than the control groups. The improvement in their reading proficiency as shown in the test results was statistically significant, with large effect sizes. The qualitative data supported the findings of the quantitative data and provided further insight into the improvement of the experimental group. For example, frequent feedback, an enabling classroom environment, motivation, and collaborative learning were some of the factors that emerged as contributors to the experimental group's improved post-test results. Contribution: The research has been beneficial in providing an alternative teaching pedagogy for mature students. Conclusion: Based on the findings, recommendations are made for the use of an adapted task-based language teaching approach for improving the reading proficiency of mature age students.

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to identify the negative behaviors that constitute bullying in higher education as reported by students, and (b) to explore differences in student experiences in two markedly different national contexts. A sample of 1,189 respondents from two universities in Ghana (n = 751) and two universities in Norway (n = 438) answered the same questionnaire. Approximately 40% of the Ghanaian students and 20% of the Norwegian students responded that they had been bullied. Although less frequently observed than in Ghana, relational forms of bullying (e.g., being excluded) were more prevalent in Norway compared to other behaviors. In contrast, direct and verbal forms of bullying, such as name-calling and being taunted, were most common in Ghana. The findings provide insights into cultural and national variations with respect to negative social behaviors related to bullying in the context of higher education.

Precision prevention embraces personalized prevention but includes broader factors such as social determinants of health to improve cardiovascular health. The quality, quantity, precision, and diversity of data relatable to individuals and communities continue to expand. New analytical methods can be applied to these data to create tools to attribute risk, which may allow a better understanding of cardiovascular health disparities. Interventions using these analytic tools should be evaluated to establish feasibility and efficacy for addressing cardiovascular disease disparities in diverse individuals and communities. Training in these approaches is important to create the next generation of scientists and practitioners in precision prevention. This state-of-the-art review is based on a workshop convened to identify current gaps in knowledge and methods used in precision prevention intervention research, discuss opportunities to expand trials of implementation science to close the health equity gaps, and expand the education and training of a diverse precision prevention workforce.

Asthma is the most common chronic disease within the paediatric population. Although it is multifactorial, its onset may be linked to early-life exposures with subsequent impact on immune system development. Microbial and dietary metabolic products have been implicated in the development and exacerbation of paediatric asthma. Linoleic acid is the most common omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid in the Western diet. In this review, we summarise the literature regarding the involvement of linoleic acid in the development of and its impact on existing paediatric asthma. First, we summarise the existing knowledge surrounding the relationship between human microbial metabolism and allergic diseases in children. Next, we examine cellular or animal model-based mechanistic studies that investigated the impact of dietary- and microbial-derived linoleic acid metabolites on asthma. Finally, we review the literature investigating the impact of linoleic acid metabolites on the development and exacerbation of childhood asthma. While there is conflicting evidence, there is growing support for a role of linoleic acid in the onset and pathophysiology of asthma. We recommend that additional cellular, animal, and longitudinal studies are performed that target linoleic acid and its metabolites.