First Phase of KNUST-IDRC/KIX-GPE project Stakeholders’ Engagement has been successfully completed

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has successfully concluded the first district-level stakeholders' engagement with Ghana Education Services (GES) as part of its collaborative research project with the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX), supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
Titled ‘The Impact of Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices on Social and Emotional Development in Diverse Early Childhood Classrooms in Ghana,’ this research investigates the role of culturally attuned teaching on children’s social and emotional development.
Supported by focal persons at the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regional Education Directorates and Early Childhood Education Coordinators from GES, the multidisciplinary research team carried out extensive fieldwork in various basic schools across the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions.
 Observing classrooms, the team engaged with head teachers and kindergarten teachers on issues central to early childhood development, such as learners’ security, sanitation, the school feeding program, and the handling of cultural diversity in the classroom.
The team emphasized the project's importance, noting that while some schools are well-equipped, others face resource constraints.
"Regardless of the disparities in resources, every school offers the fundamental elements, particularly a fair representation of boys and girls as well as a rich diversity of ethnic groups and languages needed for our research," project lead Prof. Paul Sarfo-Mensah said.
The research team worked in four districts in each of the two participating regions, where they conducted visits to four schools per district, i.e., a total of 32 schools, gathering extensive data that will support the next stages of the study.
With the successful completion of this phase, Prof. Sarfo-Mensah expressed optimism about the project’s progress, stating, “We now have all the data needed for this phase, which positions us well to move forward."