Information Needs of Teachers in Second Cycle Institutions in Ghana: A Case of the Lower-Manya Krobo Municipality
Harriet Fosua Attafuah
University of Energy and Natural Resources, Ghana.
Harry Akussah
Department of Information Studies, University of Ghana, Ghana.
George Tesilimi Banji *
University of Health and Allied Sciences, P.M.B. 31, Ho, Ghana.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This paper seeks to examine the information needs of teachers in second cycle institutions in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality in Ghana. It adopted the mixed method approach with a population of three hundred and three (303). Questionnaire and interview guide were used to collect data for the study. The quantitative data was analysed using IBM SPSS Version 22.0 and the qualitative data was also analysed thematically. The study discovered that second cycle institution teachers need information for teaching, learning and for research. Also, teachers rely on information from several sources to plan their lessons, write their teaching notes and update themselves on the subject matter of what they teach. Considering the role teachers play in the lives of students and the community as a whole, they need relevant information which must be timely, accurate and reliable. Therefore, the government, Ministry of Education (MOE), Ghana Education Service (GES), Heads of second cycle schools, and all Stakeholders are to ensure that proper information as well as information sources are made available to them to make the process of imparting knowledge more efficient.
Keywords: Information, information needs, information behaviour, teachers, second cycle institutions, Lower Manya Krobo, Municipality, Ghana.