Participation in Professional Programmes and Curriculum Implementation: Perspectives of Senior High School French Teachers in Ghana

Professional development is a sine-qua-non to increasing teachers’ skills and abilities in curriculum implementation. Yet, in recent times, policy makers, school heads and teachers have given it little attention. This study therefore focuses on investigating the impact of teachers’ participation in professional programmes on curriculum implementation at the SHS. The research adopted the concurrent mixed approach in documenting facts about teachers’ professional development and implementation. Evidence was gathered through surveys and interviews on seventy two (72) and eight (8) teachers respectively, drawn using multiple sampling procedures. It was found that teachers of French at the SHS participate in professional programmes such as the ones organised by CREF, GAFT and the GES. However, teachers had negative perceptions about the content of these programmes since they did not in enhance teacher knowledge, skills of teaching and students’ achievement. It was also found that a positive significant relationship [r(72) = .804, p < .05 given ? = .05 and p –value =.008] exists between participation in professional programmes and curriculum implementation. Based on these outcomes, the study recommends that for maximum impact, content of professional development programmes be aligned with the curriculum so teachers’ implementation challenges could be addressed for enhanced student learning. Keywords: SHS, curriculum implementation, French teachers, CREF, GE

Vertical Articulation and Content Relevance of the Senior High School Economics Curriculum: Case of Ghana

The school curriculum is often the formal document designed for teachers to treat topics that allow for the impartation of knowledge and the development of competencies that prepare students for further studies. Achieving this depends mainly on its content structure and sequencing. The aim of this study is two-fold: to find the extent of vertical articulation of topics in the economics syllabus that makes it possible for the syllabus to achieve its purpose of preparing students for further studies; and to explore the extent to which the syllabus is up-to-date and relevant in dealing with current economic issues. Document analysis was used to analyse the syllabus, while eight (8) service teachers purposively selected were interviewed. The study found that the SHS economics curriculum lacked vertical content articulation regarding the learning competencies for Forms 1 to 3. Also, the interviews revealed that the curriculum is not up-to-date though relevant since many evolving economic concepts have not been captured. The study supports the call for curriculum change and alignment of content to improve its vertical articulation and coherence and its currency and relevance in helping to equip students with the requisite knowledge and fundamental economic tools for their daily survival

Is Grit the Best Predictor of University Students’ Academic Achievement?

This paper investigated the predictors of academic achievement of university students in two courses for second-year students in a public university in Ghana. Using a quantitative design, data were collected from 154 second-year trainee teachers (for the 2019/2020 academic year), randomly selected from the said public university. The study showed a direct significant relationship between gender, age, motivation to study, and academic achievement in two education courses. Again, age, gender, motivation, and grit were significant predictors of student academic achievement in two education courses, with grit as the best predictor contributing to 67% variability in student academic achievement. Based on the results, the study recommended that university authorities, among other things, should, through their academic and quality assurance sections, determine students' grit levels, identify those likely to have challenges, initiate appropriate measures to enhance perseverance and retention, thereby, improving academic achievement. Keywords: grit, economics, office management, academic achievement, motivation DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-29-08 Publication date:October 31st 202

Enhancing Teaching Through Innovation in the University: What Teachers should Know and Do.

Burgeoning literature in education have shown an affirmed resolve of educators to adopt modern productive teaching approaches to ensure maximum learning outcomes. There is indubitably a serious need for teachers in higher educational institutions to focus on ways of enhancing teaching and learning. However, few researchers appear to have focused on the subject. This working paper, by employing the narrative design, examined the teaching enterprise with emphasis on moving from pedagogy to andragogy as a harbinger for the creation of autonomous self-directed adults. The paper advocates for pragmatic teaching strategies for teachers at this level. It concludes that university teachers must necessarily take advantage of the-now-increasing avenues for knowledge nourishment widely provided by outstanding journals, conference, articles and scholarly books among other knowledge outlets. Teachers are urged to profiteer from the wide range of polished teaching options espoused and circulated via the media. It is the paper‘s view that implementing contemporary teaching methods is the only panacea to tackling the current phenomenon of qualification inflation that has virtually led to the reduction of the academic currency among graduates. The paper‘s firm belief is that with innovative teaching methods, teachers desire for excellence in the classroom is already a forgone conclusio

Enhancing Teaching Through Innovation in the University: What Teachers should Know and Do.

Burgeoning literature in education have shown an affirmed resolve of educators to adopt modern productive teaching approaches to ensure maximum learning outcomes. There is indubitably a serious need for teachers in higher educational institutions to focus on ways of enhancing teaching and learning. However, few researchers appear to have focused on the subject. This working paper, by employing the narrative design, examined the teaching enterprise with emphasis on moving from pedagogy to andragogy as a harbinger for the creation of autonomous self-directed adults. The paper advocates for pragmatic teaching strategies for teachers at this level. It concludes that university teachers must necessarily take advantage of the-now-increasing avenues for knowledge nourishment widely provided by outstanding journals, conference, articles and scholarly books among other knowledge outlets. Teachers are urged to profiteer from the wide range of polished teaching options espoused and circulated via the media. It is the paper‘s view that implementing contemporary teaching methods is the only panacea to tackling the current phenomenon of qualification inflation that has virtually led to the reduction of the academic currency among graduates. The paper‘s firm belief is that with innovative teaching methods, teachers desire for excellence in the classroom is already a forgone conclusio

Determinants of Quality Education Delivery in Selected Public Universities in Ghana: Students’ Perceptions

The increased demand for higher education in recent years has thrown into question the issue of quality service. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that students perceive as the determinants of quality education service in selected public universities in Ghana. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, data were collected from 606 final year education students for the 2020/2021 academic year while six students were interviewed. From both quantitative and qualitative data, the study found that students perceived their universities to have a high SSR. Also, the quantitative data showed that there is a statistically significant difference in the perceived student-staff ratio scores in the three selected public universities. Finally, the study revealed that students' entry background characteristics such as gender, the programme of study, and age, and institutional factors (such as the personality of the teaching staff, academic factors, administrative systems, and SSR influenced quality education delivery rating (low, or high perceptions) of students. In view of the findings, the study advocated that since the educational enterprise is in competition, public universities should adopt innovative approaches to attract the mass of students wanting to enroll with them in the face of the global educational competition.</jats:p