Challenges Facing Nursing Mothers in Distance Learning in the Upper West Region of Ghana: A Recipe for Policy Formulation.
Abstract:
It
is obvious that women will love to have children for their husbands in the
Ghanaian society. However, with the increasing responsibilities of women in
society it has become a challenge for women to have children while fulfilling
their new responsibilities in society. Before now the core role of women in
society was to produce children, cook for their husbands, and respond to their
sexual advances when needed. On the other hand, men work to bring resources
home. The situation has changed in contemporary times whereby women have to
work to support their husbands to keep the home financially. The purpose of the
study is to identify and evaluate the educational challenges facing nursing
mothers on distance education programs in the Upper West Region of Ghana. It is
also to identify strategies and interventions in dealing with nursing mothers
to create a healthy learning environment for academic success. The study
adopted a case study design, and purposive sampling was used to select all
available nursing mothers taking part in College of Distance Education
University of Cape Coast distance education program. A questionnaire was used
to gather information from thirty-one (31) nursing mothers. Data was analyzed
using descriptive statistics and analysis. The results show that nursing
mothers face numerous challenges while seeking for further education. The major
ones been the lack of accommodation for their babies and babysitters, and
competing equally with other students in terms of time during the examination. The
nursing mothers suggested separate room for them during examinations as well as
extra time for the inconveniences the babies create during examinations.
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