TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IN GHANA

TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IN GHANA [A paper delivered at a Reforming Ghana’s Educational System Retreat organized by The Institute of Economics Affairs under the Youth Capacity Building Initiative, held at Birdrock Hotel, Anomabo on Saturday, 16th September, 2017] By Dr. Prince H. Armah The Institute for Education Studies (IFEST), Accra Abstract This paper examines the teacher education space in Ghana, highlighting the key challenges and the way forward. The paper begins with reforms in the teacher education sector from the late 1980s, identifies the structure of the teacher education sector including quality issues that has bedeviled the field. It argues that improving teacher education and professional learning opportunities for in service and preservice teachers is a crucial step in transforming schools and improving academic achievement. By drawing on the experiences of other contexts, the paper concludes there is the need to improve teacher skills and knowledge to ensure that every teacher is able to teach increasingly diverse learners, knowledgeable about student learning, competent in complex subject matter content, and skillful at the craft of teaching. Reforms in teacher education from 1987 Teachers are at the core of quality learning outcomes for children (Darling-Hammond, 2000), making the quality of the teacher the single most important in-school influence on a student’s academic growth (Dave & Rajput, 2000). As a consequent, significant efforts have been made over the last three decades to ensure that the production of teachers in Ghana meet national aspirations and international standards. Major changes in terms of curriculum structure and reforms began following the introduction of the pre-tertiary education reform in 1987. Various policy interventions have been undertaken to improve the quality of teachers that graduate from our teacher education providers. This include attempts to structurally transform the education system and improve, considerably, opportunities for quality teaching and learning, infrastructure delivery as well as management efficiency (Quashigah, Dake, Bekoe, Eshun, & Bordoh, 2014). For 1 example, the sector has seen contextual alignment of educational needs to two customary lines of teacher development. The first and oldest being the Teacher Training Colleges (TTC), now the Colleges of Education (CoE) produce teachers for elementary or basic schools (kindergarten, primary and junior high schools). The other line has to do with the production of teachers for second-cycle or senior high schools, vocational and technical schools and colleges of education. There have been other reformations in the sector to increase accessibility and quality, including the Untrained Teacher’s Diploma in Basic Education (UTDBE) programme for practicing teachers who have not received initial professional teacher training, in-service programmes projected to improve qualifications of serving teachers, and distance education programs to ensure continuous, lifelong teacher education process. More recently, there has been the Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL) programme to improve delivery of teacher education across all 40 CoEs in the country, providing support for tutor professional development, leadership and management, curriculum assessment, instructional development, innovative initiatives among others. Structure of Teacher Education and Training Curricula in Ghana Initial Teacher Education is provided by 43 public and private Colleges of education (CoEs) and five public universities across Ghana and there are six routes to becoming a primary or secondary teacher in Ghana. They include: 1. A Three (3)-year Diploma in Basic Education for teachers of basic school (kindergarten, primary, and junior high school teachers) at the Colleges of Education. 2. A Two (2)-year post-Diploma in Basic Education for basic school teachers. Diploma in Basic Education certificate is a prerequisite for potential admission. 3. A Four (4)-year bachelor’s degree (e.g. B.Ed., BSc Ed) for basic and second cycle school teachers. 4. A two-year Diploma in Basic Education programme (on sandwich basis) for teachers who have already acquired initial professional teacher’s Certificate “A” (i.e. 3-Year postsecondary qualification). 5. A Four-year Untrained Teacher’s Diploma in Early Childhood (UTDBEC) programme for practicing teachers who have not received initial professional teacher training early childhood education provision 2 6. A one-year Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme for untrained teachers or graduates holding non education related qualifications. Initial teacher education programmes for basic and secondary education comprise (a) professional studies; (b) subject/curriculum studies relating to teaching subject areas across all stages of the primary age range (5 to 11 years) and (c) teaching practice during which subject areas are taught (MOESS, 2007). The purposes of the teacher education programmes are three-fold: a) to extend teachers’ own subject matter knowledge to a level significantly beyond what they are likely to teach in schools; b) to provide pupils with a general understanding of the basic principles of teaching the school curriculum; and c) to familiarize pupils with practical approaches to instruction and evaluation commonly used in basic and secondary school education. It aims to provide experiences for pre-service school teachers to enhance their understanding of the curriculum and develop effective strategies for classroom instruction and assessment. Mode of Instruction The recommended method of instruction is a combination of lectures, individual/group work, class discussions/teaching, and hands-on/minds-on activities (MOESS 2007). Although the course emphasizes learning to teach the subjects in practical and experiential contexts, evidence appears to suggest otherwise (Akyeampong, 2003). In practice, the teacher education institutions have adopted an approach to teaching and learning that appears to lack practical orientation. This problem has roots in the educational tradition of the Ghanaian education system which emphasizes didactic and teacher-centred exposition as a main educational method (Ampadu, 2012). In effect, our initial teacher education programmes do not seem capable of altering traditional beliefs about teaching and learning (i.e. that good teaching involves a large amount of direct transmission by an enthusiastic teacher) or developing new attitudes and dispositions in teaching. Given that teachers may naively consider their beliefs as knowledge, teacher beliefs need to be incorporated in the curriculum to challenge them to engage in the exploration of their beliefs and expectations (Anderson & Holt-Reynolds, 1995). A 21st century teacher is expected to demonstrate high standards professional behaviour in support of learners and in meeting their expectations (DarlingHammond, 2006). This may involve change in teachers’ role as custodians and transmitters of knowledge to facilitators in the teaching-learning process and viewing the learner as an active 3 participative person in learning. However, if the 21st century teacher is to succeed at this expectation, teacher education and training institutions must design programmes that transform the kinds of settings in which both the novices and the experienced teachers teach and become competent teachers. Challenges to Teacher Education in Ghana Despite monumental evolvement and progress in the teacher education sector, significant concerns still about the quality of teacher being produced. For instance, the minimum entry requirement for the teacher education colleges is the Senior Secondary Certificate with credits in English, one Ghanaian Language, Mathematics and Science, or a pass in English, a Ghanaian Language, Mathematics and Science. However, there is deep concern about the numeracy of Ghanaian secondary school graduates, particularly the report that many trainees possess weak content background knowledge which, in turn, undermines their confidence and ability to teach effectively even after completing initial teacher education (Anamuah-Mensah Report, 2002). In fact, Akyeampong’s (2003) study suggested that the majority of beginning student teachers barely meet the qualifying grades in English and Mathematics with less than 30% of those who qualify possessing grades in the top pass category of A, B or C in English and/or Mathematics. This is partly due to the fact that the CoEs are unable to attract better academically qualified candidates (Akyeampong, 2003). Much of the teacher education debate in Ghana has focused on expanding access to teacher training, resulting in previous government’s withdrawal of the teacher trainee allowance with the view to enabling the Colleges of Education (CoEs) admit more applicants. While policy on access can address problems of high proportions of untrained teachers in the system, a wide consensus recognizes the need to address quality challenges beyond increasing enrolment and upgrading teacher training colleges to diploma awarding institutions, as presently the case (New Ghana, 2015). One such quality challenge is a disparity between the professional values and skills demanded from a 21st century teacher and those available among the teaching population, especially beginning teachers. For example, a report by a DFID funded project, (T-TEL), has observed that, the Diploma in Basic Education curriculum does not adequately prepare trainees to teach in Ghanaian schools (T-TEL Ghana, 2015). The curriculum has a limited connection to the 4 real-world needs of teachers. Once teachers finish their training programme, they enter a profession that continues to treat them as people lesser than other highly-skilled professionals. Professional development for teachers is generally low and questionable. Salaries are based not on performance in the classroom or impact on student learning but rather on one’s credentials and years of teaching. Demand and Supply of High Quality Teachers Teacher provision for education at the pre-tertiary levels in Ghana is characterized by excess demand of teachers over supply for teachers, culminating into what has been termed as teacher shortage in the country, as well as a huge presence of untrained teachers. The number of basic schools (preschool, primary and JHS), for instance, has seen significantly increase in recent times, following private-school sector contributions and major policy interventions by successive governments, including efforts to relocate schools under trees to proper classrooms, among others. As a consequent, gross enrolment in schools has been growing, mounting upsurge pressure on basic education delivery and on teacher quality issues. For example, whilst enrolment in the basic schools rose by 93.4%, from 4,154,374 in 2001 to 8,034,708 in 2015 and the number of teachers during the same period also rose by 97.6% from 155,879 to 308,083, the total pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) has not change (Education Management Information System (EMIS) Data, 2001, 2015). The pupil-teacher ratio was 1:27 in 2001 and 1:27 in 2015, suggesting that even though provision of teachers has increased, it has not satisfactorily yielded expected results on PTR. Besides, the number of teachers are inflated with the presence of large number of untrained teachers, especially in the private-school sector. In 2015, the private schools only had 14,106 out of 14,860 teachers at the kindergarten level, 38,779 out of 42,213 at the primary level, and 21,810 out of 26,119 at the JHS. This has huge implications on quality teaching and learning in the classrooms including student academic achievement (Ajani & Akinyele, 2014). Thus, ensuring high quality of teachers ranks as a matter of high concern for a developing nation like Ghana, given the pervasive role teachers play in the implementation of any proposed school curricular. 5 How preservice and in-service teachers learn Many recent studies on teacher learning suggests that teacher learning occurs in at least two realms: the individual and the interpersonal. Preservice teachers learn how to teach and possibly construct their professional identities by making connections between theory and practice. As they progress through their Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme, they learn to understand the theories and principles of learning, and familiarize themselves with practical approaches to instruction and evaluation commonly used in schools. This helps them to consider effective ways of learning as they begin to think about how to plan lessons. On campus, teachers often carry out lesson preparation in groups initially and then individually and try these out with mock lessons, teaching each other. They get formative feedback. They evaluate and think about what went well and what needs development for both them as teachers and the pupils they are teaching. Off campus, during which they have opportunities to develop their practical teaching skills in assigned schools, they observe, make reflective notes and carry out ‘learning conversations’ with the school staff. This helps them to develop their ability to collect, examine and justify their own classroom decisions, reflectively change ineffective practices, experience different contexts, recognize the diversity of learners and facilitate the development of a supportive teaching community. Pre-service teachers also learn how to teach by deconstructing and reconstructing their views on teaching and learning. Through their previous experience as students, they collect a wide range of experiences, both positive and negative, and come onto the ITE programme with understandings about the nature of the subject specialism (e.g. mathematics), what it means to know and how to teach it. These experiences, understood as their epistemic beliefs, act as a filter to their thought process, decisions and actions and do not only affect the way they learn but also what and how they teach their pupils in future. Of course, as they progress through the programme and even after they have graduated they keep shaping and reshaping their beliefs about their subject specialism and its teaching and learning. Giving that knowledge today may not be entirely useful tomorrow, ongoing professional development has generally been recognized as having an important role in ensuring that teachers are part of a skilled and up-to-date profession. For most in-service teachers, professional learning is the most accessible means they have to develop the new knowledge, skills, and practices necessary to better meet students' learning needs. By professional learning, I mean all the set of 6 continuous learning activities that teachers engage in to develop their expertise and experience across all areas of their professional practice. As they progress through their careers, they need to be supported to identify, plan and develop their own professional learning needs and to ensure continuing development of professional practice. Instructional change amongst teachers’ can be occasioned by their professional development sessions and the learning opportunities afforded by their interactions with colleagues, which lead to better learning outcomes. Such learning opportunities appear to relate more closely to teachers’ classroom contexts, and often involve active participation and collaboration between teachers, making significant impact on their instructional paradigm. Social interactions, and specifically advice seeking, are associated with knowledge transfer, which is essential for teachers learning and pedagogical skills development (Frank Zhao, & Borman, 2004). There is some evidence linking higher improved learning outcomes with teacher participation in sustained formal professional development that is grounded in context-specific pedagogy (Darling-Hammond, 2000) and well aligned with policy changes (Cohen & Hill, 2002; Hill, 2007). Importantly, the extant literature on teacher collaboration suggest that learning is fostered when teachers engage in conversations about new materials (Davis, 2003). Raising standards in the teaching profession through the National Teaching Council Currently, every country has its own teaching council with specific objective to register professionally qualified teachers before they can practice. Every country has its own requirements that professional teachers should meet in order to be registered and certificated to teach. Scotland and Canada, two countries with high profile teaching regulatory bodies, offer valuable policy lessons in teacher professional education in this context. Specifically, the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC Scotland, 1965)- the oldest teaching council in the world- and the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT, 1996) are noted as high profile, and have been the most influential in the establishment of other similar bodies in several countries including Australia4 (Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards [BOSTES, 2014]), New Zealand (New Zealand Teachers Council [NZTC, 2001]), South Africa (South African Council for Educators [SACE, 2001], Thailand (Teachers Council of Thailand [TCT, 2003]), Nigeria (Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria [TRCN, 1993]) and Jamaica (Jamaica Teaching Council [JTC, 2009]), with varying power and authority (Monteiro, 2014). In the USA every state has its own 7 teaching council that registers professionally qualified teachers and certificated with a license to practice. In Ghana, the Education Act (Act 778) passed by the country’s Parliament in 2008 calls for an establishment of a similar self-regulatory body for teaching, to be known as the National Teaching Council (NTC), with responsibility for setting professional standards, registering and licensing teachers (Education Act, 2008 [Act 778]). This follows many years of concerns about the high number of unqualified teachers working in Ghanaian schools, and the need to ensure an effective and well-trained teaching profession. At present, the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) together with their international partners have developed policy documents in operationalizing this aspect of the Act. In particular, the operational framework for National Teaching Council (NTC) has been developed as part of the Ghana Education Decentralization Project (GEDP) with the support of the United states Agency for International Development (USAID) (World University Service of Canada (WUSC), 2012). The NTC has a governing council, inaugurated recently, which should submit performance reports to the Minister for Education. The secretariat of the NTC is headed by an Executive Secretary who doubles as the Registrar. It would appear that, this arrangement including the language of other policy documents relating to the implementation of the NTC could potentially undermine its efficiency, fairness and robustness due to the reasons highlighted in the next section. For instance, the NTC in collaboration with the GES has developed a Handbook for Teachers on Performance Management Professional Requirements Manual. The handbook seeks to highlight the key benchmarks for appraising the performance of teachers by head teachers or heads of departments (National Teaching Council/ Ghana Education Service, n.d.). Although, it attempts to provide some standards of practice for the teaching profession, no indication is given on how the supposed standards were derived. The question then is whose standards are they? The Ministry of Education, through the National Teaching Council has piloted the scheme for the registration and licensing of teachers in Shai Osudoku, Upper Manya Krobo, Ajumako-EnyanEssiam, Kassena-Nankana East and Savelugu Nanton districts (Ministry of Finance, 2015), although the results of the pilot is not yet available. It is argued that, the NTC agenda if properly implemented could give Ghanaian teachers the much-needed professional skills and competitive 8 edge. Three key benefits of such a body can be derived. First, it would provide high quality teaching and learning experiences, ensuring learners achieve their optimum best. Second, it would provide teachers with a clear independent, representative and authoritative voice for the profession on teaching issues, which could transform the professional status and enhance public confidence in the teaching profession. Third, a greater emphasis on a regulatory body’s qualification standards would streamline and improve the existing disparities in the teaching qualification standards among the teacher education providers in the country, securing equality and consistency of learning opportunity for all trainees. In order to make teaching to become a mobile profession worldwide, there is need to transform our NTC into an international teaching council, one whose professional teaching licenses for practitioners would be recognized worldwide to make teacher mobility from country to country easy and fulfilling. Conclusion Teacher education and professional learning forms the core to realizing set nation and international goals, including achieving the global focus of quality education at all levels of education. Ghana’s journey of teacher education and provision of professional learning opportunities for teachers has made remarkable strides, in the face of some notable challenges. However, as long as all stakeholders do not discontinue efforts to improve the teacher education sector, the delivery of education can only get better than what it is today. References Ajani, I. R., & Akinyele, O. B. (2014). Effects of student-teacher ratio on academic performance of selected school students in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Journal of Education and Practice, 5(24), 100-107. Akyeampong, K. (2003). Teacher training in Ghana—Does it count? (MUSTER Country Report One). Sussex, UK: DFID. Ampadu, E. (2012). 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