Teachers’, Students’ And Parents’ Perception Of Home Economics Programme In Senior High Schools In North Tongu

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to assess perceptions of the image of Home Economics held by teachers, parents and students of Senior High Schools in the North Tongu District. This was achieved through examining their awareness and knowledge of the content of the Home Economics programme and any differences that existed in the perception of both Home Economics and non Home Economics students by gender. A descriptive survey was employed to carry out the study. A total of 691 respondents made up of 263 teachers, 87 parents and 341 students were randomly sampled. Questionnaires were administered to all categories of respondents. Data was analysed by using descriptive statistics and Independent sample t-test was used to test the hypotheses. The study showed that teachers and students had good knowledge and awareness of the content areas of the Home Economics programme. It also found that teachers, students and parents of the students also had good perceptions about the programme. They perceived the programme to be relevant to learners in their future. The study revealed that there was no statistical significant difference in the perception of male and female students. It was found that there was a significant statistical difference between Home Economics and non-Home Economics students’ perception of the Home Economics programme. It was recommended that the Ghana Education Service should educate Ghanaians through teachers on the importance of Vocational and Technical Education to help improve the perceptions of people. i  DECLARATION Candidate’s Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original research and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this university or elsewhere. Candidate’s Signature:………………………… Date:……………………… Name: Anku Deborah Supervisors’ Declaration We hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this thesis were supervised in accordance with the guidelines on supervision of thesis laid down by the University of Cape Coast. Principal Supervisor’s Signature:………………… Date:……………………… Name: Dr. Ekua Tekyiwa Amua-Sekyi Co-supervisor’s Signature: .................................. Date: ................................... Name: Prof. (Mrs) Sarah Darkwa iii  ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to assess perceptions of the image of Home Economics held by teachers, parents and students of Senior High Schools in the North Tongu District. This was achieved through examining their awareness and knowledge of the content of the Home Economics programme and any differences that existed in the perception of both Home Economics and non Home Economics students by gender. A descriptive survey was employed to carry out the study. A total of 691 respondents made up of 263 teachers, 87 parents and 341 students were randomly sampled. Questionnaires were administered to all categories of respondents. Data was analysed by using descriptive statistics and Independent sample t-test was used to test the hypotheses. The study showed that teachers and students had good knowledge and awareness of the content areas of the Home Economics programme. It also found that teachers, students and parents of the students also had good perceptions about the programme. They perceived the programme to be relevant to learners in their future. The study revealed that there was no statistical significant difference in the perception of male and female students. It was found that there was a significant statistical difference between Home Economics and non-Home Economics students’ perception of the Home Economics programme. It was recommended that the Ghana Education Service should educate Ghanaians through teachers on the importance of Vocational and Technical Education to help improve the perceptions of people.