Students’ Perspectives of the Food and Nutrition Program at the University of Cape Coast Home Economics Department and Its Implication on Curriculum Change

Naomi Kuokor Neequaye; Sarah Darkwa; Manasseh Edison Komla Amu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12

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Students’ Perspectives of the Food and Nutrition Program at the University of Cape Coast Home Economics Department and Its Implication on Curriculum Change

Naomi Kuokor Neequaye, Sarah Darkwa, Manasseh Edison Komla Amu

Published in Science Journal of Education (Volume 2, Issue 1)

Received: 31 December 2013 Published: 20 January 2014

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Abstract

Curriculum evaluation provides insightful information that helps make decisions to maintain, modify or stop a program. Evaluating students’ perspectives of an existing program is an important technique used in assessing its relevance to the global economy. The study evaluated students’ perspectives of the food and nutrition program at the University of Cape Coast and its implications on curriculum change. Out of a total of 336 students, 129 made up of 62 first and 67 final year students were purposively selected for the study. Two sets of questionnaires were developed and self administered to students. In all, 116 questionnaires (62 final year students; 54 first year students) were retrieved giving a response rate of 90%. Results showed that 52% of the students were well informed about the program through the university admission brochure prior to enrollment. Students reported several overlaps in different courses and recommended synchronizing course outlines. Seventy (60%) of the students rated science based courses as very important (nutrition and health; food storage and preservation) and non science courses less important (food production and service; other catering related courses). Students labeled some courses as irrelevant in contemporary times and recommended their removal and replacement with more relevant ones. In addition, students requested for more practical lessons to equip them with the requisite skills needed to compete for jobs after graduating. Students indicated health related jobs as their first choice of employment with few interested in teaching. It was concluded that the existing program though developed to train students to teach food and nutrition in the second cycle schools in Ghana has lost its focus, rather students are more interested in being trained to work in the health sector rather than teach. Thus it is important to review the courses and update them to reflect changing trends in the global economy.

Published in	Science Journal of Education (Volume 2, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12
Page(s)	4-11
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Curriculum Evaluation, Food, Nutrition, Curriculum Change, Ghana

References

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[7]	A. Hussain, A. H. Dogar, M. Azeem, and A. Shakoor, Evaluation of Curriculum Development Process International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 1, no. 14, 263 -271, 2011.
[8]	E.G. Guba, and D. L. Stufflbeam, Evaluation: The process of stimulating, Aiding and Abetting Insightful Action in Smith, C.B (Ed.) Monograph series in Reading Education, Indian University, no. 1, June 1970.
[9]	F. C. Lunenburg, Theorizing about curriculum: Conceptions and definitions. International Journal of Scholarly Academic Intellectual Diversity, vol. 13, no. 1, 2011.
[10]	P. Wolf, A. Hill, and F. Ever, Handbook for curriculum assessment. ERDU, 2006.
[11]	W.R. Shadish, T.D. Cook, and L.C. Leviton, Foundations of Program Evaluation: Theories of Practice. Sage Publications, Inc. United States of America, p. 529, 1995.
[12]	J. Randall, "Quality Assurance: Meeting the needs of the user". Higher Education Quarterly, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 188-203, 2002.
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[15]	R. M. Diamond, (Designing and Assessing Courses and Curricula: A practical Guide (3rd ed.), San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2008.
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[17]	S.C. Aadland, J.E. Dunkelberger, J.J. Molnar, and M.L.G. Purcell, "Similarities - dissimilarities among students in home economics majors at Southern Land Grant Universities". Home Economics Research Journal, vol. 12, pp. 3-15, 1983.
[18]	L. Zhang, "Do measures of college quality matter? The effect of college quality on graduates’ earnings". The Review of Higher Education, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 571-596, 2005.
[19]	R. L. Brooks, "Measuring University Quality", The Review of Higher Education, vol. 29, no. 1, pp.1-21; 309-332, 2005.
[20]	L. F. Gardiner, "Redesigning Higher Education: Producing Dramatic Gains in Student Learning Through Assessment". A Resource Guide for Higher Education Report, Washington, D.C. vol. 23, p. 7, 1996.
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APA Style

Naomi Kuokor Neequaye, Sarah Darkwa, Manasseh Edison Komla Amu. (2014). Students’ Perspectives of the Food and Nutrition Program at the University of Cape Coast Home Economics Department and Its Implication on Curriculum Change. Science Journal of Education, 2(1), 4-11. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12

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ACS Style

Naomi Kuokor Neequaye; Sarah Darkwa; Manasseh Edison Komla Amu. Students’ Perspectives of the Food and Nutrition Program at the University of Cape Coast Home Economics Department and Its Implication on Curriculum Change. Sci. J. Educ. 2014, 2(1), 4-11. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12

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AMA Style

Naomi Kuokor Neequaye, Sarah Darkwa, Manasseh Edison Komla Amu. Students’ Perspectives of the Food and Nutrition Program at the University of Cape Coast Home Economics Department and Its Implication on Curriculum Change. Sci J Educ. 2014;2(1):4-11. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12

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@article{10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12,
  author = {Naomi Kuokor Neequaye and Sarah Darkwa and Manasseh Edison Komla Amu},
  title = {Students’ Perspectives of the Food and Nutrition Program at the University of Cape Coast Home Economics Department and Its Implication on Curriculum Change},
  journal = {Science Journal of Education},
  volume = {2},
  number = {1},
  pages = {4-11},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjedu.20140201.12},
  abstract = {Curriculum evaluation provides insightful information that helps make decisions to maintain, modify or stop a program. Evaluating students’ perspectives of an existing program is an important technique used in assessing its relevance to the global economy. The study evaluated students’ perspectives of the food and nutrition program at the University of Cape Coast and its implications on curriculum change. Out of a total of 336 students, 129 made up of 62 first and 67 final year students were purposively selected for the study. Two sets of questionnaires were developed and self administered to students. In all, 116 questionnaires (62 final year students; 54 first year students) were retrieved giving a response rate of 90%. Results showed that 52% of the students were well informed about the program through the university admission brochure prior to enrollment. Students reported several overlaps in different courses and recommended synchronizing course outlines. Seventy (60%) of the students rated science based courses as very important (nutrition and health; food storage and preservation) and non science courses less important (food production and service; other catering related courses). Students labeled some courses as irrelevant in contemporary times and recommended their removal and replacement with more relevant ones. In addition, students requested for more practical lessons to equip them with the requisite skills needed to compete for jobs after graduating. Students indicated health related jobs as their first choice of employment with few interested in teaching. It was concluded that the existing program though developed to train students to teach food and nutrition in the second cycle schools in Ghana has lost its focus, rather students are more interested in being trained to work in the health sector rather than teach. Thus it is important to review the courses and update them to reflect changing trends in the global economy.},
 year = {2014}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Students’ Perspectives of the Food and Nutrition Program at the University of Cape Coast Home Economics Department and Its Implication on Curriculum Change
AU - Naomi Kuokor Neequaye
AU - Sarah Darkwa
AU - Manasseh Edison Komla Amu
Y1 - 2014/01/20
PY - 2014
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12
DO - 10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12
T2 - Science Journal of Education
JF - Science Journal of Education
JO - Science Journal of Education
SP - 4
EP - 11
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2329-0897
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12
AB - Curriculum evaluation provides insightful information that helps make decisions to maintain, modify or stop a program. Evaluating students’ perspectives of an existing program is an important technique used in assessing its relevance to the global economy. The study evaluated students’ perspectives of the food and nutrition program at the University of Cape Coast and its implications on curriculum change. Out of a total of 336 students, 129 made up of 62 first and 67 final year students were purposively selected for the study. Two sets of questionnaires were developed and self administered to students. In all, 116 questionnaires (62 final year students; 54 first year students) were retrieved giving a response rate of 90%. Results showed that 52% of the students were well informed about the program through the university admission brochure prior to enrollment. Students reported several overlaps in different courses and recommended synchronizing course outlines. Seventy (60%) of the students rated science based courses as very important (nutrition and health; food storage and preservation) and non science courses less important (food production and service; other catering related courses). Students labeled some courses as irrelevant in contemporary times and recommended their removal and replacement with more relevant ones. In addition, students requested for more practical lessons to equip them with the requisite skills needed to compete for jobs after graduating. Students indicated health related jobs as their first choice of employment with few interested in teaching. It was concluded that the existing program though developed to train students to teach food and nutrition in the second cycle schools in Ghana has lost its focus, rather students are more interested in being trained to work in the health sector rather than teach. Thus it is important to review the courses and update them to reflect changing trends in the global economy.
VL - 2
IS - 1
ER -

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Author Information

Naomi Kuokor Neequaye

Country?Mentor?at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). German International Cooperation, Accra, Ghana
Sarah Darkwa

University of Cape Coast- Faculty of Education, Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Cape Coast- Ghana
Manasseh Edison Komla Amu

University of Cape Coast- Faculty of Education, Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Cape Coast- Ghana

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Naomi Kuokor Neequaye, Sarah Darkwa, Manasseh Edison Komla Amu. (2014). Students’ Perspectives of the Food and Nutrition Program at the University of Cape Coast Home Economics Department and Its Implication on Curriculum Change. Science Journal of Education, 2(1), 4-11. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12

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ACS Style

Naomi Kuokor Neequaye; Sarah Darkwa; Manasseh Edison Komla Amu. Students’ Perspectives of the Food and Nutrition Program at the University of Cape Coast Home Economics Department and Its Implication on Curriculum Change. Sci. J. Educ. 2014, 2(1), 4-11. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12

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AMA Style

Naomi Kuokor Neequaye, Sarah Darkwa, Manasseh Edison Komla Amu. Students’ Perspectives of the Food and Nutrition Program at the University of Cape Coast Home Economics Department and Its Implication on Curriculum Change. Sci J Educ. 2014;2(1):4-11. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12

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@article{10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12,
  author = {Naomi Kuokor Neequaye and Sarah Darkwa and Manasseh Edison Komla Amu},
  title = {Students’ Perspectives of the Food and Nutrition Program at the University of Cape Coast Home Economics Department and Its Implication on Curriculum Change},
  journal = {Science Journal of Education},
  volume = {2},
  number = {1},
  pages = {4-11},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140201.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjedu.20140201.12},
  abstract = {Curriculum evaluation provides insightful information that helps make decisions to maintain, modify or stop a program. Evaluating students’ perspectives of an existing program is an important technique used in assessing its relevance to the global economy. The study evaluated students’ perspectives of the food and nutrition program at the University of Cape Coast and its implications on curriculum change. Out of a total of 336 students, 129 made up of 62 first and 67 final year students were purposively selected for the study. Two sets of questionnaires were developed and self administered to students. In all, 116 questionnaires (62 final year students; 54 first year students) were retrieved giving a response rate of 90%. Results showed that 52% of the students were well informed about the program through the university admission brochure prior to enrollment. Students reported several overlaps in different courses and recommended synchronizing course outlines. Seventy (60%) of the students rated science based courses as very important (nutrition and health; food storage and preservation) and non science courses less important (food production and service; other catering related courses). Students labeled some courses as irrelevant in contemporary times and recommended their removal and replacement with more relevant ones. In addition, students requested for more practical lessons to equip them with the requisite skills needed to compete for jobs after graduating. Students indicated health related jobs as their first choice of employment with few interested in teaching. It was concluded that the existing program though developed to train students to teach food and nutrition in the second cycle schools in Ghana has lost its focus, rather students are more interested in being trained to work in the health sector rather than teach. Thus it is important to review the courses and update them to reflect changing trends in the global economy.},
 year = {2014}
}

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