Papers by Sophie Ekume Etomes
European Journal of Education Studies, Nov 2, 2019
This study examined the relationship between age and pupils achievement in mathematics and Englis... more This study examined the relationship between age and pupils achievement in mathematics and English in public and private primary schools in Fako Divion, South West Region of Cameroon. Based on the objective, two hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. The population of the study consisted of class two and three pupils constituting a sample of 297 pupils purposively selected as follows: 163 from private schools and 134 from public schools who had been in the selected schools for a minimum of two years. Tests were administered on a score of 20 which took into consideration the curriculum of each class. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation as well as the Spearman's rho and Kruskal Wallis tests. Statistics were presented at 95% confidence interval with alpha set at 0.05 levels accepting 5% margin of error. Results revealed a significant relationship between age and pupils achievement in mathematics and English as well as a significant difference in this relationship by school type with performance being higher in private schools than those in public schools. Recommendations were made amongst which is the respect of school entry age.
European Journal of Education Studies, Jun 9, 2020
The study examines the effects of student-teacher ratio on students' learning and academic perfor... more The study examines the effects of student-teacher ratio on students' learning and academic performance in public universities in Cameroon. Three constructs of studentteacher ratio, that is, class size, teaching method and teachers' workload were used to examine the extent to which they affect students' learning and performance in public universities in Cameroon. A survey research design was used. Closed and open-ended questionnaires were used to collect data exclusively from 39 teachers and 101 students from the University of Buea. The quantitative data was analyzed using the descriptive statistics (frequency count, percentages and mean). The opened ended questions were analyzed using thematic analysis approach with the aid of key concepts/themes, groundings and sampled quotation. Results revealed that class size, teachers' workload and teaching method as constructs of student-teacher ratio affect students' learning and academic performance in public universities in Cameroon. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the university administration should construct more classrooms to reduce overpopulated classes; with the increase in student population, educational planners should ensure commensurate increase in infrastructure and qualified teachers. Also, the university administration should ensure that teachers with posts of responsibility should co-teach with those without any posts. This will reduce teacher absenteeism, improve students' evaluation, and overall students' performance.
Journal of Education and Learning, Aug 18, 2022
Change which is inevitable due to the changing needs of individuals and the society usually comes... more Change which is inevitable due to the changing needs of individuals and the society usually comes with some challenges. Knowledge and understanding of these challenges are relevant for effective implementation and efficient outcome. This study examined the extent to which challenges faced by students during the lockdown period will inform policy makers on restructuring the governance of higher education in Cameroon. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design of quantitative approach. Questionnaire was used to collect data from 1029 postgraduate students. The statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 23.0, frequency counts and percentage were used to analyse the closed-ended questions while the thematic approach was used to analyse the open-ended questions. The Spearman's rho test which is a non-parametric test was used to test the hypothesis. Results revealed that lockdown period significantly affected students' learning in higher education institutions in Cameroon and this effect was very strong justified with an R-square value of 0.826, P = 0.000, far < 0.05 and a high Chi-Square value of 964.612 at a degree of freedom of 81. This effect is related to the challenges faced with respect to knowledge and skills in online learning, access to online resources and management of online studies.
Asian journal of education and social studies, Mar 11, 2023
Maintaining healthy and facilitating school climates constitute one of the greatest challenges fa... more Maintaining healthy and facilitating school climates constitute one of the greatest challenges faced by educational authorities in recent times. In Cameroon like others countries in the world, the government and education partners have been investing enormous energy to ensure that school environment are safe for all and conducive for teaching and learning. This study investigated the impact of parents' involvement in decision making process on the health of school climates of public secondary schools in the South West Region of Cameroon. This study utilised the correlational research design. Data was collected through cross sectional survey of a sample of 31 schools and Original Research Article
African journal of development studies, Mar 1, 2021
This study examines skills acquisition and labour market opportunities for graduates of public un... more This study examines skills acquisition and labour market opportunities for graduates of public universities in Cameroon. Four research objectives and one hypothesis guided the study which examined the extent to which social, technical, conceptual and entrepreneurial skills acquired by graduates enhance their employability. The population of the study consisted of 79 graduates with bachelor’s degree, including 29 employers. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 2.3) was used to analyse the quantitative data. The quantitative data were analysed using frequency count and percentages while the qualitative data were analysed using a thematic approach with the aid of key concepts/themes, groundings and sampled quotation. The Spearman’s rho test was adopted for the study in testing the hypothesis. Results reveal a significant relationship between skills acquisition and labour market opportunities for graduates (P&lt;0.05). The positive sign of the coefficient value for each of the skills to labour market opportunities (social skills .132*, technical skills .241*, conceptual skills .241*, entrepreneurial skills .393**) shows a positive correlation with labour market opportunities; that is, graduates stand a better chance to be employed when they possess the above-mentioned skills with entrepreneurial skills contributing more, followed by conceptual and technical skills with higher correlation values and lastly social skills. It was recommended that HE institutions should design competency-based curriculum for all programmes to enable graduates acquire the relevant skills. A closer engagement of universities and employers is recommended for better skills productivity.
Journal of Resources Development and Management, 2018
Agriculture is the bedrock of Cameroon's economy as it contributes significantly to food, income ... more Agriculture is the bedrock of Cameroon's economy as it contributes significantly to food, income and employment. However, the country's agriculture is confronted by a myriad of challenges which include inter-alia issues of land tenure, inadequate finance, weak market information system and use of simple technology. The unprecedented growth in Cameroon's urban population has given rise to peri-urban agriculture. Using survey data of 150 randomly sampled farmers, we assess the socioeconomic contributions of peri-urban farming to livelihoods and the constraints faced by farmers in study area, at the periphery of Buea in the South West Region of Cameroon. The study identified some of the agricultural techniques being practiced to include slash and burn, shifting cultivation, crop rotation, farming without ridges, monoculture, and livestock farming. The commonest crops and livestock are tubers, grains, horticultural products, oil palm, poultry, goats and pigs. We found that peri-urban agriculture contributes significantly to household food security and nutrition, income, and employment of farmers. These findings have important policy implications for urban food security and nutrition, and sustainable development.
Educational Considerations
The American Journal of Interdisciplinary Innovations and Research
This study was designed to examine administrative change and the enhancement of relevance in stat... more This study was designed to examine administrative change and the enhancement of relevance in state higher education system in Cameroon. The study was guided by two objectives which examine how change in administrative policy and administrative skills will enhance the relevance in state higher education system in Cameroon. This is supported by the theory of Fullan who state that that educational change is a process and to begin the change process you must be able to fully involve all human participants (stakeholders) in the change process for a better sustainability. This is supported by the theory of Fullan who state that that educational change is a process and to begin the change process you must be able to fully involve all human participants (stakeholders) in the change process for a better sustainability. The concurrent mixed-methods research design specifically the concurrent triangulation design was adopted for the study. Questionnaire and an interview guide were the instrume...
Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies
Maintaining healthy and facilitating school climates constitute one of the greatest challenges fa... more Maintaining healthy and facilitating school climates constitute one of the greatest challenges faced by educational authorities in recent times. In Cameroon like others countries in the world, the government and education partners have been investing enormous energy to ensure that school environment are safe for all and conducive for teaching and learning. This study investigated the impact of parents’ involvement in decision making process on the health of school climates of public secondary schools in the South West Region of Cameroon. This study utilised the correlational research design. Data was collected through cross sectional survey of a sample of 31 schools and 135 parents whose children attend the schools. A structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant data after being subject to validity and reliability checks. The ANOVA statistics was computed to predict the overall effect of parents’ participation in decision making process on school climate. The findings showe...
Journal of Education and Learning
Change which is inevitable due to the changing needs of individuals and the society usually comes... more Change which is inevitable due to the changing needs of individuals and the society usually comes with some challenges. Knowledge and understanding of these challenges are relevant for effective implementation and efficient outcome. This study examined the extent to which challenges faced by students during the lockdown period will inform policy makers on restructuring the governance of higher education in Cameroon. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design of quantitative approach. Questionnaire was used to collect data from 1029 postgraduate students. The statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 23.0, frequency counts and percentage were used to analyse the closed-ended questions while the thematic approach was used to analyse the open-ended questions. The Spearman’s rho test which is a non-parametric test was used to test the hypothesis. Results revealed that lockdown period significantly affected students’ learning in higher education institutions i...
European Journal of Education Studies, 2019
This study examined the relationship between age and pupils achievement in mathematics and Englis... more This study examined the relationship between age and pupils achievement in mathematics and English in public and private primary schools in Fako Divion, South West Region of Cameroon. Based on the objective, two hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a cross – sectional survey design. The population of the study consisted of class two and three pupils constituting a sample of 297 pupils purposively selected as follows: 163 from private schools and 134 from public schools who had been in the selected schools for a minimum of two years. Tests were administered on a score of 20 which took into consideration the curriculum of each class. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation as well as the Spearman’s rho and Kruskal Wallis tests. Statistics were presented at 95% confidence interval with alpha set at 0.05 levels accepting 5% margin of error. Results revealed a significant relationship between age and pupils achievement in mathematics and English as well as a signif...
African Journal of Development Studies (formerly AFFRIKA Journal of Politics, Economics and Society), 2021
This study examines skills acquisition and labour market opportunities for graduates of public un... more This study examines skills acquisition and labour market opportunities for graduates of public universities in Cameroon. Four research objectives and one hypothesis guided the study which examined the extent to which social, technical, conceptual and entrepreneurial skills acquired by graduates enhance their employability. The population of the study consisted of 79 graduates with bachelor’s degree, including 29 employers. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 2.3) was used to analyse the quantitative data. The quantitative data were analysed using frequency count and percentages while the qualitative data were analysed using a thematic approach with the aid of key concepts/themes, groundings and sampled quotation. The Spearman’s rho test was adopted for the study in testing the hypothesis. Results reveal a significant relationship between skills acquisition and labour market opportunities for graduates (P<0.05). The positive sign of the coefficient value for each of ...
Journal of African Education, 2020
European Journal of Education Studies, 2020
The study examines the effects of student – teacher ratio on students’ learning and academic perf... more The study examines the effects of student – teacher ratio on students’ learning and academic performance in public universities in Cameroon. Three constructs of student – teacher ratio, that is, class size, teaching method and teachers’ workload were used to examine the extent to which they affect students’ learning and performance in public universities in Cameroon. A survey research design was used. Closed and open-ended questionnaires were used to collect data exclusively from 39 teachers and 101 students from the University of Buea. The quantitative data was analyzed using the descriptive statistics (frequency count, percentages and mean). The opened ended questions were analyzed using thematic analysis approach with the aid of key concepts/themes, groundings and sampled quotation. Results revealed that class size, teachers’ workload and teaching method as constructs of student – teacher ratio affect students’ learning and academic performance in public universities in Cameroon....
Journal of Education and Learning
This study investigates strategies used by principals for enhancing the productivity of secondary... more This study investigates strategies used by principals for enhancing the productivity of secondary school teachers in selected government secondary schools in Cameroon. Four major strategies were examined. These include motivation, conflict resolution, supervisory and communication strategies and the extent to which they influence teachers’ productivity. Four research questions and hypotheses guided the study. Questionnaire was used to collect data from 350 teachers selected from a population of 1400 teachers in government secondary schools in Fako Division of the South West Region of Cameroon. The multi-stage sampling technique was used to select teachers for the study. Results showed that, principals’ communication, conflict management, supervisory and motivation strategies influence the productivity of teachers in Government Secondary Schools. Of the four strategies examined, conflict management strategy was found to have more influence on the productivity of teachers....
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Papers by Sophie Ekume Etomes