Mavis Osei is a painter, Art Educator, Art Therapist and a Fulbrighter with over a decade teaching experience in Higher Education. Her expertise and research interests span across Educational Psychology, Art Therapy, Aesthetics, Self concept, temperament, multiple intelligence teaching and learning.
Background: This brief report presents an action research project that was conducted in 2020 to c... more Background: This brief report presents an action research project that was conducted in 2020 to contribute to approaches to ensure adherence to COVID-19 health protocols by children in Ghana. The research was on the basis that when adults allow children to share the burden of finding effective measures to the adherence of COVID-19 health protocols, the spread of the virus will be contained, which would also ensure the safety of children. Method: The action research was designed to be socially engaging, therefore a qualitative approach using Arts-Based-Research was adopted. Arts, as a socio-pedagogical method, was used as a tool to engage 189 children, between the ages of 4 and 15 years, in art workshops in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city. The children, from different socioeconomic backgrounds, were aided by Art Assistants to handle the different art materials. Results: The different artistic depiction of children on COVID-19 suggests that the awareness created had reached many c...
Background/Aims Despite indications of extreme stress leading to burnout syndrome among healthcar... more Background/Aims Despite indications of extreme stress leading to burnout syndrome among healthcare students in Ghana, there is little evidence of this found in the literature. This study describes the prevalence of burnout, as well as the causes, risk factors and management strategies in place for coping with burnout syndrome among midwifery and nursing students in Ghana. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 135 midwifery and nursing students at the Pantang Nursing and Midwifery Training College. A questionnaire was used to obtain data on participants' demographic characteristics as well as emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment. Sources of academic and work-related stress were also reported. Descriptive data analysis and the chi-squared test was used to determine the effects of demographic characteristics on burnout. Results Students' experienced high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, with mean sco...
The study which is aimed at drawing attention to the educational values of <em>Akwantukese&... more The study which is aimed at drawing attention to the educational values of <em>Akwantukese</em> festival celebration adopted the qualitative research approach. Due to the nature of the study, purposive sampling technique was employed. Interviews and observations were the main instruments used for the data collection. Results showed that, virtue, humility, unity, love and respect are embedded in the <em>Akwantukese</em> festival and are exhibited, sustained and transferred from generation to generation through the celebration. It is highly recommended that the chiefs and the people of New Juaben should try as much as possible to telecast the festival celebration on the national television for the whole nation to observe and learn the educational values it exhibit. The chiefs should also try as much as possible to celebrate the festival every year since it educates the general public socially, psychologically and artistically.
This study investigated art therapy as communicative therapeutic intervention among female prison... more This study investigated art therapy as communicative therapeutic intervention among female prison inmates at the Kumasi Female Prison. The study participants for the research comprised 34 inmates who had agreed and shown interest in partaking in the research. This group was purposively sampled with the help of the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale, which had indicated the inmates with high levels of stress. The study took to the qualitative approach of research and made use of the descriptive method. A thematic analysis of data was employed and findings for the study revealed that art used as a non-verbal communicative tool, had the power to express pent up negative emotions by prison inmates. It was also found out that since inmates may feel uncomfortable with verbal therapies, engaging in art activities serve as a way of communicating uncensored emotions in a safe and trusting environment without fear of judgment. The study suggests that art therapy be made part of the healing the...
Self-concept, comprising the self-image, self-esteem and ideal self, has been noted to begin earl... more Self-concept, comprising the self-image, self-esteem and ideal self, has been noted to begin early in life and thus several research studies have focused on children and how they use drawings in varied ways including expressing their feelings and thoughts about events and their self-concept. However, not much may have been done regarding how adults reveal themselves in their self-figure drawings except in specific cases depicted by adults who have those disabilities and the clinical setups where some adults are undergoing art therapeutic sessions. This study therefore sought to answer these questions 1) what indicators are present in adults&#39; self-figure drawings that reflect their self-concepts? 2) how different are these indicators from those present in children&#39;s drawings? 3) how relevant are these to teaching and learning? Using a mainly qualitative approach, the research incorporates content analysis and uses self-report, human figure drawing and Adult Sources of Self-Esteem Scale as tools for gathering primary data from 97 young adult participants ranging from 20-25years. Theoretical framework of the study was largely based on a review of literature on the emotional indicators in children&#39;s drawings, self as expressed in children&#39;s drawings and indicators in adult self-figure drawings about some disabilities. This paper presents the different characteristics of the self-figure drawings that came up and how their self-concept measured with the ASSEI affected the drawings. I will look at differences in the sizes of self-figure drawings in adults and how they are different, if they are, from children&#39;s. I also argue that self-concept may have a correlation with adult self-figure drawing and this is very relevant to teaching and learning.
Background: Ghana’s COVID-19 caseloads stretched to 32,437 with 161 deaths. After the first COVID... more Background: Ghana’s COVID-19 caseloads stretched to 32,437 with 161 deaths. After the first COVID-19 case recorded in March, the Government of Ghana imposed several restrictions on the life of citizenry to prevent the spread of the infection. However, it is imperative to assess and track the knowledge, misperceptions, attitudes and behaviour of Ghanaian on this public health emergency that is moving fast and not well understood before lives are restored to normalcy. This study investigated the knowledge, misperceptions, attitudes and behaviour of Ghanaians on the COVID-19 pandemic through a rapid online survey system.Methods: The Cochran sample size determination formula was used to estimate a representative sample of adult Ghanaian residents (n = 420) for the cross-sectional survey. An online questionnaire (eQuestionnaire) designed with Google Form was administered to the participants who consented to be part of this study. SMS and popular social media handles were used for the dis...
International Journal of Education Through Art, 2009
This study, which was qualitative in nature, investigated what school children in Ghana had to sa... more This study, which was qualitative in nature, investigated what school children in Ghana had to say about their drawings. Observation and in-depth interviews were used to examine links between art and emotion. Parents' views about art lessons were investigated also. The aim of this article is to transmit what we found out about the value of art for enhancing these children's learning. The data analysis revealed that art facilitated expression of emotion and experience. Theory in the literature suggests that learning is most effective when it links with emotional experience; thus, we put forward an argument for effective learning in the context of art lessons. Art can also be used as a form of therapy or preventive medicine to contribute to children's psychological well-being and subsequently prepare them for learning.
This study aims to offer alternative ways of conducting research in the periods of lockdown due t... more This study aims to offer alternative ways of conducting research in the periods of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic when the traditional research approaches are not feasible. This is crucial as some researchers hold the wrong perception that such difficult times are only fallow periods to focus on their personal and family problems. The study argues that there is the need for researchers to be busy carrying out investigations aimed at finding solutions to the multiplicity of problems faced by global communities as a result of the pandemic. Using desk research and document analysis of secondary data from published articles, the study discusses research approaches, particularly, alternative means of garnering primary and secondary data for investigating the COVID-19 pandemic from different academic disciplines. It posits that telephone and video conferencing interviews, text-based chats and e-surveys are alternative means for collecting primary data while secondary data from publ...
This study conveys to the fore the significance of child visual art works as valuable potential d... more This study conveys to the fore the significance of child visual art works as valuable potential designed elements for the development of fashionable prints for children's wear. With a little modification, the paper reveals the possibility of using these works from the children to promote their creativity in the realm of fabric design. As a practicable project, the practice-based research under the qualitative design methodology was used. The drawings of 411 purposive sampled participants; 2 to 12 year-old boys and girls from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Nursery and Primary School (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Campus) and D and D Kiddie Kare and Academy (Deduako) in kindergarten and basics one to six were systematically examined. Descriptive analysis used, drew on a range of children's art works to provide fresh hypothetical insight into the possibility of using child art as a motif for developing fashionable designed fabric prints....
This study sought to address burnout syndrome during the COVID-19 global pandemic among visual ar... more This study sought to address burnout syndrome during the COVID-19 global pandemic among visual art teachers in Ghana. The startling intricacies of COVID-19 burnout among Visual Art Teachers (VAT) in Ghana were discovered using an exploratory research approach. 112 participants were surveyed across Senior High Schools Visual Art Teachers in Ghana. Data were analyzed using t-test, regression, and analysis of variance test (F test) to determine whether there were significant differences between the burnout levels and demographic factors. The findings revealed that, the only effects of the burnout that are statistically significant on gender are reduction in productivity or efficacy in teaching difference (t=-4.41, p=0.00(p<0.05)), Sleep disorders (t= -3.22, p=0.02(p<0.05)), short temper (t=-2.84, p=0.006(p<0.05)) and health consequences (t=3.36, p=0.001(p<0.05)). The ANOVA was significant between burnout negative effect among education level F (3, 108) =2.983, p= .035. Howe...
Recidivism is on the increase as ex-convicts who are expected by the society to be reformed in pr... more Recidivism is on the increase as ex-convicts who are expected by the society to be reformed in prison and reintegrated to lead meaningful lives, only return to crime shortly after their release and find themselves back into prison in spite of the harsh punishment and counselling services received while incarcerated. The study aimed to identify the adequacy and effectiveness of the Guidance and counselling services offered prisoners in Kumasi Central Prison, Ghana. Qualitative research method was primarily used to obtain data. The investigation revealed that the major setback in the Guidance and Counselling section of the Ghana Prisons is the lack of competent and adequate professional counsellors in the prison. Further findings indicated that there are no separate offices for the counsellors, neither are there counselling rooms, thus there is no privacy during counselling sessions. Besides, the prison is over-crowded making it very difficult for counsellors to meet counselling deman...
International journal of innovative research and development, 2012
The study which is qualitative in nature employed the historical research method, document analys... more The study which is qualitative in nature employed the historical research method, document analysis and the observation tool to examine the effects of culture on creativity in the context of the development of the child's latent creative abilities. Its aim is to put across the complementary nature of culture and creativity. Practices within the setting of a culture greatly affect the caliber of person an individual will be, since those practices shape the experiences from which he/she can draw knowledge to feed his/her creative potential. The study also points out that Creativity, a feature of behaviour that reflects uniqueness, experimentation and a spirit of exploration, goes beyond the realms of the arts and literature into every field of endeavour. ModifYing one's Culture (the human behaviour one acquires or learns in a specific setting) and avoiding conformity in the strictest sense can enhance creativity.
Background: This brief report presents an action research project that was conducted in 2020 to c... more Background: This brief report presents an action research project that was conducted in 2020 to contribute to approaches to ensure adherence to COVID-19 health protocols by children in Ghana. The research was on the basis that when adults allow children to share the burden of finding effective measures to the adherence of COVID-19 health protocols, the spread of the virus will be contained, which would also ensure the safety of children. Method: The action research was designed to be socially engaging, therefore a qualitative approach using Arts-Based-Research was adopted. Arts, as a socio-pedagogical method, was used as a tool to engage 189 children, between the ages of 4 and 15 years, in art workshops in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city. The children, from different socioeconomic backgrounds, were aided by Art Assistants to handle the different art materials. Results: The different artistic depiction of children on COVID-19 suggests that the awareness created had reached many c...
Background/Aims Despite indications of extreme stress leading to burnout syndrome among healthcar... more Background/Aims Despite indications of extreme stress leading to burnout syndrome among healthcare students in Ghana, there is little evidence of this found in the literature. This study describes the prevalence of burnout, as well as the causes, risk factors and management strategies in place for coping with burnout syndrome among midwifery and nursing students in Ghana. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 135 midwifery and nursing students at the Pantang Nursing and Midwifery Training College. A questionnaire was used to obtain data on participants' demographic characteristics as well as emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment. Sources of academic and work-related stress were also reported. Descriptive data analysis and the chi-squared test was used to determine the effects of demographic characteristics on burnout. Results Students' experienced high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, with mean sco...
The study which is aimed at drawing attention to the educational values of <em>Akwantukese&... more The study which is aimed at drawing attention to the educational values of <em>Akwantukese</em> festival celebration adopted the qualitative research approach. Due to the nature of the study, purposive sampling technique was employed. Interviews and observations were the main instruments used for the data collection. Results showed that, virtue, humility, unity, love and respect are embedded in the <em>Akwantukese</em> festival and are exhibited, sustained and transferred from generation to generation through the celebration. It is highly recommended that the chiefs and the people of New Juaben should try as much as possible to telecast the festival celebration on the national television for the whole nation to observe and learn the educational values it exhibit. The chiefs should also try as much as possible to celebrate the festival every year since it educates the general public socially, psychologically and artistically.
This study investigated art therapy as communicative therapeutic intervention among female prison... more This study investigated art therapy as communicative therapeutic intervention among female prison inmates at the Kumasi Female Prison. The study participants for the research comprised 34 inmates who had agreed and shown interest in partaking in the research. This group was purposively sampled with the help of the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale, which had indicated the inmates with high levels of stress. The study took to the qualitative approach of research and made use of the descriptive method. A thematic analysis of data was employed and findings for the study revealed that art used as a non-verbal communicative tool, had the power to express pent up negative emotions by prison inmates. It was also found out that since inmates may feel uncomfortable with verbal therapies, engaging in art activities serve as a way of communicating uncensored emotions in a safe and trusting environment without fear of judgment. The study suggests that art therapy be made part of the healing the...
Self-concept, comprising the self-image, self-esteem and ideal self, has been noted to begin earl... more Self-concept, comprising the self-image, self-esteem and ideal self, has been noted to begin early in life and thus several research studies have focused on children and how they use drawings in varied ways including expressing their feelings and thoughts about events and their self-concept. However, not much may have been done regarding how adults reveal themselves in their self-figure drawings except in specific cases depicted by adults who have those disabilities and the clinical setups where some adults are undergoing art therapeutic sessions. This study therefore sought to answer these questions 1) what indicators are present in adults&#39; self-figure drawings that reflect their self-concepts? 2) how different are these indicators from those present in children&#39;s drawings? 3) how relevant are these to teaching and learning? Using a mainly qualitative approach, the research incorporates content analysis and uses self-report, human figure drawing and Adult Sources of Self-Esteem Scale as tools for gathering primary data from 97 young adult participants ranging from 20-25years. Theoretical framework of the study was largely based on a review of literature on the emotional indicators in children&#39;s drawings, self as expressed in children&#39;s drawings and indicators in adult self-figure drawings about some disabilities. This paper presents the different characteristics of the self-figure drawings that came up and how their self-concept measured with the ASSEI affected the drawings. I will look at differences in the sizes of self-figure drawings in adults and how they are different, if they are, from children&#39;s. I also argue that self-concept may have a correlation with adult self-figure drawing and this is very relevant to teaching and learning.
Background: Ghana’s COVID-19 caseloads stretched to 32,437 with 161 deaths. After the first COVID... more Background: Ghana’s COVID-19 caseloads stretched to 32,437 with 161 deaths. After the first COVID-19 case recorded in March, the Government of Ghana imposed several restrictions on the life of citizenry to prevent the spread of the infection. However, it is imperative to assess and track the knowledge, misperceptions, attitudes and behaviour of Ghanaian on this public health emergency that is moving fast and not well understood before lives are restored to normalcy. This study investigated the knowledge, misperceptions, attitudes and behaviour of Ghanaians on the COVID-19 pandemic through a rapid online survey system.Methods: The Cochran sample size determination formula was used to estimate a representative sample of adult Ghanaian residents (n = 420) for the cross-sectional survey. An online questionnaire (eQuestionnaire) designed with Google Form was administered to the participants who consented to be part of this study. SMS and popular social media handles were used for the dis...
International Journal of Education Through Art, 2009
This study, which was qualitative in nature, investigated what school children in Ghana had to sa... more This study, which was qualitative in nature, investigated what school children in Ghana had to say about their drawings. Observation and in-depth interviews were used to examine links between art and emotion. Parents' views about art lessons were investigated also. The aim of this article is to transmit what we found out about the value of art for enhancing these children's learning. The data analysis revealed that art facilitated expression of emotion and experience. Theory in the literature suggests that learning is most effective when it links with emotional experience; thus, we put forward an argument for effective learning in the context of art lessons. Art can also be used as a form of therapy or preventive medicine to contribute to children's psychological well-being and subsequently prepare them for learning.
This study aims to offer alternative ways of conducting research in the periods of lockdown due t... more This study aims to offer alternative ways of conducting research in the periods of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic when the traditional research approaches are not feasible. This is crucial as some researchers hold the wrong perception that such difficult times are only fallow periods to focus on their personal and family problems. The study argues that there is the need for researchers to be busy carrying out investigations aimed at finding solutions to the multiplicity of problems faced by global communities as a result of the pandemic. Using desk research and document analysis of secondary data from published articles, the study discusses research approaches, particularly, alternative means of garnering primary and secondary data for investigating the COVID-19 pandemic from different academic disciplines. It posits that telephone and video conferencing interviews, text-based chats and e-surveys are alternative means for collecting primary data while secondary data from publ...
This study conveys to the fore the significance of child visual art works as valuable potential d... more This study conveys to the fore the significance of child visual art works as valuable potential designed elements for the development of fashionable prints for children's wear. With a little modification, the paper reveals the possibility of using these works from the children to promote their creativity in the realm of fabric design. As a practicable project, the practice-based research under the qualitative design methodology was used. The drawings of 411 purposive sampled participants; 2 to 12 year-old boys and girls from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Nursery and Primary School (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Campus) and D and D Kiddie Kare and Academy (Deduako) in kindergarten and basics one to six were systematically examined. Descriptive analysis used, drew on a range of children's art works to provide fresh hypothetical insight into the possibility of using child art as a motif for developing fashionable designed fabric prints....
This study sought to address burnout syndrome during the COVID-19 global pandemic among visual ar... more This study sought to address burnout syndrome during the COVID-19 global pandemic among visual art teachers in Ghana. The startling intricacies of COVID-19 burnout among Visual Art Teachers (VAT) in Ghana were discovered using an exploratory research approach. 112 participants were surveyed across Senior High Schools Visual Art Teachers in Ghana. Data were analyzed using t-test, regression, and analysis of variance test (F test) to determine whether there were significant differences between the burnout levels and demographic factors. The findings revealed that, the only effects of the burnout that are statistically significant on gender are reduction in productivity or efficacy in teaching difference (t=-4.41, p=0.00(p<0.05)), Sleep disorders (t= -3.22, p=0.02(p<0.05)), short temper (t=-2.84, p=0.006(p<0.05)) and health consequences (t=3.36, p=0.001(p<0.05)). The ANOVA was significant between burnout negative effect among education level F (3, 108) =2.983, p= .035. Howe...
Recidivism is on the increase as ex-convicts who are expected by the society to be reformed in pr... more Recidivism is on the increase as ex-convicts who are expected by the society to be reformed in prison and reintegrated to lead meaningful lives, only return to crime shortly after their release and find themselves back into prison in spite of the harsh punishment and counselling services received while incarcerated. The study aimed to identify the adequacy and effectiveness of the Guidance and counselling services offered prisoners in Kumasi Central Prison, Ghana. Qualitative research method was primarily used to obtain data. The investigation revealed that the major setback in the Guidance and Counselling section of the Ghana Prisons is the lack of competent and adequate professional counsellors in the prison. Further findings indicated that there are no separate offices for the counsellors, neither are there counselling rooms, thus there is no privacy during counselling sessions. Besides, the prison is over-crowded making it very difficult for counsellors to meet counselling deman...
International journal of innovative research and development, 2012
The study which is qualitative in nature employed the historical research method, document analys... more The study which is qualitative in nature employed the historical research method, document analysis and the observation tool to examine the effects of culture on creativity in the context of the development of the child's latent creative abilities. Its aim is to put across the complementary nature of culture and creativity. Practices within the setting of a culture greatly affect the caliber of person an individual will be, since those practices shape the experiences from which he/she can draw knowledge to feed his/her creative potential. The study also points out that Creativity, a feature of behaviour that reflects uniqueness, experimentation and a spirit of exploration, goes beyond the realms of the arts and literature into every field of endeavour. ModifYing one's Culture (the human behaviour one acquires or learns in a specific setting) and avoiding conformity in the strictest sense can enhance creativity.
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