Although gender equality is often viewed because of development in many countries, it is also a fundamental driver of sustainable and inclusive development in Cameroon. To explore this relationship, this paper examines the extent to which gender equality contributes to human capital formation, economic participation, land and financial inclusion, political representation, public accountability, and poverty reduction. Using a qualitative approach, the study adopts a systematic integrative desk review of national statistical data, international development databases, policy documents, and peer-reviewed literature. Rather than estimating causal effects, the study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how gender inequality affects sustainable development in Cameroon and to propose relevant policy recommendations. The findings show that gender inequalities persist across multiple domains, including education, labour markets, land governance, political participation, violence against women and girls, and humanitarian settings. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the importance of considering intersectionality and regional disparities. Factors such as rural residence, conflict, displacement, linguistic marginalization, disability, and poverty often intensify the vulnerabilities and discrimination experienced by women and girls. Ultimately, the study argues that gender equality should be recognized as a form of development infrastructure that is essential for Cameroon’s sustainable development. Read more

The performance of firms in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry depends not only on product quality but also on the effectiveness of distribution channels in delivering products to consumers at the right place, time, quantity, and price. This study examined the influence of distribution channel practices on consumer disconnect, measured through customer engagement, and its implications for economic development in Rivers State, Nigeria. A quantitative survey design was employed. Data were collected from 256 marketing, sales, distribution, and key-account managers as well as major distributors across 32 registered FMCG firms. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis (SPSS version 25) were used. Results showed significant positive relationships between digital distribution practices (R² = .785), channel responsiveness (R² = .639), information sharing (R² = .742) and customer engagement. The study concludes that effective distribution channel practices strengthen manufacturer–consumer relationships, reduce disconnect, and support firm performance and economic development. Firms are advised to expand digital platforms, improve responsiveness, and strengthen information-sharing mechanisms. Read more

This study examines the entrepreneurial intentions of return migrant workers in Bangladesh and the factors driving their transition into business. Guided by Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior, the study analyzes attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control among 302 male return migrant workers from Comilla, Cox's Bazar, and Mymensingh, who predominantly worked in the Gulf region. A mixed -method explanatory sequential design involves survey data analysis and thematic analysis of 15 semi-structured interviews with teachers, social leaders, market association leaders, NGO representatives, and BMET (Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training) officers. The findings show that the three TPB constructs were positively associated with entrepreneurial intention, jointly explaining 62.5% of its variance. In the barrier-only model, regulatory and market barriers showed positive associations, while skill barriers showed a negative association with entrepreneurial intention; these barrier associations were not statistically significant in the combined model. Barriers comprise financial, regulatory, market access, skill recognition, and psychosocial issues. The study calls for policy reforms in regulation, skill certification, microfinance, training, and psychosocial support to enable sustainable entrepreneurship for returnees. Read more

This study evaluated the implementation of cloud computing accounting software in the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) Business Education undergraduate programme for employability skills development in Rivers State-owned universities. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, focusing on three cloud accounting software applications: Xero, Zoho Books, and Sage. The population comprised 127 Accounting Business Education undergraduates from Rivers State University (RSU) and Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), with 113 valid questionnaires retrieved and used for analysis. Data were collected using a structured and validated questionnaire Implementing Cloud Accounting Software for Employability Skills Development Questionnaire (ICASESDQ), which had a Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of 0.82. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to answer the research questions and measure the spread in respondents’ opinions, while an independent-samples t-test was employed to test three null hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that the extent of implementing Xero, Zoho Books, and Sage accounting software leading to the development of automated bank statement reconciliation, electronic bookkeeping management, and electronic payroll employability skills was very low in both universities. The results of the t-tests showed no significant differences between RSU and IAUE students regarding implementing the three accounting software applications. The study concluded that cloud accounting software in the Business Education curriculum has not been adequately implemented for employability skills development. It was recommended that Rivers State-owned universities should provide structured practical training for undergraduate students using Xero to develop automated bank statement reconciliation skills. This includes hands-on exercises in inputting transactions, matching entries, and generating reconciliation reports to ensure students gain workplace-ready competence. Read more

Sustainable educational leadership thrives in an environment in which succession planning, talent identification and development, professional capacity building, retention strategies and organizational support are an integrated system. This article re-examines these five interconnected drivers when applied to educational administration within the Ghanaian context and summarizes empirical research, policy reports and literature on similar low and middle-income environments. Using a structured literature-synthesis (n ≈ 29 strong sources), the paper identifies common obstacles including informal succession, weak talent pipelines, episodic training, rural attrition, and fragmented HR systems and identifies pragmatic policy levers, which can be aligned with national priorities. The findings indicate that an integrated, sequenced approaches (codified career pathways, mentored acting appointments, school-based sustained CPD, targeted rural retention packages and strengthened HR analytics) are more likely to yield durable leadership improvement than isolated interventions. The discussion connects theories (transformational, instructional and distributed leadership) to practice and end up with prioritized policies and future research recommendations. Read more

Women now make up around half of university enrolments worldwide in most regions, yet they remain a small minority in senior academic posts and leadership. This review asks what governments and universities did about that between 2010 and 2025, and what the evidence shows worked. It uses a systematised review design with narrative and integrative synthesis, and analyses 21 documents: one systematic review that itself screened 37 primary studies, 12 primary empirical studies, and 8 institutional, national, or supranational policy documents drawn from Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and targeted institutional and grey-literature sources. The evidence covers Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and North America. It is grouped by four policy instruments: statutory and quasi-statutory gender quotas, charter schemes such as Athena SWAN, incentive-linked funding, and mentorship and sponsorship programmes. Quotas and funding incentives shift the numbers most. In European systems operating quotas, women's representation on academic boards runs substantially above that in systems without them. The effect is strongest where research-funding eligibility is at stake. European systems with quotas show women's representation on academic boards running some 23 percentage points above systems without them. The Representation gains do not, however, automatically translate into structural or cultural change. Charter schemes prompt useful internal reflection and gradual improvement in the leadership pipeline, yet they struggle with entrenched pay and power gaps unless wider society shifts too. Sub-Saharan Africa presents a different problem: formal gender policies are multiplying while enforcement stays thin, so progress in access rarely reaches the leadership tier. No single instrument is sufficient. Reform works when binding rules, real financial stakes, and sustained cultural effort are layered together and matched to local implementation capacity. The review closes with a research and policy agenda for the period beyond 2025. Read more

This paper examines the intricate relationship between development, governance, patriotism, and postcolonial power relations. It specifically identifies "indigenous political elites who serve as intermediaries for neo-colonial interests. Development remains one of the most persistent challenges facing postcolonial Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the continent’s abundant human and natural resources. Endemic political corruption continues to undermine national development agendas and frustrate aspirations for independence. This paper examines the intricate relationship between development, governance, patriotism, and postcolonial power relations as depicted in Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People. Drawing on Postcolonial Theory, the study interrogates how colonial structures of domination are reproduced through indigenous political elites who serve as intermediaries for neo-colonial interests, thereby perpetuating economic dependency, institutional fragility, and social inequality. The study concludes that A Man of the People remains a remarkably relevant literary intervention that not only diagnoses the structural impediments to Africa’s development but also calls for a political culture grounded in integrity, responsible leadership, democratic accountability, and genuine commitment to the nation's collective welfare. By situating Achebe's novel within contemporary postcolonial discourse, this paper contributes to ongoing scholarly debates about literature as a critical site for interrogating governance, political corruption, and sustainable development in Africa. Read more

This study explored the barriers experienced by Junior High School (JHS) science teachers in integrating digital literacy into science teaching and the forms of support they considered necessary for strengthening practice. Guided by an interpretivist qualitative case-study design, nine science teachers from three educational circuits in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana were purposively selected. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four interconnected barriers emerged: inadequate digital infrastructure, limited preparation for science-specific digital pedagogy, insufficient institutional and technical support, and pressures associated with instructional time and curriculum coverage. Teachers identified continuous science-specific professional development, improved infrastructure and curriculum-aligned digital resources, stronger instructional leadership and technical assistance, and collaborative professional learning as essential supports. The findings distinguish teachers’ access to digital devices from learners’ opportunities for meaningful digital participation and show that technological competence alone does not ensure learner-centred digital science inquiry. The study contributes to understanding digital literacy integration as a multilevel support ecology requiring coordinated interventions across teacher, classroom, school, and municipal levels. These findings have implications for professional development, resource provision, and implementation of digital education policies in resource-constrained contexts. Read more

This article critically examines the nascent Ghana–China bilateral relations and their regional integration and development implications for Africa. Employing a constructivist and interpretivist paradigms-influenced exploratory qualitative research design, the research is grounded on semi-structured interviews of purposively chosen policy actors and experts recruited from leading ministries and civil society bodies. Through thematic analysis, the study establishes that while China's emergence in Ghana has resulted in the development of infrastructure, learning processes, and flows of social commerce, all these are inclusive of structural imbalances, degradation of the environment, elite capture, and undermining of democratic sovereignty. The respondents identified "One China Policy" as a marker of conditionality of soft power, and were most concerned with clandestine loan agreements, devastating devastation of local production by subsidized exports, and Chinese intrusion into political funding. Additionally, the study establishes that China's bilateral approach hinders the collective integration processes of Africa, i.e., those pursued through AfCFTA and ECOWAS, by promoting fragmentation and weakening policy coherence at the regional level. Drawing on theory of economic integration and dependency criticism, the research concludes by calling on African nations, and in particular Ghana, to reassess their foreign policy to make it appealing to long-term regional ambitions. It suggests open, transparent, and strategically bargained relationships that deepen continental solidarity and sustainable development. Read more

Despite growing global evidence that music education contributes significantly to learners’ cognitive, socio-emotional, and academic development, it remains marginalised within Ghana’s national education curriculum, particularly at the basic and senior high school levels. This marginalisation has resulted in a narrowed curriculum and limited opportunities for holistic learner development. This study examines the role of music education in fostering academic achievement and holistic development within the Ghanaian educational context, drawing on stakeholder perspectives to explore its educational value, curriculum integration, and the consequences of its neglect. Adopting a qualitative research approach, the study utilised focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of fifty-seven (57) key stakeholders, including music teachers, students, parents, school administrators, musicologists, and educational advisors in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Data were analysed thematically. Findings reveal a strong consensus among stakeholders that music education enhances cognitive abilities such as memory, creativity, and critical thinking, while also promoting socio-emotional skills including empathy, collaboration, and self-discipline. Participants further reported positive spill-over effects on students’ performance in non-musical subjects. A significant majority (87%) of respondents advocated for music education to be designated as a mandatory core subject, particularly at the basic and senior high school levels. The continued neglect of music education was associated with reduced learner engagement, limited creative expression, and missed developmental opportunities. It concludes by recommending the policy-driven integration of music education as a core subject within Ghana’s national curriculum, supported by sustained investment in teacher capacity development, culturally responsive pedagogical resources, and collaborative cross-sector policy implementation. Read more