Abstract:
The study was designed to explore and explain the influence of institutional environments
on the academic performance of private universities in Ghana and the mediating role of
governance mechanisms. The target population was the private universities in Ghana. The
study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. Using a purposive sampling
technique, a sample size of 120 (100 for the quantitative and 20 for the qualitative phase)
were selected from private universities in Ghana. Data were obtained through self administered questionnaires from field survey and focus group discussions. The
quantitative data was analysed using regression analytical tool while content analysis was
employed to analyse the qualitative data. Results from the study indicate that regulative,
normative, mimetic, and cognitive institutional forces largely influence private university
education management. The findings further show that in the context of private
universities’ operations, the institutional environment generally has a positive effect on
academic performance. Again, the findings indicate that quality assurance practices, but
not faculty governance, has a significant positive effect on academic performance. In
addition, governance mechanisms partially mediate the relationship between institutional
environment and academic performance. Results from the qualitative phase of the study
largely corroborate the quantitative results. A significant theoretical contribution from
this study is its ability to show that the institutional environments-academic performance
relationship is partially mediated by governance mechanisms. Managerially, the findings
inform policy decisions by offering guidance to the Ministry of Education (MoE), Ghana
Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), and other relevant agencies to take into
cognisance the prevailing institutional forces within their environments when developing
and implementing policies of higher education in Ghana (and in similar context).
Description:
A Thesis in the Department of Educational Leadership, Faculty of Education
and Communication Sciences, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, in
partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Educational Leadership)
in the University of Education, Winneba