Abstract:
The study examined the roles of NGOs in poverty alleviation and education in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality in the Western Region of Ghana. The work was guided by
development theories notably modernization theory, dependency theory, community
development theory, neo-liberalism and underpinned by three main philosophical
components to wit; ontological, epistemological and methodological approaches. The
exploratory mixed method design was employed for the study. Primary data were sourced
from questionnaires and interviews. Two out of 20 communities were randomly selected
from the Municipality. A sample size of 199 respondents participated in the study
representing 99.5% response rate. Out of the number, one official from an NGO and ten
other respondents were purposively selected to answer interview questions. Quantitative
data were analyzed with SPSS version 20, and the results were presented in the form of
charts and tables whilst qualitative data were transcribed and analyzed thematically to
support the quantitative data. The results revealed that the NGOs provide educational
support, financial assistance, advisory counseling and advocacy, employment
opportunities and provision of basic social amenities such as potable water. These activities
of NGOs have brought great impact, which have led to improvement in education, a
reduction in household and community poverty levels in the Municipality. Also, it was
found that, NGOs face problems in the form of cumbersome nature of registration process,
land acquisition and the repayment of loans by beneficiaries in the communities among
others.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of Educational Leadership, Faculty of Education
and Communication Sciences, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies,
University of Education, Winneba, in partial fulfilment for award of the Master of
Philosophy (Educational Leadership) degree
MAY, 2018
