http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/634 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 14:56:14 GMT 2026-06-26T14:56:14Z http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/5329 Impact of early marriage on the psychological wellbeing of adolescent girls in the East Mamprusi Municipality Maasu, S.A. This study aims to investigate the psychological well-being of young adolescent girls in early marriage within the East Mamprusi Municipality, Ghana, with implications for counseling practices. The objectives of this study was to explore the factors contributing to early marriage. The aimis to assess the impact of early marriage on adolescent girls psychological well-being, and suggest the effectiveness of existing support systems and strategies for improving counseling services for adolescent girls in early marriages in the East Mamprusi Municipality. A mixed-methods approach was employed by combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. The sample size consists of 100 adolescent girls, including 5 counselors. Stratified random sampling and purposive sampling was used to ensure a representative sample. Questionnaires were administered to the students to collect quantitative data, while interviews were conducted with counselors to gather qualitative insights. Key findings revealed that poverty was identified as the primary factor contributing to early marriage, with 48% of respondents citing it as a major driver; the psychological wellbeing of early-married girls shows high levels of stress and anxiety, with respondents reporting a mean score of 4.1 for psychological distress; and counseling services are seen as beneficial, but 80% of respondents felt that existing support systems are insufficient to address the unique challenges faced by early-married adolescent girls. The study founds that early marriages have significant negative psychological impacts, hindering their emotional well-being, educational attainment, and future aspirations of the adolescent girls. The study recommended strengthening counseling services, improving access to education, and promoting legal frameworks to prevent early marriages. It also suggested that community involvement and collaborative efforts between schools, counselors, and local organizations was essential in addressing the underlying causes of early marriages. The implications of the findings suggest that interventions, including education, mental health support, and legal reform, are crucial to mitigate the negative effects of early marriages and promote the well-being and future prospects of young girls in the East Mamprusi Municality. Further research is recommended to explore the long-term impacts of counseling interventions and to expand the scope to other regions facing similar challenges. A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy (Counselling Psychology) Department of Counselling Psychology Faculty of Applied Behavioural Sciences in Education FEBRUARY, 2026 Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/5329 2026-02-01T00:00:00Z http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/5325 Head teacher-teacher relationship and its impact on learners' academic performance in five selected basic schools in the Gomoa-Central District of Ghana Mereku, G.K. Inclusive education is a global educational practice that seeks to provide equitable learning opportunities for all learners, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, or learning needs. In Ghana, efforts to implement inclusive education policies have gained momentum, yet the translation of these policies into effective school-level practices remains a challenge. This study investigated the experiences of basic school headteachers regarding the implementation of inclusive education policy within the Nkwanta North District of the Oti Region. The study adopted the interpretivist research philosophy, and a qualitative research approach and a case study design. The study purposively selected 15 participants comprising 5 headteachers, 5 teachers and 5 students from five selected basic schools in Nkwanta North District and used in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to collect data. The data collected was analysed with the thematic analysis method. The study found out that headteachers have limited understanding of inclusive education policy, resource constraints and poor infrastructure hinder implementation of inclusive education policy, inadequate training and support limit the ability to effectively implement the policy, lack of leadership and institutional support in policy implementation hampered the execution of inclusive practices, weak collaboration from stakeholders, and inadequate government budget for inclusive education also impeded the policy implementation. The study concluded that effective implementation of inclusive education policy requires effective leadership, institutional support and resources. Key recommendations included, enhancement of leadership capacity through targeted training and professional development, improvement in institutional support and monitoring systems, provision of adequate teaching and learning resources for inclusive education, fostering of community sensitization and stakeholder engagement, recruitment and deployment of specialized personnel in schools to support inclusion and increment in government budget allocation for inclusive education. A thesis in the Department of Educational Administration and Management, School of Education and Life-Long Learning, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy (Educational Administration and Management) in the University of Education, Winneba APRIL, 2025 Tue, 01 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/5325 2025-04-01T00:00:00Z http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/5321 Gender moderating the relationship among academic stress, malevolent creativity, and academic dishonest behaviours among post graduate students Dauda, J.M. This study explores how gender influences the link among academic stress, malevolent creativity, and academic dishonest behaviours among Ghanaian postgraduate students. The study aims to investigate the levels of academic stress, malevolent creativity, and dishonest behaviours among students at the University of Education, Winneba, as well as how gender influences these relationships. It draws on the Person-environment fit theory by French et al., Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviours, and the Dark Triad Theory. 450 postgraduate students participated in the study, which used a descriptive survey approach. The psychological toll of academic demands was highlighted by the findings, which showed a strong correlation between academic stress and both academic dishonesty and malevolent creativity. Often used as a stress-reduction strategy, malevolent creativity took the form of damaging or dishonest activities. However, the association between academic stress and dishonest conduct was not significantly moderated by gender. The study comes to the conclusion that ethical training programs and stress management techniques are essential for lowering the incidence of unethical academic behaviour. The implementation of counselling services and courses targeted at giving students better coping mechanisms for stress are among the recommendations. Additional study ideas include investigating environmental and cultural elements that can affect academic dishonesty in various Ghanaian educational contexts. A thesis in the Department of Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Applied Behavioural Science in Education, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of degree of Master of Philosophy (Counselling Psychology) in the University of Education, Winneba NOVEMBER, 2024 Fri, 01 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/5321 2024-11-01T00:00:00Z http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/5319 Financial Management Challenges Facing Heads of Senior High Schools in the Central Region, Ghana Quansah, G.N.E. The study investigated financial management challenges facing heads of senior high schools in the Central Region, Ghana. Specifically, it examined financial management challenges, facing heads, sources of the challenges, the effect of the challenges, and the available support system. The research paradigm is pragmatism while the approach is mixed methods. The study employed the concurrent triangulation design. The target population was heads of senior high schools, Zonal Internal Audit, and Directors of Education, made up of 75 heads of SHSs, 7 heads of Zonal Internal Auditors, and 21 MMD Directors of Education, which constituted a population of 104. The sample size was 70 participants, made up of 63 heads of SHSs, 4 Directors, and 3 Auditors. Simple random and purposive techniques were used for the selection of the participants. The research relied on primary data, which was gathered using a structured questionnaire for heads and a semi-structured interview guide for the Directors and Internal Auditors. Both the quantitative and qualitative data were collected concurrently and analyzed. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS, and the qualitative data were analyzed using iNVIVO. Key findings of the study were that procurement, accounting, audit infractions, budgetary inefficiencies, professional incompetence, and financial policy were major financial management challenges for the heads. Sources of the financial challenges were inadequate financial management knowledge and skill, inadequate education and training on financial management, long stay in schools, and doubling roles of heads as administrators and financial managers are major professional competencies challenges. The findings also indicate that the challenges have effects such as misappropriation of funds, insufficient teaching and learning materials, poor teacher performance, reduced student achievement, public audit scrutiny, and emotional stress on heads. The state should therefore release timely and adequate fund as well as necessary support for the heads to manage school funds efficiently. It is also that the Regional Directorate of Education should provide regular capacity building for heads and the Board of Governors on school financial management. A thesis in the Department of Educational Administration and Management, School of Education and Life-Long Learning, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy (Educational Administration and Management) in the University of Education, Winneba DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND LIFE-LONG LEARNING UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA MAY, 2025 Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/5319 2025-05-01T00:00:00Z