title: Evaluation of Changes in Ghanaian Students' Attitudes Towards Science Following Neuroscience Outreach Activities: A Means to Identify Effective Ways to Inspire Interest in Science Careers.
abstract: The scientific capacity in many African countries is low. Ghana, for example, is estimated to have approximately twenty-three researchers per a million inhabitants. In order to improve interest in science among future professionals, appropriate techniques should be developed and employed to identify barriers and correlates of science education among pre-university students. Young students' attitudes towards science may affect their future career choices. However, these attitudes may change with new experiences. It is, therefore, important to evaluate potential changes in students' attitudes towards science after their exposure to experiences such as science outreach activities. Through this, more effective means of inspiring and mentoring young students to choose science subjects can be developed. This approach would be particularly beneficial in countries such as Ghana, where: (i) documented impacts of outreach activities are lacking; and (ii) effective means to develop scientist-school educational partnerships are needed. We have established an outreach scheme, aimed at helping to improve interaction between scientists and pre-university students (and their teachers). Outreach activities are designed and implemented by undergraduate students and graduate teaching assistants, with support from faculty members and technical staff. Through this, we aim to build a team of trainee scientists and graduates who will become ambassadors of science in their future professional endeavors. Here, we describe an approach for assessing changes in junior high school students' attitudes towards science following classroom neuroscience outreach activities. We show that while students tended to agree more with questions concerning their perceptions about science learning after the delivery of outreach activities, significant improvements were obtained for only two questions, namely "I enjoy science lessons" and "I want to be a scientist in the future." Furthermore, there was a generally strong trend towards a change in attitude for questions that sought information about students' perceptions about scientists (both positive and negative perceptions). In addition, outreach providers reported that their involvement in this public engagement scheme helped them acquire several transferable skills that will be beneficial in their studies and career development. These include vital skills in project and time management, teamwork and public speaking. Altogether, our findings provide novel indications that the development of scientist-school outreach partnerships in Ghana has valuable implications for science education and capacity development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Nat Ato
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Yawson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Aaron Opoku
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Amankwaa
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Bernice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tali
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Velma Owusua
authors.initials: VO
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Emmanuella Nsenbah
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Batu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Kwame
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asiemoah
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Ahmed Denkeri
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Fuseini
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Louis Nana
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Tene
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Leticia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Angaandi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Blewusi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Makafui
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Borbi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Linda Nana Esi
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Aduku
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Pheonah
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Badu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
authors.forename: Henrietta
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abbey
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK;; Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Karikari
keywords: Africa; Ghana; Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); attitude; high school; outreach; public engagement; scientific capacity; scientist