E-Journal of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences

Corruption in high places of societies is known everywhere around the globe. This phenomenon is not something new among God’s people. The book of Micah shows that corruption among leaders of all sectors of the society existed in ancient Judah. This article looks at the book from the perspective that the powerful men in Judah were perpetrators of corruption. The poor and needy suffered in the hands of these men. Surprisingly, these men claimed to be religious. The prophet Micah as a concerned citizen preached against these men and their corrupt practices. This article reveals that the corrupt behaviour of “powerful” in ancient Judah pertains in African societies. It challenges the Church in Africa to stand up to preach against these men and their evil deeds. It finally shows that evil attitudes of the “powerful” bring down societies.

The paper examines the impact of corporate governance and financial disclosure on the financial performance of banks in Ghana. Corporate governance was measured by three variables: board size, CEO duality, and board composition. Financial disclosure was also measured by timeliness, bank size, and quality of auditors. Financial performance, as the dependent variable, was measured by return on assets (ROA), and return on equity (ROE). The study used panel data from 18 commercial banks operating within the Ghanaian banking industry, both listed and unlisted, over a ten-year period (2009 to 2018). A random-effects regression model was used, and the results revealed that board size, timeliness, and quality of auditors were statistically significant and positively related to return on assets. Board composition, however, had a significant negative relationship with return on assets. There was no significant association between bank size and return on assets. Moreover, the findings of the study showed that board size and bank size had a positive and significant relationship with return on equity. Board composition and timeliness were however negative and statistically related to the return on equity. There was no significant nexus between the quality of auditors and return on equity. The study findings place emphasis on the combined effect of corporate governance and financial disclosure on financial performance, particularly within the banking industry in Ghana. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Financial Disclosure, Financial Performance, Commercial Banks.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, schools in South Africa would have lost a considerable percentage of the annual school curriculum by the end of the lockdown. The Department of Basic Education had to work out plans for curriculum recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed plan was to gradual reopening schools using the “Phasing in Approach”. This study explored the Self-Efficacy of beginner teachers in Qwaqwa schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Informed by Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, we used the qualitative research approach and generated data through semi-structured interviews. The telephonic interviews were conducted in two different phases; the first (T1) was in January 2021, and the second (T2) was in August 2021. We interviewed 5 participants of beginner teachers in the Qwaqwa town of the Thabo-Mofutsanyane district. The finding showed that beginner teachers had very high levels of self-efficacy, as they were able to face the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some identified challenges had many classes to teach, and the curriculum coverage was disturbed. On a positive note, the class size was reduced. This study recommended that the Department of Basic Education attend to the issues of overcrowding in schools and the lack of sources, especially in rural schools, as these were the main challenges of beginner teachers. This paper contributes to the existing literature on how beginner teachers’ self-efficacy helped them overcome challenges during the pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, Beginner teachers, Self-efficacy, Social cognitive theory

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the educational system all over the world in many ways, including teaching and learning. Schools had to abandon face-to-face teaching and learning and adopt online teaching approaches. This means that teaching through mobile digital tools and blended approaches is to be enhanced post-COVID-19 era. This paper critically reviewed the literature on the strategies used to support teaching and learning in South African schools during the post-COVID-19 era amid the challenges experienced by the education system in South Africa. The literature review approach was adopted to gather literature on strategies to support teaching and learning in South African schools. Having considered teaching and learning in South African schools which is primarily based on face-to-face traditional pedagogical strategies before the outbreak of COVID-19 and the challenges experienced during the pandemic. The paper argues the need for educational planners to rethink how teaching and learning could be enhanced in the new normal. The digital learning, blended teaching, and eLearning/online learning approaches response of South Africa during the outbreak of the pandemic should be sustained. It emerged from the literature that although teachers and learners have embraced technology, there is no clear policy on how ICT should integrate with teaching, learning and assessment. Therefore, this study recommends that the Department of Basic Education develop an ICT integration policy providing a clear strategy that will accommodate both rural and urban schools. Furthermore, it is recommended that increased funding on education resources and the provision of continuous teacher professional development program be considered. Keywords: New normal, Post-COVID-19, Blended teaching and learning, Online learning

As a result of rapid globalisation, there have been some fundamental changes in education due to the rapid changes in knowledge, concepts, technology, and philosophy. COVID-19 has had devastating effects on the education sector. In Nigerian schools, supervisors, teachers, and students have always been required to interact face-to-face before this pandemic. This has led to using electronic facilities to carry out the instruction. Since supervision of instruction plays a vital role in the effective learning outcome. The study, therefore, seeks to investigate the availability and utilisation of electronic supervision of the instruction facilities after the COVID-19 era. A survey design was used to describe the state of e-supervision of instruction using a random sampling technique to select 226 participants from private secondary schools in Education District III, Lagos State. Descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted to establish the availability and utilisation of e-supervision instructions in the post-COVID-19 era. Most of the samples studied (principals, vice-principals, and teachers) demonstrated high levels of access to various tools (both synchronous and asynchronous) used for e-supervision. Effective supervision of teaching and learning will certainly occur in schools with the availability of these tools since COVID-19 has taught teachers how to continue their professions without being hindered by the surge in technology. Keywords: Asynchronous, E-supervision facilities, Instruction, Post-COVID-19, Synchronous

The study explored the influence of research mentoring on research publications output during COVID-19 in a selected Higher Education Institution (HEI) of the Eastern Cape Province as the incessant poor publications from the dissertations and theses of postgraduates upon completion of their studies prompted the researchers to want to understand the nature of the mentorship experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was situated within an interpretivist paradigm which aided in the interpretation of the facts and adopted a case study design within a qualitative research approach. The participants for the study comprised eight research supervisors, and eight master’s and doctoral students purposefully selected as information-rich participants. Semi-structured interviews were utilised to collect data. Data collected were analysed thematically. Findings of the study revealed that there was a dearth of research mentoring by research supervisors that adversely affected research publication output in the rural HEI, especially during the COVID-19 era. Additionally, supervisors struggled with online supervision, which strained the relationship between supervisors and their students. Furthermore, the study revealed that both supervisors and students lacked skills and knowledge of paper writing. The study recommends that there should be a call for student mentoring and development in research seminars, article writing seminars, and writing for publication workshops to develop and promote academic success in higher education institutions. It is anticipated that a strengthened system of mentoring and development, which is cognizant of COVID-19, will help novice writers comprehend articles published through the holistic guidance of their mentors rather than mentors leaving them to sink or swim. Keywords: COVID-19, Higher education institutions, Mentoring, Postgraduate students, Research output

The paper explored e-learning of a course, Timber Processing and Application at a University in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose was to understand the challenges that the participants encounter in studying their practical module online. A qualitative case study design located in the interpretivist paradigm was employed. The sample consisted of 15 participants, nine male and six female students. These participants were selected using purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Data for the study was generated through an open-ended electronic questionnaire designed on Google forms and was analysed using a thematic approach. The Technology Acceptance Model was employed as a framework to determine students’ e-learning of Timber Processing and Application amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The study revealed diverse challenges to the e-learning method of Timber Processing and Application education. These include limited or no access to the internet, lack of internet data bundles, poor internet connectivity, preference for face-to-face learning, absence of practical activities in e-learning, unavailability of ICT learning infrastructure, difficulty in time management and self-discipline as well as lack of conducive learning environment. With these findings, the study contributes to the literature as it highlights the challenges associated with the e-learning of Timber Processing and Application (practical courses/modules) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the right approach to the effective study of the course. Consequently, the study provides recommendations on how to tackle the challenges revealed in the research.

Notwithstanding the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically in the educational system, research indicated that teachers of learners with special needs carried out meaningful teaching activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the different strategies employed by teachers of special needs learners to enhance effective teaching have been thoroughly researched in the field of education, they were not investigated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to explore factors that enhance flexible teaching of learners with special needs in South Africa in the COVID-19 era. A phenomenological research design was adopted using a qualitative research approach. Ten teachers were purposefully selected to participate in the study. The interviews were recorded and then transcribed. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The findings of this study revealed that teachers’ characteristic factors such as attitudes towards the use of ICT, prior knowledge of computer use and motivation, and infrastructural factors such as easy access to computers and availability of technology influenced flexible teaching of learners with special needs in the COVID-19 era. The findings of this research contribute to what is hoped will be a continually expanding body of empirical evidence-based insight about effective, flexible teaching strategies that may increase knowledge of the adoption and integration of flexible teaching in the field of education. Being well informed regarding enabling factors that enhance the effectiveness of flexible teaching is essential when designing and providing instruction to learners in a virtual environment. It is recommended that teachers of learners with special needs should gain new information and ICT skills to enable them to adapt from face-to-face teaching to teaching on virtual platforms, especially as educational institutions and research have shifted focus to understanding sustainable post-COVID-19 pedagogical needs. Keywords: Flexible teaching, Special needs learners, Special education, COVID-19 pandemic, Remote learning

This paper investigated how vocabulary knowledge is an essential variable for academic achievement during the post-COVID-19 era in Grade 10 learners. Among many variables of poor performance in Grade 10 is inadequate vocabulary in First Additional Language. This paper is underpinned by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory which advocates that language learning occurs through interaction with more knowledgeable others. The present study is quantitative, in which a vocabulary size test (VST) and a productive vocabulary test (PVLT) were administered to 84 conveniently selected participants. This paper revealed that learners have very limited vocabulary knowledge and this affects academic achievement. In addition, COVID- 19 worsened the situation since social interactions were limited, thereby impeding language development. The authors argue that in order for post-COVID-19 learners to cope in the academic world, strengthening vocabulary knowledge is key to equipping these learners with the required skills to cope with virtual learning. Some of the essential skills for learners to learn online include reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. These skills would assist learners in communicating their needs, discussing solutions and expressing themselves when the need arises. This paper recommends using explicit vocabulary instruction to improve learners’ academic achievement in the post-COVID-19 era. The Department of Basic Education should train teachers on how to design fun vocabulary activities online. For instance, quizzes, the Frayer model and other virtual word activities. Keywords: Academic achievement, Explicit vocabulary instruction, Rich language contexts, Post-COVID-19, Vocabulary knowledge

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a total shutdown of global economies and education institutions to lessen the spread of the virus. Due to strict compliance with safety protocols, educational institutions were duty-bound to shift from traditional face-to-face to virtual classroom teaching and learning strategies. This new teaching approach was unanimously embraced and adopted by all institutions globally. The easing of COVID-19 restrictions has led to the re-opening of mainstream schools. As a result, the study focused on teaching strategies adopted by educators after the lockdown. This study employed an interpretive paradigm anchored on the opportunity to learn (OTL) theory. Teaching and learning strategy is one of the key variables grounded in the OTL. Critical issues emerged from this conceptual paper. Among these was the lack of uniform teaching and learning methods approved by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in the post-COVID-19 era. The teaching approach adopted during the national shutdown mostly benefited learners from affluent homes, lack of digital learning and teaching support systems disadvantaged learners from poor communities. This study recommended, among others, the provision of adequate online teaching resources for implementing blended teaching and learning methods in South African schools. Keywords: Blended teaching approach, COVID-19 pandemic, Strategy, teaching and learning, South Africa

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use in the education sector has gained momentum ever since the outbreak of the COVID – 19 pandemic. This study critically analysed the use of ICT tools by secondary school teachers to ascertain if they had an influence on learner academic performance during the era of the COVID – 19 pandemic. A mixed approach which employed both the use of quantitative and qualitative research methods was used to collect data for this study. The finding of this study showed that information communication technology tools have a positive influence on improving academic performance. The study recommended that schools should be provided with enough and relevant resources needed to make a huge impact on education. Teachers and facilitators should be trained on the best use and pedagogies which involves the use of ICT in teaching and learning. In addition, the Ministry of Education and Skills Development Botswana and all the concerned education stakeholders need to make sure that ICT teaching and learning workshops are conducted in every educational sphere so that every teacher, facilitator and learner is well equipped with the appropriate use of technology to achieve the desired results. The results of this study advised on the use of ICT to improve learner academic performance. . Keywords: Academic performance, Technology use, Technology adoption, Learners

COVID-19 is the acronymic name for Coronavirus disease which broke out in December 2019. The church as progenitor of care and love, is expected to play a crucial and lasting role in dealing with this pandemic. This paper discusses the church’s spiritual and practical response and mission during and after COVID-19. In terms of the church’s spiritual response and mission, its theology and teachings too should be pragmatic. The church should put in action – by the process of contextualising theology – bringing the gospel to the life-situation of the people. God is not absent in this situation. The church’s belief in a loving God helps to make sense of and cope with the coronavirus outbreak. In terms of the church’s practical response and mission, the church can play a major role in saving lives and reducing illness related to COVID-19 by adhering to the preventive measures and recommendations by the government and health experts. Keywords: Corona Virus (COVID-19), Church mission

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, teaching and learning have experienced various challenges and shifts from normal classroom dimensions to what several scholars regard as the "new normal." This situation disrupted teaching and learning systems, with various institutions trying to find alternative ways to ensure effective curriculum implementation. In the event that COVID-19 seems to be a thing of the past, there is a need to understand how best education actors could navigate the new shift. Therefore, researchers need to continue to work on improving educators' understanding of how best to teach and learn and how students and educational institutions respond to the shift in the post-pandemic classrooms. Based on this, a special issue was initiated to galvanize findings, views, approaches, and strategies to enhance sustainable post-COVID-19 pedagogical needs. Therefore, this special issue plays an essential role in helping students, scholars, educators, policymakers and educational agencies understand the present pedagogical shift and prepare for the future. Keywords: Post COVID-19 Classrooms, teaching and learning, new normal, pedagogical needs.

South African higher education institutions (HEIs) are engaged in the transformation process and one area of interest is curriculum transformation. Some of the focus areas in the transformation process are developing effective curriculum teaching methods and illustrating how technology is infused into the curriculum. This theoretical paper observes that teaching commercial subjects currently has significant challenges. The negative effects of COVID-19 in implementing effective teaching strategies have endorsed the transformation process. The paper aims to provide literature debates and a scholarly background on perspectives of adopting a practical and technological approach in the teaching and learning of commercial courses in the post-COVID-19 era in higher education. The conceptual paper adopts a thematic qualitative approach. The themes discussed in the literature review are: Perspectives of teaching methods in accounting,business studies, computer applied technology, economics, and technology integration and experiences in the post-COVID-19 era. The paper documents how a practical and technologically infused approach can be employed in the teaching and learning of commercial courses for the benefit of all stakeholders, and additionally, lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic implemented in the post-COVID-19 era. In conclusion, in teaching commercial subjects, there is a switch from a traditional lecturer-centred approach to a hybrid delivery mode. It is therefore recommended that HEIs provide thorough strategic planning at an institutional level and provide major changes in resource allocation and organizational processes and structures for an effective hybrid mode of delivery. In addition, instructional designers should generate the best hybrid learning system that empowers all relevant stakeholders. Keywords: Practical approach, Technology integration approach, Teaching and learning, Commercial courses in Higher Education

E-learning has become a standard dialect nationally and internationally, particularly during the COVID-19 context. During the lockdown period in South Africa, e-learning, which was experienced differently by different Higher Education Institutions and students, became one of the preferred ways students could access learning. Therefore, e-learning as a vehicle for quality education became a human rights issue in the Higher Education space. Consequently, literature seems to imply that lack of access to e-learning, internet laptops and smartphone connectivity and online gadgets may be an exclusionary learning factor for the majority of students. Underpinned by Engestrom Activity Theory, this qualitative study used telephonic assisted open-ended interviews to provide the four selected Bachelor of Education students with the opportunity to share their experiences on how they have experienced the use of e-learning in a South African university. It emerged from the data that even the students from the same institution had varied experiences in terms of e-learning. Furthermore, the findings revealed that students’ social realm, such as internet connectivity and lack of online gadgets such as laptops and smartphones influenced their e-learning. This study concludes that the students’ experiences suggest that the university should respond to the students’ contextual factors and make appropriate sustainable teaching and learning plans post-COVID-19 era. Keywords: E-learning, Learning experiences, Diversity, Learning tools, Teaching and learning

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has changed teaching and learning activities in several ways. One of the changes is the transition of most higher learning institutions from face-to-face to either blended or fully online modes of teaching and learning. This paper discusses the experiences of LGBTIQ students regarding the inclusiveness of the teaching and learning strategies used during COVID-19 and beyond. The study followed the phenomenography design. Data were collected from sixteen LGBTIQ students in higher education institutions, recruited through the snowballing technique. The analysis was guided by phenomenographic steps of data analysis. The findings indicated variations in safety and access to online education for LGBTIQ individuals. Some viewed COVID-19-induced online teaching and learning as a panacea for their long-standing exclusion from the homo- and transphobic higher education environment. However, to other participants, online education posed more threats to their safety due to cyberbullying related to the increased sharing of contact details, be it WhatsApp numbers or email addresses. Recommendations are made to improve inclusiveness in education for LGBTIQ individuals, focusing on the flexibility of teaching and learning modes in order to meet the needs of diverse student populations while ensuring access and safety. Keywords: COVID-19, Inclusiveness, Institutions of higher education, LGBTIQ individuals, teaching and learning

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have been growing incredibly for the past twenty years in most sectors; however, much needs to be achieved within the education fraternity itself. Teachers are still relying on traditional teaching methods and Botswana is currently far behind in benefiting from ICT usage in the classroom. This study critically analysed the ICT infrastructure found in Botswana’s secondary schools, assesses teachers’ skills, knowledge, confidence, and their perception of the integration of ICT in teaching and learning. A mixed-methods approach was used to collect data from 350 respondents. The results revealed that ICT use and integration in Botswana secondary schools during the Covid – 19 period posed some challenges even though it was beneficial to an extent where there was learner academic improvement. This has been influenced by factors such as lack of skills, lack of confidence in the use of technology by teachers, and lack of ICT equipment in schools. The study recommends that schools should be equipped with the relevant ICT infrastructures, have adequate resources, and that facilitators should be trained on the right pedagogies and use of ICT in teaching and learning. Furthermore, curriculum developers should integrate ICT teaching in subject areas. The findings of this study will contribute to the correct pedagogies and best practices of teaching, and how issues teachers found in technology use can be solved and addressed amicably for the benefit of the greater masses. The educational stakeholders can make use of these findings to improve knowledge and attitudes toward the successful adoption and implementation of information and communication technologies in teaching and learning during the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic tested teachers’ and learners’ resilience to continue teaching and learning with the limited use of traditional classrooms. What became apparent was the need to find alternative ways to maintain the interactions between the teachers and the learners. This study explored the teaching and learning of secondary mathematics during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the community of inquiry framework. An explorative single case study design with forty learners and seven teachers from a rural school in Zimbabwe as participants was used. The purposive selection of the participants was based on their experiences of emergency remote learning and classes where COVID-19 protocols were observed. Data were collected through open-ended and closed questionnaires given to learners and structured and semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers. The qualitative data were analysed through thematic content analysis techniques. The findings show that in the wake of limited access to sufficient educational technologies and internet connectivity, teachers had to find alternative ways to teach mathematical problems by using already worked-out examples and voice notes, thereby reducing the teaching presence and teacher-learner interactions. However, the reduction of the teaching presence was compensated by increased self-regulated learning as learners tried to make sense of the examples shared through social media tools. The study recommends building teachers’ technological and pedagogical knowledge to teach mathematics using cheap social media applications to improve the teaching, social and cognitive presence. Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, Educational technologies, School mathematics, Social media pedagogies

COVID-19 posed an obstacle to many teachers as they tried to master online teaching. This study sought to investigate teachers stress experiences in primary schools in South Africa during COVID-19. The study adopted the interpretivism paradigm in which thematically analysed data was collected through interviews. Fifteen (15) participants were selected purposely from primary schools of Chris Hani East District in South Africa for the interview. In the study, teachers attributed their stress to the lack of protective resources, lack of proper plans for remote teaching, and lack of skills. Students were not co-operating with the teachers during online lessons. The study recommends that the necessary protective resources be provided by the Department of Education to protect teachers from being infected with Covid-19 and provide teaching assistants so that teachers can find it easier to teach with less burden. Schools must be equipped with digital technology and train teachers on how to use digital technology to ease the burden on them. It is important for teachers and motivational speakers to meet with students to raise students’ interest and curiosity about learning and in the same vein boosting the students’self-confidence. Keywords: anxiety, burnout, COVID-19, frustration, pressures, stress, and workload

Ghana has had four republican constitutions since it attained independence on 6th March 1957. Ghana’s first republican constitution arguably provided for fundamental human rights and freedoms. The 1992 Constitution also guarantees equality before the law. However, Article 17(4) of the 1992 Constitution allows the Parliament of Ghana to make certain laws which might be advantageous to a certain class of people as far as it conforms to the provisions of the Constitution. A group of Parliamentarians in 2021 introduced a Bill in the Parliament of Ghana to criminalize LGBTQI+ groups and related activities since the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) does not expressly refer to them. The Bill has fuelled debates on the discrimination or otherwise of LGBTQI+ persons in Ghana and the criminalisation of their activities. Using a comparative and doctrinal legal research approach, this paper analyses Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana in the context of Ghana’s constitutional evolution since 1960. The paper reveals that a comparison of the legal provisions on equality and discrimination in the various constitutions of Ghana since 1960 shows that the relevant provisions on the right to equality before the law and freedom from discrimination have undergone significant changes. The paper also shows that, unlike the 1969 and 1979 Constitutions, the 1992 Constitution does not list ‘sex’ or ‘sexual orientation’ or both as prohibited grounds for discrimination. Keywords and Phrases: Ghana, Constitutional Evolution, Equality and Freedom from Discrimination, 1992 Constitution.

Religion is an influential and resilient phenomenon that parades no cryptograms of decline. It incites the deepest obligation, emotion, sharp action, strong dialogues and study for practitioners, opponents and fence-sitters. Any anthropoid who is familiar with the world around them understands that religion is a powerful probing phenomenon that demands better understanding through inquiries. Despite the force of religion, the 21st century has observed nonreligious groups and scholars’ greater influence on religion. This mixed-method study adopts a grounded theory approach to inductively ascertain from collected data, whether religious movements (RM) will survive the heroic tremor from nonreligious movements (NRM) and scholarship. The study discussed how scholars have studied religion and NRM in various academic disciplines and how the activities and engagements of NRM and scholarship have impacted the beliefs, functions and paradigm of RM. The study discoveries bring out that, though NRM and scholarship have vastly altered religious beliefs and meanings, RM will live beyond the 21st century, as far as human beings remain. The study findings additionally acmes that RM should not envision the NRM and scholarship as harmful but also as an expedient tool for favorable and inspired reforms. The study contributes to scholarship by defining religion as anthropoids’ innermost instinct and craving to satisfy certain responsibilities as revealed by a transcendental being or a higher order. The study further contributes to academia with the theory that, religious movements cannot be suppressed by the copious nonreligious schedules and scholarship, nevertheless it has made weighty vicissitudes to the trajectory of religious movements, which is worth stating and noteworthy. Keywords: Religious movements, nonreligious movements, scholarship, atheist, secularists, humanists, and free thinkers.

The study aims at interpreting Mark 7:24-30 to establish whether Jesus was initially reluctant in helping a needy woman because she was non-Jewish, or the author was establishing the gradual breaking of ethnic and all other barriers to redefine the scope of Jesus’ ministry. The study uses African Biblical Hermeneutic theory of Gerald West that allows a dialogue between the text and the African context. It argues that the text may be interpreted as a covenant renewal discourse aimed at including Gentiles into the covenant family. The study concludes that unproductive ethnic and religious barriers may be broken for the common good of God’s family. It recommends the importance of mutual respect in dialogue in the face of diversities of opinions and perspectives.

As the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, many traditional contact higher education institutions, such as the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), embraced the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) to pursue their mandates. Such transitions necessitate transforming existing curricula into digitised versions that infuse digital technologies into programme delivery and embed digital learning experiences students need to thrive in the 4IR workplace. However, two years into online education, the extent to which the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) curriculum in the School of Education (SoE) at UKZN integrates digital technologies in programme offerings remain largely uncertain. This article therefore aims to ascertain how the B.Ed curriculum of the SoE has been digitally transformed to support the production of teachers who are prepared for the 4IR classroom. It further explores whether or not the digital curriculum transformation of the B.Ed curriculum deepens the existing digital divide amongst students or builds bridges for digital learning. Stufflebeam’s context, input, process, and product (CIPP) model was relied upon to appreciate students’ digital learning experiences through a qualitative content review of twelve curriculum templates and moderation reports. The findings suggested varied learning experiences of content and digital skills for students who engaged with the digital B.Ed curriculum while pointing to a possible epistemological limitation for some students due the contextual digital divide. Insights from this article will be helpful to academics and the institution in their quest to produce graduates for the 4IR classroom while making a timeous contribution to the scholarship of teaching and learning to enhance sustainable post-COVID-19 pedagogical practices. Keywords: Digital transformation, 4IR classroom, Digitalised curriculum, Digital divide.

For enhanced language learning abilities, the application of diverse teaching and learning resources has been noted to have some positivity towards academic attainment. This paper seeks to examine if audio-visual technologies have any significant influence towards enhancing learner abilities in language learning. Supplementarily, teacher-learner engagement that lacks implementation of the necessary learning gadgets, leads to both teachers and learners being overwhelmed more so in the administration of the English language which is not a home dialect for most learners. Additionally, a vast percentage of courses or subjects reinforcing the curriculum are offered in the English language medium. This investigation is embedded in a qualitative approach entrenched in a case study design, where three university English language teachers from an institution situated in a rural environment were conveniently identified and interviewed using semi-structured interviews as a data collection instrument to examine the problem’s intricate phenomenon. It emerged from the study findings that learning progressions with infused audio-visual resources encourage learner participation. This paper investigates whether teachers in schooling environments give learners access to interrogate audio-visual learning resources on their own, thus catering for learner-centredness. The paper concludes that such technologies are a foundation for effective learning. It becomes essential for learners’ speaking, reading and academic writing skills to advance. The Authors, therefore, recommend re-visiting the consistent use of audio-visual gadgets as means to cater for learners with impairments, thereby closing gaps and learner barriers for diverse cohorts. Keywords: Diversity, Academic attainment, Participation, Learning barriers, Technology Learning

Classrooms are sometimes laced with various pedagogical styles, which even though professional, may be alien to the students, leading to demotivation. Such demotivation usually results from a lack of affectionate pedagogical processes that affect students’ academic prowess, such as academic performance, achievement and attainment of academic goals. A teaching-learning process that does not accommodate professional affections may lead to an unpleasant end where the classroom purposes are defeated. Hence, this study presents Ubuntu as an emancipatory philosophy that ensures unhindered student achievement and performance. The study is positioned to answer a question: How can Ubuntu be presented to unravel ineffective classroom practices towards students’ emancipation. The study is designed within the transformative worldview to emancipate students and challenge the classroom status quo. This study was analysed using conceptual analysis, in which concepts derived from Ubuntu are subjected to intellectual and deductive interpretation for meaning-making. In this study, Ubuntu is presented alongside its three cardinal assumptions based on the researcher’s view. The assumptions (collaboration and togetherness; humanness; recognition and respect) were analysed and correlated with the classroom activities to promote students’ academic prowess. The study concludes that Ubuntu-like classrooms are the dimension of productive classroom practices towards students’ academic prowess. Therefore, the study recommended that classrooms be laced with collaboration, togetherness, and humanness, where students’ voices and opinions are recognised and respected. Keywords: Ubuntu philosophy, ubuntu classrooms, academic prowess, transformation, emancipation.

Home environment factors affect the mental and psychological capability of the learner to attain academic feats. This study investigated home environment factors contributing to low academic performance in primary school pupils in Ghana focusing on the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Primary School in Kumasi. Home environment factors include socio-economic status, parental style and family size. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 120 learners and 60 parents of the institution using questionnaires and interview respectively. The results revealed that a significant number of pupils described their homes as not conducive for learning and this was largely attributed to the parental socio-economic status. Again, lack of parental involvement negatively influences the academic work of learners. The study concluded that parents should be encouraged to participate in regular Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meetings to learn more about parental styles and strategies to be more involved in their children’s education. Keywords: Home environment factors, academic achievement, academic performance, socioeconomic status, parental style.

The study sought to find out the support system put in place at the Ada College of Education to create a conducive learning environment for pregnant students. This work is hinged on the social theory of humanism by Kwame Gyekye, which is centered on catering for the individual's welfare, interest, and dignity in Ghanaian society. Through an unstructured interview guide whilst employing the interpretive approach, data gathered on the life of pregnant students in the college was interpreted. The study revealed that the academic programme is very stressful for pregnant students. There is also virtually no room for relaxation which is much needed. This is coupled with the fact that certain tutors do not treat pregnant students with care but rather embarrass them for their condition. These and other issues make the college quite unsafe, especially for students who are pregnant women and not married students. The study thus recommends that the Ministry of Education and the school authorities need to address some of these challenges pregnant students face at the College. This study contributes to the existing research done on the welfare of students with various health conditions.

This paper argues that issues related to pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning can no longer be limited to research findings. There is an urgent need for such findings to inform curricular choices in teacher education programmes. The existence of these beliefs can no longer be ignored in the choices that shape the teacher education curricula. There is a need to acknowledge the important role they play in pre-service teachers’ professional identities, and thus require integration into the formation of future teachers’ being. Thus, the paper argues that persistence in ignoring pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning may continue to produce unreflective, unprepared graduates who lack confidence both in themselves and in the institutions that produce them. Hence, this theoretical paper proposes the beliefs acceptance model (BAM) which combines elements of the metacognitive and attribution theories as a framework for understanding why it is essential to foreground the beliefs of pre-service teachers in teacher education programmes. The primary aim of this paper is to examine how both theories, conceptualised as a model, can be used to engage with pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning in teacher education programmes. This paper will not only contribute to knowledge in the teacher education programmes, but can also be useful for curriculum planners and other stakeholders in higher education institutions in general. Keywords: Attribution theory, teaching and learning, Metacognitive theory, Pre-Service Teachers, teacher educators, academic developers, beliefs acceptance model

Hyflex teaching and learning is relatively a new concept within the South African higher education context. This teaching and learning approach brings to the fore the possibility of combining the existing teaching platforms for maximizing not only physical access to knowledge, but epistemological access, the latter is also described in this paper as meaningful access. The argument in this paper is that access cannot be meaningful until there is room for student engagement in the teaching and learning process, otherwise, all efforts to ensuring access in educational institutions will remain a mere paper fantasy. This paper, therefore, brings to the fore the need for higher education in South Africa to maximize the possibilities being offered by the Hyflex teaching and learning, not only for student engagement but meeting the need and respecting the democratic choices of students in terms of the modalities that work for them the most. Hence, it is argued in this paper that Hyflex learning is not a mere fad, but a choice for effective engagement with an emphasis on the needs of students at the center of all the pedagogic and curriculum choices in higher education.

There have been literary scholars such as Ruth Finnegan who have argued and asserted that drama is not a literary genre that is well developed in Africa. Although this assertion has been refuted and disproved by other literary scholars such as Euchero, Enekwe and Owomoyela, people still struggle with exactly what drama in Africa entails and is about. Whether the dramatic elements and traditions found in the performances are simply not remnants of the encounter with the western world as popularly postulated or they are actually traditions deeply rooted in the culture and identity as Africans. The paper used a qualitative research method that is essentially rooted in ethnography and historical facts that surround the Homowo festival. Also, with Afrocentric theory and Structural Theory of Myth, this paper has critically examined the Homowo festival of the people of Teshie in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana as an African drama and established that the various performances during the festival festivities have the features of drama and not only that, but they practically and vividly show how the performances are rooted in history, myth, rituals and the belief of the people in the community; thus, exhibiting a clear perspective of African drama. This study further contributes to the existing knowledge on oral literature and the treatment of festivals in Africa as a literary genre. It presents the Homowo festival as a fully fledged cultural practice that takes into cognizance essential dramatic elements embedded in its performance. Keywords: Festival, African Drama, Myth, Homowo

African artworks, to be specific, literature has for quite a long time now demonstrated African tradition and culture. One major African literary tool that has maintained its efficacy in the African cultural heritage is the use of proverbs. Proverbs have been diversely used to perform several functions in the African traditional setting. Among such functions are: confirming opinions, warning, showing regrets, doubts, justifications and many more. This paper seeks to examine some selected proverbs from Chinua Achebe’s novels – Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God. Significantly, one can conclude that the style of a writer can go a long way in determining the reception and authenticity of his works. Chinua Achebe has extensively employed proverbs in his works as a tool for setting out or revealing his characters, themes and many others. This study is a pragma-stylistic approach to the analysis of proverbs used by Achebe in the selected novels. The researchers focus primarily on the style, meaning and function of the proverbs used in the selected texts. A critical content analysis method is employed for this study to determine the functions of the proverbs within the context of the novel. This study brings to the fore the very nature of African proverbs, specifically the Igbo of Nigeria and reveals the various functions ascribed to these proverbs. This will provide readers with the necessary knowledge on the very reasons why some proverbs are used and will ignite the research impetus of some researchers to further investigate other approaches to proverbs. This study has contributed immensely to the existing literature on pragma-stylistic studies and the understanding of a pragma-stylistic approach as a theoretical concept with a unique focus on analysing African proverbs.

This paper focuses on how learners obtain proficiency through musical events employing some Akan traditional songs and Western common songs. The writer contends that learners study better using musical and other allied undertakings. Observation and unstructured interviews were used as instruments to gather primary information from seven basic schools in the Eastern and Central Regions of Ghana. The data showed that growing children embark on a series of experiments but they improve comprehensively when they use homegrown resources (e.g. familiar musical activities in their environments). The recommendation is that educators, caregivers and handlers in various basic schools should work with indigenous and common play songs coupled with related activities in the teaching and learning process.

The book of Acts is often referred to by many scholars and preachers when discussing Christian missions with emphasis on Acts 1:8 as the centrality of the book. Unfortunately, very little exegetical study is done on the text by scholars in relation to missions. It appears that Luke fails to provide a detailed blueprint strategies or approaches to the command for missions (witnessing) in the text. This article therefore considers Acts 1:8 exegetically to establish its missionary importance. In the light of this, the article assesses the mission strategies of the Early Church, Historic Missions and Neo-Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches in Ghana. The article contends that, a reflection on the current trend of NeoPentecostal/Charismatic approaches or strategies to missions in Ghana gives a valuable insight of a departure from the early missionary strategies in general. The article acknowledges that, the recent widespread involvement of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches in the use of radio, social media, television, open-air crusades, street evangelism, preaching in buses, prayer and prophetic meetings/conventions, medical outreach work and social welfare are ways to fulfill missions in the light of Acts 1:8. The article also highlights the need to broaden the understanding and task of Christian missions to meet the challenges of the recent changing Ghanaian Christian religious landscape.

The underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in the Metro Police Departments (MDPs) continues to be a matter of some concern, particularly in a traditionally male-dominated industry such as law enforcement. Research on gender and leadership has revealed that women continue to face challenges in advancing into leadership positions. Democracy, changes in law, and societal beliefs opened policing as a career to women and various legal frameworks provide for gender equality, therefore equal gender representation in the workplace is a developmental goal in South Africa. The objective of this study is to provide strategies for breaking barriers for women in leadership positions in law enforcement using qualitative analysis. 25 South African women from the Gauteng Province from Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, and Johannesburg MPDs were interviewed. The participants recommended that the South African MPDs review human resource practices and policies to promote a positive and constructive work environment for all employees. Keywords: leadership, women in leadership, gender, gender equality, Metropolitan police department, law enforcement

Influenza infection remains the most contagious disease and was recently linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. More research is currently designed to explore the potential benefits of indigenous plant-derived medicine to prevent and cure influenza. The purpose of this study was to determine medicinal plants used to treat influenza from a list of 89 plant species identified during previous ethnobotanical research conducted between 2012 and 2019. The study was conducted among four rural communities of Bapedi in Limpopo Province, South Africa. A mixed-methods approach was used to collect data. The study findings indicate that influenza is a seasonal and highly spread illness. The most often used methods of preventing influenza susceptibility were fumigating one’s residence and courtyard with indigenous plant-derived remedies, administering infusions and decoctions orally, as well as therapeutic steam and incense. Isolation is another method of avoiding influenza from spreading to other family members. Currently, this method is being used to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study’s results augment existing data about indigenous plant-derived medicines that show promise in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: Indigenous knowledge, plant-derived medicine, influenza, pandemic, COVID-19

This paper examines why business people in Ghana prefer using images of white people on their billboard outdoor advertisements. To attain the study’s objective, a cross-sectional survey was used. Data was collected from only a section of retail and wholesale businesses within the Ejisu and Juaben districts in the Ashanti Region of Ghana which use images of white people on their billboard outdoor advertisement. The survey findings show that retail and wholesale businesses use images of white people on their outdoor billboard advertisements because they are more attractive than images of black people. Also, the use of images of white people indicates a seal of professionalism, desirability, and quality services. The survey’s discovery reveals the racial perceptions of the white race in comparison with the black race by most African business people. The usage of the images of white people as the symbolic representation of ideal beauty, attractions, quality products and services, and model of authentic marketization has unfolded some of the factors that stymie the utilization of the images of the black people on an outdoor billboard advertisement. This paper contends that there is a necessity for a balanced moral reasoning and constructive racial perception of images of black people and self-identification.

This study is an ethnobotanical survey conducted in the Limpopo Province (South Africa) with the goal of collecting detailed information about the cultural significance of indigenous plants in human culture. Three hundred and forty semi-structured interviews with traditional health practitioners and community members knowledgeable about plant use yielded ethnobotanical data on a variety of indigenous plant uses. The ethnobotanical data collected produced 77 species belonging to 31 families. The diversity of plants produced 45 sources of medicine, 17 sources of stock feed, 13 sources of technological materials, 10 food sources, and six fuel sources. It was found that most plants (15.5%) have dual uses as sources of food and fodder, as well as sources of fruits that are also used for medicinal purposes and timber for the manufacturing of household utensils. The study findings demonstrated how traditional knowledge about indigenous plants may be leveraged to address some of society’s most pressing issues, including food insecurity, poor health and wellbeing, poverty, and unemployment. The study reported that the rural community’s continued dependence on indigenous plant materials for subsistence is an example of cultural resilience in the pursuit of sustainable development. The research is crucial because it provides information on the plants that remain prominent in Mantheding culture and their many uses in the community’s culture. Keywords: Ethnobotany; indigenous plants; sustainable development; Limpopo Province

Leaning on a number of philosophers of education and on the researcher’s experience, this paper modestly proposes a humancentric theory of education that puts a priority on enabling educators and learners to primarily develop what is termed “critical-ethical-minds” prior to seeking specialized knowledge and skills. Once this prime objective is achieved, learners would be well equipped to creatively engage with other academic disciplines in view of acquiring corresponding jobs in the life-world. This paper recommends that this theory of education is likely to produce an individual judged as intellectually emancipated and maturely articulate; capable of reasonably facing the realities of this world and Africa in particular, and of transforming his or her society into a better place to live in. Keywords: Education, Labour-Market-Schooling, Critical-Ethical-Thinking, Humancentric Theory of Education.

Over time, many students that enroll in programmes at the university end up dropping out without completing their studies. This trend is worrisome as it points to a defeat of the objectives of entering and graduating from the university. Therefore, this study explored the perspectives of contributory factors to student success in higher education at a South African University. The study addressed one objective namely, participants’ understanding of factors that contribute to student success in higher education. To address this objective, a qualitative case study design located in the interpretive paradigm was employed to generate data through a semi-structured interview from twelve participants purposively selected from undergraduate and postgraduate students. Of these twelve participants, four represented First Time Entering (FTEN) students, four (4) second year and third year respectively and four (4) postgraduate students across two faculties, namely the Faculty of Education and School Development and Faculty of Economics and Information Technology Systems , Komani campus,Walter Sisulu University, South Africa. The data was analysed thematically. The results revealed the following themes, namely, no student left behind, the need for an enabling environment, students as partners, data-informed practices, assessment for sustainability, and a multi-dimensional approach for success. With these findings, the study concludes that addressing the needs of all students collectively, creating an enabling environment, involving students as partners, the use of data-informed practices, and assessment for sustainability among others all impact students’ success in higher education. Thus, as part of the contribution to the body of knowledge, these findings highlight factors that contribute to the debate on students’ success in higher education. Key Words: First Time Entering Students (FTENs), Higher Education, Enablers of Student Success

Drawing on various environmental philosophers and other scholars, this paper modestly proposes an ethitocal theory known as stewardship that strongly challenges mankind to treat nature (environment) with substantial reverence and care. Nature and human beings are symbiotically related. Human beings depend on nature for their existence. Stewardship, as an ethical theory and practice, pivots on the philosophical idea that nature is sacred [i.e., bearer of intrinsic value and locus of transcendence]. Stewardship challenges human beings to committedly preserve nature and to only tamper with it for the procurement of basic human needs. Destroying nature is somehow destroying oneself. Such awareness may change the way human beings relate to nature, especially in radical capitalistic societies where nature is simply seen as a means to satisfy human interests. This paper recommends contributory measures for implementing the ethics of stewardship. These include the ethical principles of co-existentiality, personalised responsibility, proportionality and solidarity. The ethics of stewardship carries greater prospects of challenging people’s irresponsible appropriation, commercialisation and instrumentalisation of nature (anthropocentrism); hence, contributing to environmental respectability.

The purpose of this research was to describe the socio-economic elements that influence small-scale farming in South Africa’s Limpopo Province. The research used a qualitative method and randomly chose 100 farmers in the Sekhukhune District Municipality of Limpopo Province. A structured questionnaire was used to conduct the interviews. The generated data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The research found that indigenous crop production was largely determined by six socioeconomic variables: age, gender, marital status, educational attainment, income, and employment. Crops were grown to provide grains, vegetables, and fruits for household consumption. Indigenous crop farming can provide all community members with food security. The research concluded that adverse climate change has effects on food security, and socio-economic aspects might be taken into account in the creation of food security adaptation techniques.

Religious pluralism has characterized societies since time immemorial and has been one of the sources of conflict in many societies. This article compares how religious pluralism was handled in intertestamental Palestine and the manner it is managed in post-apartheid South Africa. The study used academic literature which applied the Apocrypha to describe the religious context of Palestine between 336 BC and 63 BC. The themes that emerged from this analysis were then used to source academic literature that describes the religious context of South Africa from 1994 to 2021. This process led to the synthesis of the similarities and differences of the two contexts. The findings latently reveal the contribution of the Apocrypha to theological reflection while simultaneously showing that the Roman Empire’s violent attempts to undermine religious pluralism in intertestamental Palestine bred counterviolence. The paper further reveals that post-apartheid South Africa’s use of legal instruments to promote religious pluralism seems to contribute to the optimization of religious freedom and peaceful co-existence. These findings are likely to contribute to the discourse of religious pluralism, interfaith dialogue, and intercultural communication.

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is one of the most significant social issues affecting the world, and just as in many other countries, GBV is pervasive in South Africa, where cultural norms and gender-based customs and traditions serve to condone and reinforce abusive practices. According to Article 13 of the Istanbul Convention, a preventive intervention requires heightened awareness as a first step in changing attitudes and behaviour that perpetuate the different forms of GBV. Hence, this study explores how awareness-raising can be effectively used as a preventive strategy to induce change in attitudes and behaviour associated with gender-based violence (GBV). Firstly, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify, select, and critically appraise existing empirical studies on GBV in South Africa. The systematic review used PRISMA guidelines for literature selection and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) data extraction form to extract relevant data. The findings from the systematic review were described using a summary table, which reveals the different forms of GBV, the overarching causes and the contributing factors to GBV in South Africa. As this is a preliminary study expected to lead into future studies, relevant secondary data, including previous empirical studies, were reviewed to explore how gamification can be employed for awareness campaigns that challenge persistent myths, prejudices, and stereotypes and disrupt different pathways that lead to GBV. Finally, the study provides a structure for the future experimental study where an interactive awareness-raising game will be developed. This paper also stimulates new research directions on the potential of gamification for social change. Keywords: Awareness-raising game, Gamification, Gender-based violence, Gender theory

Informed by the Bricolage theory, the authors sought to interrogate the role of religious education in combating school violence in South Africa in the post-pandemic era. While COVID, in many arguments, has been seen as catastrophic to humankind, it has evoked a religious sense among people to enable them to confront vulnerability, which can be harnessed to mitigate school violence. Located in participatory action research, a qualitative approach was used to collect data from twelve participants within the Free State province, where purposive sampling was used. The authors responded to two questions: What are the instigators of school violence? How can religious studies mitigate school violence in South African schools? The paper found that while religious education is underplayed in the South African curriculum, it has an impetus to ignite morality among teachers and learners to address school violence. Based on the paper’s findings, the article argues that despite its shortfalls, religious education remains one of the pillars of enacting the missing ingredient of morality which has made schools unsafe havens for educational stakeholders. In light of this argument, the article recommends reconsidering religious education as a core subject in South Africa from a borderless curriculum angle. Keywords: Bricolage, Religious Studies, School violence, Morality, COVID-19, Sustainable learning and borderless curriculum

Field research enables interaction between a researcher and research participants, offering an opportunity for the discovery of primary empirical data. As exciting as field research can be, for a novice researcher or research in unfamiliar terrain, community field research can also be daunting. These challenges may include, but are not limited to, the determination of community entry strategies, identification of potential respondents, as well as dealing with the non-availability of respondents. Based on field experiences, this research note offers practical suggestions on how to deal with these challenges within the realm of political science fieldwork. The experiences from a Voter Turnout research in Ghana shared in this note are of particular relevance to field research designs in the subject area of voter participation, focusing on voters as informants rather than experts or members of a professional network. Keywords: Field Research; Political Science; Field Strategies; Voter Turnout.

Eschatological Christology in African Christianity is an attempt to appreciate the concept of eschatology (beliefs about death, judgement and the final destiny of individual souls and humankind) in African Christianity and decipher its significance and/or implication. The objective is to understand the complexities of sociocultural and religious factors that inform the definitions and meaning of the concepts in the theological reflection of African Christianity. Eschatological Christology in African Christianity is therefore concerned with how African Christianity in its unique religious context understands and interprets biblical prophecies about the “End Times” and the assertion of Jesus’s distinctive “status”, about his relationship with the Father, divinity and humanity. It is therefore reflective of the repositories of religious and theological reflections from Africa’s rich cultural and religious cosmology as well as already existing and available Western Christian theological Christopraxis. Keywords: Eschatological, Christology, Christopraxis, Theology, Christianity

In spite of the presence of modern healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and health centers, coupled with well advanced modern medical technology, many people in Ghana continue to patronize traditional medicine. Using the qualitative approach, this study investigates the state and practice of traditional medicine among the Ewe of Ghana in contemporary times. In the first place, the study reviews literature on traditional medicine and African healing systems. Secondly, the study discusses the methodological framework. In addition, the study explores the state and practice of traditional medicine among the Ewe of Ghana, focusing on the ethnography of diseases, the topography of traditional medicine practitioners, and the prospects and challenges of the practice of traditional medicine in contemporary times. Data collection instruments such as interviews and observations were used to collect primary data. The study finds that traditional medicine contributes to alternative medicine, saves people from disabilities, and ensures the affordability of healthcare. However, it has been bedeviled with challenges such as the problem of licensing, lack of association, destruction of medicinal herbs, and infrastructural problems. The study concludes that traditional medicine continues to play a major role in healthcare delivery among the Ewe of Ghana in spite of the presence of modern healthcare systems. More significant is the fact that the study contributes to knowledge in the field of medical anthropology and Ewe ethno-medical history. Keywords: African Traditional Medicine, African Healing Systems, State and Practice, Ewe, Challenges and Prospects

The pre-colonial era of Africa was characterized, among other things, by a traditional or informal system of education. Some of the emphases of traditional education were (and still are) Africans’ delight, expression and appropriation of their beliefs, values, precepts and ideals. Despite these laudable emphases, the traditional system of education is characterized by some scholars as lacking a formal or systemized structure of knowledge production. Moreover, the post-colonial debates on the influence of Western education in Africa in general and Ghana, in particular, are conspicuously silent on Western education’s role in gradually altering the economic ideology of Ghana from a mixed and socialist economy to a capitalist mode of production. Using secondary data sources, this paper argues that the traditional system of education was (and still is) somehow structured or systemized almost as the formal or Western education. It also contends that Western education is gradually spearheading a paradigmatic shift in Ghana’s economic system from mixed economy to capitalism. It further maintains that recourse to African humanities would mitigate the unbridled effects of capitalism in Ghana.

A plethora of questions are asked when discussing moral issues concerning traditional African societies. Common among them are, is African morality dependent on religion only or has its foundation solely on the society, and what is the nature of the traditional African morality? These questions when answered would solve the myriad of ethical issues inherent in the African Traditional Religion. This article looks at the foundation and the nature of traditional African morality. The article establishes theocentric, communalistic, anthropocentric, utilitarian and shame-oriented as the nature of the traditional African morality. It fills the gap that both God and humanity are the foundations of African morality. The authors reviewed selected literature from various scholars. The paper also affirms that God and human society are the foundation of traditional African morality. It recommends that the theocentric and anthropocentric elements of African ethics must be brought together to have a true nature and source of the traditional African morality. This article seeks to contribute to the debate on the nature and foundation of traditional African morality. Keywords: African Tradition, morality, religion

In Ghana persons above 65 years are designated in the category of the aged or elderly. Aged care in the 21st century has received increased awareness and is getting intensified as the rate of life expectancy also increases. The underlying factor is the growing concern to seek the total well-being of these aged in the various indigenous Ghanaian communities. This, therefore, precipitated an enquiry into the activities of Agogo Presbyterian hospital, the churches in Agogo and the government Social Welfare Department in Agogo all located in the Asante Akim North Municipal of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Through focus group discussions among the aged, and an interview exercise conducted with the caregivers (the ministers, healthcare professionals and a social worker), the care of the aged was discussed. The aim of this was to unravel the sort of care given to these vulnerable persons in the Agogo community. Thematically, the results obtained were given the necessary interpretation and are further discussed as feedback from the aged. The study findings revealed that the aged most of the time are drifted to spirituality/church due to imminent death, protection for their children, and the fear of being bewitched. The Church keeps attracting the aged to its worship and provides their mandated spiritual care with intermittent social interventions. The Social Welfare Department was also constrained by financial, logistical, and institutional challenges. The Agogo Presbyterian Hospital balances its care of patients with spiritual care but is not well integrated and not specifically tailored towards the care of the aged. The study concluded that an enhanced care plan is hereby encouraged for these stakeholders to help the aged not just to live longer but also better. It recommended the establishment of geriatric/gerontological schools for the training of nurses and other allied staff for the care of the aged in Ghana. This has become necessary due to the rising level of the aged population in the country. This article seeks to add to the scanty existing literature on caring for people with special needs in Ghana. Keywords: The Aged, Gerontology, Spirituality, Social and Clinical Care