Gordon Abekah-Nkrumah

2 Publications in AERD

Author Publications

Adolescent sexual and reproductive health literacy needs: a sub-national level assessment in Ghana

By Jacqueline Nkrumah

This study assessed young adolescents’ access and literacy challenges to sexual and reproductive health information and knowledge gaps in the Effutu Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana. We used a narrative design and a focus group discussion method to glean data from 52 in-school adolescents, aged 11–15. Focus group discussions were conducted using a discussion guide and data were processed using QDA Miner (version 6.0). We analyzed data thematically using an iterative process of data validation, coding and recording. The participants had poor knowledge of the concepts of sexual and reproductive health and its essential domains. Abstinence was the predominant sexual and reproductive health goal of the participants. Yet, many males admitted to having sexual partners. There was difficult linguistic and physical access to structured and safe information. Personal hygiene, signs of sexual maturation and abstinence were the predominant contents available to young adolescents. A revision of adolescent health policies and strategies to embrace actions for improving unrestricted access to easy-to-read educational materials and adolescent health literacy is essential. Creating adolescent corners and introducing peer education in schools within Effutu and other municipalities in the Central Region will be useful. © The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

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The impact of an additional year in high school on academic performance at university: Evidence from a policy experiment in Ghana

By Gordon Abekah-Nkrumah

Motivation: While education plays a fundamental role in economic development, the design of an appropriate educational structure, including duration of study at various levels, remains an issue of major policy debate in many low-income countries. In Ghana, the issue of the length of high school education is an issue of ongoing policy debate. Purpose: This study estimates the effects of an additional year in senior high school (SHS) on academic performance at university level. Methods and approach: Using data from the two largest public universities in Ghana, the article exploits a unique natural experimental variation in the years of secondary education created by policy changes in pre-university education in Ghana to estimate the impact of an additional year in SHS on a number of academic outcomes at university level. Findings: We find that an additional year of SHS education has no impact on academic performance. We did not find any statistically significant difference in the likelihood of completing undergraduate studies in four years, or of graduating with a first-class degree, or the final grade point average (GPA) of students who attended SHS for four years versus their counterparts who attended SHS for only three years. However, our descriptive analyses show that an additional year in SHS improves chances of students from less-endowed SHS gaining admission to university, especially to health sciences programmes. Policy implications: The nuanced nature of the results suggests the need to further interrogate the policy on SHS duration in Ghana. This may help ensure that the implementation of the policy does not end up making some segment of the student population worse off. © 2022 ODI.

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