Teacher Education and Curriculum Alignment in History Education: A Bridge to Enhanced Learning Outcomes

Abstract

Education in Ghana faces a structural crisis rooted in a persistent misalignment between what colleges of education teach and what basic schools actually require. Despite this being a well-documented concern in Ghanaian education more broadly, no systematic study has examined the specific disconnect in history education. Colleges of education prepare history specialists for Junior High School teaching, yet history does not exist as a standalone subject at that level. At the same time, primary school teachers, who are required to deliver history as a discrete subject, receive no formal training in the discipline. This study addresses that gap through a mixed-methods investigation involving 100 participants: 50 student-teachers drawn from colleges of education affiliated to five major universities in Ghana, 30 in-service teachers, and 20 education administrators. The findings show that 96% of primary school teachers teach history without any specialised training, while 92% of history specialists reported serious concern about the mismatch between their preparation and available teaching positions. There was strong consensus across stakeholder groups, with 94% calling for systematic curriculum restructuring. Anchored in Biggs and Tang's (2011) Constructive Alignment Theory, the study develops the Teacher Education Curriculum Alignment Model (TECAM) as an analytical tool to examine the structural and functional dimensions of this misalignment. The findings point to the need for mandatory history training within primary education programmes, a revision of the college of education curricula to reflect how history is actually structured in basic schools, and stronger coordination between curriculum development bodies and teacher training institutions