La creación en Juan

Generally, the assessment of the conduciveness of the atmosphere for teaching and learning atmosphere in Wa Poly was considered from two main fronts: 1) the physical environment, and

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2) the ‘social climate’ and general ambient factors. Views of participants are discussed in turn below, beginning with students.

Results of this survey show that the students consider the conduciveness of the teaching and learning environment very crucial in assuring quality in teaching learning. This is portrayed in the results presented in Table D4.1-7 of Appendix D. of the 138 respondents, 85 (representing the majority of 61.6%) expressed satisfaction with the conduciveness of their current learning environment. While 35.5% disagreed to this claim; the remaining 2.9% expressed uncertainty.

This generally positive assessment of the learning environment affirms the realisation of the polytechnic’s quality objective of providing a favourable general environment needed for the effective engagement of students and staff in a productive education process by ensuring that:

 its physical infrastructure sufficiently supports the core mission activities of teaching/learning, research and provision of services to the public;

 reasonably good and accessible social services are made available to students and staff;

 students’ learning is continually enhanced through constant adoption of the latest innovations in education and technology and in the professional field of pedagogy.

(Wa Polytechnic, 2011: 13)

It is observable from statistics cited earlier in this study that there is a good staff-student ratio, which in itself is conducive to quality education. On the frequency of EAP lectures per week, Wa Poly students said they receive tuition only once a week; a situation they and their lecturers conceded was not good enough. Asked whether they had other opportunities to meet their teachers for help relating to their EAP studies outside regular lecture sessions, majority (60%) of the students answered in the affirmative; with the remaining 40% responding to the contrary (Not displayed on table). Thus, taking into account the shortfall in contact hours for EAP, extra tutorials could supplement the deficit in regular EAP lessons per week considerably and should therefore be given serious consideration.

Other general factors considered needful by the students for quality learning experience include the availability of quality learning materials and facilities like a well-stocked library, current and

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relevant reference materials, and a reliable internet service. To measure the level of students’

satisfaction with existing library facilities at Wa Poly, students were asked to assess existing facilities and services at the polytechnic library. The results showed that over half of the total number of respondents (50.7%) rates the facilities as satisfactory; 16.7% say they are very satisfactory; 29.7% feel they are less satisfactory, with 2.9% expressing uncertainty. On the availability of relevant EAP reference materials at the library, students expressed varied views.

While 24.6% of them felt the materials were very adequate; 38.4% said they were adequate; and 37% felt they were not. The students were also divided on how up-to-date these materials were.

They observed that materials published in 2012 constituted 2.9%, with those published in 2011 accounting for 8%. Publications for 2010 and 2009 accounted for 8.7% and 37.7% respectively;

whereas those dating back some three years or more (described as “others”) constituted 42.8%.

From the responses, it is evident that majority (80.5%, i.e. 42.8+37.7) of the Wa Poly students felt that available EAP reading materials at the library were not current enough. This view was shared by their teachers, who also felt that even though EAP-related materials were available at the library, they were not up-to-date, citing 2006 as the latest date of publication.

On alternative sources of relevant information, the students said they also obtained relevant information on EAP from: 1) lecture notes (74.6%); 2) textbooks (13%); 3) internet (6.5%), and 4) public library (2.9%). The results (not displayed in tables) show that majority of the students relied on lecture notes as their main source of information, a situation that is quite disturbing as it has the high potential of encouraging rote learning.

The internet has come to stay as an integral part of teaching, learning, and management in modern higher education. However, according to Wa Poly student respondents, internet service is currently unavailable at the polytechnic library. The survey however showed that most (68%) of the students were able to source information online; meaning the internet could be a useful alternative source of current information on EAP. Regrettably, the only available source of internet on campus for students is the computer laboratory which is temporarily housed in the administration block and can seat only 100 at a time. Students are only allowed into the laboratory during computer literacy lessons. Consequently, most of them resort to either patronising private internet cafés in town or using modems after lectures.

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On whether the atmosphere for teaching and learning EAP at Wa Poly was conducive enough or not, only one of the three respondents agreed. As to how the situation could be improved, one of them suggested:

English/Communication Skills should be taken for at least 2 yrs in all programmes; the credit for Com. Skills, Secretarial English, and Business Communication should be raised to 3; entry requirements should make a credit in English a must.

The other emphasised the need to encourage the speaking of English among students. With majority of students coming from the same ethnic groups, there is always the tendency to speak their L1s after the English lessons. On whether they had enough reference material for the course, two of the teachers responded in the affirmative and went on to confirm that they were also available in the library. The third expressed some reservations saying: “Not exactly.” Asked how they got materials for teaching and research, all the lecturers who were interviewed cited their personal libraries as the prime source followed by the polytechnic library. They also mentioned the Internet and other sources as the third and fourth alternatives.

Unlike the students and their teachers, the administrators were not asked specific question on the conduciveness of the learning environment at Wa Poly. Theirs were more general in nature and dealt with specific quality issues that had the potential to enhance the conduciveness of the learning environment. On whether the structure of the institution supported the functioning of teams, and whether team review was a feature of the working process, the managers affirmed the existence of both mechanisms at Wa Poly. They also asserted the existence of internal mechanisms for self-evaluation and external processes for regular inspection of the polytechnic, all aimed at ensuring a congenial learning atmosphere. Both of them agreed that action is taken in response to the outcomes of the self-evaluation. Their unanimity sharply contrasted that of their academic counterparts, one of whom vehemently expressed disagreement saying: “Frankly there is no evaluation mechanism here. At least, I am not aware of any teaching evaluation tools.”

Overall

Typical of quality issues, opinions expressed by respondents on the conduciveness of the learning environment at Wa Poly were varied. Overall, majority of participants from all the three

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groups involved in this study agreed on the conduciveness of the general learning environment of the polytechnic. Despite the disagreements, it is evident from the results that the administrators were the only group involved in this study who seemed to totally affirm the conduciveness of the learning environment, given that all the necessary mechanisms (except for the full operationalisation of the QA Unit) were in place to ensure its realisation. What the study found rather surprising was that the teachers were more vociferous in expressing dissatisfaction with the learning environment than learners who are noted for being more prone to that; sometimes going to the extent of embarking on demonstrations to register their dissatisfaction with the quality of academic facilities. The complaints that came from the students and their teachers bordered more on the availability and quality of available teaching and learning materials and general ambient factors. Much was not heard about the conduciveness of the physical learning environment though; an indication that it was more satisfactory. The conduciveness of the physical learning environment can be attributed to the late establishment of Wa Poly. Unlike the older polytechnics which inherited some existing infrastructure from erstwhile technical institutes, Wa Poly was built from scratch. Though the polytechnic is yet to acquire the full complement of relevant physical infrastructure, all completed buildings are modern and well ventilated. With funding from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETfund) and the Teaching and Learning Innovation Fund (TALIF) some basic infrastructure and equipment have been provided for teaching and learning.

Situating these findings within the context of the quality literature, three publications lend themselves for reference: the Grundtvig Learning Partnership Report (2009-2011), UNICEF (2000), and Jago and Tanner’s literature review for the University of Georgia in 1999. According to the European Commission’s Grundtvig Learning Partnership report, “[q]uality assurance tools in themselves only lead to better language teaching and learning if they are used well” (EC, 2011:21). There is therefore the need to maintain a balance between a “conducive” learning environment and the utilisation of “quality assurance” tools. Such tools must also be suitable (‘fit’) for the realisation of the institution’s objectives (Ibid). UNICEF (2000: 7) on its part has argued that “[l]earning can occur anywhere, but the positive learning outcomes generally sought by educational systems happen in quality learning environments.” Three key elements are identified as constituting a typical learning environment. These are: physical, psychosocial and

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service delivery elements. The quality of teaching and learning depends on the quality of these elements. What this implies is that the learning environment extends beyond just the physical elements to include what is termed the “social climate”. Within the context of Wa Poly, the responses of participants could generally be interpreted as a positive assessment of the institution’s effort at attaining quality teaching and learning in spite of structural challenges.