PARTICULAR ISSUES OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN GHANA

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PARTICULAR ISSUES OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN GHANA

• Jophus Anamuah-Mensah,
• Vice Chancellor
• University of Education, Winneba, Ghana
• Margaret Benneh,
• Director, Teacher Education, GES Ghana

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Focus of Presentation

• Status and assessment of teachers
• Recruitment
• Type of training
• Teacher training framework

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Basic school statistics (2003-2004)
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Status

• Teachers salary constitute 66 of public payroll
• There are two strong teachers unions-GNAT and
  NAGRAT
• Teachers have a low self-esteem and are
  frustrated
• TVET teachers have better non-teaching job
  opportunities in industry

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Status

• Teacher education has unattractive social status,
  takes a longer time (7 yrs now5 yrs) to get a
  first degree and is not considered as tertiary
  education.
• Teaching suffers from chronic prestige
  deprivation, leading to inability to attract
  best candidate into TTCs
• Flows out from the teaching service - high rate
  of teachers leaving the service due to poor
  conditions of service.

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Assessment of teachers

• Assessment at end of pre-service- cert A, cert in
  Educ., Diploma, Bed or PGCE
• No formal assessment after employment
• Formal Appraisal for elevation to next grade or
  headship
• Informal assessment by public on the basis of
  their pupils performance in external exams
• MOES proposal to license and give teaching
  certificates

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Strategy to improve teaching profession

• Best Teacher and Best school Award Scheme
• Institutionalization of INSET for teachers
• Support for teachers on DE programmes
• Making salaries and conditions of service
  comparable to other professions
• Networking among teachers to facilitate
  information sharing and collegial support
• Teacher involvement in policy making bodies

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Strategy II

• Governments Incentive for teachers
• Provision of bicycles, motor bikes and housing
  for teachers in deprived areas
• accelerated promotion for teachers in such
  deprived areas
• Special quota for study leave with pay (to be
  implemented)
• The positions of Head of school and Departments
  should have salaries and other attractive
  conditions attached (new proposal)

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Challenges

• Institutionalization of peer review and
  continuous monitoring of teachers
• Implementation of incentive packages for
  teachers, especially those in deprived areas
• Implementation of teacher networking
• Institutionalization of INSET

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Recruitment

• In general recruitment should be based on
• Growth demand demographic changes and
  increasing enrolment
• Policy-driven demand changes in targets such as
  P/T ratio or curriculum emphasis
• Replacement demand replacement of teachers who
  leave the service
• However, it is affected by
• Limiting capacities of existing TTCs
• Entry level qualification

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Vacancy situation

• A total of 652 primary schools with one or no
  teacher (GES 2001)
• Before 2001, over 10,000 teachers left their
  classrooms annually to pursue further studies
  with pay this has reduced to about 5000
  However, TTCs produce only about 8,500
  Certificate A teachers annually
• Flight from basic to SSS teaching after
  upgrading
• Dearth of science, Maths, TVET and English
  teachers

Basic education needs 15,000 teachers annually
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Strategies for quality training despite
increasing teacher numbers

• Use of non-conventional methods
• Distance learning using print
• Use of e-learning
• School-based training with no institutional
  residence
• School-based training with residence

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Challenge

• To deploy e-learning in teacher training
• To institute recruitment procedures that will
  achieve demand-driven teacher education

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Type of training

• Teacher training has a national focus although
  colleges are located in all regions
• Teacher training utilizes the generalist and
  subject-training approaches
• Generalist - P1-6
• Specialist - JSS SSS
• Distance learning/Sandwich
• School attachment/internship

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Pathways to teacher education in Ghana
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Typology of Teacher Education programmes
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Teacher training framework
University of Education, Winneba
Faculty of Education University of Cape Coast
Permanent forum of Teacher Education with other
stakeholders, GNAT
Assessment, Certification Curriculum Development
and Review
Pre-service Training and INSET for Basic, SSS
and TVET institutions
Teacher Education Division of GES (policy
implementation)
38 Teacher Training Colleges (producing diploma
teachers for basic schools)
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Role of teacher educators

• Guide the development of trainees in acquisition
  of skills and knowledge
• Conduct research into teaching and teacher edu
• Act as models of best practice
• Implementation of policies on teacher educ
• Involvement in policy formulation/analysis
• Involved in curriculum reforms
• Resource persons at INSET for teachers

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Table Recurrent Public Expenditure Per Student
(constant 1996 US - 1996, US1c1637)

• Unit cost of
• Teacher educ
• Is higher than
• All levels except
• University
• Support to
• Teacher educ
• declined in 2001

Source Adapted from data in MOE, 1999/2002
Appendix 4.1 World Bank 1998 16
financing gap for 2001
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Status and factual situation of teacher training

• TTC profile
• Student enrolment-25,121
• Female - 42.7
• Annual output- 8,500
• Teaching staff - 1,457
• female staff - 36.5
• 2nd degree holders- 9.8
• Universities produce 4000 teachers
• DE has about 16,000 students

• Only 2.4 of the Ministry of Educations budget
  is allotted to teacher education
• Annually the government spends 47.25 billion
  cedis (about 6 million US dollars) on study leave
  with pay.
• Courses of study at the TTCs are not aligned to
  those offered in the universities

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Methodological and technical support for teacher
training

• IN-IN-IN-OUT programme for UEW
• IN-IN-OUT programme for TTCs
• DE modules used during OUT segment of TTC
  programme
• Provision of DVDs on selected teachers for
  school-based INSET on mentoring
• Use of DE for upgrading teachers
• Use of sandwich for Cert A teachers within HEI
  catchment area

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Methodological and technical support for teacher
training II

• Introduction of ICT in all TTCs
• National Teaching Council to license and give
  certificates to all teachers, enforce policy on
  ethical and professional standards and advise
  MOES

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The IN-IN-OUT programme
1st year IN
2nd year IN
3rd year OUT
SCHOOL
COLLEGE
COMMUNITY
Entry qualification is the same as that for
university Students Sponsored by District
Assemblies
Mentoring Use of DE modules College supervision
Face-to-face in College
Awards Diploma in Education Produces
generalist teacher
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UTTDBE
Stay in
Stay in
Stay in
OUT IN SCHOOL
OUT IN SCHOOL
OUT IN SCHOOL
OUT? IN SCHOOL
College during vacation
College during vacation
College during vacation
FREE DE MODULES
Student sponsorship by district assemblies and
NGOs Mentoring in school Use of district support
teams 4-year duration
Diploma certificate Produces generalist teachers
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The Internship at UEW

• Linking professional development to the life
  culture of schools
• School teacher as legitimate participant in
  professional development of the intern
• Establish formal collaboration between university
  and schools Formation of Professional
  development School
• Use the cognitive apprenticeship
  modelIntroduction of Mentoring system
• Action research as indispensable tool for
  reflection on native theories and professional
  growth of teachers
• Teacher as reflective decision maker
• Development of teaching philosophy
• Development of Portfolio as a tool for appraisal
  and reflection
• Involvement in community activities Use of DE
  modules

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Regional and international cooperation

• Carnegie Cooperation support to UEW for student
  internship and improvement in DE
• COL assistance in developing De modules for TVET
• Literacy programme for uncertified teachers
  through unesco
• ECOWAS initiative for teacher training through DE
• UNESCO capacity building for teacher training
  colleges- 552/GHA/1000 project

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in response to challenges
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THANK YOU