UEW Alumnus is National UNICEF/MOE Consultant on Early Grade Children with Learning Difficulties

Samuel Kweku Hayford (PhD), an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, University of Education, Winneba (UEW) and an alumnus, is the national consultant for UNICEF/MoE and other partners’ project on formative research and technical guidance on identification and support to children with learning difficulties in early grades in Ghana. The project is intended to create a more child-friendly environment in schools so that all children can learn. Prof. Hayford for the past couple of decades has worked extensively on special needs education and issues of inclusion in the formal systems in various capacities.

Professor Samuel Kweku Hayford, had a brief secondary education at Kintampo and Damongo Secondary Schools, he obtained the GCE-O Level as a private candidate, attended Komenda College, College of Special Education, University College of Education, Winneba, University of Cape Coast, and the University of Birmingham, UK. He is a member of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD. He also led a nation-wide research into Inclusive Education in Ghana: Knowledge, Bottlenecks, and Solution, ESA Report (2018) for UNICEF Ghana, and a member of the Lead -writers of the New Bachelor of Education Curriculum for Colleges of Education in Ghana. He was a Consultant for the development of the National Inclusive Education Policy, a Vice Chairman of the National Technical Committee for the Implementation of Inclusive Education, he also works with Civil Organizations such as Ghana Nation Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC), and Ghana Blind Union.

Currently, he is the Dean of the Faculty of Educational Studies, University of Education, Winneba. He served as the Chair of the 2019-2023 Corporate Strategic Plan, Less Endowed Senior High School Students’ Admission Policy, and Disability Policy Development Committees of the University of Education, Winneba. He is the chair of the UEW Corporate Strategic Plan Monitoring Committee. He has over 50 publications in national and international journals; key publications are Special Educational Needs and Quality Education for All (2013) and Children with Autism (2017). He is the co-author of the Provision of Education for Individuals with disabilities in Ghana. In Michael L. Wehmeyer and James R. Patton (Eds.) Handbook of International Special Education. The Praeger International Handbook on Special Education. SAGE Publication (2017). Teachers’ methodologies and sources of information on HIV/AIDS for students with visual impairments in selected residential and integrated schools in Ghana. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals (JAASEP) 2017 Vol. 12 (1), 134-145. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Supporting Struggling Learners in Ghana (2019)- Ghana Education Service, Toolkit for Teachers.