Key drivers of graduate students’ interest in the subject of immunology in a tertiary institution of Ghana
Immunology is increasingly becoming a core biomedical discipline in recent times. Students’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programs is essential for better academic performances and outcomes in a University of Science Technology. To this end, we assessed the factors tha...
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doaj-a5d99c3037b2499fac87f905d52eb46b2021-08-24T14:41:01ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Education2331-186X2018-01-015110.1080/2331186X.2018.14981621498162Key drivers of graduate students’ interest in the subject of immunology in a tertiary institution of GhanaAlexander Kwarteng0Yarhands Dissou-Arthur1Augustina Sylverken2Michael Frimpong3Samuel Ahuno Terkper4Ellis Owusu-Dabo5Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)University of Education Winneba, Kumasi CampusKumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR)Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR)Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR)Immunology is increasingly becoming a core biomedical discipline in recent times. Students’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programs is essential for better academic performances and outcomes in a University of Science Technology. To this end, we assessed the factors that influence students’ interest in immunology among a group of 32 graduate students in a tertiary institution in Ghana. The study was conducted using quantitative instruments (questionnaires) after which principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reveal the underlying factors affecting students’ interest in the course. In all, six components were found including students’ perception, instructor quality, student’s interest/motivation, teaching methods, teaching materials and teaching facilities. Students’ interest in immunology correlated negatively but significantly with perception; however, interest correlated positively with teaching methods (p < 0.001). Our study is the first to investigate the factors that influence students’ interest in immunology in Ghana and supports the growing functionality of PCA approach for dimension reduction and exploratory factor analysis.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2018.1498162immunologyprincipal component analysisinterestghana |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Alexander Kwarteng Yarhands Dissou-Arthur Augustina Sylverken Michael Frimpong Samuel Ahuno Terkper Ellis Owusu-Dabo |
spellingShingle |
Alexander Kwarteng Yarhands Dissou-Arthur Augustina Sylverken Michael Frimpong Samuel Ahuno Terkper Ellis Owusu-Dabo Key drivers of graduate students’ interest in the subject of immunology in a tertiary institution of Ghana Cogent Education immunology principal component analysis interest ghana |
author_facet |
Alexander Kwarteng Yarhands Dissou-Arthur Augustina Sylverken Michael Frimpong Samuel Ahuno Terkper Ellis Owusu-Dabo |
author_sort |
Alexander Kwarteng |
title |
Key drivers of graduate students’ interest in the subject of immunology in a tertiary institution of Ghana |
title_short |
Key drivers of graduate students’ interest in the subject of immunology in a tertiary institution of Ghana |
title_full |
Key drivers of graduate students’ interest in the subject of immunology in a tertiary institution of Ghana |
title_fullStr |
Key drivers of graduate students’ interest in the subject of immunology in a tertiary institution of Ghana |
title_full_unstemmed |
Key drivers of graduate students’ interest in the subject of immunology in a tertiary institution of Ghana |
title_sort |
key drivers of graduate students’ interest in the subject of immunology in a tertiary institution of ghana |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
series |
Cogent Education |
issn |
2331-186X |
publishDate |
2018-01-01 |
description |
Immunology is increasingly becoming a core biomedical discipline in recent times. Students’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programs is essential for better academic performances and outcomes in a University of Science Technology. To this end, we assessed the factors that influence students’ interest in immunology among a group of 32 graduate students in a tertiary institution in Ghana. The study was conducted using quantitative instruments (questionnaires) after which principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reveal the underlying factors affecting students’ interest in the course. In all, six components were found including students’ perception, instructor quality, student’s interest/motivation, teaching methods, teaching materials and teaching facilities. Students’ interest in immunology correlated negatively but significantly with perception; however, interest correlated positively with teaching methods (p < 0.001). Our study is the first to investigate the factors that influence students’ interest in immunology in Ghana and supports the growing functionality of PCA approach for dimension reduction and exploratory factor analysis. |
topic |
immunology principal component analysis interest ghana |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2018.1498162 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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