The course is to enable students gain computer knowledge to complete their thesis and oral examination. It is also, to equip students with skills in ICT that they may need to teach in their various areas of specialization. The course is intended to equip students with computer literacy to help them improve in the presentation and teaching of Home Economics Education. Data management tools such as MS Excel and MS Access as well as Presentation tool such as Power Point would be explored.

The course discusses various relevant learning theories and their implications for classroom practice. It aims at exposing students to the challenges in the learning environment and how effective teaching could be enhanced using the theories as the basis. Topics such as motivation and other approaches to learning would equip students with various competencies, skills and strategies for classroom teaching.

This course exposes students to the nature and characteristics of psychological tests, the selection of good tests for counselling purposes and the administration, scoring and interpretation of psychological tests for counselling purposes.

An elementary knowledge of statistics, including the use of SPSS is required for this course. The focus of the course is the application of statistical methods to educational problems. Emphasis is on the normal, t, chi-square and F distribution. Hypothesis testing and one-way analysis of variance will be treated.

This course exposes a range of issues and practices in educational inquiry and research. Procedures and methodologies necessary to pursue research problems in meausrement, evaluation and applied statistica are investigated. There is an overview of educational research methods including validity and reliability and validity of data and practical considerations in planning, conducting and disseminating research outcomes and improving research. The course provides students with skills and knowledge needed for qualitative and quantitative inquiry as well as critiques of research.

This course examines both theoretical and practical issues in students’ assessment. It discusses the nature and relevance of assessment in the teaching and learning processes and examines extensively the theoretical and practical issues of validity and reliability of assessment results. Principles and guidelines for crafting various teacher-made tests and standardized tests are also discussed. Professional responsibilities, appropriate ethical behaviour of educators in assessment as well as legal requirements in educational assessments are presented and discussed.

The course exposes students to a variety of approaches to planning and conducting educational evaluations. It also provides practical guidelines for general evaluation approaches in education. The role of evaluation in improving education, basic concepts and procedures for evaluating educational programmes in applied settings and alternative views of evaluation conducting and using evaluations are examined. Students will be expected to carry out a mini project on educational evaluation and present the evaluation report.

The prerequisite of this course is EPS 853 Assessment in Schools. The course exposes students to the practical aspects of classroom test construction, administration in a school setting and classical item analysis to concretize their competency and skills in ability/ability test construction. The student is expected to work under guidance to review and discuss relevant assessment literature and present assignments related to item construction as well as present, at least two projects; one on multiple-choice test and the other on constructed response items.

Students enrolled in this course should have taken EPS 851, Intermediate Statistics and EPS 858, Inferential Statistics. This course is intended to equip students with the ability to analyse data. The course will further equip the student with the skills of choosing the right statistical test to use, how to use it and when to use it. Both parametric and nonparametric tests will be studied. Interpretation of outputs from SPSS computer analysis of the various statistical tests is highlighted. The major topics treated include factorial designs, randomized block and split-plot designs, analysis of covariance, non-parametric statistical methods and factor analysis.

This course is intended to enhance students’ knowledge and competency in constructing achievement tests and interpreting the test scores. Topics for the course include test theory, classical true score theory, reliability, validity, standard setting, classical item analysis, test equating theory and fundamentals of item response theory.

In this course, the student will critically examine issues related to special education assessment policies, the selection of appropriate assessment instruments (e.g. the use of formal and informal assessment techniques), the role of the multi-disciplinary team, and parental involvement. More emphasis will be placed on assessment procedures in Ghana. At the end of the course, the student should be able to adopt appropriate assessment procedures that meet the needs of the child.

The course is designed to reinforce and further develop the writing skills of students at the postgraduate level. It is centred on the notion that the future success in postgraduate work is dependent to some extent, on the individual student’s ability to demonstrate understanding and insights regarding diverse forms of academic writing. This course will further provide students, nuanced understanding with respect to linguistic/ rhetorical theoretical underpinnings, features of academic writing and the requisite skills regarding argumentation and research centred-writing.

This course examines classical test theory and the application to the practice of assessment. At a foundational level, model assumptions are explored and used to understand the development of different notions of reliability and dependability. At a practical level, statistical techniques developed from the theory are applied to develop and/or improve assessment practices. Topics treated include true score model of classical test theory and its assumptions and properties, similarities and differences between parallel, tau-equivalent, essentially tau-equivalent, and congeneric tests, methods for estimating reliability and validity. An item and reliability analysis will be conducted and results used to develop a new test or improve an existing one.

This course focuses on the construction and use of measures of cognitive achievement and ability. Topics include test planning, item writing, test try-out, item analysis, reliability, validity, criterion-referencing, norm-referencing, item banking, and aptitude test design. Students write items, critique items written by others, construct tests, try out and revise tests, and develop test manuals to document the process of test development and the quality of their tests. Students will also set standards for the tests constructed. Issues on the principles and practice of school-based assessment are discussed.

In this course students are introduced to the design and statistical principles of the experimental approach to educational research with particular emphasis on the appropriate analysis of data arising from designed experiments. A variety of experimental designs, their advantages and disadvantages, estimation of treatment effects, and significance testing are treated. Various types of analysis of variance are introduced from the general linear models framework. Both univariate and multivariate procedures of data analysis including ANOVA, ANCOVA and MANOVA are covered for within and between subjects’ analysis as well as factorial and nested designs. Assumptions underlying the appropriate use of each of the procedures and the interpretation of the results are also covered.

The course deals with the statistical processes of determining comparable scores on different forms of a test and adjusting for test difficulty differences so that only real differences in performance are reported. It deals with concepts of equating including equating properties, equating designs, equating methods, equating error and statistical assumptions necessary for equating. Computation of equating functions and the interpretation of results from equating analyses are covered. The importance of equating to test development and quality control measures are discussed. The use and interpretation of relevant statistical software will also be treated. Students will design a reasonable and useful equating study and conduct equating in a realistic testing situation.

This course focuses on the design, development, and implementation of performance-based assessment. Task analysis and design, scoring scheme development and use, and assessment deployment, are covered through critique and practice. Emphasis is on a description of performance and portfolio assessment within the larger continuum of assessment methods, advantages and disadvantages of performance-based assessment versus other assessment methods, authentic and alternative assessment, and reliability and validity issues. Students will design and create a complete, packaged performance assessment.

The course is in two parts. The first part focuses on a critical examination of various scholars' theoretical perspectives on fundamental issues in evaluation practice. The course is an advanced study of programme evaluation in education and related fields, including investigating its purposes and procedures, with attention to settings, personnel, and performance; review of principal theories; and study of models, histories, political contexts, ethics, and the nature of evidence. The second part focuses on the application of evaluation theories and models in answering questions in education and dealing with educational problems. Students will deal with clarifying an evaluation request and responsibilities, setting boundaries and analysing an evaluation context, identifying and selecting the evaluative questions and criteria, planning the information collection, analysis and interpretation. It also deals with developing a management plan for the evaluation, collecting evaluation information, analysing, interpreting, reporting and using evaluation information and conducting meta-evaluations.

The course exposes a range of issues and practices in educational inquiry and research. Procedures and methodologies necessary to pursue research problems in measurement, evaluation, and applied statistics are investigated. There is an overview of educational research methods including validity and reliability of data and practical considerations in planning, conducting and disseminating research outcomes and improving research. The course provides students with skills and knowledge needed for qualitative and quantitative inquiry as well as critiques of research. An overview of appropriate statistical tests in quantitative inquiry, including univariate and multivariate statistics, are covered.

This course provides the basics of item response theory and examines the use of Item Response Theory (IRT) models for test construction and ability estimation. Concepts, models and features are discussed. The item characteristic curve and the estimation of parameters, test characteristic curves, ability estimation and item and test information functions are treated. Assessment of model fit and efficiency functions are described. Models for tests with dichotomous items are covered and discussions include advantages and disadvantages of IRT relative to Classical Test Theory. Models for tests with polytomous and mixed items are covered. Other topics include the detection of differential item functioning (or item bias), and the role of IRT in Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT). The various approaches to assessment of item fit and a discussion of their strengths and weaknesses is made. The identification and comparison of the various software packages currently available for IRT applications are made. Use is made of at least two different packages and the outputs interpreted.

This course examines generalizability theory and the application to the practice of assessment. The course covers generalizability designs (crossed, nested, random and fixed effects) and coefficients and the contributions of the theory to performance assessment and expansion of classical reliability theory. There is a demonstration of how generalizability theory is used for validation studies. A generalizability study will be conducted to determine magnitude of sources of error and results applied to improve measurement designs within an applied assessment practice context.

This course focuses on several aspects of psychological testing. It deals with the historical evolution of psychological tests and the identification and measurement of traits. The item design, strengths and limitations, use, interpretation and adaptation to local, administration and analysis of psychological tests is covered. Aptitude tests, intelligence tests such as Stanford-Binet and Wechsler Intelligence Scales and personality tests such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) are treated. For each of the tests, the construction, strengths and limitations, use, interpretation and adaptation to local conditions are discussed.

Individual guidance and direction in the choice of a problem area is provided by an assigned supervisor. The student is involved in reviewing literature, collecting and analysing data and presenting a final report.