Background Cerebral palsy has been identified as the most common, chronic childhood disability that causes appreciable motor deficit. Building the capacity of caregivers and improving children’s functional capacities through rehabilitation programs could reduce the physical and psychological burden imposed by the caregiving process. There is paucity of information about the experiences of caregivers of children with cerebral palsy in Ghana especially those who are not receiving any form of care. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and perception of caregivers living in rural communities. Methodology A descriptive phenomenological approach as proposed by Husserl was used to explore the experiences of 12 caregivers of children with cerebral palsy aged between 2 years 9 months to 14 years. The caregivers’ interviews were analysed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method of data analysis framework. Findings Two main themes emerged from the narratives of the caregivers. The first theme ‘Developing personal beliefs to support the caregiving role’ revealed that caregivers developed religious and spiritual beliefs to interpret their children’s condition, perceive the standard of care and negatively their beliefs caused feeling of despair and sorrow. The second main theme ‘Demands that shaped the experience of caring’ revealed the demands included physical, financial and social demands. The essential structure of the phenomenon demonstrated the complex interaction of personal and environmental factors in harmony with the actual demands to influence the experiences of caregivers positively or negatively. Positively caregivers achieve coping, committed to caring, hope for the future and acceptance of the condition of their children. However negatively caregivers described the triggering factors of feeling of despair and sorrow as frustration, lack of understanding of the condition, felt stigmatised and perceived that the child was going through pain and suffering. Conclusion Caregivers derived strength from their religious and spiritual beliefs to balance the demands of caregiving. The new findings could be used as a basis for developing interventions to support caregivers, inform new strategies for rehabilitation care delivery and sensitisation of community members about inclusion of children with disabilities in the future.

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This study seeks to critically investigate the contribution of the School for Life (SfL) model of complementary education programme (CEP) in providing access to quality basic education in the Northern Region of Ghana. In so doing, it aims to examine the linkage between the SfL curriculum and pedagogy, and that of the Ghanaian lower primary school. This will enable a better understanding of the knowledge and skills that CEP graduates attain to enable them to integrate into formal education. The study is set against the background of the call for a replication of the SfL model as a mechanism for providing basic education to all marginalized communities. It is conducted using qualitative and quantitative approaches that fully capture the perspectives, experiences and learning achievements of pupils and other actors associated with both the complementary and formal education sectors in the Northern Region. The study examines the planned, implemented and received curricula of the two systems analysing them within a social constructivist framework. Implicit in this analysis is a comparison of the two curricula. This thesis shows that SfL‘s CEP is not formally structured to meet the requirements of the formal school curriculum. The curriculum materials and training offered to the facilitators do not make mention of the formal school curriculum. SfL has a restrictive focus on literacy and numeracy instruction delivered solely through the mother tongue of the pupils utilising learner centred approaches. Meanwhile the formal school curriculum lacks a clear focus and is embedded within an ambiguous language policy that allows teachers to code switch at their discretion. While the two curricula share similar characteristics of locally relevant themes or topics, the SfL curriculum is functionally relevant as it is designed to meet the social economic lives of the learners and their communities. The study also shows SfL graduates in formal school performing at almost the same level as pupils who enrolled in formal school through the regular route. Thus while SfL graduates miss the first three years of primary schooling, once they enrol in grade 4, there is no significant difference between the performances of the two sets of students.

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Texte remanié de: Ph.D. th.--School of Oriental and African studies, 1995. / Bibliogr. p. 243-256. Index.

Texte remaniée de: Ph. D.--Hist.--Charlottesville--University of Virginia, 1993. / Bibliogr. p. 168-181. Index.

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<p>This thesis analysed the significance of disputes or conflict in Ghana's industrial realtions since her independence in 1957. It further analysed the causes of industrial conflict and its management or resolution in Ghana in particular. Scholars argue that industrial conflict may not only adversely affect the living standards of both the employers and the employees but may also destabilize the labour market and bring about industrial injustices. The thesis outlines the historical development of Ghana's industrial realtions since independence with special reference to strikes.</p>

This thesis attempts an evaluation of the concept of African socialism in Ghana under the leadership of Kwame NKrumah. African socialism is defined in various ways by contemporary African thinkers. What they all have in common is the tendency to emphasize the point that African socialism is somehow distinctively African, rooted in African tradition and, therefore, not intrinsically related to Socialism elsewhere. This crude definition could bear further clarification as we examine its implications in economics, politics, and the social structure of Ghana.