John Sedofia
Contact & links
Biography
Dr. John Sedofia is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Teacher Education, School of Education and Leadership, University of Ghana, Ghana. He is a highly motivated mid-career researcher with a passion for conducting cutting-edge research that makes significant contributions to the advancement of school counselling, teaching, and learning.
Dr. Sedofia holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Guidance and Counselling from the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. He also obtained the Master of Philosophy degree in Guidance and Counselling and Bachelor of Education degree in Psychology, both from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. During his academic journey, Dr. Sedofia demonstrated exceptional analytical skills and a strong aptitude for problem-solving, which laid the foundation for my future research endeavours.
As a mid-career researcher, Dr. Sedofia is keen to make notable contributions to the scientific community through his research publications and collaborations. He has authored a number of peer-reviewed articles in top-tier conferences and journals, which have garnered significant attention and citations from fellow researchers. His work has shed light on important challenges in school counselling, teaching, and learning and provided valuable insights into how to address them.
Dr. Sedofia has led and collaborated on several research and educational initiatives, including studies on students’ satisfaction with university support services, cyber counselling service quality, and projects promoting environmental sustainability and gender-responsive education. His research adopts rigorous quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches and aims to generate practical solutions that inform educational policy and practice.
His scholarly mission is to bridge the gap between research and practice by producing knowledge that enhances educational outcomes, strengthens counselling services, supports teacher development, and improves the well-being of learners. Through his work, he seeks to contribute to educational transformation in Ghana, Africa, and the global educational community.
Research
Dr. John Sedofia’s research focuses on advancing educational theory, policy, and practice through interdisciplinary and evidence-based inquiry. His work examines the factors that influence teaching, learning, psychological well-being, and educational outcomes, with particular emphasis on developing practical solutions to challenges facing education systems in Ghana, Africa, and the Global South. His primary research interests include: teacher education and professional development; guidance and counselling; teacher motivation, career choice, and retention; student mental health, psychological well-being, and resilience; quality of student support services in higher education
His research is characterised by interdisciplinary collaboration and the application of rigorous quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches to generate knowledge that informs educational policy, enhances teaching and learning, strengthens counselling practice, and contributes to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to quality education, good health and well-being, gender equality, reduced inequalities, affordable and clean energy, and climate action.
Research methods and approaches
Dr. John Sedofia adopts a rigorous and interdisciplinary approach to educational and psychological research, employing qualitative and mixed-methods designs to investigate complex educational, psychological, and counselling phenomena. His methodological orientation is driven by the principle that robust evidence emerges from selecting research designs that best address the research questions and the contexts in which they arise.
In qualitative research, Dr. Sedofia employs approaches such as phenomenology, and phenomenography to gain in-depth insights into participants’ lived experiences, beliefs, motivations, and decision-making processes. He is experienced in conducting semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and thematic analysis to generate rich contextual evidence that informs educational practice and policy.
Recognising the complementary strengths of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, Dr. Sedofia frequently employs mixed-methods research, particularly explanatory sequential and convergent designs, to provide comprehensive understandings of educational issues. By integrating numerical evidence with participants’ narratives, his research produces findings that are both statistically robust and contextually meaningful.
His research is underpinned by established theoretical and conceptual frameworks drawn from education, psychology, and the social sciences, including motivational, behavioural, developmental, and learning theories. He places strong emphasis on ethical research practice, cultural responsiveness, methodological transparency, and the translation of research findings into practical interventions that improve educational policy, teacher preparation, counselling services, and learner outcomes.
Overall, Dr. Sedofia’s methodological expertise enables him to address diverse research questions across teacher education, guidance and counselling, student well-being, higher education, and sustainability education. His commitment to methodological excellence ensures that his research contributes credible evidence to scholarship while addressing pressing educational challenges in Ghana, Africa, and the wider international community.
What are you looking for
I am seeking collaborators who are committed to advancing high-quality, interdisciplinary research that addresses pressing educational, psychological, and societal challenges. I welcome partnerships with researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds whose expertise complements my work in teacher education, educational psychology, guidance and counselling, higher education, and sustainable development.
My disciplinary expertise includes teacher education and professional development, guidance and counselling, higher education research, and mental health and psychological well-being.
I am particularly interested in collaborating with researchers who have expertise in: mixed-methods research; experimental and quasi-experimental designs; cross-cultural and comparative education research; qualitative methodologies, including phenomenology, grounded theory, case study, and ethnography; systematic reviews and meta-analyses; and learning analytics and educational data science
I value collaborations that provide opportunities to share technical expertise and research infrastructure, including: qualitative data analysis using NVivo, ATLAS.ti, or MAXQDA; survey design and online data collection platforms (e.g., Qualtrics, REDCap, KoboToolbox); artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in education; and access to research laboratories, educational technology facilities, high-performance computing resources, and large-scale national or international datasets
I am particularly interested in developing collaborative research projects that generate high-impact publications in reputable international journals, secure competitive national and international research funding, and promote international, multidisciplinary, and cross-cultural collaborations that address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to quality education, health and well-being, gender equality, and climate action.
I value collaborators who are committed to methodological rigour, ethical research, innovation, and the co-creation of knowledge that produces meaningful and sustainable impact for education and society.
Research discipline: Social Sciences
Cohort year: 2024
Programme: Crucible Programme
