Name

AGBEKO Julius Kofi

Picture

Country

GHANA

Institution/Agency

GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE

TEACHER EDUCATION DIVISION (ATTC) - ACCRA

Sponsors

JICA -JAPAN / STM PROJECT -GHANA

Current Institution(s)

Okayama University / Naruto University of Education

Enrollment Period

SEPTEMBER, 2003 - MARCH, 2006

Academic Advisor

Professor Masakazu KITA

Status

Research Student (Master 2)

Program

EDUCATION FOR SPECIALIZED SUBJECT MATTER & FIELD NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION (CHEMISTRY)

Master of Science Education (Chemistry)

Research Topic

DEVELOPMENT OF CURRICULUM FOR EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION) FOR GHANA

Research Theme

This course is a Master of Science in Education which deals with curriculum development and educational planning in relation to Environmental Education. It is more on professional development and teacher training to meet the current challenges of the Millennium Development Goals of education in developing countries. The main aim of this study area is to develop a curriculum for integrated studies in Environmental Education on soil for schools in Ghana since is basically an agricultural country.

 Soil plays a vital role in present day Agriculture which is able to provide food, shelter and clothing for the world’s rapidly increasing population. Good soil and a climate conducive to its productivity is the most valuable asset a nation can have. But soil is the receptor of large quantities of pollutants.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), has been a major concern at most UN summits. The 2002 Johannesburg Summit broadened the vision and re-affirmed the objective of the Millennium Development Goals (MDS) and proclaimed the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development for the period 2005-2014. This emphasized that education, is critical for promoting sustainable development and improving the capacity of people to addressing environmental and developmental issues. Hence, there is an urgent need for a link between the environment, education and human beings with soil serving as the main bridging media. This I think should start at the basic level of the educational ladder for the students to be exposed to some of the challenges and at this level, begin to think of how best they can also contribute to solving these problems. It is imperative that most students are aware of environmental issues but need to be exposed to these issues in the form of activity-based classroom lessons. This I believe, will enable the students appreciate the fact that ESD is a life-wide and life-long endeavor which challenges individuals, institutions and societies to view tomorrow as a day that belongs to all of us or will not belong to anybody. This I presume is the main challenge of the MDS. 

General purpose of this study;

i)    To conduct scientific research on the various properties of soil in relation to the environment, crop production and pollution.

ii)  To look at the relationship between acid rain and Soil Buffer Capacity of soil.

iii) To investigate on the physical properties of soil, humic content, amount of elements and microbes in the soil.

iv) Develop a comprehensive curriculum for integrated studies in the area of Environmental Education on soil for schools in Ghana similar to that of Japanese schools.

General Curriculum content

SECTIONS;

        I.    SOIL COMPOSITION, STRUCTURE,  PROPERTIES & ACID RAIN; SORPTION, ION-EXCHANGE, NEUTRALIZATION,  WATER RETENTION AND SOIL BUFFER CAPACITIES OF SOIL (Physical Aspect of Soil)

      II.    ELEMENTS IN THE SOIL (Inorganic Aspect of Soil)

    III.    SOIL & HUMIC SUBSTANCES: ORGANIC MATTER IN SOIL (Organic Aspect of Soil)

   IV.    DETERMINATION OF MICRO-ORGANISMS IN THE SOIL (Biological Aspect)

All the units are made up of activity-based, child-centered investigative procedures about topics on soil. This we believe will dramatically improve the students’ understanding of environmental issues in general and on soil in particular. This unit is applicable to high school and collegiate level.

Lab. Activities

We have embarked on Science/Chemistry teaching in English at Johnan High School Tokushima prefecture, Japan and we are continuing the same project at Amaki High School Okayama prefecture, Japan. Both schools are Super Science High School (SSHS).

Message for Prospective students

This course is suitable for Educational administrators, curriculum implementers, circuit supervisor, educational consultants, school proprietors, educational directors, principals, head of departments, tutors at teacher training colleges, classroom teachers, teacher trainees and many more. Japan has really made a considerable development in the field of Education for Sustainable Development -Environmental Education and I believed that there is a lot we can learn from our Japanese counterpart.

Publications within this period

1

Title

“The Level of Students Knowledge, Awareness and Interest about Environmental Issues;

A Case Study at Johnan High School, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan”

Name of Journal

Students’ Bulletin of research center. Okayama University. Dept. of Education

Condition

Submitted

2

Title

“Qualitative Analysis of Microbial Activities in Black Soil Using Copy Paper”

Name of Journal

Journal of Chemical Education (JCE), USA.

Condition

Submitted and under review.

3

Title

“Iron (III) Reducing and Binding Abilities of Humus in Black Soil.”

Name of Journal

Journal of Chemical Education (JCE), USA.

Condition

Submitted and Under review.

4

Title

“Qualitative Analysis of Fe(III) and Al(III) in Acidic Eluent from Soil”

Name of Journal

The Journal of Chemical Society, Japan.

Condition

Submitted and under review

5

Title

Environmental Education;

“A comparative study on Energy Education at the basic level between Ghana and Japan”

Name of Journal

Bulletin of research center for School Education, Naruto University No. 19, 2004

Condition

Published

Presentations within this period

1

Title

“Qualitative Analysis of Microorganisms in Soil using Copy Paper and Hand Made LED -CdS Reflection Photometer”

Organization

Chugoku science teachers’ conference

Place

Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan.

Date

10^th of December, 2005.

2

   Title

“Iron(III) Reducing and Binding Abilities of Humic Acid in Black Soil”

Organization

46^th National annual conference for Science teachers in Japan

Place

Naruto - Tokushima prefecture, Japan.

Date

4^th -5^th of August, 2005

3

Title

“Development of a Curriculum for Integrated Studies in Environmental Education on Soil for Schools”

Organization

Shugoku society of science teachers

Place

Takamatsu prefecture, Japan.

Date

10^th December, 2004

4

Title

“A comparative Study on Energy Education at the Basic Level between Ghana and Japan”

Organization

45^th National annual conference for Science teachers in Japan

Place

Tsukuba -Ibaraki, Japan

Date

 10^th August 2004

Kita sense; Hardworking, knowledgeable and always willing to help everybody.

Come join us lets make a happy family in the Lab.

Guiding principles

“Hard worker never break bones”

GOD BLESS YOU ALL