http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/679 2026-04-05T20:08:27Z http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/2229 Institutional environment and academic performance of private universities in Ghana the mediation role of governance mechanisms Takyi, H. 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). 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 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/2058 Investigating school improvement planning and implementation in public Junior High Schools in Gomoa West and Central Districts Quansah, M. This study sought to investigate the phenomenon of school ineffectiveness resulting from ineffective school improvement planning and implementation and how this affects academic achievement in public JHSs in the Gomoa West and Central districts. The Embedded mixed method design was employed for the study. The population of the study were Education stakeholders (E.g., School Improvement Support Officers (SISOs) and Planning officers from the Education Directorates; PA Chairpersons from Parent Associations; SMC Chairpersons from School Management Committees, Headteachers and teachers) of Gomoa West and Central districts. A sample size of 286 was selected for the entire study. Sampling techniques employed included purposive sampling, quota sampling, census sampling, and simple random sampling. Questionnaires and semi-structured interview guides were the tools used in gathering quantitative and qualitative data respectively. Quantitative data was analysed through Pearson correlation coefficient. Thematic analysis was employed in analysing qualitative data. The study revealed that there is a relationship between stakeholder collaboration in planning and academic achievement but this relationship could be positive or negative depending on the context of the school. The study showed further that schools in the two districts accessed have become ineffective because school improvement planning and implementation are feeble. The needed collaboration to spice up the planning process has not been encouraging because commitment level of some of the stakeholders was low. This has negatively impacted on the kind of school improvement programmes run in the schools within the accessed districts. The study concluded that stakeholder collaboration in planning could be part of the factors causing poor academic achievement in schools but not the only causative factor. It was recommended, among others, that the government should revise its policy on public school management to give more powers to education directorates and headteachers to initiate programmes to improve schools. Furthermore, it was recommended that schools and district education directorates engage in more dialogue and consultations to get stakeholders to show more commitment to the activities of the schools. The study generally implied that educational leaders need to explore the specific causes of non-performance in JHSs and work on them, in order to experience a positive correlation between stakeholder collaboration in planning and academic achievement. A thesis in the Department of Educational Administration and Management, Faculty of Educational Studies, 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 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z