The Learning Variability Network Exchange (LEVANTE) brings together researchers from around the world aiming to capture the richness and diversity of child development and learning.
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Home » University of Cape Coast, Ghana
The Ghana research site co-led by Principal Investigators Ivy Kesewaa Nkrumah, Christopher Yaw Kwaah and Stella Yemisi Erinosho, focuses on children aged 6 to 12 years and is conducted at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. The lab’s research program centers on the role of language of instruction (LOI) in shaping children’s learning and development in linguistically diverse educational contexts, with a particular focus on lower primary schooling.
The planned LEVANTE study adopts a mixed‑methods, accelerated longitudinal design to adapt, validate, and apply the LEVANTE assessment battery in Ghanaian contexts, while examining developmental trajectories in socio‑emotional skills, literacy, numeracy, executive function, and cognition (SELNEC) across different LOI models.
Three overlapping cohorts of children aged 6–12 (Grades 1–3, 2–4, and 3–5) will be followed over three years, enabling analyses of individual development and cohort‑level differences. Phase one focuses on cultural and linguistic adaptation through focus groups and interviews with teachers and caregivers across Ghana’s five language belts, think‑aloud protocols with pupils to assess item comprehension, and iterative review by a multidisciplinary expert panel.
Principal Investigator
Ivy Kesewaa Nkrumah is a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana (West Africa). Ivy received a Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Ilorin in Nigeria and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. She has worked with non-governmental organizations and universities, where she has carried out research while also teaching and mentoring students. Ivy has a great passion for educational research, and has applied her expertise and skills to support the successful implementation of community-based programs that promote education.
Co-Principal Investigator
Christopher Yaw Kwaah is a researcher in education with expertise in curriculum and teaching, teacher education, and access and equity in education. He serves as a Research Fellow and Coordinator of the Educational Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. His work focuses on improving teaching practices, classroom interactions, and learning outcomes, with particular attention to the role of ICT in higher education. He has contributed to several local and international research projects, including studies on critical thinking in African higher education, classroom interaction quality, and early childhood development in Ghana.
Stella Yemisi Erinosho obtained her Bachelor of Education in Physics from the esteemed University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and further earned a Master’s and Ph.D. in Educational Evaluation from the same institution. Her research interests encompass a diverse range of areas, including gender and science education, educational assessment and evaluation, curriculum development, and research methodologies. Professor Erinosho has served as an Adjunct Professor of Education and Research at the University of Education, Winneba, and the University of Cape Coast, before joining the Methodist University of Ghana, where she currently holds an adjunct faculty position.