Professionals without a Profession? The Paradox of Contradiction about Teaching as a Profession in Ghana

Today almost every worker claims to be a professional and their occupation a profession. To teachers the question of professionalism is very important; it influences the quality of education they provide for children as well as the quality of their lives as teachers. Yet, how professionalism is defined and what constitute a profession have been sites of academic and ideological struggle between union leaders, bureaucrats and academics played out in a variety of settings. This paper reports on a study that investigated teachers’ conception of professionalism and profession. It examined teachers’ views of themselves as professionals and of teaching as a profession. The research adopted a descriptive survey approach. Evidence was gathered through administering questionnaire to teachers who had undergone pre-service professional training at bachelor’s degree level, taught for at least three years and were upgrading their professional qualification to master’s degree level. It was found that while teachers saw themselves as professionals, they did not think that teaching in Ghana qualified as a full-fledged profession. This apparent ‘paradox of contradiction’ is vital knowledge for understanding individual actions by teachers and their attitude to collective actions by teacher organisations such as the Ghana National Association of Teachers and the National Association of Graduate Teachers. Keywords: profession, professional, professionalization, professionalism, teaching

Moving from Page to Playground: The Challenges and Constraints of Implementing Curriculum in Ghana

The process of translating curriculum intentions into practice, that is to say moving from page to playground, is acknowledged by curriculum experts as the most critical phase of the educational change process. It often is fraught with challenges and constraints which, if not handled expeditiously, lead to implementation failure – a characteristic of most innovations and reforms in education. Drawing on the literature on curriculum implementation and using evidence from curriculum implementation studies conducted in Ghana, this paper argues that the main reasons for the failure of educational programme implementation in the country appear to be the lack of appreciation by both experts outside the school system and educators in the system of the practical imperatives and implications of the phenomenon of curriculum implementation, and, consequently, the inability to address these at the point of need. The paper further traces the roots of many of the problems that have confronted the implementation of curricula in Ghana to inadequate pre-implementation preparations, and makes recommendations for achieving successful curriculum implementation in the future. Keywords: curriculum change, curriculum implementation, educational change, implementation failure, obstacles to implementatio

Improving the Practical Aspect of Pre-Service Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Issues of Conceptualization, Planning and Management

Teaching practicum, variously called teaching practice, professional practice, professional experience, practical experience, school experience, has always been part of teacher education regardless of the approach taken. The Standard Council of the Teaching Profession (1998, p.10) defines teaching practicum as: a period of time spent in schools where the prime focus for the trainee teacher is to practice teaching under the supervision of a mentor who should be trained for this job, to spend time with teachers and classes, observing, teaching small groups and whole classes, and undertaking the range of tasks that make up the teacher’s role including planning, assessing and reporting

Exploring Strategies to Retain Basic School Teachers in Ghana: What can We Learn from the Literature?

Debates about the major causes of teacher shortage have centered on issues such as insufficient numbers of people preparing to teach, early attrition of those in the teaching pool and increased student enrolments and teacher retirements. While each of these factors may be particularly significant in a given country and at a given time, there is evidence that in Ghana and many countries currently facing a teacher shortage problem, attrition, that is, those teachers who leave the profession for reasons other than retirement, is the driving force. Yet, issues pertaining to teacher retention have received little attention in teacher education policy in Ghana. This paper surveys and presents a comprehensive review of the literature on teacher attrition and retention. The paper aims to identify cues and pointers that could inform policies of retaining qualified teachers in the classrooms of Ghana and other countries experiencing disturbing rates of teacher attrition. Keywords: Attrition, qualified teachers, retention policies, teacher retention, teacher shortage, turnover

Solving the Teacher Shortage Problem in Ghana: Critical Perspectives for Understanding the Issues

The problem of getting sufficient numbers of qualified teachers to staff classrooms is one of the most significant public policy issues facing many countries. In Ghana, the problem of teacher shortage has been a perennial one, necessitated by educational expansion as well as adverse socio-economic and political circumstances, and exacerbated by high attrition rate. Efforts to find a solution are still ongoing. This paper aims to contribute to the search for solutions to the teacher shortage problem in Ghana. The paper takes the view that before education policy makers think about whether to recruit more teachers or retain existing teachers, it is important that they clearly understand the complex nature of the phenomenon of teacher shortage. The paper, therefore, reconceptualises the phenomenon of teacher shortage, clarifying it by disentangling and explicating its constituent variables. It also discusses various policy options for addressing teacher shortages, and indicates the implications of those options for teaching quality and teacher status. The ultimate objective is to provide a framework for analysing the problem of teacher shortage in a more critical way so that any interventions would be more focused and appropriately targeted. Keywords: Attrition, qualified teachers, teacher demand, teacher shortage, teacher supply

Engaging with Methodological Issues in Qualitative Research: Sharing Personal Experience to Benefit Novice Researchers

In Ghana and many African countries, students in tertiary education institutions are less familiar with qualitative research methodologies, despite the legion literature on this subject and its popularity in western higher education institutions. In this paper, I share my experience on how I engaged with methodological issues in a qualitative study which I conducted. The paper seeks to demonstrate that despite the apparently messy nature of qualitative research, its characteristics, principles and defining canons are translatable from theory to practice, from rhetoric to reality, and from the pages of textbooks to the pragmatics of research. The paper aims to provide insights to novice researchers who have interest in qualitative research methodologies but feel hesitant to apply them. Hopefully, the fears of such researchers would be allayed and they would be emboldened to venture into this exciting and excellent area of research. Keywords: Credibility, positivism, post-positivism, qualitative research, research paradigm

Supporting the Continuing Professional Development of Teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Integrated Teacher Education Model

Periodically, school operations come under intense review as we take inventory of what has worked and what improvements still need to be made. In fact we label time periods by major events and trends, e.g. back-to-basics (Smith, 1978). As we move into the second decade of a new millennium, we are reflecting and projecting to see where we have been and where we need to be going. We are asking what we have learned and what needs to occur to improve education and our country. The importance of teachers and teacher leadership in education is gaining attention (York-Barr & Duke, 2004; Donaldson, 2006; Silva 2000; Rhodes, C., M. Brundrett, et al., 2008). This article addresses the role spirituality plays in 21st century school leadership

Ghanaian Teachers’ Career Orientations and Their Turnover Intentions

The study empirically investigated what career anchors were dominant among Ghanaian teachers, and whether the teachers’ career orientations significantly influenced their turnover intentions. The study employed the quantitative survey design and sampled 297 teachers (141 males, 156 females) from basic schools (year 1-9) and senior high schools (year 10-12). The average age of the participants was 31.4 years. Two sets of standardized instruments – Schein’s 8-factor Career Orientations Inventory and the 3-item Turnover Intention Scale from the Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire were adapted to collect data for the study. The data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. It was found that, of the eight measures of the Career Orientations Inventory, service and dedication to a cause, entrepreneurial creativity and functional competence were the most dominant among the teachers. Concerning the influence of the various career anchor measures on turnover intentions, the results indicate that, all the anchors, except security and stability and service and dedication to cause, significantly influenced turnover intentions of teachers. The implications of these results are discussed and recommendations made to help curb teacher attrition in Ghanaian schools. Keywords: Career orientation, carer anchor, turnover intentions, teachers, Ghanaian

How Confident are Kindergarten Teachers in Their Ability to Keep Order in the Classroom? A Study of Teacher Efficacy in Classroom Management

The objective of the study was to investigate kindergarten teachers’ efficacy beliefs in classroom management. The sample size was 299 teachers drawn from both public and private kindergarten schools in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. The efficacy beliefs of the teachers with respect to their classroom management practices were measured on a six-point Likert agreement survey questionnaire. Findings from the study indicated that kindergarten teachers in the study area had high efficacy beliefs in classroom management practices. No statistically significant difference was found in the efficacy beliefs in classroom management practices of trained and untrained kindergarten teachers, and of public and private kindergarten teachers. The study drew the conclusion that the professional status of the teachers (i.e. whether they were trained or untrained) and their institutional placement (i.e. whether they taught in a public or private school) were not important influential factors in the teachers’ efficacy beliefs in classroom management. Recommendations for early childhood teacher education programme and research are made. Keywords: Classroom management practices, early childhood teacher education, kindergarten teachers, self-efficacy belief

Exploring the Instructional Practices Efficacy Beliefs of Kindergarten Teachers in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana

The influence of teacher efficacy beliefs on children’s cognitive achievements and success at school is accepted among educators internationally and well established in the literature. Yet, teachers’ sense of efficacy beliefs in the various aspects of their work at different levels of the education system continues to be investigated by researchers. Within the context of a developing country implementing a new curriculum, this study explores the efficacy beliefs of kindergarten teachers regarding instructional practices. Using an eight-point Likert-type survey questionnaire, the efficacy beliefs of 299 public and private kindergarten teachers in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana with respect to instructional practices are examined. Research findings indicate that kindergarten teachers in the metropolis have high efficacy beliefs in instructional practices. No statistically significant difference was found in the efficacy beliefs in instructional practices of public and private kindergarten teachers, but statistically significant difference was found in the efficacy beliefs of trained and untrained teachers. Implications for early childhood teacher education are drawn and recommendations made. Keywords: Efficacy beliefs, instructional practices, kindergarten, social cognitive theory, teacher efficac