First year students’ lived experiences of the third trimester field practical programme at selected communities in the Upper West region of Ghana - Full Length Research Paper

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley

The study investigates first-year students’ lived experiences of Ghana’s Third Trimester Field Practical Programme in selected Upper West Region communities. Convenience sampling formed student focus groups, and focus group interviews generated the qualitative data. Thematic analysis identified challenges including limited financial support for farming and businesses, weak road networks, inadequate social amenities and toilet facilities, poor telecommunication, prevalent improper waste disposal, student misunderstandings, financial difficulties, room shortages, and shortages of first-aid drugs and portable drinking water in CHPS compounds. Community potentials include land, active labour, sheanut trees, and CHPS presence, with recommendations for viable development projects.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Concept and rationale of the integrated TTFPP

General objectives of the TTFPP

African Educational Research Journal Vol. 6(3), pp. 130-136, July 2018 DOI: 10. 30918/AERJ.63.18.044 ISSN: 2354-2160 Full Length Research Paper First year students’ lived experiences of the third trimester field practical programme at selected communities in the Upper West region of Ghana I. Mohammed* and Evelyn Kuusozume Yirbekyaa University for Development Studies, Ghana. Accepted 10 July, 2018 | ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper was to investigate first year students’ lived experiences of the Third Trimester Field Practical Programme at selected communities in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Convenience sampling method was used to select and put students into focus groups. Focus group interview was then used to collect data from the students. Data obtained were analysed thematically. Findings on the students’lived experiences of the Third Trimester Field Practical Programme include: members in the communities lack financial supports to venture into farming and businesses, poor roads network slowed down most economic activities in the communities, there were inadequate social amenities, there were lack of toilet facilities, poor telecommunication network system was prevalent, improper waste disposal was prevalent, there were issues of misunderstanding among students due to individual differences, students had financial troubles, there was an acute shortage of decent rooms for students, there were shortage of first aid drugs in most Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds and there was a lack of portable drinking water. Potentials possess by the communities include: vast land for economic activities, active labour force, sheanut trees for shea butter processing and the availability of CHPS compounds in some communities. The benefits of the Field Practical Programme include: students learning all the socialization techniques, students been able to adjust into rural and deprived community life, students been exposed to places, culture and beliefs of other communities, students acquiring the team work spirit and students been able to into practice in the communities the knowledge learnt in the classroom . Recommendations were made concerning the developmental challenges in the communities and how the communities’ potentials can be turned into viable developmental projects and businesses.
Keywords: Trimester, field, practical, programme, community, CHPS compound. | | --- | | *Corresponding author. E-mail: [ssh. mohammed@yahoo.com. Tel:](ssh. mohammed@yahoo.com. Tel:) +233555002049, +233542417991. | INTRODUCTION The University for Development Studies (UDS) has adopted practically oriented methodologies to teaching and learning, research and outreach services in fulfilling its mandate one of blending the academic world with that of the community in order to provide constructive interaction between the two for the total development of Northern Ghana in particular and the country as a whole (Yakubu, 2015) . The University for Development Studies (2018) published on its website that one of its unique features is the fact that it has successfully blended its academic programmes with the intensive community– based field practical training, dubbed the Third Trimester Practical Programme (TTFPP) . A whole third trimester in the university is devoted solely to practical field work in the local communities (Yakubu, 2015) . Students of a given year group are posted to specific communities of a given region where they spend eight weeks over a period of three (3) years (Stanley, 2017 ; Azabre, 2013) . Since the inception of the TTFPP in 1993, the programme has recorded a successful community-based field practical training which to an extent made it possible for the university to embark on an integrated approach to the TTFPP ( UDS, 2018) . According to Azabre (2013) since the inception of the UDS in 1992 (and backed by PNDC Law 279), it has grown significantly in all aspects including campu

FAQs

What is the purpose of the paper and what programme does it focus on?

The paper investigates first-year students’ lived experiences of the Third Trimester Field Practical Programme in selected communities in Ghana’s Upper West Region.

How were data collected and analyzed?

Convenience sampling was used to form focus groups. Focus group interviews collected data, which were analyzed thematically.

What key challenges and potentials were found in the communities?

Challenges included limited financial support, poor infrastructure and amenities (roads, toilets), weak telecommunication, improper waste disposal, student misunderstandings and financial troubles, shortage of decent rooms, and shortages related to first aid drugs and drinking water in CHPS compounds. Potentials included vast land for economic activities, active labour force, sheanut trees for shea butter processing, and availability of CHPS compounds in some communities.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley