An Evaluation of the African Studies Curriculum: Student’s Motivation for Selection of Courses at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Ghana

The African Studies Curriculum at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) has been implemented for over two decades. Its challenges include students’ motivations, cultural content, teaching methods, techniques and strategies. With a pragmatic worldview rooted in the Constructivist Learning Theory, the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), and the Expectancy-Value Theory, empirical literature within the domain of curriculum implementation in African Studies was critically reviewed. An explanatory sequential design within the mixed method approach was adopted, while the Krejcie and Morgan Table for sample size determination was employed to sample three hundred and seventy-five (375) students from a total of 12,009 first-year students offering African Studies courses in the 2022/23 academic year at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW). Nine (9) students were purposively selected from the sample size of 375 for the qualitative data. Again, five (5) lecturers from the African Studies Centre of UEW were purposively selected for the study. Instruments for data collection included questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions. Quantitative data analysis was done by using SPSS statistics analytical software. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for the quantitative analysis, whilst thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. In the context of explanatory sequential mixed method design (QUAN → qual), a Directed Content Analysis (DCA) was employed. This approach aids in interpreting and explaining the quantitative results. Findings showed that even though students are motivated by a series of factors when selecting courses in the African Studies curriculum, they are influenced by external factors such as department, colleagues, and the popularity of the courses. It was concluded that some Departments choose specific courses based on relativity to their areas of specialism and future academic pursuits. It was recommended that, there is the need for course recommendation systems in physically-based university environments like the University of Education, Winneba in Ghana. This has become necessary since African Studies courses are mandatory to re-orient students' misconceptions concerning the continent and carve a positive African image. Fresh students should be oriented to alleviate the misconceptions associated with course selection.