TEACHING AS A PROFESSION

THE CONCEPT OF TEACHING

It is necessary that we understand clearly what the concept teaching exactly means. Teaching
and learning are opposite sides of the same coin, for a lesson is not taught until it has been
learned. Teaching therefore cannot be said to have occurred without the supposed learner.
However, teaching does not depend on learner any more than the learning depends on
teaching.
Misconceptions about the teaching profession
• Teachers have poor conditions of service: It is important to note that, teaching is a
profession that demands a lot of sacrifice, this does not mean that the profession is not
lucrative. People have this notion because; most of the time, dissatisfied teachers dump the
profession for so called “better” ones blaming the profession as having poor conditions such
as; low teacher salary, weak entry requirements, unfavourable conditions to teacher
professional development (further studies), posting issues, just to mention a few. The salary
scale appropriate to each professional teacher is determined by the single spine salary
structure which caters not only for teachers but also other professionals with similar
characteristics.
• Codes of ethics are not rigidly enforced. Some people share the notion that, the teaching
profession have very liberal and flexible measures guiding its members. People argue there is
poor monitoring strategies, less or no sanctions for members who default. This is also a
misconception. Ghana Education Service has well defined code of ethics that specify the
expected conducts of its members. The professional code of conducts includes the following;
a) A teacher shall prepare relevant and adequate teaching notes in advance and it shall be the
responsibility of the head of institution to see to it that this is done.
b) A teacher shall report for duty punctually and in good time before school work begins.
c) No teacher shall bring babies or children under school going age to school.
d) No teacher shall refuse to go on transfer or accept posting.
• Low level of expertise; Some people argue that, anyone at all can be a teacher and that the
profession have a lot of untrained personnel on the field who are doing better. It is true that
the teaching profession has a number of untrained persons, their percentage is very
insignificant. This also results from the high demand of teachers to match the pupil-teacher
ratio the country experience at any point in time. More so, there are a lot of opportunities for
teachers who wish to update themselves by means of regular, sandwich and distance
programmes. In the case of the untrained teachers in the system, there have been batches of
professional programme called Untrained Teachers Diploma Basic Education (UTDBE).
• Entry to the profession is not restricted; There has been the notion that, unlike other
professions, teaching has no rigid entry. Once you acquire the training and certificate, you
automatically become a teacher; you are therefore posted to commerce your profession. This
trend existed though, but it is no longer so. Now trainees who have attended colleges of
education and universities to become teachers would have to write licensing examination and
undergo National Service before gaining entry into the profession. Trainees who do not pass
their licensing examination and serve the nation for one as a national service policy
requirement are not considered as professional teachers.
• People enter the teaching profession only because they have no alternative; It is sad that
people believe that the teaching profession is full of individuals who are incapable of doing
anything else. Teachers are brilliant. There is significantly high percentage of people who
join the profession because they have the drive and passion of working with young people. It
takes an exceptional individual to be an educator. Many teachers had the chance to be in

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other careers that are more lucrative and less stressful, yet they chose to be teachers because
they wanted to have an impact on learners they come into contact with.
• Low Social Esteem; People see the teaching profession as not been prestigious, and so they
discourage their families and friends not to get into it. The argument is based on the
misconceptions raised earlier on. They have the notion that, the profession has poor
conditions of service, non-rigid code of ethics, low level of expertise etc. All these thoughts
are inaccurate and faulty. The teaching profession now is one of the lucrative, attractive and
one of the highly patronized careers. Teachers play a vital role in the development of our
country. When things go wrong with the social, moral and psychological development of
children, parents as well as the society primarily blame the school and indirectly blaming the
teacher. More so, Teachers just like other professionals are able to cater for their wards to
other levels like universities and even beyond. Teachers are able to fix for themselves and
their family’s properties and they live very comfortable lives.
Sources of people’s Misconceptions about the teaching Profession
• Unsatisfied professionals: Some teachers in the profession view the profession as having a
lower status compared with other professions. They are not satisfied with the conditions of
the profession and for that matter they speculate and misinform the people around them about
the profession. They fail to admit the prospects of the profession on the contrary; they
influence people around them with their inaccurate notions.
• The Media: People use the following media such as the print (Newspapers, magazines), the
electronic (radio, television, internet) and the social (WhatsApp, twitter, Facebook) as means
of giving inaccurate information to the public about the teaching profession. This inaccurate
information in most cases leaves misconceptions on the minds of viewers and listeners. Most
people in recent times rely on social media especially for information and when this uploaded
information is wrong or misleading, lot of misconceptions are created.
• Imprecise language: The use of ambiguous language in describing or explaining an issue
or a subject in most cases creates an understanding the speaker never intended. When the
language used is not understood well, it may misconstrue the true meaning of the subject and
can cause a misconception.
• Personal Unguided Observation: Some personal experience or observation by someone
about the teaching profession may lead to incorrect conclusion or belief which will eventually
create a misconception on others.
What is Teaching? The nature of teaching can be inferred from the various definitions that
have been given to teaching by different authorities. Some of these definitions include the
following:
Omane-Akuamoah et al (2004) explain teaching as an activity performed by a more
experienced and knowledgeable person with the view to helping a less experienced and
knowledgeable person to learn. This means that, the teacher is expected to be more
experienced and knowledgeable than the learner.
Nacino-Brown et al (2003), emphasis the transfer of skills, attitude and knowledge from one
person to another. Their emphasis is on the goal of teaching which is to bring about a desired
change in the learner, Khalil Gibran (1993) on the other hand saw teaching as guiding and
stimulating learners to think for themselves and to find solutions to the problems of life.
Melby (1963) proposed that meaningful teaching calls for the full and active participation of
learners. This task requires the teacher to;
• accept new ideas and experiences
• create an appropriate environment for learning
• recognize the individual differences of learning
Koomson et al (2000) explained that teaching is an activity performed by a more experienced
and knowledge person and aimed at helping the less experienced person to learn.

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The above definitions make the essence of teaching clear in the following direction:
• Teaching involves assisting the learner to either acquire or change some knowledge, skills
or attitudes
• Teaching is a process that facilitates learning
• Students learn best by doing. Teaching should the reform involve the full and active
• Participation of learners
• Teaching cannot take place without a learner but learning does not necessarily need
teaching.
• Teaching aims at bringing about a desired change in the learner.
Teaching usually involves face-to-face interpersonal relationships between the educator and
the learner. Also, every activity engaged by the pupils in the teaching process is goal oriented
or has a purpose that is intended to facilitate behavioural change in the learner.
Types of teaching: There are two methods of teaching. They are as follows;
Direct method: This is a type of teaching where experienced person consciously imparts
knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to less experienced person.
Indirect method: Here the experienced person unconsciously imparts knowledge, skills,
attitudes and values to less experienced person. One can learn unconsciously by coping or
imitating another person or by reading on his/her own.
Is teaching an art or a science? Omane-Akuamoah et al (2004) described teaching as an art
as well as a science. Teaching as an art is explained in terms of the different skills or tools,
verbal and non-verbal communication skills and materials and learning activities presented in
a meaningful way to pupils. This implies that the teacher should be competent in the action
system and subject matter knowledge. As an art, teaching is again influenced by personality.
Personality which deals with the totality of the physical and psychological characteristics to
the individuals. Such characteristics include attitudes, knowledge and ideas. A teacher who
has positive personality attributes tend to make a good impact on pupils in the classroom than
one who has a negative disposition. Some people are said to be natural teachers though they
don’t have any training in teaching methodology. Their teaching involves instinct when
imparting knowledge, and as such teach according to their personalities, in such situations
teaching becomes an art. For instance, Jesus Christ, Aristotle, Socrates, Buddha etc.
undertook teaching as an art.
Teaching as a science is also seen in term of its structured methodology and the application of
scientifically tested principles and theories that lead to stabilized patterns in the teaching-
learning process. Koomson et al (2000) asserts that the scientific aspect of teaching is seen in
its theoretical basis and applications as it explains, predicts and controls the behaviour of the
teacher and affects the way pupil learn. Following the scientific method thus enables the
teacher to predict the outcomes of teaching and learning and therefore gain a measure of
control on the factors that may influence his/her own behaviour and that of the learners.
Teaching as a science is also seen in term of its dynamism as new methods, techniques and
materials are constantly being tested and implemented to improve the teaching –learning
process each day.
In modern times teachers are trained through a body of systematized knowledge on teaching
methodology. They also study the nature of human development and psychology. Knowledge
in psychology and human development has been obtained through scientific investigations
which have been developed into theories and models. Researchers have come out with the
different teaching approaches and their classroom implications. Any method that a teacher
uses has its intended outcome. In this situation teaching is a science.

What is a profession? Profession is derived from the word ‘profiteor” meaning to profess. A
profession can also be defined as a vocation that involves experts with specialized training

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and great skill in providing a recognized service which requires such defined professional
skill at a high standard. A profession can also be defined as one’s life-long occupation in
which one has been specially trained and which one’s means of livelihood is. Antwi (1992)
posits that a profession is an occupation especially one requiring an advanced education and
special training in its relevant discipline. For example, law, architecture, medicine, pharmacy,
etc.
Is Teaching a Profession? Reading (1983), states that a profession is an occupation
characterized by skilled intellectual technique, voluntary association and a code of ethics.
This implies that for one to term a job as a profession, there are certain characteristics one
needs to look out for. We can only say teaching is a profession only if it meets the following
characteristics.
Characteristics a Profession
• Specialized Body of Knowledge: Every profession needs a fairly long period of training or
preparation in which its members will obtain knowledge and skills in order to operate. Under
modern conditions, teaching is becoming less of an art and more of a science as research
reveals more about the process of learning and the best way to communicate information. To
practice as a teacher therefore requires a core of specialized knowledge and skills and a high
level of intelligence is needed. In Ghana, teacher trainees currently need to undergo a 4-year
training in the Colleges of Education and Universities for both theoretical and practical
training so that, trainees will be well equipped with broad knowledge and skills to be
teachers. Specialized programmes are offered to give more room for mastery of subjects to be
taught in schools at all level.
• Control of Entry: Membership of a professional body is not automatic. It is usually
restricted. Aspirants must fulfill certain specified conditions of training, discipline and
service and/or experiences before they can be included in the fraternity. In addition, there is
official application, processing of the admission, registry, before formal acceptance or
induction. For example, after completion of College examinations, licensing exams are
conducted and those
who pass are accepted into the profession, if not, that person is regarded as an unqualified
teacher.
• Code of Professional Conduct: All professions must have code of ethics which guides the
conduct of the members This code of ethics serves as a point of reference for discipline
among members in the profession. The essence of a code of ethics is to guarantee
responsibility on the part of the profession to its clients. The code of ethics prescribes proper
professional conduct for members. Like other professions, teachers have published code of
conducts that governs the behaviour of their members in relation to the learners they teach,
parents, colleagues and all other stakeholders. In Ghana, the Ministry of Education and the
Ghana Education Service have published codes of professional conducts which guides the
teaching profession.
Qualities of a good teacher
• A good teacher has deep Knowledge for the Subject Matter: There is a saying that a teacher
is only as good as what they know. The best teachers are those that clearly love their subjects
and pass that passion and desire to learn more and impart onto their students.
• Excellent Communication Skills: A good teacher must have some good communication
skills which include; verbal, nonverbal, and visual that is speaking, writing, imagery, body
language, and the organization of ideas into understandable structures. He/she knows when
communication is effectively to the learners and when it is not.
• Friendliness and Approachability: Because it's the teacher's job to help students learn, a
good teacher must be easy to approach. Students will have questions that can't be answered if
the teacher isn't friendly and easy to talk to.

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• Preparation and Organization Skills: No matter how charming you are, if you are a teacher
and you show up for a class without an excellent plan on how to teach your material(s), you
won't succeed. Great teachers spend endless hours outside of the classroom preparing,
designing lessons, learning more (both about their subject matter specifically and how to
teach, in general), participating in professional development, and thinking of fresh and
interesting ways to reach the learners.
• Collaborates with colleagues: A good teacher will always be willing to learn new things and
allowed to be fed with ideas from colleagues in other to improve on skills in teaching.
• Enthusiastic, accessible, and caring: An excellent teacher should always be happy and
smiles despite his or her personal issues.
• Effective discipline skills and good time manager: A good teacher will discipline learners
effectively and will promote positive behaviours and change in the classroom.
• Fairness and Justice: A teacher treats all the students equally.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE FOUR- YEAR BACHELOR OF EDUCATION
PROGRAMME.
The vision for the Four-Year Bachelor of Education Degree Programme: To prepare
new teachers to become effective, engaging and inspirational, and be fully prepared to teach
the basic school curriculum, the National Teachers’ Standards (NTS) has these set aims
which include; to instil in the new teachers the Nation’s core values of honesty, integrity,
creativity and responsible citizenship and to achieve inclusive, equitable, high quality
education for all learners in line with Sustainable Development Goals four (SDG4). The
Four-Year Bachelor of Basic Education Degree (B.Ed.) is fully aligned with the expectations,
principles and practices set out in the National Teacher Education Curriculum Framework
(NTECF).
Objectives of the curriculum: The curriculum is designed to prepare teachers who: are
equipped with professional skills, attitudes and values, secure content knowledge as well as
the spirit of enquiry, innovation and creativity that will enable them to adapt to changing
conditions, use inclusive teaching strategies, engage in life-long learning and demonstrate
honesty, integrity and good citizenship in all they do, have a passion for teaching and
learning, and are able to reflect on their
practice, engage with members not only in the school community but also in the wider
community.
It also aims at preparing teachers to act as potential agents of change, demonstrate attainment
of the minimum levels of practice for a good teacher.
Summary of how each year programme will be.
• Year One: Beginning teaching provides support for the transition from pre-tertiary schools
to colleges. This is to recognize that many student teachers will have come from school level
education and from a wide range of backgrounds and experience. Year one introduces the key
principles and practices of the subjects and learning areas and supported teaching in school
within the wider curriculum thereby ensuring that student teachers can locate their
specialisms.
• Year Two: Developing teaching. Student teachers elect for one of the three specialism
programmes but key features from year one continues to be developed as relevant to each
specialism. The second year prepares student teachers to identify and assess weaknesses and
barriers to learning for learners and carry out small-scale action research under the guidance
of mentors.
• Year Three: Embedding teaching, year three, student teachers will continue to build skills,
knowledge and understanding in their chosen specialism. They will co-plan and co-teach
groups of learners and whole classes; carry out small-scale action classroom enquiries and

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provide evidence of working towards meeting the NTS. Year three includes preparation for
year four.
• Year four (Semester 1): Final supported teaching in school (internship) and for significant
classroom-based enquiry and action research projects.
• Year four (Semester 2): Students will return to college to complete some courses. By the
end of the fourth year, extending teaching, student teachers will: plan, teach and assess their
learners independently and with increasing consistency; exhibit the ethical codes of conduct,
values and attitudes expected of a teacher, carry out extensive action research projects and
provide evidence of meeting the National Teachers’ Standards in full.
The four pillars of the Curriculum
Subject and curriculum knowledge: Subject-specific content and pedagogic knowledge is
the key to being able to teach the school curriculum including: subject knowledge for
teaching; progress in learning in subjects; misconceptions, potential contextual barriers to
learning and curriculum studies. All school curriculum subjects are addressed and made
specific to each specialism.
Literacy Studies (Ghanaian Languages and English): This include Early Grade Literacy in
L1 and L2. As language is the key to enabling children to access the curriculum, this learning
area is a pillar in its own right.
Pedagogic Knowledge: This also including general pedagogic knowledge, assessment
strategies, introduction to and development of cross cutting issues, education studies,
preparation for supported teaching in school, classroom enquiry and research, Inclusion and
equity, SEN and ICT.
Supported teaching in school: Student teachers will spend 30% of their training in the field.
For the KG-P3 and P4-6 specialisms this training period will be spent in schools with the
support of mentors. For TVET this part of the training will be divided between TVET schools
and industry with the support of mentors. The mentors will assess student teachers on the
development of competencies and skills set out in the National Teachers’ Standards.
Specialism options: Following a foundation first year, student teachers will elect to follow
one of three programmes: Early Years’ (K-P3); Upper Primary (P4-6) or Junior High School.
This will ensure depth of knowledge of what is to be taught and enable them to connect with
the developmental level of the learners they teach.
The Early Grade Education Programme, KG1 to P3, will use a thematic approach to training
and equipping student teachers with developmentally appropriate practices, which promote
play-based learning.
The Upper Primary Education Programme, P4 to P6, will equip student teachers with the
needed skills to be class teachers, able to teach all the subjects of the Basic School
Curriculum and to support learning and development of the middle childhood learners.
The Junior High School Education Programme will equip student teachers with specialist
subject knowledge and the ability to address the developmental needs of learners in early
adolescence.
SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS AND THE TEACHING
Special Education Needs (SEN): The term Special Education Needs (SEN) have different
definitions from different people. Let us look at few of these definitions.
• Hallahan & Kauffman (1994), Special Education Needs are specially designed instruction
that meets the unique needs of an exceptional child.
• Special Education Needs is a restriction in the capacity of the person to participate in and
benefit from education on account of an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or learning
disability, or any other condition which results in a person learning differently from a person
without that condition (www.cambridgeinternational.org/cambridge,

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22/12/`19)

Misconceptions about learners with Special Education Needs (SEN) and

ways of addressing these misconceptions
• Special education learners are required to attend special classes: Many misconceptions
spring from out-dated cultural and traditional believes on children with exceptionalities
especially the physical and intellectual ones. People see exceptional children as symbols of
bad omen; others considered as contagious and at times regarded as manifestation of
reincarnation especially in the case of gifted people.
• Learners involved in a special education programme are unable or are incapable of
leading an independent life: Children with disabilities are affected by their condition
particularly in every aspect of life, being exposed to social rejection, poverty, isolation,
ignorance, lack of proper education, services and assistance. Most people think that learners
involved in a special education programme are unable or are incapable of leading an
independent life because without others they cannot live on the own.
• Getting special education needs services for a child is a constant battle: Parent of a
special education learners most of the time heard all the horror stories on how to “fight” to
get the necessary services for their children Traditionally, you also hear stories of witchcraft
as being one of the causes of disability or a curses upon a family or an individual who has a
disabled child. Such parents always have hard time to “fight” to get special education needs
services for their children with special needs.
• If you have never been in special education, one cannot know how to support a child
with special needs: People argue that if you do not have first-hand experience with special
education, you cannot support a child in special need in school. Traditionally, beliefs about
the causes of disability, misunderstanding of the dimensions of impairment and the lack of
knowledge of Special Education Needs has led to these invisibility and exclusion within the
education arena and the wider community.
• Learners in special education will be labelled forever: Most people think that peoples’
disability defines whom they are as individuals. Due to most traditional believes that are
associated with disabilities, learners with disabilities are labelled with their disabilities
according to their condition or limitations. It is common in our daily lives to hear
references such as “the disabled” or “the epileptic.” and others. People with such
misconceptions should understand that, individuals with disabilities are people first.
• Learning Disabilities Will Get Better as Individuals Become Older: Many people think
that learning disabilities are something that will fade with time and age. While many
individuals become better able to cope and compensate for their disability with time, the
disorder is with the person forever.
Misconceptions about gender and ways of addressing these
misconceptions
• Restricted domestic roles to females. In the home, the performance of certain duties is
assigned to only the females. Such responsibilities include sweeping, cooking, washing and
others.
• One of the misconceptions on gender is that males need to be educated and not
females. Some societies and traditions hold the thought that females do not need higher
formal education since they will always be married in the future and taken care of by the
husband, and then there is no need for them to be educated.
• Females do not have any economic responsibility. In most communities, men are seen a
bread winners and heads of families and as a result, men are expected to undertake economic
activities and not women when it comes to the upkeep of the home.

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• Females are seen to be feeble. In most Ghanaian traditional societies, females are viewed
as physically weak entities as compared to males. Some professions are seen as a preserve for
males such as, mechanic, pilot, legal practice, military and many others.
• Males are the key decision-makers in every community. In most cases in our
communities, males are seen as leaders thereby entrusting decision-making responsibilities to
them. This is sometimes dictated by religion, culture and family restrictions.

Types of Special Education Needs

Intellectual Disability / Mentally Retarded/ Mentally Challenged: Intellectual Disability
/Mentally Retarded/ Mentally Challenged is a condition characterized by significant
limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behaviour as expressed in
conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. The disability originates before age 18. Thus,
an individual is intellectually disabled mentally retarded/
mentally challenged if:
• His/her intellectual functioning is below average;
• She/he has difficulty in behaving in ways, and carrying out tasks, that are appropriate for
his/her age (there is deficiency in adaptive behaviour/skills);
• The condition has been present since childhood (before 18 years of age).
To find out the mental age, there are certain standardised intelligence tests administered by
psychologists. These tests have age-appropriate tasks which the person has to perform. Based
on the results, the person's intelligence is calculated and expressed in terms of Intelligence
Quotient or IQ. For example, if the intelligence tests show that a 10-year-old child has a
mental age of 5 years, then, it may be assumed that the child possibly has mental
retardation Usually, these results of an intelligence test are expressed in terms of Intelligence
Quotient or IQ. The IQ is calculated in the following manner: IQ = MA/CA×100, where MA
is mental and CA is chronological age Whenever the mental age and the chronological age
are equal, the IQ will be 100.
Classification/ Levels of Mental Retardation
1. Mild mental retardation. Individuals with mild mental retardation (55 to approximately
70 IQ) have the intellectual capacity to demonstrate and acquire concrete operations,
and they can often acquire academic skills up to about the sixth-grade
level. Most people with mild intellectual disability learn independent
living skills and are usually involved in productive work at home, in
the community or in a workplace. The mildly retarded are also
known as educable mentally retarded.
2. Moderate mental retardation. Individuals with moderate mental retardation (40 to 55 IQ)
have the intellectual capacity to demonstrate and acquire preoperational thought. It may take
a student with moderate intellectual disability up to several years to learn very simple
academic skills such as writing their own name, recognizing 50 sight words, counting objects,
and performing simple arithmetic operations. They can carry out work and self-care tasks
with
moderate supervision. People with moderate intellectual disabilities do not usually learn all
the living skills they need to live independently, without the support of family or others.
However, people with moderate intellectual disabilities often learn some productive role in
their home or village and some have been able to gain limited employment. The moderately
retarded are also referred to as trainable mentally retarded.
3. Severe mental retardation. Individuals with Severe mental retardation also known as
custodials (25 to 40 IQ) have the intellectual capacity to demonstrate and acquire
sensorimotor

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cognitive functions. Individuals with severe mental retardation are almost always identified at
birth or shortly afterward. These individuals have significant cognitive and functional
impairments. They may master very basic self-care skills and some communication skills.
Many severely retarded individuals are able to live in a group home.
4. Profound mental retardation. Profound mental retardation also known as custodials is
measured as being below a score of 25. Profoundly retarded people need a high level of
social
structure and supervision. A person with profound mental retardation may not be able to care
for personal needs, have limited or no independent mobility, and require 24-hour nursing
care.

Levels of Support Needed

• Intermittent support: refers to children who do not need constant or frequent support.
Require support occasionally. Supports are provided on an as needed basis.
• Limited support: this refers those supports needed regularly, but for a short period of time,
and may require fewer staff and less cost than more intensive levels of support. Examples are
time-limited employment training or transitional supports needed moving from school to
work. This group associated with moderate retardation.
• Extensive support: This is given to those who need daily support in some daily living
skills. The term 'daily living skills/activities' refers to day-to-day happenings of bathing,
toileting, washing, eating, grooming, and so on, which people learn to carry out without
assistance or with minimal assistance. This group is associated with severe retardation
• Pervasive support: Children with pervasive needs require constantly high support in all
areas of daily life. This support is intensive in all aspects of life. Supports characterized by
their constancy and high intensity. This support is viewed as constant and potentially life
sustaining, such as medical care, or help with taking medication. This classification is
associated with those who have profound retardation.
Visual Impairment
Visual impairment is a general term for a visual loss that affects learning in a school
environment. Ocloo, Morttey and Boison, (2015) define visual impairment as a person’s
inability to use vision to do what the normal person can use eyesight for without stress. It is
concerned with losses in vision. The loss can be partial or total. The term visual impairment
is
therefore, used to refer to not only those who are blind, but also those who have low vision
Types of Visual Impairment
• Low Vision
Person with low vision means a person with impairment of visual functioning even after
treatment or standard refractive correction but who uses or is potentially capable of using
vision for the planning or execution of a task with appropriate assistive device (Persons with
Disabilities Act, 1995). Persons with low vision are those who have visual acuity between
20/70 in the better eye, even after the best possible correction, or a field of vision between 20
and 30 degrees.
• Blindness: refers to a condition where a person suffers from any of the following
conditions, namely:
- total absence of sight; or
- visual acuity not exceeding 6/66 or 20/200 (Snellen) in the better eye, even after best
possible correction with glasses or contact lenses; or
- field of vision not greater than 20 degrees.

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For educational purposes, educationists have defined blind individuals as those who are so
severely impaired that they must be taught to read braille or use aural methods (audio tapes
and records) for education purposes.
Common types of visual impairments involve problems in refraction and are typically
corrected through the use of corrective glasses or lenses.
1. Myopia (near-sightedness) - Cannot see distant objects clearly – concave glasses
2. Hyperopia (farsightedness) - Cannot see objects up-close, difficulty in refocusing from
distant to near objects - convex glasses
3. Astigmatism (blurred vision) - Eye strain and blurred vision – hard contact lenses to make
the cornea spherical
Characteristics of the Visually Impaired.
There are two areas to be considered. They are the appearance of the eyes
and behaviour signs.

Appearance of the Eyes

- Red or swollen
- Crusts or sore patches on the eyelids or eye lashes
- Discharge from the eye
- Swellings or pimples on the eye(s) or eye lid(s)
- Itchy burning or scratchy eye(s) or eye lid(s)
- Cross eye (unusual alignment of the eye).
- Pink eye(s) or conjunctivas
Behaviour Signs
- Rubs or brushes eyes frequently in an effort to clear the eyes so that s/he can see clearly
- Unusual blinking
- Thrust head forward or squints when looking at near or far in order to suit the angle at
which he sees better.
- Clumsy movements: bumps into objects because he does not see clearly and distinctly.
- They experience dizziness or nausea after straining their eyes
- They read materials drawn closer to or far from them
- They (their eyes) are very sensitive to light.
Learning problems of the visually impaired
• Difficulty copying from textbook or the chalk/white board
• Covers or shields one eye
• Tendency to skip letters, words or lines while reading or writing.
• Poor spacing in writing and difficulty in staying in the line
• Poor eye-hand co-ordination and therefore the writing formed are written with difficulty and
are small, large, irregular or uneven.
Auditory / Hearing Impairment: World Health Organization (WHO) (2005) defined
hearing impairment as complete or partial loss of ability to hear from one or both ears. In a
similar vein Wilson and Waugh (1996), defined hearing impairment as a general term which
describes an abnormality in the hearing levels of man. It prevents a person from perceiving
sound and understanding speech. Hearing
impairment, thus, is the inability of an individual to hear sounds adequately.
This means that a person described as hearing impaired is the one who has
problems hearing well or using the ears to hear speech sounds.
Types of Hearing Impairment
There are various types of hearing impairment. They are most often defined
on the basis of
a. Age of onset.

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b. Degree of loss.
c. Type of loss.
Age of onset
The age of onset deals with when the loss occurred. Under age of onset the following types
can be identifies
• Congenital loss. This one is present at birth/it occurs from birth. It can include hereditary
hearing loss or hearing loss due to other factors present either in prenatal or at the time of
birth.
• Adventitious/acquired loss. The adventitious hearing loss is a hearing loss which appears
after birth, at any time in one's life, perhaps as a result of a disease, a condition, or an injury.
• Pre-linguistic loss. This is when the loss takes place before speech is acquired. In most of
such conditions hearing impairment exists from the time of birth or develops early in life at
an age prior to the development of speech and language: by and large before the age of two
years.
• Post-lingual loss. Post-lingual loss occurs after the acquisition of speech. Once hearing loss
occurs, the child does not get further language stimulation, and so his/her language
development process does not progress further. It is likely that the child may forget whatever
s/he had learnt prior to the hearing loss, if intervention programme is not started immediately.
Degree of loss
Degree of hearing loss refers to the severity of the loss. In order to find out the extent of
hearing loss, the test commonly used is pure tone audiometry. Pure tone audiometry gives the
average hearing threshold (across various speech frequencies) in decibels which is called
PTA (Pure Tone Average). Hearing threshold means the softest level at which the sound is
heard.
Hearing impairment is measured in decibels (dB).
Degree of hearing loss Hearing loss range (decibels
Normal 0 to 25, Mild 26 to 40, Moderate 41 to 55, Moderately severe 56 to 70, Severe 71
to 90, Profound 91+
Type of loss
• Conductive Hearing Loss: When there is a defect in the outer or middle ear, as a result of
which the sound waves do not get directed to the inner ear, resulting in hearing loss. Common
causes include wax build-up in the ear canal, fluid in the middle ear, diseases of the outer and
middle ear associated with symptoms like earache and ear-discharge.
• Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Sensorineural hearing loss arises when there is damage to the
inner ear i.e. cochlea or the auditory nerve. Sensorineural hearing loss cannot be medically or
surgically rectified. It is a permanent loss.
• Central hearing loss results from damage of the hearing centres in the brain and as such
one cannot hear or hear properly.
• Mixed hearing loss involves a combination of any two or all of the conductive,
sensorineural and central hearing loss. It is possible that one may have hearing loss in only
one ear. This is referred to as unilateral hearing loss. Where the two ears are defective in
hearing, the person is said to have bilateral hearing loss. (Deku and Gyimah, 2002)
Characteristics of the Hearing Impaired
Children with hearing impairment exhibit several characteristics. Among
them include the following.
• Poor attention. If a student does not pay attention in class it is may be possible that he/she
cannot hear what is being said or the sound the child hears is distorted.
• Poor speech development. Immature, unusual or distorted speech may be due to hearing
loss.
• Difficulty in following instructions.

11
• The child may respond better to tasks assigned when the teacher is relatively close to him or
her, or to written tasks rather than ones that require an oral response
• The student may cock or turn head to one side to hear well.
• When the child always moves nearer to a speaker.
• The child frequently asks for repetition of everything that is said to him/her.
• Hearing problems can cause the child to watch what other students are doing before starting
his/her work or looking at teachers or classmates for cues.
• Sometimes the child may give an inappropriate answer to a question asked or fail to answer.
• Children with hearing impairment prefer to work in small groups, sit in a relatively quiet
area of the classroom or in the front row.
• The student may be shy or withdrawn or appear to be stubborn and disobedient as a reaction
to his hearing loss.
• The student may be reluctant to participate in oral activities, may fail to laugh at jokes or
understand humour.
• The student may tend to isolate himself/herself from social activities,
Physical Disorders (PD)
A physical disorder according to Kirk, Gallagher and Anastasiow (1997) is a condition that
interferes with a child’s ability to use his/her body. It can also be referred to as the child who
suffers from a defect that inhibits the normal exercise of his/her muscles, joints or bones.
Thus, physical disabilities place some limitation on a person’s ability to move about, use the
limbs or hands or control own movement. Most of these conditions affect the nervous,
muscular or skeletal system and in most cases, they have mild, moderate or severe impact on
mobility and motor skills.
Classification of Physical Disorders
1. Neurological disorders are conditions caused by damage to the central nervous system
(the brain and the spinal cord and network of nerves). The resulting neurological impairment
limits muscular control and movement. The neurological conditions include cerebral palsy,
epilepsy, spinal cord injury and spina bifida. The Neurological conditions include cerebral
palsy, epilepsy, spinal cord injury and spine bifida. They are directly linked to the central
nervous system.
a. Cerebral palsy refers to a disorder of movement caused by damage (usually because of
insufficient oxygen getting to the brain) to the motor control centres of the brain. Cerebral
palsy may be described by the number and kind of limbs that are affected in the victim.
• Hemiplegia: Affects one leg and one arm on the same side of the victim (right or left).
• Monoplegia: Only one limb is affected, usually an arm
• Paraplegia: Involves the two legs of the victim, leaving his arm unimpaired
• Quadriplegia: All four limbs are involved
• Triplegia: As the name implies, affects three limbs of its victim.
b. Epilepsy also called seizure disorders or convulsive disorders (commonly called fits) is a
sudden, usually brief, periods of unconsciousness or changes in mental state, often with
strange jerking movements caused by abnormal brain electrical activity. People with epilepsy
have recurrent seizure. Generally, two types of seizures (epilepsy) are found frequently in
school children. They are grand mal and petit mal. The grand malis nearly always
followed by convulsions and occurs fairly frequently. The individual may be warned of the
approaching seizure through the sense of smell, sight or hearing (aura). Soon after, the person
may develop rigid muscles, followed by jerking convulsions which last for a couple of
minutes.
Then the victim falls into a deep sleep. The petit mal manifests as “a momentary loss of
consciousness” and may not even be noticed by an observer, or may be observed as light
“nod of the head, blinking of the eyes or a vacant stare”. Generally, there is a short period of

12
inactivity but the loss of consciousness lasts for a short time, the victim resumes normal
activity.
c. Spina bifida: Spina bifida is a medical condition that develops in some children before
birth. Spina bifida is a birth defect that involves the incomplete development of the spinal
cord or its coverings. It’s usually detected before a baby is born. The cause of spina bifida is
unknown. The legs or feet may be paralyzed and have little or no feeling and also one or both
hips may be dislocated.
Signs/Characteristics of Individual with Physical Disorder
The characteristic is dependent on the part of the body, which has a defect.
• Individuals with cerebral palsy experience problems in voluntary movement and delays in
gross and fine motor development.
• Epilepsy causes person to lose control of the muscles temporally.
• Children with musculoskeletal conditions generally have physical limitations. They may
encounter difficulties holding pencil to write.
Causes of Special Education Needs (SEN)
Broadly speaking, the causes of special needs/exceptionality may be grouped under two main
categories:
i. genetic/biological factors and
ii. Environmental factors.
Biological/Genetic Causes of Special Needs
Genetic disorders are those that are inherited from parents. Life begins at the moment of
conception when a female reproductive cell - the ovum, is fertilised by a male reproductive
cell -the sperm. The time of conception can be regarded as one of the most important in a
person's life, since this is when his/her hereditary endowment (characteristics) gets
determined. At conception, the newly created child receives 23 chromosomes from each
parent, making a total of 46 chromosomes. Thousands of genes are located in the
chromosomes of the ovum as well as the sperm. It is significant to note that it is the genes
that contain the codes of biological development of the individual. These genes transmit the
hereditary characteristics to the newly conceived individual, and determine his/her inborn
traits and characteristics. Thus, hereditary characteristics are those that are inherited from
parents, grandparents, great grandparents and other more remote ancestors.
Chromosome abnormalities: Variations in the chromosomes and defective genes at
conception have adverse effects on the development of the human organism and that may
cause various degrees of exceptionalities. Thus, if the genes or chromosomes of the mother or
the father, or both parents that make up the new baby have defects, then the child is likely to
suffer from exceptionality condition. Conditions, where defective genes and chromosomal
defect lead to exceptionality include the following:
• Down’s syndrome: This is a common chromosomal abnormality occurring due to problems
in cell division. It usually results from the failure of the 2lst pair of chromosomes to separate
during cell division, so that the newly- created individual acquires a complete extra 21
chromosome. (There is the presence of an extra chromosome i.e. 47th chromosome).
Typically, persons with Down syndrome have distinct physical features - a short and stocky
build, a flattened face, a protruding tongue. In addition, infants with Down syndrome are
often born with mental retardation, speech problems, limited vocabulary and slow motor
development. Most have an IQ within the range of 20 to 50.
• Fragile X Syndrome: In this case, the 'X' chromosome of either of the parents is damaged
and this defective chromosome gets transmitted to the child. Persons with Fragile 'X'
Syndrome have mental retardation and mild facial deformities, including enlarged ears and
forehead.

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• Turner’s syndrome (usually found in females). There is a missing sex chromosome X
making it (XO) instead of XX.
• Klinefelter’s syndrome (usually found in males). There is an extra chromosome (X)
making it (XXY) instead of (XY)
• Rhesus Rh factor. Human blood is divided into four groups: A, B, AB and 0. Further, there
is a blood protein called Rh factor. If this blood protein is present in the blood, then the blood
type is called 'Rh positive'. If it is not, the blood type is called 'Rh negative'. Thus, Rh
incompatibility is a condition which develops when the blood type of the pregnant woman is
Rh negative while that of the foetus is Rh positive. If this happens, complications can arise.
While the first-born child is usually safe, the danger increases for each subsequent pregnancy.
If the second baby is Rh positive, then the Rh incompatibility (between the blood type of the
mother, which is Rh negative, and the blood type of the foetus in the womb) could result in
mental retardation, deafness, cerebral palsy and even death of the child.
• Metabolic disorders. This refers to the inability or the difficulty for the child’s body to
produce the needed enzymes for breaking food into soluble nutrients for the body system. For
example, the inability to break down protein is a condition known as phenylketonuria (PKU
for short). Galactosemia is another metabolic disorder, which occurs when carbohydrates are
not metabolized.
Environmental Causes of Special Needs
The term environment refers to the external conditions that influence development. The
child's environment consists of everything that surrounds him/her from the moment s/he
begins life inside the mother's womb. This means that the state of the mother during
pregnancy, including her health, nutritional and emotional state, affects the child who is
developing inside
her.
Likewise, environmental factors during and after birth are also very important, and influence
the development of the child in many ways. The causes include:
Pre-Natal Causes – these are events happening before birth (conception period)
• Maternal infections and diseases. Viruses and infections often cause mental retardation
and a host of other problems. While pregnant, a woman and her developing child are very
susceptible to a wide variety of potentially damaging infections. Exposure during the first
trimester of pregnancy usually results in severe consequences. Example of infections and
diseases include:
✓ Rubella (German measles) is a good example of this type of infection. This mild highly
contagious illness has been linked to mental retardation, vision and hearing defects and low
birth weight.
✓ Sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and syphilis are capable of crossing the
placenta and attacking the central nervous system of the developing foetus.
• Unprescribed drugs taken by the mother during pregnancy:
• Fetal Alcoholic Syndrome (FAS).
• Maternal malnutrition. Lack of balanced, nutritious and adequate diet to the pregnant
woman can also cause exceptionality in the child.
• Attempted abortion:
• Insensitive to anti-natal care by the expectant mother: During pregnancy an expectant
mother is expected to register in a certified clinic and attend ante-natal clinic where adequate
facilities and care are available.
• Radiation (i.e. X-ray). Exposure to radiation during pregnancy, for example if a pregnant
woman gets herself X-rayed excessively, can result in defects in the foetus, which include
slow physical growth and an underdeveloped brain, leading to exceptionality condition.

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• Emotional state of the mother. Every pregnant woman requires absolute peace and
emotional stability at home. When the woman experiences severe emotional stress during
pregnancy, the risk of miscarriage, pre-maturity and low birth weight increases.
• Trauma. Accidental fall of the pregnant mother can have devastating consequence on the
unborn baby.
• Maternal age. It had been scientifically proven that the age of a woman significantly
affects the child she bears, and that girls under eighteen (18) years and women above thirty-
five (35) years are more likely to have children with mental retardation than those in the age
range of 19-35 years.
Peri-natal Factors. These are events happening during and around the onset of birth (labour
period). They include:
• Premature Delivery: Premature or pre-term babies are those who are born three weeks or
more before the due date (before 37 weeks of pregnancy)
• Anoxia. The term anoxia refers to the cut of oxygen to the brain. Causes of anoxia may be
the knotted umbilical cord or when the cord is coiled tightly round the neck of the foetus. If
the absence of oxygen is complete, it is called anoxia. If there is low supply of oxygen, the
condition, is referred to as hypoxia. Reasons for hypoxic state are the premature separation of
the placenta during delivery or swelling of the brain due to illness (Adam, 2001).
• Narrow pelvic. Narrow pelvic on the part of the expectant mother can cause damage to the
head and other parts of the child.
• Improper use of forceps. As a result of the narrow pelvic of the expectant mother or the
size of the child’s head, doctors are compelled to use forceps. Forceps delivery may cause
excessive pressure on the skull, which may in turn affect a portion of the child’s brain.
• Breech delivery. In breech delivery, the infant exits the birth canal buttocks first instead of
the more typical head first presentation. If the foetus is not properly handled at this level, a
number of injuries relating to the brain and the limbs which mental retardation, physical and
sensory impairments and a lot of other disabilities can occur.
• Heavy sedation. Excessive use of anaesthesia or sedation may cause damage to children.
• Fall of baby. Babies delivered in unexpected circumstances and fall could have head
injuries and other exceptionality conditions.
Post-natal Factors - Post-natal or after birth factors include:
• Intoxicants such as lead poisoning. Children ingest lead by putting items that contain lead
in their mouth. Example is the lead of pencil. Lead poisoning can cause brain damage and
disorders of the central nervous system.
• Infections represent another source of concern for young children. There are certain
infectious diseases that can attack the child after birth. Such diseases such as chicken pox,
measles, meningitis, encephalitis and mumps can affect the child if they are prolonged and
untreated.
• Drugs: Certain drugs, such as some powerful antibiotics, antimalarial drugs can cause
permanent hearing loss and other disabilities.
• Malnutrition: Poor nutrition, including insufficient dietary intake as a consequence of
feeding difficulties and less frequently over nutrition due to energy imbalance in pregnant
women affects body growth which impacts negatively on body composition, muscle strength,
bone metabolism, as well as metabolic/endocrine profile, cardiovascular and respiratory
systems, immune function and wound healing.
• Accident: Injury to the head due to a fall, accident or hitting the child on the head can cause
brain damage. The signs and symptoms of head injury may develop immediately or
gradually, over a period of time.
• Hazardous work: More specifically, hazardous work is dangerous or unhealthy conditions
that could result in a child injured or made ill as a consequence of poor safety and health

15
standards and working arrangements. It can result in permanent disability, ill health and
psychological damage
Prevention of Disability
• Health education: Health education of the members of the community on the causes of
handicap and what can be done to avoid each cause.
• Genetic counselling: Genetic counselling on hereditary diseases and genetics should be
given that people with familiar diseases should not inter-marry etc.
• Marriage counselling: This is done to inform couples on the problems of blood
incompatibility, needs for child spacing or small family sizeso as to reduce economic burden
on the family and to prevent malnutrition.
Principles and practices of inclusive education
Meaning of Inclusive education: Inclusive education means that all children, regardless of
their ability level, are included in a regular classroom, or in the most appropriate or least
restrictive environment (LRE), that is all learners with different learning ability levels are
taught as equals, and that teachers must adjust their curriculum and teaching methodologies
to benefit all.
Barriers to Inclusive Education for Special Learners worldwide
• Negative attitude; One of the most significant barriers is the attitudes of administrators,
parents, teachers and learners. Many parents fear allowing children with disabilities into the
classroom with their children. Teachers and administrators fear their time will be
monopolized by the students with special needs and keep them from providing appropriate
education to other students.
• Physical access; Learners with different disabilities cannot learn in an inclusive classroom
environment like others if special physical access are not put in place. Some schools are still
inaccessible to learners in wheelchairs or to those other mobility aides and need elevators,
ramps, paved pathways and lifts to get in and around buildings. Accessibility can go beyond
passageways, stairs, and ramps to recreational areas, paved pathways, and door handles.
Classrooms must be able to accommodate a learner's assistive technology devices, as well as
other furniture to meet individual needs.
• Class size; Large class sizes are seen as a barrier to the inclusion of disabled children in all
countries. Small, well-managed classes are of course, more desirable than large classes with
inadequate resources where attention can be given to these special children.
• Discrimination and stigmatization; Discrimination encompasses various forms of
behaviour towards individuals as a result of their impairment, whether intentional or
unintentional will caused stigma. There is discrimination and stigmatization among children
from the other “normal” children in school and sometimes at home This leads to poor
educational outcomes that destroy their self-esteem of children. If educators have negative
attitudes toward learners with special needs or have low expectations of them, children will
unlikely receive a satisfactory, inclusive education.
• Lack of skills among teachers; Training teachers and equally important staff for schools to
understand and work with children with disabilities is often inadequate, or it may be
fragmented and uncoordinated. Lack of training in teaching children with special needs is
often a problem by general educators.
• Curriculum Barrier; There are walls between schools and children before they get
enrolled, they face walls with curriculum inside the classrooms and finally 'they face more
walls when they have to take examinations which determine how successful they will be in
life.' Just as the environment must be accessible to students with disabilities, the curriculum
must facilitate inclusive education, too. If the national curriculum does not satisfy both the
normal and disabled learners, inclusive education will not useful.
Benefits of inclusive education: The following are some benefit of inclusive education.

16
• Inclusive education empowers teachers and students to think and work collaboratively.
• Promotes the notion that students with disabilities can learn alongside same-aged, non-
disabled peers in the general education classroom (Willis, 2007).
• Research shows students with learning disabilities taught in such a manner demonstrate
more independence and are socially better adjusted (Sapon-Shevin, 2008).
• It provides all children with opportunities to develop friendships with one another.
Friendships provide role models and opportunities for growth.
• It encourages the involvement of parents in the education of their children and the activities
of their local schools.
• Children without disabilities develop positive attitudes towards those different from them.
• It helps to reduce financial burden on society and government by providing one programme
for all children rather than separate programmes.
Strategies for promoting Inclusion in schools
• School administrators clearly support and actively participate in providing leadership,
guidance, and policies consistent with an inclusive philosophy.
• School Improvement Plans address school-based needs for including students with
disabilities.
• All students receive instruction within an age-appropriate general education curricular
framework.
• General educators, special educators, and related service providers have time for
collaborative planning.
• Students with disabilities receive most, if not all, of their special education and related
services (e.g., physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech/language therapy) within
the general education classroom, based on their Individual Education Program (IEP).
• There is cooperative learning. Cooperative learning is a process whereby the teacher gives a
task to a small group of students (typically four to six), who are expected to complete the task
by working cooperatively with one another.
How can we support inclusive education or overcome the barriers?
• We need to promote positive attitudes by raising awareness that disabled children have
equal right, needs and aspirations as other children.
• We have to promote inclusive learning environments by creating a welcoming and
accessible environment in which children can learn.
• There is also the need to promote early intervention.
• There should be positive role models for children with disabilities.
• We need to support change of system in education. The introduction of more inclusive
practices in education necessitates change in curriculum, teacher-training, teaching
methodology, and assessment.
Inclusive Education Policy in Ghana
• The inclusive policy states that schools should identify and attend to the needs of students
with disabilities, using various learning and teaching styles and approaches and by doing so
ensure quality education to all children through the appropriate curriculum, organizations,
and resources to incorporate them into their communities (MoE, 2015). Furthermore, the
policy states that all children can learn and that everyone has the right to education as the
1992 constitution confirms.
• The policy aims to change communities’ perception of disabled children as well as engage
and equip the school system to include these children. These activities will get the children to
learn and to contribute to themselves and the nation (MoE, 2013, 2015). As
suggested by Gadagbui (2010), making disabled children feel part of the regular school
system through proper organizations will bring a sense of belonging to them, which will
encourage them to learn, leading to development and contribution to society.

17
• The schools shall be provided with the necessary facilities and infrastructures to support all
students, especially the disabled children (Ministry of Education, 2015). More teachers are to
be trained in the teacher training college to be able to teach and take care of both disabled as
well as non-disabled students and create a free and safe environment for all children.
Exclusion is usually associated with segregation from a group, generally for mutual benefit,
and rarely involves choice. It separates and isolates (Toronto Parks and Recreation, 2004).
In segregation exceptional individuals are placed in separate special schools and classes
normally in residential institutions where they hardly come into the community to participate
in the social life of their community. In order to give a specific kind of learning experience, it
may be deemed appropriate to place an exceptional student in a special setting full-time
(Weber & Bennett, 1999). Examples are schools for mentally retarded at Dzorwulu in Accra,
Twin City Special School in Sekondi-Takoradi and Garden City Special School in Kumasi.
Others include Bechem School for Deaf and Akropong School for the Blind among others

The meaning and relationship among education, curriculum and culture

The Concept of Education
It is believed that “education” is developed from the Latin word “educare” which means to
nurture, or to rear and “duco” meaning to grow. Education might have stemmed from these
two words put together. However, from the ancient days to this day, there have been slight
changes in the meaning of the concept. We can therefore identify a difference between the
“old” concept and the “new” concept. The old concept of education is based on the idea that
education is a preparation for life. This means that education should be used to refer to all
procedures and practices by which individuals are prepared to live their life on earth.
However, some people believe that simply preparing a person for life could mean
transmitting the same skills and values continuously, and if there are mistakes, there is the
tendency of committing them over and over. In this case, no room is made for improving the
individual and the society.
The new concept is based on the idea that education involves procedure and practices that
lead to an improvement in the quality of individuals, their living and societal conditions as a
whole.
Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher defined education as “the turning of the eye of the soul
from darkness unto light”. That means the conversion of the immature from what is perceived
wrongly into the right forms.
Emile Durkheim (1895), a French scholar defined education as “the influence exercised by
adults on those that are not yet ready for social life”.
Dewey (1925), the great American educator of the early 20th century stated that education is
“a process of the re-construction and re-constitution of experiences, giving it a more
socialized value through the medium of increased individual efficiency”. The main issue in
Dewey’s definition is that education, as an activity should first increase the efficiency of the
individual. This will then lead to an improvement in society (socialized value). Education
should be done by re-organizing or re-constructing the experiences of the individual. For
instance, when a farmer’s child learns agriculture in school the experiences, he has from
home are discussed.
Through this, new ways are introduced. Therefore, there is reconstruction of ideas and
practices. In fact, as we grow, many of the ideas we have keep on changing as we meet new
experiences. This is education.
Whitehead, another early 20th Century educator said, “Education is the acquisition of the art
of the utilization of knowledge”. Any person who knows how to use knowledge properly has
gone through education. By this, Whitehead means that the individual cannot be said to be

18
educated simply by receiving knowledge. It is only when such knowledge is used to improve
efficiency that you can say a person is educated.
To understand them better, we need to add some clarifications. The first statement implies
that attitudes that are not useful but happen to be passed down such as lateness to school and
exploiting students do not form part of education. The second statement implies that an
educated person, who acts with understanding, is one who knows the good things prescribed
by knowledge. For instance, knowledge in economics should make a person pay his taxes
while legal knowledge should make a person law abiding. The third statement implies that
education should not be based on compulsion. Forced learning, involving the use of
punishment in teaching is not education. There are three forms of education in Ghana, namely
formal, non- formal and informal education.
Formal Education: This is the type of education which takes place in a specially designated
place known as the school. It is systematically structured, curriculum guided and teacher
centred. It is also age specific, chronologically graded and hierarchically structured from the
kindergartento the university level.
Non- Formal Education: Non-formal education is any intentional and systematic education
outside the normal school system aimed at a specific target group such as the youth, the aged,
farmers, expectant mothers, school dropouts etc. such education include remedial classes for
WASSCE students, vocational or apprenticeship training for the youth, extension services for
farmers, adult literacy programme for the aged, health education for nursing mothers etc.
Informal Education: This is the traditional, incidental or indigenous education which one
acquires consciously or unconsciously. Learning goes on anywhere at home, in the
community, at the work place, in the bush, farm, school; on the sea etc., learning is not
structured in this kind of education. The agencies of education include the home, peer group,
the community, religious organizations etc. Informal education takes place even within the
formal institutions or in the society.
The concept of Curriculum
The root definition of curriculum begun as a Latin word which means “a race” which in turn
derives from the verb “curere” meaning “to run or to proceed”. The school has a role in
educating the young and old by using plan of actions which is written down. This plan of
action includes everything that is to take place both inside and outside the classroom under
the direction of the school. This plan of action is referred to as school curriculum.
The term curriculum has also been defined differently by various personalities. Let us
consider some of them.
Tyler (1960) defined curriculum as all the learning which is planned and directed by the
school system to attain its educational goals.
Kerr (1968) defines curriculum as all the learning which is planned and guided by the school
whether it is carried on in groups or individually inside or outside the school.
Doll (1975) also sees curriculum as all the learning experiences offered to students under the
auspices or direction of the school.
Nacino Brown (1982) simply defines curriculum as s broad term meant to include the
complete experiences of the students while under the guidance and direction of the school.
Olivia (1982) cited by Adentwi (2000) defines curriculum as a planned or programmed of
experience which the learner encounters under the tutelage of the school.
J.S. Farrant says that curriculum is all that is taught in school including the time table,
subject and all those aspects of its life that exercise an influence in the life of the children.
Curriculum can be classified in three main views, the Broad, Midway and Narrow views.
In the broad sense, the term Curriculum can be defined simply as all the planned and
unplanned learning experiences and organized activities offered by the school for learners
going through any course of study. These activities and experiences may be carried on

19
individually, in groups inside or outside the school. The learning experiences and activities
include academic activities, non-academic activities, recreational activities, vocational
activities and emotional activities.
The midway sense of the curriculum views curriculum as all the activities planned by the
school that children are taken through. The learning experiences include all co-curricular
activities like sports, culture and other related activities planned by the school.
In the narrow view, curriculum is seen as the body of courses that present knowledge,
principles, values, and skills that are the intended consequences of formal education. The
learning experiences and activities include acquiring knowledge in mathematics, English
language, history and other subjects.
The Concept of Culture
Culture One of the earliest anthropological and sociological definitions of culture was given
by E. B. Taylor in 1891 as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,
morals, law custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of
society”. This definition views culture as a body or corpus of ideas and knowledge to be
handed on and education is seen as the means to help in the accurate assimilation of this
corpus.
Another definition of culture has been given by George F. Kneller. According to him, culture
is the total shared way of life of a given people, comprising their modes of thinking, acting
and reeling, which are expressed for instance, in religion, law, language, art and custom as
well as in material products, such as houses, clothes and tools. Several points can be made
from this definition. The total shared way of life is the behaviour of the people in the culture
including their way of thinking and doing which have to be learned? The material objects
also represent the culture. The passing on of the culture becomes the responsibility of
education.

The Elements of Culture

Institutions: Which are the learned and shared rules or norms which govern inter human
relations and activities; for example, marriage, dating, eating, drumming and dancing.
Ideas: Which are the learned and shared knowledge and beliefs of all varieties including
moral, theological, philosophical, scientific, technological and sociological entities, and
Artifacts or Materials: They are products such as houses, clothes and tools which men
produce and use in the course of their collective lives.
The Relationship between Culture, Curriculum and Education and their
Significance in the Socialization of Children
One of the relationships is that, culture constitutes the content of education of any particular
society, it follows that different societies have different educational systems which have
different or varied patterns of organizations.
Conclusively, the education of a given society is determined by the culture of that society. If,
however, the content and the organization of education are different from the cultural
background of the society, that society falters in its progress and there is bound to be social
unrest. Education is the process by which society through school, colleges, universities and
other institutions deliberately transmits its cultural heritage.
In this definition, what the schools do essentially is that they transmit the society’s cultural
heritage. R. S. Peters also sees education as initiation, that is, initiation into the culture of the
particular society into which a child is born. One can conclude from these two definitions that
culture is the content of education and it is through the process of education that culture is
transmitted to the members of society. The relationship between culture and education is
indeed a very close one.

20
They are processes through which tradition, norms and cultural values of a society are passed
on to the up-and-coming members of society. The significance of this process is that these
up-and-coming members are transformed into efficient and useful members of society, they
think, behave and live according to type.
Another significant point of note is that, as efficient and useful members of society, they
contribute to the maintenance of social order and stability.
This point is confirmed by Eric Fromm (1949) when he says that when culture is built into
the personality structure of people, they act as they have to act. They internalize the goals, the
motivations to secure and express the goal and the ways of attaining them as they are
transmitted to them by the agents of the culture (parents, teachers, elders and so on) so that
they support the norms of the culture as though they were their own. Thus, according to
Fromm, when culture is built into the personality of a people, a kind of relationship between
the people and their culture is brought into being, which invokes the fulfilment of certain
obligations on their part, for instance, the maintenance of social order and stability.
Fromm argues that in the absence of this relationship, social order cannot be maintained for
long. It should be pointed out that there is a bi-directional relationship between education and
culture. Culture influences education in the sense that the content of education (curriculum) is
selected from the culture of a particular society. All the bits and pieces that constitute the
curriculum of a school are selected from the culture in which the school is set. The school is
expected to influence the culture in which it operates. The products of the school can
influence the culture of the society in various ways as a result of the education they receive.
Developing a Personal Teaching Philosophy
A teaching philosophy is a statement of reflection and a philosophical framework of your
personal approach to teaching and student learning. It explains the rationale behind what
guides your practice, what factors impact on you as an educator and what values underlie
your practice. A teaching philosophy statement (TPS) clearly and logically communicates
what your
fundamental values and beliefs are about teaching and learning, why you hold these values
and beliefs, and how you translate these values and beliefs into your everyday teaching and
learning experiences. Natasha Kenny (2008) defines a teaching philosophy statement “as a
clear and logical statement that communicates what your fundamental values and beliefs are
about teaching and learning, why you hold these values and beliefs, and how you translate
these values and beliefs into your everyday teaching and learning experiences.
Why is it important to develop your own teaching philosophy?
Developing a teaching philosophy should have specific goals that reflect your teaching, your
students, your methodology, your ideals as a teacher, level of professionalism, personal
learning, involvement, teaching beliefs, and values among other things.
Some concrete importance of teaching philosophy given by Coppolla (2002)
• The teacher’s beliefs about teaching and learning usually have a positive impact on the
students and the classroom environment.
• Teachers tend to implement classroom practices that reflect their philosophical beliefs.
• A well-done teaching philosophy helps the teacher to reflect and act appropriately.
• By writing a teaching philosophy, you also make your thinking public, open to discussion or
comment and this is important because it codifies your ideas at a particular time.
• Additionally, some other experts consider important that teachers develop a teaching
philosophy because it helps them to improve their teaching. For example, Coppolla states that
developing your teaching philosophy is important because “
• It helps you to organize your evaluation and to guide your behaviour as a teacher, the
teaching philosophy allows to document beliefs, values, and teaching approaches, and it
contributes to articulate a view of teaching for administrative decision-making

21
• The teaching statement gives you a starting point for examining your teaching practices,
allows you to share your ideas with others, and allows you to monitor the progress of your
own development as a teacher.”
Components of Teaching Philosophy
Some common components of a statement of teaching philosophy include:
• A brief description of your conception of teaching and learning, including the elements of
your field that most shape your approach to teaching. This might also include a description of
your students, and their most important learning goals and challenges.
• A description of what kind of teacher you want to be. Your definition of good teaching,
with an explanation of why you have developed or adopted this particular definition.
• Justification for why you want to teach that way. A discussion of your teaching methods:
how do you implement your definition of good teaching?
• A discussion of your evaluation and assessment methods and a description of how they
support your definition of good teaching.
• A description of your teaching goals: with what content, skills, or values should students
leave your classroom? What are your goals for improving your own teaching?
The Aims of Education in Ghana
Ghana and all other developing countries see education as a very important means by which
they can achieve economic development. Education can be used to solve some of our social
problem, which include;
• The development of vocational and technical skills also an important aim of education in
Ghana. Such skills would enable the individual not only to earn a living but also to satisfy the
manpower requirement of the country.
• Education also has to improve the political awareness of the people. The people must know
the rights and responsibilities of the citizen. The importance of voting, obedience to state
authority, patriotism and loyalty to Ghana are all necessary for every citizen to know.
Education has to ensure that the people gain this knowledge.
• The development of critical and logical thinking in the solution of everyday problems is
also an aim of education in Ghana.
• The transmission of the culture of Ghanaian communities to the younger generation. This
includes socialization, cultural transmission and cultural changes.
• The development of morality is another aims of education in Ghana. The high level of
dishonesty, corruption, stealing and rape among others indicates that there is something
wrong with our education as far as morality is concerned.
• The production of a physically Ghanaian society: physical exercises, cleanliness or
sanitation are all part of it.
• This creation of a literate population: if many Ghanaians are able to read, write and
compute, many of the social problems such as superstitions, less productive farming methods
etc. would be solved.
• The proper use of leisure is another aim of education. Our use of leisure time in drinking
alcohol and gossiping needs to be changed.
What is African Traditional Education?
The 20th century philosopher, Castle therefore said that “education is what happens to us
from the day we emerge from the womb, to the day we enter the tomb”. It is indeed true that
education is a process, as it is implied in the definition. If we accept this fact, then every
society may have its own form of education.
African Traditional Education refers to the non - specialized, informal and non - literate form
of education given in African societies that was intended to produce useful persons for the
small and largely self – sufficient communities in Africa.

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In reality, African Traditional education was the system of education for preparing Africans
for meaningful life in their communities before the early Europeans introduced school
education (formal education)
In general, African Traditional Education had and still has the sole purpose of inducting
individuals into the society with all its institutions, taboos, cultural norms, values and
functions with the view of making the individuals a part of the totality of the social
consciousness.
The Scope of African Traditional Education.
• Development of Character: Indigenous African education places considerable emphasis
on character-training. Indeed, it is the cornerstone of African education.
• Respect for Elders and Peers: Closely related to character-training is the respect for elders
or those who are in authority, particularly the chief, relatives (especially uncles) and other
neighbours. Greetings play a major role here
Political Training: In African Traditional societies both males and females have distinct
political roles to play and are therefore nurtured into the knowing and appreciation of their
political roles.
• Physical training: In traditional African society the child naturally jumps, climbs a tree,
dances or performs a balancing act because his siblings or his elders do the same.
• Intellectual training: Traditional African education can be said to encourage intellectual
growth and development.
• Economic/Vocational training: Such traditional vocations can be divided into:
▪ Agricultural education: for example, farming, fishing and veterinary science (animal care
and animal rearing).
▪ Trades and crafts: for example, weaving (baskets and cloth), smiting (iron, silver, gold,
etc.), hunting, and carving. Sculpturing, painting and decorating, carpentry, building,
barbering, drumming, dancing, hair plaiting, dress-making, leather-working, soap-making,
singing, pottery-making, mat-making, bead-working etc.
▪ Professions: for example, native doctors, priests, village heads, chiefs etc.
• Religious preparation. Religion covers every aspect of the life of the African and this can
be seen from the names of persons and towns, names of symbols, greetings etc.
The coming of the Early Europeans
About five hundred years ago, European sailors started visiting the coastal towns of our
country and established trade links with the local communities. The first of these early
Europeans to set foot on our land were Portuguese from Portugal. And the records have it that
they established a trade link with the people of Edina bear Cape Coast (Oguaa). The
Europeans found so much gold that they decided to set up a permanent trading - post at Edina
as gold was in high demand in Europe. Because of the gold that was found at Edina, the
Portuguese named the town “La Mina”, which is the Portuguese language meant” The mine”
This later developed into the name - Elmina for which Edina is known to date.
The early Europeans traded with the local people, in guns, gun - powder, strong drinks textile
etc, which they exchanged for gold - dust and slaves. In order to protect their goods, the early
settlers put up very big and strong buildings called “castles” in which they dwelt and traded
with the local people.
The first of these great buildings is the Elmina Castle which was completed in 1482 under the
leadership of the Portuguese sailor and explorer – Don Diego de – Azambuja.
Why castle school’s education?
It was in these castles that the first schools in our country were established and that was
where formal education begun. In fact, the beginnings of school education in Ghana can be
traced to these castles of the early European traders that dotted the coastline of the country.
Reasons why the early Europeans opened schools in the castles they built.

23
• the early European traders had children with African women and they considered it a moral
obligation to give their children (Mulattoes) the type of education that was found in Europe,
• again, the merchants needed interpreters, clerks and trade representatives for their trading
activities and therefore needed to train such people through the schools they established
• they also saw formal/education as an important tool for the spreading of the Christian faith;
and also, for colonising the local people;
Religious Instruction
• the first Castle School was established in the Elmina Castle in 1529
• the curriculum was the same in all the castle schools and the only difference was the
language used e.g. Elmina Castle School - Portuguese language and later Dutch language was
used. Cape Coast Castle School - English Language Christiansburg Castle School- Danish
Language.
Achievements by Castle Schools
• The school introduced the idea of full-time qualified teachers who are paid for their work
• A good number of brilliant students enjoyed the idea of scholarship abroad for further
studies. Names like Jacobus Capitein, Anthon Wilhelm Amo (Anthony William Amo), and
Philip Quaque could be mentioned as some of the beneficiaries. Wilhelm Amo studied and
later obtained a doctorate degree in Germany. He lectured at the Universities of Hall, Jena
and Wurtenburg in Germany.
Problems/Challenges encountered by the Castle Schools
• Very few books were available for teaching except Bibles and this gave rise to too much
religious orientation and liberal education rather than vocational or technical education.
• The schools were limited to the coastal towns and trading centres; enrolment did not spread
beyond the castle environment
• Low enrolment: enrolment in the castle schools never exceeded sixteen and there were
times when there were no pupils at all.
• Financial Problem: The Schools had very little financial support from the castle
administration and this affected their smooth running. Rev. Philip Quaque can be cited as an
example; when he died in 1819 his own salary was in arrears to the tune of £369.
• Political Instability: There was general political instability along the coast of the Gold Coast
and the areas into the hinterland there were frequent wars and this affected the progress of the
schools e.g. the Anglo - Dutch Wars, the Asante - Fante wars etc.
• Interference from the castle administrations; On many occasions the castle administrations
tried to influence the running of the schools e.g. in 1791, Rev. Philip Quaque was suspended
for refusing to take up arms and accompany Governor Field to defend the Anomabo fort. And
again, it is believed that one of the reasons for which Rev. Andreas Riis of the Basel Mission
left the Christiansburg Castle for Akropong in 1835 was to get away from the controls of the
Danish Castle authorities.
Missionary Education
Missionary educational activities unlike castle schools extended beyond the castles and the
immediate environment to other inland areas. Even though some catholic missionaries
accompanied the Portuguese merchants and served as chaplains, and that the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), which came from the Church of England (Anglican church)
in 1752 with the coming the Rev. Thomas Thompson, had started missionary work in Ghana,
real missionary activities began with the coming of the Basel, Wesleyan, Bremen, Roman
Catholic, A.M.E. Zion in that order. Not only were these mission bodies interested in
spreading the gospel, but contributed significantly to the development of education.
The Basel Mission
The Basel Mission was mainly a German society with its Headquarters at Basel in
Switzerland. The Mission came to the Gold coast at the request of the Danish governor,

24
Major de Richelieu of the Christianborg castle to work in the schools the Danes had
established in and around the castle. Its first missionaries of four (Holwarth, C. Salbach,
Jaeger and Heinze) arrived in December, 1828. Three of the pioneer missionaries and two
others who came in 1832 died with the Rev Andreas Riis being the only survivor. In March,
1835 Riis (the most outstanding Basel missionary) moved to AkropongAkuapem on health
grounds where he helped to spread the gospel and promote education.
The Basel Educational Contribution
The Basel mission opened its first boys’ school at Akropong Akuapim in 1843 and one for
girls in 1847 which was later transferred to Aburi in 1854. Other schools were at Osu (1843),
Abokobi (1854), Kyebi (1861), Anum (1864), Ada (1867), Begoro (1876), Nsaba (1891). In
1881, they extended missionary and educational work to Kumasi and reached Attebubu and
Nkoranza in 1895 where they opened a Basel mission station in 1896.
Basic Education: The mission had to its credit 92 schools in 1889 with the total enrolment of
about 2,500 children, which increased to 154 schools with enrolment of 4, 984 children by
1898.
Subjects taught: English, Reading, Writing Twi and Ga, Arithmetic as well as Bible Study.
craft instruction and singing practice. Greek and Church history were taught to those desiring
to go to Basel Seminary.
Girls Education: The Basel Mission realized that Girls Education was important as boys. The
boys to girl’s ratio in Basel Schools at that time was 2.7 to 1, compared with 6 to 1 in
government and 7 to 1 in Wesleyan Schools.
Teacher Education: The Basel started a seminary at AkropongAkuapim in 1848 to train
teachers and catechists and that became the first teacher training college (PTC) in Ghana. A
second one was opened at Abetifi in 1898 but in 1924 it was merged with the seminary at
Akropong. It is important to note that the Basel mission remained the only body providing
teacher education until 1909 when the government opened the Accra Training College.
Technical and Vocational Education: For the Basel the spade was as important as the bible
therefore industrial education was at the core of their curriculum. They established Technical
Schools at Akropong, Osu, Aburi and Abokobi and provided courses for joiners,
wheelwrights, carpenters, lock-smiths, blacksmiths, shoemakers and book-binders.
Vernacular Education: While the Wesleyan Missionaries were encouraged to learn the
vernacular, the Basel Missionaries made it a condition for the missionary work they
undertook. Andreas Riis wrote a book in Twi even before he opened a school. Then the Rev.
Johann G. Christaller translated the four gospels, the New Testament, the Psalms and
Proverbs and the
whole Bible into Twi in 1859, 1864, 1866 and 1871 respectively. He also compiled a Twi
dictionary. Zimmerman also translated into Ga the gospels and later wrote a Ga grammar and
dictionary. Finally, the Basel missionaries encouraged production of books in vernacular
Agriculture: the Basel promoted practical agricultural education in school farms with
Agriculture being made a compulsory subject at PTC. A model farm at was also established
at Abokobi to train students and farmers in modern agricultural practices. Besides, new crops
such as coffee, cocoa, pineapple, mango, pear and cocoa-yam were introduced.
Secondary Education: The Basel Mission which later became known as the Presbyterian
Church opened a Secondary School at Krobo Odumasi – Now PRESEC, Legon. Also, Aburi
Girls (1946) etc. It is important to note that, the Basel mission by 1873 had put in place an
educational system of 6 years primary education, 4 years middle school with technical and
agricultural education as part of the curriculum. By 1890 a remarkable system of technical
education had also been put in place. These underscore the invaluable contribution of the
Basel Mission to the development of education in Ghana.
The Wesleyan Mission

25
The first Wesleyan Missionary, Rev. Joseph Dunwell arrived in Cape Coast in 1835 as a
result of the request for bibles by William de Graft, who settled in Dixcove as a leader of a
Christian study group. This was made possible by the Wesleyan Missionary Society in
England through a certain Captain Potter who offered a free passage in his ship. When
Dunwell came he found
that there was an excellent school of about 140 boys who were good at Reading and Writing.
He however decided to establish a school in the Mission House where he lived. He employed
an African teacher on a £3 a year and two or three assistants who were also paid in cloth.
Unfortunately, Dunwell died within six months of his arrival in the country and so did his
successors Mr. and Mrs. Wriggley and Mr. and Mrs. Harrop.
In spite of the setbacks the mission persisted in carrying out its work, particularly with the
arrival in 1838, of its most outstanding missionary, Rev. Thomas Birch Freeman in Cape
Coast. Freeman was the son of an Africa father and an English mother. Prior to his arrival,
the Methodist mission had inherited a number of schools established by the English and
the SPG in Cape Coast and other places like Dixcove and Anomabu. Freeman spent about a
year consolidating the work in these schools before he made two journeys to Kumasi where
he was welcomed by the Asantehene. During his second journey in 1841 – 1842 he went with
Owusu Ansah and Nkwantabisa and was given a plot to establish a mission but no permission
to open a school in Kumasi. In 1857 Freeman resigned from the Wesleyan mission because of
a disagreement over the mission’s financial policy. He was appointed by the governor as
Civil Commandant of Accra.
Wesleyan Educational Contribution
Basic Schools: By 1880 the Wesleyan mission had more schools than any other body, eighty-
three (83) with an enrolment of over 3,000.
Agricultural Education: A maiden attempt to provide agricultural education was made by
Rev Thomas Birch Freeman when he established the Beulah farm near Cape Coast.
Technical and Vocational Education: In the1880s the Rev. Kemp tried to re-organize
teaching in two-day schools at Cape Coast and Accra consisting of Upper and a Lower
Divisions.
Secondary Education: The Wesleyans established the Wesleyan Secondary School (now
known as Mfantsipim) in 1876 which was the first secondary institution established in the
country, hence can be given the accolade, “pioneers of secondary education”. In 1935 Wesley
Girls’ High School (also the first girls’ secondary school) at Cape Coast began to add
secondary
classes to its primary section which was established by Mrs. Wriggley in 1836. Without
doubt, these schools have remained two of the best schools in Ghana.
Teacher Education: In order to train teachers, Freeman started a Theological Seminary at
Accra in 1842 with the Rev. Shipman as its first Principal. It started with two students, John
Ahumah Solomon and William Hanson. The seminary was abandoned after 1851 as a result
of the death of Shipman in 1843 and the fact that the number of students never exceeded six.
After these Wesleyan teachers were trained abroad especially at Fourah Bay in Sierra Leon.
In 1918, however, a seminary was opened at Aburi to train teachers and catechists but
transferred to Kumasi in 1924 as Wesley College.
Bremen Educational Contribution
Teacher education: In 1890 the Bremen opened a mission and a seminary at Amedzofe to
train teachers, which now serves as the Amedzofe College of Education.
Vernacular development: The development of vernacular was also promoted. The first Ewe
grammar was published by Schlegel in 1857 (Kotey, 1969). Westermann produced an “Ewe
Dictionary”, in 1905 (McWilliam & KwamenaPoh, 1975).
The Roman Catholic Mission

26
Originally, the first mission to start schools in the Gold Coast were the Catholics when the
Portuguese came to Elmina. It is said that in 1573, the first attempt was made by the
Augustarian Friars to start evangelical work and open schools but their efforts were short-
lived as the people of Komenda and Eguafo murdered all the missionaries. Later on, similar
efforts were made but unfortunately, the attempts failed when the Dutch forced them to leave
in 1637. Any meaningful Catholic evangelical work in the country began with the arrival of
father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat at Elmina in 1880. They started a school
with 5 pupils but the enrolment increased to 150 pupils by the end of the year. James Gordon
and an Irish Brother helped in teaching the children English, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic
and Religious Instruction. Father Moreau’s Fanti catechism was used in teaching the pupils.
There were 140 boys and 40 girls under father Pellat, a Frenchman. He later assigned the best
pupils to be in charge of the new stations at Agona, Shama, Breman Akyini and Adjina.
In 1884 girls’ school was started with 26 pupils based on the suggestion of Rev. Moreau.
Two sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles (OLA), Sister Ignatius, an Irish woman, and Sister
Potamienne from Switzerland came to Elmina to take charge of the schools and the
dispensaries and to bring Christianity to the African women. The Catholic Mission also
started the
first kindergarten in the Gold Coast at Elmina. In 1890 the Catholics had established many
schools and extended its work to the former Trans Volta and opened a school at Keta. It later
opened about 50 stations with village schools in the districts around Ho and Kpando.
The activities of the Catholics were extended to the northern part of Ghana when two French
priests from Algiers settled at Navrongo. They established missions and schools including St.
Francis secondary school at Jirapa for girls. The missionaries were known as White Fathers
because of the white robes they wore.
Catholic Educational Contribution
Basic Schools: A number of schools were established in Elmina Cape Coast and other coastal
towns, in the Volta Region and the North.
Secondary Education: The Catholics established some of the best schools in Ghana
including St. Augustine’s and Holy Child schools in Cape Coast; Opoku Ware and St. Louis
in Kumasi; and St. Francis secondary school at Jirapa to mention but a few.
Teacher Education: The Catholics can also boast of a number teacher training colleges
(Colleges of Education) in Ghana. These include: St. Theresa’s and St. Francis at Hohoe;
OLA at Cape Coast; Holy Child at Sekondi-Takoradi; St. Louis at Kumasi etc.
Girl-child Education: Much attention was paid to education of girls. This was demonstrated
by the number of basic and secondary schools as well as teacher training colleges established
exclusively for girls. The secondary schools include: Holy Child, St. Louis, St. Francis, and
whiles the teacher training colleges include: OLA, Holy Child, St. Theresa’s, St. Louis.
Vocational and Technical Education: The Catholics laid emphasis on practical education
(agriculture and trade training). They taught woodwork and bookbinding at Saltpond and
Cape Coast.
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Mission (A.M.E. Zion Mission)
This was an Afro-American Mission from the United States of America. They arrived in the
eastern corner of Ghana in 1898 and opened schools in the Keta districts but later moved west
and inland to establish schools at Cape Coast, Sekondi, Kumasi and other areas. The AME
Zion Misson established Aggrey Memorial Zion School at Cape Coast.
The Anglican Mission
The Anglican Church started its schools at Cape Coast, in the Central Region and later
extended its activities to other areas. Some basic and secondary schools as well as teacher
training colleges were established by the mission. Notable among the secondary schools are:
Adisadel and St. Monica’s. There is also St. Monica’s Teacher Training College (now, St.

27
Monica’s College of Education).
Impact of Missionary Education in the Gold Coast
Positive Impacts
• As pioneers of elementary, secondary, technical and teacher training education they
provided solid foundation for the development of education in Ghana
• The introduction of literacy and numeracy greatly affected the socioeconomic and political
development of Ghana. People were able to improve their standard of living and establish
contact with the outside world.
• For a long time, basic schools in Ghana were largely mission schools.
• Importance attached to provision of secondary education, e.g. Mfantsipim, (Wesleyan)
Wesley Girls High School (Wesleyan) Adisadel School (Anglican) St. Augustine College
(Catholic), and Presbyterian Secondary School, Odumase Krobo (Presby).
• The mission bodies promoted the development of teacher education. For instance, the Basel
established the first Teacher Training College – PTC in1848 whiles the Wesleyan mission
established Wesley College (Kumasi) in 1924.
• Attention paid to technical, industrial or vocational education. Notably, the Basel set up
industrial institutions and workshops to train carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, goldsmiths and
book-binders.
Agricultural education was also promoted.
• Educational Units were set up to supervise and manage the schools, e.g. Methodist,
Presbyterian, Catholic, educational units etc.
• Played pioneering role in scientific study and development of local Ghanaian languages.
The mission bodies built up collection of proverbs, folktales, songs, dictionaries and
introduced vernacular in the curriculum and some cases used vernacular as medium of
instruction in primary schools.
• Introduction of Christianity and use of the Bible promoted moral and character training.
One can always make mention of the strict Presbyterian discipline.
• Christianity and Western education have contributed to liberalization of the mind of the
African leading to social and political revolution of modern Ghana, e.g. scientific thinking
has reduced superstition.
• Missionaries helped to raise standard of living by introducing better housing, drinking wells
and new crops, e.g. mangoes and pears. The Basel missionaries introduced cotton and other
commodities for export or for local market.
• Promoted good health. There was the provision of health services, including the building of
clinics and hospitals such as the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital.
• Promoted trading activities e.g. Basel missionaries founded a trading company in 1859 – the
predecessor of modern UTC.
• Provided Ghana with leaders e.g. Dr. Aggrey, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Dr. K.A. Busia, Dr.
J.B. Danquah all had missionary education.
Negative Impacts
• Perhaps the worst fault activities condemnation of African culture. Everything African
attracted derogatory remarks pagan, barbaric, crude, primitive, animism, fetishism, idolatry.
This attitude undermined African or traditional Ghanaian culture and generated inferiority
feeling. This retarded African culture and spiritual development. The few converts and
educated elites were indoctrinated to develop hatred for their own culture. The educated and
converts were alienated from their society as seen in the establishment of separate
communities (Salems). This was also responsible for the “African dilemma” (Asiedu-Akrofi,
1978) and the “copy-cat” attitude among the youth.
• Missionary education laid too much emphasis on the 3Rs or liberal education which tended
to produce clerks and pen-pushers to the neglect of technical and vocational education. Thus,

28
Missionary education tended to create unemployment, unknown in traditional Ghanaian
society.
• Certain ethnic groups had educational advantages over others, thus giving them leadership
advantages over others.
• Missionary influence was confined to coastal and southern districts of Ghana, thus bringing
about uneven social and economic development in the country.
Reasons Why the Colonial Government Became Interested in Education in the Colony
1. In the first place, by 1850, the competing European countries namely Portugal, Denmark
and Holland had left the shores of modern Ghana. The British therefore had complete control
over activities in the colony.
2. After the ‘Sagrenti War’ fought between the Asante and the British, the whole of southern
Ghana and Asante were annexed to become part of the British colony.
3. Furthermore, by 1871, the Fante Confederacy, which was a threat to the activities of the
British in southern Ghana, had been suppressed
4. Again, the need for more clerks and administrators which the missions alone could ‘not
satisfy, called for the intervention.
The Education Ordinances of the 19thCentury
An education ordinance can be described as a document backed by law stating the direction
of education in a given place.
The 1852 Education Ordinance
In 1850, Governor Stephen Hill was appointed solely for the Gold Coast. He worked with an
Executive council and an appointed Legislative Council. (The legislative council was similar
to modern day parliament). In 1852, an Education Ordinance was passed, to make way for the
improvement of education in the colony. The ordinance sought to:
• Provide for the education of the inhabitants of Her Majesty’s (Queen’s) forts and
settlements on the Gold Coast.
• Provide education of neglected children of wealthy African traders
• make room for girls’ education
• The ordinance provided for the training of teachers In order to provide money to support the
goals of this ordinance the government had to pass a poll tax. The poll tax required that every
man, woman and child paid on shilling per head. Governor Hill indicated that the levy would
be used to finance the courts, health, welfare projects and also provide better education to the
inhabitants of the forts and the surrounding settlements. It is important to take note that the
proposals made were to be supported with revenue from the poll Tax.
Challenges faced by the education ordinance of 1852
The 1852 ordinance failed to achieve the desired results. The following reasons account for
the failure;
• The people of the Gold Coast refused to pay the poll tax of one shilling, complaining that it
was not affordable.
• The people of the Gold Coast complained that they did understand the purpose of the tax.
• Mr. and Mrs. Vinall, who were to train teachers, could not survive the weather conditions
here. Mrs. Vinall died a few weeks on arrival and Mr. Vinall had to go back home because of
poor health. The failure of the 1852 education ordinance led to the passing of another one in
1882, after the Asante-British war of 1874.
The 1882 Education Ordinance
The education ordinance of 1882 was passed under the direction of Governor Rowe. This
ordinance covered Gold Coast and Lagos which were under one colonial administrative
authority.
The aims of the ordinance included:
• Raising the standard of education in mission and private schools

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• Introducing a system of single control of education
• Creating a systematic basis for providing grants-in-aid for schools.
This was money meant to support the little funds available to the mission and private schools.
The conditions for giving-grants-in-aid to schools included:
- implementation of the compulsory curriculum of the 3Rs (reading, Writing and Arithmetic)
plus needle work for girls
- an optional curriculum of curriculum of history, geography and English Grammar
- suitable building and equipment
- English as a medium of instruction
With the above aims in mind the 1882 education ordinance put forward the following
provisions:
• a board of education was to be set up to supervise and inspect schools
• Two types of schools are recommended: government schools which were maintained
entirely through public funds and assisted schools founded by the missions or private
individuals and aided from public funds according to their efficiency and effectiveness.
• Appointment of an Inspector of Schools for all the British West Africa. When appointed the
Inspector would spend most of his time in the Gold Coast. While Lagos would contribute
one-third of the inspector’s fixed annual salary of £400. Rev. Sunter (the then Principal –
Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone) was appointed
• There was to be paid regular grants-in-aid to schools if they opened them up to all pupils
irrespective of religion.
• Grants to be used for school buildings and teachers’ salaries
• Special grants to be made to industrial schools
• The quality for the training of teachers was to be improved
Causes of the Failure of the Education Ordinance of 1882
• Lack of funds
• The administration of education in the Gold Coast and Lagos was too much for the General
Board of Education and the Inspector of Schools
• Government could not set up the proposed teacher training college because of lack of
tutorial staff and funding.
• The proposed industrial schools were never established.
The Education Ordinance of 1887
Governor Brandford Griffith had to pass the ordinance for Gold Coast colony alone because
Lagos was separated from the Gold Coast in 1886 and from that time onwards, Lagos had its
own administration and its own ordinance.
This ordinance addressed some of the weaknesses that led to the failure of the previous ones.
The main features are presented below;
• There was to be established a new Board of Education for the Gold Coast alone with the
power to make rules for the inspection of schools and certification of teachers.
• The administration of all assisted schools to be placed in the hands of Managers instead of
local school Boards. The school Managers had power to appoint local managers whenever the
need arose. By this amendment, the sole responsibility for the management of schools was
placed in the hands of the missions.
• Industrial schools were to be established for boys and girls
• It also called for the admission of all pupils irrespective of religion or race into grants-in-aid
schools
• Payment by results was introduced. Under this arrangement, grants to school depends on
passes pupils made in the subjects taught, during the annual examination conducted by the
inspector of schools
Factors that led to the Failure of the Education Ordinance of 1887

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• Financial constraints: as this made it impossible for the government to extend financial aid
to all schools.
• The negative effects of the payment by results system, which included:
- Overloaded school time-tables in order to get more aid
- Encouraging rote learning and memorisation
- Arbitrary use of the cane as a means of forcing children to learn
- Enmity developed between teachers and school inspectors and this brought about lack of co-
operation between the two partners in education
Governor Rodger’s 1908 Reforms
In 1908, Governor John Rodger put a committee in place to consider various matters in
connection with education in the Gold Coast. The committee’s report, which was accepted by
the secretary of state in Great Britain, had a big impact on the colony.
• The 1909 Education Rules aimed at improving teaching methods, and making primary
school programme less bookish
• Hence payment by results was abolished. Grants from government now depended on
efficiency of teaching but not the passes made by pupils.
• The government was advised to take more interest in technical education
• In 1909, the Government Technical School, the first of its kind was founded in Accra. It
was later moved to new premises at Takoradi as the Takoradi Secondary Technical School
• The Accra Training Institute for the training of teachers was opened in 1909. Governor
Rodger whilst emphasizing the acquisition of literacy, called for the development of the best
of African culture. Had it not been the First World War between 1914-1919, Governor
Rodger
would have done far better.
Governor Frederick Gordon Guggisberg (1919-1927)
Guggisberg was born in Canada on 20th July 1869 and taken to England at age ten. He
entered the army and was commissioned in 1889. After Guggisberg completed his service in
Singapore with the Royal Engineers he returned to Britain and became a teacher in his former
college, the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. This British army officer, of Canadian
origin assumed office as governor of the Gold Coast immediately after the war of 1919. In
colonial Ghana, Guggisberg’s contribution to education health and transportation was
unmatched. Guggisberg’s work in education was informed by the work of the Educationists
Committee he had put in place to advise him.
Guggisberg’s Sixteen Principles of Education
• Primary education must be thorough and be from bottom to the top: The formation of a
child’s life is based on the period in kindergarten. It is the stage at which skill and character
training has the most impact. For this reason, the best teachers should teach at this level and
should
be at least as highly paid as those who teach higher levels.
• The provision of secondary schools with an educational standard that will fit young men
and women to enter a university. In accordance with this principle a co-educational
institution, Achimota School was built as a model to other institutions.
• The provision of a university
• Equal opportunities to those given to boys should be provided for the education of girls
• Co-education is desirable during certain stages of education
• The staff of teachers must be of the highest possible quality: To raise the fallen standards of
teaching since the First World War, a number of changes were made. This included the fixing
of minimum wages, the registration of qualified teachers, streamlining government grants to
schools that met the required standards and increased the number of years for training
teachers. Qualified teachers were registered and unqualified teachers were driven out of the

31
service. The minimum wage was fixed at £100 to £180 a year for mission trained teachers
and £98 to £208 a year for government trained teachers. All in all, Guggisberg wanted to
ensure that the schools that were in existence were of high standard quality and so 150
substandard (or bush schools
as they were called) were closed down.
• Character training must take an important place in education
• Religious teaching should form part of school life
• Organized games should form part of school life
• The course in every school should include special references to the health, welfare and
industries of the locality. There was the hope that adherence to this principle would tackle the
problem of the dislike for manual labour that had been entrenched through the curriculum.
The curriculum then made little reference to the local conditions. In the future the curriculum
was to include work that deals with life, welfare and pursuits of the village or town that the
school was in. Schools were to take an active part in their surroundings. Education was meant
to be applied to the conditions of life that were prevalent in the Ghanaian society
• A sufficient staff of African inspectors of schools must be trained and maintained.
• Whilst an English education must be given, it must be based solidly on the vernacular. Even
though the main aim was to eventually have English as the medium of instruction for higher
classes it was difficult to teach English with English as the language of instruction. The
language classes were based on memorization and recitation; and for this reason, during one
legislative council debate it was suggested that all European teachers in the Gold Coast
should have a grasp of the local language so they could fully understand the background of
students and their fellow African teachers.
• Education cannot be compulsory nor free. This principle was by no means a way of limiting
education to a few. The principle was based on the circumstance Guggisberg found himself at
the time. He had indicated that it would take many years to have the number of teachers and
amount of funding necessary to carry this out.
• There should be cooperation between the government and the missions and later should be
subsidised for educational purposes
• The Government must have the ultimate control of education throughout the Gold Coast.
This principle was to ensure that there was a uniform standard of education given to all.
• The provision of trade schools with a technical and literary education that will fit young
men to become skilled craftsmen and useful citizens (McWilliam & Kwamena-Poh, 1975).
Implementation of Guggisberg’s Principles
• In response to the first principle, efforts were made to improve primary education; inferior
teachers were driven out of the profession and Guggisberg closed down about 150 ‘bush
schools’
• Achimota College was founded in 1924, with Reverend A. G. Frazer as the first principal.
Achimota also represented the idea of coeducation and equal opportunities for boys and girls.
• On raising the status of the teaching profession, the salaries of teachers were considerably
increased and a register of teachers was opened and only those who were qualified were
allowed to register.
• The use of the vernacular as the medium of instruction during the first three years of public
primary school education had it root in the 12th principle.
• In Guggisberg’s time, technical education at a lower level (his 16th principle) was greatly
expanded by the opening of four government trade schools in 1922 at Yendi, Mampong, Kibi
and Asuansi.
• Guggisberg closed down 150 ‘bush schools’
• Achimota College was founded in 1924, with Reverend A.G. Frazer as the first principal.

32
• Achimota also represented the idea of co-education and equal opportunities for boys and
girls.
• Inferior teachers were dismissed from the service and a register was opened for qualified
teachers. The Three-year and Four-year Teacher training programmes were introduced
• In 1924, Wesley College was provided with new buildings and moved from Aburi to
Kumasi.
• The Presbyterian Training College at Akropong was also provided with new building in
1928. It must be noted that though Governor Guggisberg left colonial Ghana in 1927, many
of his Principles continued to receive attention in later years.
The Accelerated Development Plan (ADP) 1951
In 1951, after strong agitations by several nationalist groups, a new constitution came into
being. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah became the leader of Government Business: The then minister
of education Mr. Kojo Botsio laid before parliament, the Accelerated Development Plan for
Education. The main objective of the ADP by quoting Graham (1976) was: “... to help
develop a balanced system, working towards universal primary education as rapidly as
consideration of finances and teacher training allowed, but maintaining at the same time,
proportionate facilities for further education for those most fitted to receive it”. Graham
(1976) further provides the main proposals as the following:
• A six-year basic primary course for all children at public expense; primary school fees to be
abolished as from 1st January 1952.
• Infant-junior schools were to be known as primary schools. “Senior primary schools were to
be known as middle schools, and were to be regarded as part of the post-primary system
• Facilities for the training of teachers were to be increased by the addition of ten new
colleges and the doubling in size of the six existing ones.
• Additional day secondary schools were to be provided, and certain non- assisted secondary
schools were to be assisted
• Four secondary-technical schools were to be provided including the conversion of the
government technical school at Takoradi-Technical institutes were to be established at
Tarkwa, Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi
• All teachers in training, except those possessing a school certificate, were to take the
certificate ‘B’ course, and entry to the certificate ‘A’ course was to be made from among
certificate B teachers who had taught for a period
• The middle schools in the northern territories were to be increased in number as quickly as
possible and more potential teachers were to be provided. A new training college was to be
opened at Pusiga. Primary schools in the north were to be increased in numbers as teachers
became available.
• The salaries of teachers trained and untrained were to be reviewed. It was proposed that in
future all teachers in training would be treated as if on a study leave and would draw the
salaries they would have received if they had been teaching in a school.
• Considerable increases in scholarships to secondary schools, technical and trade schools
were recommended.
Implementation of the ADP from 1952
• More primary and middle schools were opened
• Fees were abolished for elementary school children of ages six to twelve (6-12)
• The certificate ‘B’ Two-Year Teachers programme was introduced to increase the rate and
produce- more teachers
• The certificate ‘A’ Post ‘B’ course was also introduced
• A secondary school for girls was opened by the sisters of St. Louis at Kumasi and a
Teachers college was later founded
• Archbishop Porter founded St. Johns day school for boys in Sekondi.

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• In 1952 Opoku Ware Secondary School was founded by the Catholic mission.
• The same year Bishop Herman’s Secondary was founded at Kpando and a girl’s school
founded at Ho in 1953 by the OLA sisters.
• The first secondary school for boys was opened at Tamale in 1951
• By 1957 when Ghana attained her independence there had been a marked improvement in
the number of schools in the country.
• By 1958, there were 3,402 primary schools and 1030 middle schools
• Between 1951-1957, secondary schools increase from 12 to 38 in the country
• The 6th form course was then introduced in secondary schools.
• In 1958, the National Teacher Training Council was set up to address the issue of teacher
education and quality products.
As usual, lack of funds was a limiting factor for the implementation of the ADP. There was
also the need for qualified teachers. The Accelerated Development Plan was a dynamic move
by Nkrumah administration to fast-track the pace of educational development in Ghana. The
enthusiasm of the people and support from government, the missions, the Ghana Cocoa
Marketing Board and others, helped to meet to a great extent, the expectations of the plan.
The Education Act of 1961
In 1951, the first nationalist under Dr Kwame Nkrumah came to power in the gold coast and
initiated the accelerated development plan for education. Then, six year later (1957) the
country attained political independence from colonial rule. Ten years the introduction of the
accelerated development, the education act of 1961 was passed. The reasons why the
education act of
1961 was passed included the following:
• The accelerated development plan had run for ten years and as such there was the need to
introduce innovations (after 10 years, an educational programme must be reviewed).
• Ghana had come out of the period of colonization into an independent state and then
became a republican country and so there was the need to tune up education to meet the
philosophy and aspirations of the government and the citizen.
• To give the government a greater saying, the control and management in education.
• To ensure that all children of school-going age go to school.
• To make education more secular so that people are not denied education because of
religious beliefs or affiliation.
The major provisions of the education act of 1961
• Powers and duties of the Minister of Education
Under the Education Act of 1961, the Minister of Education was given sweeping powers to
do the following:
1. Make regulations which had the force of law.
2. Make regulations affecting the examination and appointment of teachers, the curriculum.
Keeping of school’s records, the admission and promotion of pupils and the duties of school
managers.
3. Exercise general oversight responsibility over the finances of education and all
administrative matters.
4. The power to close down a private institution if he is satisfied that it is dangerous or
potentially dangerous to the physical or moral welfare of the pupils attending it or than its
continued existence is against public interest.
• Fee-free compulsory education: A provision of fee-free compulsory education was
prescribed to ensure that all pupils who had attained school-going age as determined by the
minister of education went to school. Parents who refused to comply with this important
prescription were to be fined.

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• Tertiary education: The increase in the number of secondary school and training colleges
called for a good number of well-trained and highly qualified teachers. To address this
problem, the following arrangements were put in place to increase access to university
education.
1961-University College of the Gold Coast became autonomous as the University of Ghana
and began awarding its own degrees.
1961-Kumasi College of Technology was transformed into autonomous university of science
and technology.
1962-University of Cape Coast opened to train graduate teachers in the arts and science
subjects for secondary schools’ teacher-training colleges, polytechnics and technical institutes
in Ghana.
Challenges of the Education Act of 1961
Even though the Act of 1961 yielded massive results in the educational system of that era, it
suffered some setbacks.
• Insufficient funds/money to carry through with the new projects from primary schools,
middle schools’ secondary schools to the universities.
• The lack of trained teachers in sufficient quantities led to the massive recruitment of many
untrained and uncertified teachers. And the consequence was a fall in the standard and quality
of education.
• There remained gross inequality between the southern and northern part of Ghana; the south
remained advantaged while the north remained disadvantaged.
• The power vested in the minister of education by the education act of 1961 raised serious
concerns from the churches. Of particular concern to the churches was the right of the
minister to constitute and dissolve school boards and again the churches were concerned
about the few
representatives they had on the new school board constituted by the minister of education.
Kwapong Education Review Committee of 1966-67
In June 1961, the National Liberation Council (NLC), the first military government in Ghana,
put in place a committee under Prof. E. A. Kwapong, the Vice Chancellor of the University
of Ghana, to look at the existing educational system and make recommendations to the
government. The main reasons why the government wanted some reforms were that;
• The 1961 Act did not address the needs of Ghanaian especially the churches, with respect to
the management of schools.
• Falling of standards in education and
• General indiscipline among pupils, students and teachers
Recommendations by the committee
In July, the committee presented its report and the following were the nature of the
recommendations made.
• Textbooks fees of c1.50 per child in the primary school and c3.00 for middle schools were
proposed.
• An integrated 8-year course was to replace the 6 and 4 years primary and middle school
respectively pupils were to continue to the secondary school through the common entrance
examination conducted by WAEC
• Some Basic schools to run the 6-year primary and 4-year middle school programme
• Pupils who could not enter secondary school, were to pursue a two year continuation school
programme to be equipped with skills to be able to enter the job market
• The period for secondary education for the GCE ‘O’ level was to be 5 years and a 2-year
sixth form programme for the GCE ‘A’ level.
• Post-middle leavers were to train for 4 years and post-secondary leavers, 2 years, to become
professional teachers.

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• Specialist programmes in basic school English, mathematics, history, geography and
science being taught in nine colleges were to be transferred to Winneba.
The Dzobo Education Review Committee of 1972
In 1973/1974, the government approved a new structure and content of education for the
country. This was based mostly on the Dzobo Committee’s report of 1972. The committee
was under the chairmanship of Prof. K. N. Dzobo of the University of Cape Coast. Like other
committees before it, the Dzobo Committee was to address challenges in the education sector
such as the emphasis on the pure academic curriculum that did not provide school graduates
with employable skills; the need for changes in the education system to place more emphasis
on science and technology etc.
The following were the recommendations made by Dzobo Committee to address the issues
raised.
• Kindergarten education for children between the ages of 4 and 6 year must be introduced
• First cycle education of 6 years primary and a new 3- year junior secondary education.
• Undergraduate courses for secondary school leavers at the tertiary level to last years
• Vocational and technical courses to start at the junior secondary school
• Artisans and tradesmen were to act as resource persons in the technical/vocational courses.
• Upgrading of polytechnics to facilitate the supply of middle level manpower
The Educational Reforms of 1987 -Evans Anfom committee review of 1987.
In December 1981, Ft. Lt. JJ Rawlings came back to power as the chairman of the provisional
National Defence Council (PNDC). In 1987, this government took another look at the
existing structure of education and the following proposals were made;
• To reduce the period of pre-university education from 17 to 12 years (6 years primary
education, 3 years junior secondary school, 3 years senior secondary education and 3- and 4-
years tertiary education
• To increasing access to education especially in the northern half of the country and on other
areas where the intake was persistently low.
• To increase the relevance and efficiency of the educational system by: Expanding the
curriculum of the junior secondary school to provide for academic, cultural, technical,
vocational and commercial subjects.
ii. Developing parallel syllabuses at the senior secondary school level, emphasizing the study
of indigenous languages, science and mathematics, the aim being to make each student
competent in the current world of mass consumer products and services. etc
• To increase cost-effectiveness and cost-recovery within the educational system by reducing
the number of non-teaching staff and by freezing the number of teaching staff at primary and
secondary levels in order to lift student rations to “reasonable levels”.
Efforts to achieve the objective of 1987 Education Reform
The new system was based on a revision of the New Structure and Content of Education
(1974) by the committee set up to advice on implementation of Junior Secondary Programme
(1986).
The New system was implemented as follows:
• A sum of US $45 million assistance was received from World Bank towards the financing
of the necessary inputs such as materials, textbooks and equipment for the JSS programme.
• A good number of classrooms and workshops were constructed
• Many teachers were retrained, especially for the JSS
• Continuous assessment became part of assessment policy in schools
• Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the Senior Secondary School
Certificate Examination (SSSCE) replaced the Common Entrance, Middle School Leaving
Certificate (MSLC) examinations and the GCE

36
• New subjects such as life skills, religious and moral education and music and dance were
introduced
• The University Rationalization Committee (UCC) was established to
- ensure that monies given to universities were effectively used
- course run in the universities met national needs
- ensure that enough graduates were locally trained
Positive Impacts/Achievements
The 1987 achieved some of its objectives as presented below;
• support by communities in putting up school buildings and running the schools
• improvement in the supply of textbooks and equipment
• appointment of circuit supervisors and improvement of supervision
• reduction of school years from 17 to 12 years.
Adverse Impacts/Challenges
Below were the challenges that confronted the full implementation of the
provisions under the 1987 reform;
• insufficient textbooks and technical skills equipment to go round the schools
• inadequate classrooms and workshops
• too many pupil teachers, especially in the rural areas
• many JSS graduates who could not gain access to SSS end up in the streets selling dog
chains
• the JSS could not become an exist point because the products did not have adequate skills
• coast-sharing is making it difficult for brilliant but poor students to move on
• there is a question mark over the quality of the graduates of the system.
Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education Programme (FCUBE) - 1995
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana, under article 39 (2), makes it mandatory that government
shall within two years after coming into force of the constitution draw up a programme for
compulsory and universal basic education. To fulfill this constitutional demand, in 1995, the
NDC government drew the FCUBE programme to ensure that all Ghanaian children of
school-going age had free universal basic education. FCUBE stands for Free Compulsory
Universal Basic Education and it seeks to address three major concerns or challenges. These
are;
• limited access to basic education
• the poor quality of education resulting in poor numeracy, literacy and problem-solving
skills
• ineffective and inefficient school management practices
Measures put in place to achieve the above-mentioned challenges which FCUBE was
introduced to address.
a. To the challenge of access to basic school education, the following arrangements are in
place;
• desks have been created at the national, regional and district offices to encourage the
education of the girl-child
• massive improvement in the provision of classrooms and accommodation for teachers
• to promote interest in mathematics, science and technology among girls’ workshops are
organized annually in all the districts
• teacher-trainee enjoy sponsorship packages from district assemblies so that on completion
of their courses they will serve in these districts
• school management committees (SMCs) are collaborating with educational authorities in
the running of schools.
• all school fees have been abolished in the basic school with the introduction of the
capitation grant

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• the institution of the school feeding programme
• shepherd schools in the northern part of Ghana
b. To ensure delivery of quality education government has put in place the measures below;
• in-service training for all categories of teachers to make them abreast with modern practices
• encouraging all certificate ‘A’ teachers to upgrade themselves with at least the diploma
• all initial teacher training colleges are offering diploma programmes
• constant review of the curriculum and textbooks
• provision of incentives for teachers in deprived areas and the institution of the Best Teacher
Award
• re-training of pupil teachers to diploma status
c. To ensure effective and efficient school management practices government has put in place
the measures below;
• district directors, circuit supervisors and managers of schools are benefiting from training
programmes
• accommodation is being provided for headteachers close to their schools
• heads of schools are appointed according to academic and professional qualification
• the existence of SMCs and DEOC In spite of the good intentions of the FCUBE
programme, it has been experiencing some constraints which include:
• Poor teaching and learning resulting in poor performance of children throughout the basic
education level.
• Inadequate access to educational services
• Weak management capacity at all levels of the educational system.
• Unsatisfactory financing arrangement for the education sector.
Anamuah-Mensah Committee Review of 2002
On January 17, 2002, President J. A. Kuffour inaugurated the Committee on Review of
Education reforms in Ghana. Prof. Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, the Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Education, Winneba was the chairman of the 29-member committee. The task
of the committee was “to review the entire educational system in the country with the view to
making it more responsive to current challenges”.
The Review Committee, inter alia, was required to address the following concerns;
• Examine the content to be given to the constitutionally mandated FCUBE
• The limited provision of further education and skills training facilities for most JSS and SSS
products
• The inadequate provision of technical and vocational education at the second cycle level
• The unstructured provision of apprenticeship training for majority of school leavers
• The crisis at the tertiary level, with insufficient places to meet the needs of a modernizing
economy; particularly the limited opportunities for post-secondary education for the products
of vocational, technical and agricultural education
• The problem of finding s sustainable financing of tertiary education
• The continuous depletion of basic schools of trained teachers
• The upgrading of teacher training colleges into the tertiary system.
In October 2002, the committee presented its report to government. On the structure, the
government accepted the recommendation that follow, to be implemented from September
2007;
• Universal and continuous basic education from 4-15 years, and thereafter, a new four-year
Senior High School (SHS) system to replace the present primary, JHS and SSS structure.
This comprises:
- 2 years of kindergarten (4-6 years)
- 6 years primary education (6-12 years)
- 3 years Junior High School (12-15 years)

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• The present three-year senior secondary school will become a 4-year senior High School
(SHS)
• After Junior High School (SHS), students may choose to go into different streams at senior
high school, comprising general education, technical, vocational and agricultural education;
others may enter apprenticeship schemes with some support from government.
Curriculum Recommended by the Committee for the different level of
Education
Basic and SHS Level
• At the kindergarten and lower primary levels, the medium of instruction shall be Ghanaian
language and English
• The basic level shall place emphasis on literacy, numeracy, creative activities-music and
dance, physical education, ICT and problem-solving skills
• Primary education shall stress on the teaching of English language and Ghanaian languages,
with subjects like life skills, science, religious and moral education, hygiene and culture at
the lower level. Basic mathematical skills and integrated science shall be emphasized at the
upper primary
• English language shall be the medium of instruction from upper primary
• At the Junior High School (JHS) level, the core subjects shall be English, mathematics,
social studies, and integrated science, including agriculture, technical vocational, ICT,
Ghanaian language and French shall be offered
• At the SHS level, the core subjects shall be English, mathematics, integrated science, social
studies and ICT. In addition, elective courses in Agriculture, Business, Technical, Vocational,
General Arts or Science programmes shall be offered
• Technical/Vocational (TVET) shall provide employable skills through formal and informal
apprenticeship.
• Special education and French are to be emphasized at the basic level
Tertiary Level
Tertiary education, on order to meet the changing needs of society are to be given the needed
attention. There shall be;
• Specialized Institutions
• Open Universities and Distance Education
• Post-graduate training and research
• Resourcing of Polytechnics
Recommendations for Effective Implementation of the Reform
The provisions put in place for effective implementation of the reforms are the following;
• District Directorates of Education shall become the education departments of the
Decentralization Assemblies
• A new National Inspectorate Board outside the GES but under the Ministry of Education
Science and Sports shall supervise basic and secondary schools
• A national council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training shall be
established
• A national apprentice Training Board, among other things, shall supervise and regulate
apprentice training
• The National Teaching Council shall be established to be a licensing coordinating body and
be responsible for teacher education. Again, the Reviewed Committee has also recommended
‘cross-cutting’ to be considered in the implementation of the reforms. These include:
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
• Distance Education
• Library and Information Services
• Science and Technology

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• Guidance and Counselling
• Private Participation in Education
PHILOSOPHY AND AIMS OF BASIC EDUCATION IN GHANA UNIT 3 SECTION
This philosophy requires that:
• The educational system is flexible and encourages teachers to engage in innovative teaching
to meet the unique needs of learners
• Classrooms should be learner-centred where learners are actively engaged in the learning
process as a result of teachers adopting appropriate approaches to planning and classroom
practice
• Teaching and learning approaches and programmes are appropriately differentiated to meet
the needs of learners
• Schools shift from an emphasis on summative assessment to the formative, a philosophy
that espouses the need to employ multiple sources of evidence about learning, which will
guide instructional decisions and support each learner’s learning trajectory
• Schools should be teacher-centred with its related practices (teacher self- evaluation,
performance appraisal/professional review, effective use of assessment data, strong
curriculum subject knowledge, use of appropriate pedagogy, accountability, continuing
professional development, work-life balance and well-being) adopted so that a culture of high
challenge, high trust and high performance in a professional environment is established –
from which every student benefits.
• Appropriate pedagogies are employed in the curriculum delivery. Because schools are
teacher-centred, teachers are able to use pedagogies, equipment, and materials of instruction
that transform classrooms from the traditional teacher-centred classrooms to environments
that provide opportunities for the use of dialogic learning and teaching approaches – the use
of inquiry- oriented learning approaches, thematic teaching, independent projects, computer
simulations and technological devices such as phones, cameras, tablets and computers.
The Aims and Objectives
The objectives are as follows:
• Provide learners with broad up-to-date knowledge, skills, values and attitudes in both
existing and new subject disciplines and in a range of foundational literacies.
• Develop in learners the ability to apply what they have learned with confidence and
competence in the world of work.
• Instil in learners an understanding of Ghana’s history, culture and traditions and of their
rights and responsibilities as citizens.
• Encourage learners to fully participate in the learning process and to promote learning as a
lifelong endeavour.
• Encourage and support teachers to engage in creative and dialogic instructional practices.
• Promote an inclusive educational system where individual strengths and potentials are
valued and maximised, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, geographical location or
disability.
• Encourage learners to learn mathematics as a foundational building block to learning other
subjects.
• Instil in learners the importance of making responsible choices regarding the environment
and climate.
• Promote financial literacy to include the development of entrepreneurial skills for all
learners.
• Encourage learners to learn a Ghanaian language and a modern foreign language as part of
becoming a global citizen.

The Vision of the curriculum

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• Gives all Ghanaian children of school going age the chance to benefit from quality basic
education;
• Transforms our schools into student-friendly, stimulating and engaging environments for
learners to learn and fulfil their individual potential;
• Inspires learners to know about and value the history of Ghana;
• Transforms Ghana into a mathematics friendly nation within an environment of science and
technology; and
• Produces graduates who can engage in life-long learning and can apply the knowledge
innovatively.
Core Values of the Curriculum
The National Pre-Tertiary Education Curriculum Framework captures the following core
values:
Respect: This includes respect for the nation of Ghana, its institutions and laws, and the
culture and respect among its citizens and friends of Ghana.
Diversity: Ghana is a multicultural society in which every citizen enjoys fundamental rights
and responsibilities. Learners must be taught to respect the views of all persons and to see
national diversity as a powerful force for nation development. The curriculum promotes
social cohesion.
Equity: The socio-economic development across the country is uneven. Consequently, it is
necessary to ensure an equitable distribution of resources based on the unique needs of
learners and schools. Ghana’s learners are from diverse backgrounds, which requires the
provision of equal opportunities to all, and that all strive to care for each other both
personally
and professionally. Commitment to achieving excellence: Ghana’s learners must be taught to
appreciate the opportunities provided through the curriculum and persist in doing their best in
whatever field of endeavour as global citizens. The curriculum encourages innovativeness
through creative and critical thinking and the use of contemporary technology. Ghana will
instil the value of excellent service above self.
Key Features of the New Curriculum
1) Provisions for the acquisition of 4Rs: Reading, writing, arithmetic and creativity
2) Making Ghana a Mathematics friendly nation
3) Reintroduction of History of Ghana
4) Strengthening the teaching of French and the introduction of Arabic as Modern Foreign
Languages
5) Emphasis on learning-centred pedagogy (differentiation, scaffolding and use of ICT as a
pedagogical Tool)
6) Emphasis on inclusion and diversity
7) Provisions for the development of Core Competencies (Foundational and Lifelong Skills)
Core Competencies in the Revised Curriculum
1) Critical thinking and Problem-solving;
2) Communication and Collaboration;
3) Creativity and Innovation;
4) Cultural Identity and Global Citizenship;
5) Digital Literacy;
6) Leadership and Personal Development
Rationale, Aims and Structure of the Early Grade programme
The philosophy and rationale underpinning the curriculum at the Early Years Subjects, Upper
Primary and Junior High Subjects and Senior High Subjects reflect the overall philosophy
and rationale for The National Curriculum. Each subject curriculum shall have a learning
philosophy and a teaching philosophy which are consistent with the overall philosophical

41
provision and rationale as contained in the framework and are common to all subjects. The
summary of the Early Years, Upper Primary and Junior High subject philosophies and
rationales are as follows:
Early Years Subjects
Early Years curriculum covers subjects at Kindergarten and Basic 1 - 3.
Learning Philosophy: The Early Years learning curriculum is informed by three main
philosophical ideas, namely the brain research, Developmental theory and the Social
Constructivism. Firstly, current international research on brain and neurological development
of children affirms that the early years’ period ranges from birth up to 8 years. It is the time
of maximum brain development. During this developmental period, the young child’s brain is
extraordinary active, and developing very fast; this is the optimal time for learning and
development for life. These early years are critical and very important because the early
experiences that the learner encounters have a decisive impact on the development of
connections in the brain. It is during these critical and “sensitive period” of the early years
that learners develop language and literacy skills, physical, psycho motor, cognitive,
emotional control and interpersonal social skills. To build a strong foundation for the future
of every growing learner, it is important that the learner is exposed to learning experiences
that are positive, developmentally appropriate and holistic instead of being fragmented and
compartmentalized.
Secondly, developmental theories affirm that learners go through distinct and unique stages
in their development as they move through their early years.
Thirdly, the Early Years as curriculum believes in social constructivist philosophical notions
which emphasize that learners learn better when they are actively involved in their own
learning
Therefore, to promote high quality learning that is functional, meaningful, and authentic, the
growing child needs a safe, warm, nurturing, and welcoming physical, social, emotional and
psychological environment. This is vital because research affirms that the type of
environment created for the child is key to their successful development and opportunity for a
brighter future.
Teaching Philosophy: The implication of curriculum developers’ belief about how children
learn is that during the early years of learning, rigidly structured methods of teaching should
be avoided. Participatory, activity and play-based child-centred experiences must be
paramount in the early years’ classroom to enable children reflect on their experiences,
collaborate
and interact with other peers and adults, engage actively and connect things they are learning
to their lives. This means learning must be made functional by using real life experiences to
help the child to apply lessons learned to the reality of their present and future lives.
Rationale All over the world, Early Childhood researchers attest that the first eight years of
children’s development are the most vital years in their life and the sort of physical and
psychological environments that adults create, the interactions adults have with children, and
the experiences adults provide influence them, and have lasting effects on their future lives.
At this stage the child requires basic needs like nutrition, warmth, health, security, interaction
and stimulation for social, emotional psychological, physical and cognitive development. It is
during this stage that the child establishes learning patterns, attitudes, personality and a sense
of being.
Upper Primary and High School Subjects
The Upper Primary curriculum covers subjects for Basic 4 to 6, whilst the High School
curriculum is divided into Junior High School (Basic 7 to 9) and Senior High School (SHS 1
to 3).

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Learning Philosophy: As with the Early Years’ curriculum, two theories underpin the
subject philosophies at the Upper Primary and High School levels within the pre-tertiary
education structure. These are learner development and social constructivism. As learners
grow and transit from one-year group to the other and learn various subjects, they do so at
their own pace. Learners interact with the social environment which is an enabler for good
learning and personal development. Therefore, each subject will ensure that learners are
provided with a good social environment where they can accelerate development in the
subject learning.
Learners are to engage in constructing knowledge and make meaning of the social
environment provided them so that they are able to reconstruct the past by describing,
analysing and evaluating past events. Learners would be able to critically trace patterns of
human behaviour and communicate their views on how the past could influence the present
from an informed
position. In essence, learners would understand that present events have historical parallels
from which useful lessons could be drawn. Such level of knowledge creation and meaning
making should empower all learners (irrespective of location, (dis)ability, religion, gender,
language, etc.) to think critically and be problem solvers; creative and innovative individuals;
become culturally sensitive and global citizens; communicate and collaborate with others;
develop personal competences and leadership skills, and digital literates who use
technologies to support their learning.
Teaching Philosophy: Within the philosophy of knowledge creation and meaning making, it
is expected that the teacher adopts the learning centred approach in the day-to-day delivery of
learning episodes (lessons). Learning centred approach implies the careful balance between
the use of teacher centred and learner-centred approaches.
It is expected that the teacher in a learner-centred classroom, the teacher would introduce and
model the learning area for the day’s episode for example, and assist learners to describe and
analyse issues therein, trace patterns of societal and human behaviour, and where necessary,
give their views on current events based on previous learning episodes. When the teacher is
intentional to promote interaction between teacher and learner(s), and between learners, it is
expected that learners will become active in their own learning, and at the end, take
ownership of the learning outcomes.
Differences in learners’ ability and the progress they are making should be seen by the
teacher to ensure there is effective differentiation during the learning process, and scaffolding
is well embedded.
Rationale: The learning areas at the Upper Primary School level demonstrate progression
from the Lower Primary School level and those at the High School level ensure that subjects
and learning areas to which learners have been exposed are consolidated and enhanced. New
learning areas are added to build on what learners already know, understand and are able to
do and new subjects are introduced. Further development of learners’ knowledge and skills in
the 4Rs - Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic and cReativity – is to ensure that the 4Rs are means
of communication and a library through which elements of Ghanaian culture and heritage are
transmitted from generation to generation.
The rationale for each school Subject of study at these levels within the pre-tertiary education
structure shall centre on the overall curriculum learning outcomes where:
• Learners are fluent in the 4Rs – Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic and cReativity
• Learners have a broad up-to-date knowledge, skills, values and attitudes in subject
disciplines and in a range of foundational literacies
– scientific, mathematical, financial, digital and entrepreneurship
• Learners are developed with the ability to apply what they have learned with confidence and
competence in future learning and in the world of work

43
• Learner have understanding of Ghana’s history, culture and traditions and of their rights and
responsibilities as citizens.
• Learners have understanding of learning as a lifelong endeavour through opportunities
provided them to fully participate in the learning process.
• Learners have appreciation of equality, equity and unity in diversity because they have
experienced an inclusive educational system where individual strengths and potentials are
valued and maximized, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, or geographical location.
The structure of the Ghanaian basic school curriculum
Every developed curriculum is basically woven around two central parts; structure and the
content. The structure looks at the various stages alongside their corresponding duration
whiles the content is about the various subjects and/or activities designed for learners to go
through.
Until recently, formal Basic Education was for all Ghanaian pupils from KG to JHS 3 (Grade
9), after which learners could progress to formal Senior High education, vocational education
and training, direct entry to employment or distance learning. However, in the current
education reforms, Basic Education has been redefined as a concept to include Senior High
School, and the system sub-divided into five key phases as follows:
1. Key Phase 1 [Foundation level comprising Kindergarten 1 & 2]
2. Key Phase 2 [Lower primary level made up of B1 to B3]
3. Key Phase 3 [Upper primary level of B4 to B6]
4. Key Phase 4 [Junior high school level of B7 to B9]
5. Key Phase 5 [Senior high school level comprising SHS1- SHS3].
Key Phases 1 and 2 constitute Early Years.
Structure Explained
Education at Key Phase 1 begins at age 4 with Kindergarten (KG) education and connects
with Lower Primary education up to age 8. KG education predisposes children to conditions
of formal schooling, imbuing in them the desire for learning during future years. The second,
or Upper Primary phase, seeks to lay a strong foundation for inquiry, creativity and
innovation, and lifelong learning in general, and to provide building blocks for higher levels
of education (Anamuah-Mensah Report, 2002).
The third phase of basic education is the three-year Junior High School or JHS (age 12-15
years) which is lower secondary education and provides the opportunity for pupils to discover
their interests, abilities, aptitudes and other potential. The final phase of basic education is the
three-year SHS (age 15-18 years), which is upper Secondary education and allows learners to
specialise in any one of the following programmes: Science, General Arts, Technical and
Vocational, Business, and a not less than one-year appropriate apprenticeship training
programme. The SHS education is the platform that delivers an extensive gamut of academic
knowledge and skills required for entry into further education and training in the tertiary
institutions of Ghana and elsewhere. In this context, after sitting and passing the West Africa
Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) conducted by the West African
Examination Council (WAEC), SHS graduates may gain admission into the Universities,
Polytechnics and such specialised institutions as Nursing Training Colleges, Colleges of
Education and Ghana Police Command.
INTRODUCTION TO POLICIES IN BASIC EDUCATION IN GHANA
Inclusive Education (IE) Policy: The overarching goal of Ghana’s Inclusive Education
policy is to redefine and recast the delivery and management of educational services to
respond to the diverse needs of all learners within the framework of Universal Design for
Learning and Child Friendly School Concept. Ghana’s actions in promoting inclusive
approaches in education will aim at:

44
a. Forging a holistic approach to education which ensures that the concerns of marginalized
and excluded groups are incorporated in all education activities, and cooperating to reduce
wasteful repetition and fragmentation.
b. Making education accessible to and functional for all learners with special educational
needs. A safer, easier and friendly learning environment for all learners.
The document is founded on the premise that every child has the right and can learn.
Policy Scope: The IE policy seeks to provide a framework for addressing issues of inclusive
education that relates to persons with mild and severer special educational needs at all levels
of education from kindergarten up to tertiary and adult education.
Standards and Guidelines for Practice of Inclusive Education in Ghana
The standards and guidelines is the reference document that provides assistance and guidance
to educational institutions in their provision of minimum access required in various types of
school buildings, gadgets, learning equipment and materials, as well as curriculum and
pedagogy for the practice of Inclusive Education. This document endorses the spirit of a
barrier free learning environment for all learners in both public and private schools. The
fundamental principles which have been followed in developing the standards/guidelines are
to guarantee standards for safety, convenience, usability and participation of all learners.
Standard 1: Provide Access to Schools
a. To accommodate all learners including those with disabilities each building and its site
shall be planned and designed as an integral unit from the very beginning of the design
process.
b. All entrance path/sidewalks, walkways, ramps, roads and/or walkways shall be smooth,
devoid of non-slip materials and shall have a firm level surface suitable for walking and
wheeling. It is important to note that irregular surfaces as cobble stones, coarsely exposed
aggregate concrete, bricks etc. often cause bumpy rides.
c. When walks exceed 60 meters in length, it is recommended a rest area is provided adjacent
to the walkway at convenient intervals with space for bench seats.
d. Obstructions like manhole, tree or any other obstructions in the walkway shall be avoided.
e. Guiding block at the start and completion of a walkway shall be provided.
f. Main entrance doors and other accessible entrance and exit doors shall have a clear
minimum opening
g. All schools shall provide separate toilets and urinals for boys, girls and individuals with
disabilities.
h. Where toilet facilities are accessible to wheelchair users, at least one toilet compartment in
each bank of same-sex toilets shall be accessible.
Standard 2: Providing Health and Safety in All School
i. Every school shall have adequate first aid kits, sick bay with qualified first aiders.
j. Roads and routes leading to the schools shall be provided with the necessary safety
measures
k. Every school compound shall be fenced and secured with locks and keys.
l. Every school compound shall be well maintained, and free from any obstacles
m. Floor or ground surfaces shall be stable, firm and slip resistant.
n. Protruding Objects or objects with leading edges shall be between 700mm and 200mm
above the floor or ground and shall protrude no more than 100mm into the clear width or
circulation space including handrails.
o. Furniture in every classroom shall be well arranged.
p. Every classroom shall have adequate appropriate age-specific furniture such as tables,
chairs, and lockers.
q. All electrical wiring in school premises shall be well protected covered.

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Standard 3: Every School (Private or Public) Should Provide All Learning
Opportunities for Quality Learning.
Provision of opportunities for quality learning involves focusing on four key areas namely:
Process, Learner, Personnel and Resources.
a. The Process highlights the content and instruction and must address the following:
• The National Curriculum should be made (tailored) suitable for every child. The curriculum
should be broad and balance.
• Teachers should set appropriate objectives and achievable targets for all learners.
• Teachers should use diverse strategies in teaching. For example, multisensory approaches,
demonstration, project, Teachers should provide additional time for learners with SEN to
complete learning activities/tasks and assignment.
• Teachers should provide learners with SEN opportunities to participate in all activities.
b. The focus on Learners should consider the following:
• Teachers shall screen all learners for special educational needs.
• Teachers shall complete school registers indicating the diverse learning needs in their
classrooms.
• Teachers shall refer learners suspected of having special educational needs for further
assessment
c. Personnel – All schools should have ways of satisfying themselves that staff involved with
the teaching of learners are qualified and competent to do so:
• All teachers should have the requisite qualifications and license.
• All schools should ensure that their staff recruitment and appointment procedures include a
means of making certain that all new staff have at least the minimum necessary level of
competence in Inclusive Education.
d. Material Resources – Ensure that material resources available for the support of the learner
shall be adequate and appropriate for each programme and subjects offered.
Standard 4: Monitor and Conduct Periodic Review of Programmes and Learners’
Progress
Classroom monitoring shall be a continuous activity of every school and diverse means (e.g.
observation, projects, pen and paper based, etc.) shall be adopted to assess and document
pupils/learners’ performance. Conduct periodic review meeting of all stakeholders on school
performance targets at national, regional, district and schools.
The Ghana School Feeding Programme and other Policies
Rationale
The Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) was initiated in 2005 as a social protection
intervention in the context of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development
Programme (CAADP) Pillar III and in response to the first and second Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and achieving
universal primary education. Over the period of implementation, the basic idea of the
program
has been to provide children in public primary schools and kindergartens with one hot
nutritious meal, prepared from locally grown foodstuffs, on every school day. The broad and
specific policy objectives were that school feeding efforts in Ghana would seek to improve
school enrolment, attendance and retention among pupils in the most deprived communities
in
Ghana as a strategy; promote an increase in domestic food production and consumption;
increase the incomes of poor rural households; and improve the health and nutritional status
of the pupils.
Vision

46
Rapid national socio-economic development achieved through a coordinated, integrated and
accountable national school feeding programme delivering improved nutrition for school
children, reliable domestic markets for local farmers, effective local catering services and
enhanced local incomes.
Goal of the Policy
A well-organized, decentralized intervention providing disadvantaged school children with
nutritionally adequate, locally produced food thereby reducing poverty through improved
household incomes and effective local economic development

Other Policies that Support the Design of the New Education Programme 1992
Constitution of Ghana
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana defines Basic Education as the Minimal Formal Education
with which every Ghanaian child is entitled to be equipped as a right, in order to function
effectively in society. That is, Basic Education connotes the provision of opportunities that
will provide graduates with the 21st Century attributes of well-rounded and engaged citizens.
Currently, this constitutes the foundation of the structure of pre-tertiary education in Ghana
(i.e. Kindergarten, Lower Primary, Upper Primary, Junior High School and Senior High
School).
Education Act 778 of 2008
The provisions of the Education Act, 1961, Act 87 have been supplemented by the Education
Act 2008, Act 778. Indeed, as stated in the President’s Committee on Review of Education
Reforms in Ghana – October 2002, ‘the philosophy underlining the educational system in
Ghana should be the creation of well-balanced (intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and
physically) individuals with the requisite knowledge, skills, values and aptitudes for self-
actualisation and for the socio-economic and political transformation of the nation’.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UNDG) 4 focuses on ensuring inclusive
quality education for all and promoting lifelong learning. Therefore, obtaining quality
education should be seen as the foundation to improving pupils’ lives and ensuring
sustainable development. Relevant Targets:
• ensure that all boys and girls have access to quality early childhood development education.
• ensure that all boys and girls complete free and equitable primary and secondary education.
• ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable
development.
UNESCO Education 2030 Framework for Action
The Framework is positioned within the UN SDG 4 to ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality
education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’. The Framework for Action is
the roadmap to guide the international community and national governments until 2030 in
their efforts to achieve UN SDG4.
The following are the key indicative strategies of the Framework:
• By 2030, ‘ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and
secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
• By 2030, ‘ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development,
care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education’.
• By 2030, ‘ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical,
vocational and tertiary education, including university’.
• By 2030, ‘substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills,
including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent work and
entrepreneurship’.

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• By 2030, ‘eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of
education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities,
indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
• By 2030, ‘ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women,
achieve literacy and numeracy’.
ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy Framework
The main mission: to transform Ghana into an information-rich, knowledge-based and
technology-driven high-income economy and society.

Adolescent Reproductive Health Development

The main objective of Adolescent Reproductive Health Development (ARHD) is to ensure
that the development of policies, guidelines and curricula is based on the growing body of
evidence that documents the characteristics of a successful comprehensive Sexual
Reproductive Health
programme and the positive impact it can have on adolescents when designed and delivered
appropriately.
Ghana Reading Action Plan
One main objective of the Ghana Reading Action Plan (G-RAP) is to improve the school
curriculum in order to enhance knowledge, skills and competences for all children in Ghana
as a necessary step to building the necessary human capital for the transformation of the
country. This shall include such priority areas as aligning the syllabi for English and
Ghanaian languages to achieve global reading standards and milestones and reviewing the
syllabi for appropriate content and sequencing of content
National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy
Ghana, as a typical developing country, grapples with many development challenges. In
agriculture, industry, health, environment and all other sectors, there are obstacles in the
quest to improve society and the quality of life for all Ghanaians. However, attaining the
development vision is not impossible. The first and foremost step is to harness Science,
Technology and Innovation (STI) to address the development challenges. To enable a
constructive and structured harnessing of STI, the National Science, Technology and
Innovation policy has been formulated to consider the social and economic context and the
imperatives for Ghana’s development.
MEANING AND NATURE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
According to Parveen (2013) “Teacher education refers to the policies and procedures
designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and skills
they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school and wider community.
It is a programme that is related to the development of teacher proficiency and competence
that would enable and empower the teacher to meet the requirements of the profession and
face the challenges therein.” From the definition above, you can infer that teacher education
is a holistic
programme that does not prepare teachers for the classroom alone but prepares them to
function in the wider society.
Teacher education must reflect on professional values, personal commitment, professional
knowledge and understanding, the right attitudes, professional skills and abilities, ethics and
morals that should promote quality education for all children.
According to the International Encyclopaedia of Teaching and Teacher
Education (1987), teacher education can be considered in three phases:
• Pre-service

48
• Induction and
• In-service.
Nature of Teacher Education
Teacher education generally includes four elements (Perraton, 2010):
1. Improving the general educational background of the student teachers
2. Increasing their knowledge and understanding of the subjects they are to teach
3. Pedagogy and understanding of children and learning
4. The development of practical skills and competences.
Objectives of Teacher Education
The main objective of teacher education is to prepare professional teachers who have the
theoretical knowledge as well as practical competences, skills and commitment to teach
effectively.

Who are the Standards for?

The Standards apply to:
• Student teachers on pre-service teacher training courses working towards meeting the
Standards by the end of their course.
• All Beginning Teachers on their Induction Year in schools.
• All practising teachers in schools, who are covered by the 2016 new National Teaching
Council (NTC) frameworks for career progression and promotion. The Standards serve as a
point of reference for all standards and competences.
• The National Teaching Council will use the Teachers’ Standards in assessing cases of any
misconduct by any member of the teaching profession.
• All those institutions involved in the training and development of teachers including
Universities and Colleges, public and private, vocational/technical and academic.
• Teacher educators will use it as a guide in the preparation of curricula and courses for
teacher training.
• District Education Directors, Circuit Supervisors, Teacher Unions, Head Teachers and
Mentors in schools will also need to use the Teaching Standards as a guide to inform their
work.
Why do you think these standards are necessary?
The National Teaching Council (NTC) established by the 2008 Education Act, is mandated to
establishing standards for teachers’ employment, ethics, continuous professional development
(CPD) and periodic review of professional practice. These Standards define the minimum
levels of practice expected of student teachers in order to be licensed. It must be noted that
during the training and the period of induction, the standards continue to define the level of
practice at which all qualified teachers are expected to perform. It is required that all
institutions (Universities and Colleges of Education) offering pre-service teacher education in
Ghana ensure that their design and content of their programmes are based on the standards set
by NTC. Trainees will be assessed against these standards.
What Philosophy underpins the Standards?
Teacher education in Ghana aims at producing teachers imbued with professional skills,
attitudes and values as well as the spirit of inquiry, innovation and creativity that will enable
them to adapt to changing conditions, use inclusive strategies and engage in lifelong learning.
The teachers are required to have a passion for teaching and leadership, engage with
members not only in the school community but also in the wider community, and act as
potential agents of change. Development of the Standards was informed by a review of
international teaching standards. In other words, it was informed by best teaching practices
worldwide, but taking cognizance of our unique Ghanaian contexts. What is most important

49
is that teachers apply their content knowledge in the classroom, by demonstrating sound
pedagogical content knowledge.
Importance of Teachers and Teacher Education
The teacher is the pivot of the educational process. This is because in any educational
enterprise, there is always the teacher who initiates all activities to ensure that there is
effective teaching and learning. Teachers affect eternity. This is because an average teacher
would affect directly or indirectly, lives of a lot of people who come their way. It is upon
their devotion and commitment to duty, effectiveness and efficiency that ensures the success
and progress of any educational system and consequently the future of any nation.
Teacher-preparation programs provide educators-to-be with the tools, expertise, and hands-on
experience they'll need to perform as professionals, hence the essence;
• To promote the professional competence
• To learn how to manage a school to promote the efficiency of the teacher
• To expose the teacher to the problems they are likely to face and how to solve them
• Give the teacher better understanding of the job
• Equip the teacher with knowledge about the issues of teacher education.
Teacher Education Process
Pre- Service Training: This is usually provided in the Colleges of Education where the
student teacher is introduced to the knowledge and skills needed to do a professional job in
teaching. The teacher is introduced to the principles that underline teaching aims of
education, the curriculum, the nature and characteristics of child development, methods of
teaching and learning and resources from which pupils and teachers can draw to enhance
teaching and learning. The pre-service training introduces the student teacher to practical
skills, which finally helps the teacher to perform efficiently on the profession.
Teacher-Induction: This is a stage when a teacher has taken full responsibility of a full-time
teaching. However, this teacher is not fully qualified and is said to be on probation. During
this induction period the teacher receives some guidance and supervision from veteran
teachers. Most of the time head teachers who have been trained as mentors are expected to be
mentoring or coaching
the student teachers on the job. These mentors act like critical friends to see to the successful
development of a good teacher.
In- service Training (Continuing Professional Development (CPD); It is critical for
veteran teachers to have ongoing and regular opportunities to learn from each other and adapt
to new ways of doing things. In-service training keeps teachers up-to-date on new research on
how children learn, emerging technology tools for the classroom, new curriculum resources,
teaching strategies etc. The best professional development is focusing on learning as a teacher
by attending courses, conferences, reading relevant books and collaborating with your
colleagues to improve your lot.

Teacher Education Models (Consecutive and Concurrent Models)

Consecutive Model
In the consecutive model, the professional training in pedagogy and teaching is taken after
students had completed a first degree in a discipline related to subjects taught in schools. The
initial teacher education programme in which Governments target university graduates, who
already possess first degree in areas similar to those studied in schools, recruit and train to
teach in schools. The assumption to this is that entrants with higher scores, knowledgeable
and more mature, might show more commitment, will stay in teaching for longer periods of
time and will subsequently improve learning and students' achievement. Often, this model
occurs in

50
universities, although it is also carried by Teacher College that typically offers a concurrent
model of teacher education.
Advantages of Consecutive Model
• The consecutive model is considered to offer stronger subject matter preparation.
• It allows for flexible entry into teacher education and accommodate more readily to changes
in student interests and labour market conditions.
• The most often emphasized advantage of the consecutive teacher training is that teachers
are prepared in a shorter period of time, teacher training is facilitated,
• The economic question of teacher training is also discussed: one year (full-time studies) or
one and a half years (part-time studies) pedagogical studies are cheaper.
Concurrent Model
In the concurrent model, the academic subjects are taught alongside the education and
pedagogical studies throughout the preparation period. The concurrent model is the main one,
when students get an individual subject training as well as pedagogical subjects and a certain
amount of practical activity credits at school.

Advantages of Concurrent Model

• Concurrent model offers a more integrated learning experience but requires a fairly early
career decision from people who are also less mature and less knowledgeable.
• Professional interests are refined, the student discovers problems that are specific to
teaching and learning, a better integration of academic and professional studies. From the
very first year of studies, students take field placements at schools which enable them to link
theory and practice.
• The significance of a pedagogical field placement and the lengthening of its duration are
also provided by the NTECF and NTS documents, recommendations are included to explore
effective field placement models.
• During their pedagogical field placement at school students also get opportunity to assess
their subject-related competencies, they check themselves in their work with pupils and after
such experience often discover their calling, confirm their choice or even change their
negative attitude not to work as a teacher.
• The continuation of their field placement during the period of time allows for skills and
values to form, there is sufficient time for reflection. Losing touch with his field placement
does not provide an opportunity for a future teacher to mature as a personality.
The Role of Teachers in National Development.
• Teachers play vital roles to bring about transformation in society. According to Ntumy &
Pretorius (2019), the teacher is the most important element in any educational program.
• It is the teacher who is mainly responsible for the implementation of the educational
processes and programmes at any stage. Therefore, there is no doubt that devoting resources
to teacher education in the preparation of teachers will secure the future of a nation. As you
are aware, the collective competencies we acquire through schooling prepare us to contribute
to national development.
• Teacher Education programmes focus on skills training. This incorporates three main skills
which are: teaching skills, pedagogical theory and professional skills.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE NEW TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN
GHANA
Factors and Rationale for the New Teacher Education Programme
• There is a low level of teacher participation in decision-making (e.g. test-item preparation)
and inadequate professionalism in curriculum development;

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• The current curriculum in teacher education is weighted heavily towards subject-content
knowledge to the detriment of curriculum space for developing understanding of pedagogy
and practice classroom teaching skills, a situation referred to as academic drift
• The current teacher education curriculum does not include clear progression learning to
teach effectively (e.g. according to the competencies set out in the pre-tertiary Teacher
Professional Development and Management Policy in Ghana or the National Teachers
Standards);
• The assessment system in the initial teacher education curriculum is too information-
oriented, extremely quantitative and lacks comprehensiveness. It is also summative with 60%
assessment by examination and 40% continuous assessment which can consist of a few
quizzes and an assignment;
• A student’s progression depends on success in the examinations. This makes the curriculum
both theory laden and examination focused, thereby preventing students from developing
appropriate pedagogical skills.
• Teacher education programmes do not develop the attitudes, values, dispositions, habits and
interests of teachers. The current assessment system has no place for assessing these aspects;
• Students teachers have little or no opportunity to examine their own belief and biases and
reflect on their own experiences as part of their classroom transaction and enquiry;
• Current teacher’s education programmes do not recognise the centrality of language in the
curriculum. As such, preparation to develop children’s language and literacy is not
prioritised.
Rationale for the New Teacher Education Programme
• Fully prepare student teachers to teach the School Curriculum, in particular, English,
mathematics and science, concentrating on relevant subjects and pedagogical knowledge.
• Equip students’ teachers to develop pupil’s languages (Ghanaian and English) and literacy
so all can access the curriculum;
• Give higher status to practical teaching through supported and assessed teaching in school;
• Widen the focus of assessment to include in-school learning and assignments as well as
examinations, with students being assessed against the Teacher’s Standards;
• Deepen student teacher’s curriculum knowledge through introducing level specialism’s –
KG-p3, p4, p6, JHS and SHS;
• Emphasise a more interactive, learner-focused approach to training, modelling good
teaching;
• Be explicit in addressing vital cross-cutting: equity and inclusivity, assessment, core skills,
professional values, action research and reflection;
• These essential issues have shaped the Curriculum framework, which is underpinned by the
National Teacher’s Standards as the determiner of what a competent teacher is, and
• The goal is to ensure that every child’s right to competent teachers who are able to support
learning and progress is fulfilled.
Ghana’s Teacher Education philosophy
Ghana’s Teacher Education Philosophy is, ‘producing teachers imbued with professional
skills, attitudes and values, and depth and breadth of content knowledge as well as the spirit
of enquiry, innovation and creativity that will enable them to adapt to changing conditions,
use inclusive strategies and engage in life- long learning (NTECF, p.14). This underpins the
new 4-year B.Ed. curriculum. The Bachelor of Education programme is designed to produce
teachers who have passion for teaching and leadership, are reflective practitioners and who
‘engage with members of not only in the school community but also in the wider community
and act as potential agents of change’ (NTS 1, f, g p. 13)
National Teacher Education Curriculum Framework

52
The four pillars of the curriculum: these set out the essential knowledge, skills and
understanding necessary for effective teaching, as defined by the NTECF
Pillar 1- Subject and Curriculum Knowledge: Subject knowledge for teaching content,
Progress in learning in subjects, Common misconceptions in subjects, School curriculum
including learning outcomes, education system and key subject policies guiding it, child
development and learning in subject in diverse contests/cultures, Subject Specific Assessment
of Pupils’ Learning. Secure, subject-specific content and pedagogic knowledge are the keys
to
being able to teach the school curriculum including. All schools’ curriculum subjects are
addressed and made specific to each specialism.
Pillar 2- Literacy Studies (Ghanaian languages and English), Language proficiency and
communication, Communicate fluently and engage learners in Ghanaian language / English,
Use the L1 to teach other subjects KG-P3 and L 2 as language of instruction from P4-JHs 3,
Assist transition from L 1 as medium of instruction to the use of L2 from P 4 onwards,
Identify and support children with literacy problems, Early Grade Literacy (L1 and L2). As
language is the key to enabling children to assess the curriculum, this learning area is a pillar
in its own right.
Pillar 3- Pedagogic Knowledge, Instructional strategies, Introduction to cross-cutting issues,
Assessment to support differentiation and leaning, Barriers to leaning, Effective mechanisms
for planning, Behaviour Management strategies, Preparation for supported teaching in school,
Implications of leaner backgrounds. Including: general pedagogic knowledge, assessment
strategies, introduction to and development of cross cutting issues, education studies,
preparation for supported teaching in school, classroom enquiry and research, inclusion and
equity, Special Education Needs (SEN) and ICT.
Pillar 4- Supported Teaching in School: Application of their learning in a range of
supported and extended school experiences: observing, planning, teaching and assessing their
impact on pupil’s learning progress and wellbeing, assessed through portfolio of evidence of
quality of teaching against the National Teachers’ Standards, pillars and Cross Cutting Issues.
student teachers will spend 30% of their training in the field. For the KG-P3 and p4-p6
specialism, this training period will be spent in schools with the support of mentors. For the
Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) this part of the training will be divided
between TVET schools and industry with mentors. The mentors will assess student teachers
on the
development of competencies and skills set out in the NTS.
The following are some of the factors that led to the development of the new teacher
education programme:
• In the past twenty years, there have been numerous minor reforms in
the teacher education system in Ghana, which have had very little impact on children’s
learning outcomes;
• The teacher education curriculum has not adequately responded to the lack of improvement
in learning outcomes at the basic school level; this strengthens the need for reforms in the
teacher education sector in Ghana;
• There is a low level of teacher participation in decision-making (e.g. test-item preparation)
and inadequate professionalism in curriculum development;
• The current curriculum in teacher education is weighted heavily towards subject-content
knowledge to the detriment of curriculum space for developing understanding of pedagogy
and practice classroom teaching skills, a situation referred to as academic drift;
The rationale for the new teacher education programme specifically deals with the following
issues:

53
• Fully prepare student teachers to teach the School Curriculum, in particular, English,
mathematics and science, concentrating on relevant subjects and pedagogical knowledge.
• Equip students’ teachers to develop pupil’s languages (Ghanaian and English) and literacy
so all can access the curriculum;
• Give higher status to practical teaching through supported and assessed teaching in school;
• Widen the focus of assessment to include in-school learning and assignments as well as
examinations, with students being assessed against the Teacher’s Standards;
Specialism Programmes
In order to achieve the overarching vision for the NTECF and to enable all student teachers to
meet the NTS, the new B.Ed. curriculum is made up of three distinct specialism
programmes: Early Grade Education (Kindergarten to Primary three), Upper Primary
Education (Primary Four to Six) and Junior High School Education. Following a foundation
first year, student teachers will elect to follow one of the three programmes. This will ensure
depth of knowledge of what is to be taught and enable them to connect with the
developmental level of the learners they teach. Each of the programmes is written to adhere
to the Interim Teacher Education (ITE) curriculum structure set out in the NTECF which
provide the framework for the content of each course.
Levels of Progression from Year 1, Level 100 To Year 4, Level 400 In the New B. Ed.
Programme
Year one- Beginning Teaching: awareness of self and learners as unique individuals. this
year, also called level one hundred (100), recognizes that many student teachers will have
come from school level education and from a wide range of backgrounds and experience. It
introduces the key principles and practices of the subjects and learning areas and supported
teaching in school within the wider curriculum thereby ensuring that student teachers
can locate their specialisms and also help them to achieve a successful
transition from school to college.
• Transition from SHS student to student-teacher; start portfolio with child study; traits of the
profession
• Develop awareness of self, as individual and future teacher
• Develop awareness of how teachers’ bias and beliefs can impact on learning (e.g. boys are
engineers, girls are mothers; “slow learners” cannot learn; poor children cannot be successful
adults)
• Identify own beliefs and bias about diversity, inclusion and equity
• Begin to identify the characteristics that make each learner (in child study) unique
• Definition of inclusion (this can be revised every semester through the courses as part of
developing the student teacher’s personal philosophy)
• Begin to identify diversity characteristics as expressed in the subjects
Year two- Developing Teaching: teachers’ values and attitudes impacting on pupils’
learning, how diversity impacts on learning. student teachers, during level two hundred
(200) elect one of the three specialism programmes but key features from year one continues
to be developed as relevant to each specialism. The second year prepares student
teachers to identify and assess weaknesses and barriers to learning for learners and to carry
out small-scale action research under the guidance of mentors.
• Begin to identify, assess and analyse the needs of children, taking into account any issues of
background and experience. Emerging ability to reflect on and develop their understanding of
teaching, learning and assessment;
• Begin to identify the characteristics of an inclusive teacher (values & attitudes);
• Identify school and student characteristics that act as barriers to learning;
• Develop understanding of how diversity can impact learning and what they can do about it;

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• Understand that learner diversity is to be respected, valued and understood as a resource
that enhances learning opportunities and adds value to schools, local communities and
society;
• Know that ALL learners’ voices should be heard and valued;
• Recognize how the teacher is a key influence on a learner’s self-esteem and, as a
consequence, their learning potential;
• Understand that learners learn in different ways and that this can be used to support their
own learning and that of their peers.
• KG- P3:
a. human development (early years) and developmental milestones;
b. development of gender role awareness (e.g., boys & trucks, girls & dolls);
c. transition from thematic approach to subjects
• P4 – P6
a. human development (middle childhood) and developmental milestones; transition to class
teacher model and subsequently to subject-teacher in JHS;
b. establishment of personal bias and stigma;
c. opportunities to explore diversity in daily life, reflect on personal bias and analyse how
institutional discriminations impact childhood;
d. opportunities to explore diversity within the class/subject and potential barriers to inclusion
(including personal bias, stereotypes and institutional discrimination);
• JHS
a. human development (early adolescence) and developmental milestones;
b. Making gender roles visible in the curriculum (e.g., overrepresentation of boys in maths).
Year three- Embedding Teaching: being a team member, co-teaching and co-planning,
planning for individualised instruction. In level three hundred (300), student teachers will
continue to build skills, knowledge and understanding in their chosen specialism. They will
co-plan and co-teach groups of learners and whole classes; carry out small scale classroom
enquiries and provide evidence of working towards meeting the NTS. Year three includes
preparation for year four.
• Co-planning, co-teaching and co-assessment; Plan for and teach sequences of lessons with
regard to issues of equity and inclusivity. Evaluate and reflect on teaching and on pupils’
learning to support students;
• Identify learners who struggle to overcome barriers;
• In collaboration with other professionals, write individualized plans of action, including
differentiated instruction/assessment;
• Student teachers will understand that:
- academic, practical, social and emotional learning are equally important for all learners;
- effective teachers are teachers of all learners; teachers take responsibility for facilitating the
learning of all learners in a class;
- teachers’ expectations are a key determinant of learner success and therefore high
expectations for all learners are critical;
- learners’ abilities are not fixed; all learners have the capacity to learn and develop;
- ALL learners should be active decision-makers in their learning and any assessment
processes they are involved in;
- the learning process is essentially the same for all learners – there are very few ‘special
techniques’; be familiar with different models of learning and approaches to learning; typical
and atypical child development patterns and pathways, particularly in relation to social and
communication skill development;
- support the development of learners’ communication skills and possibilities as well as
‘learning to learn skills – develop independent and autonomous learners;

55
- On some occasions, particular learning difficulties require responses based upon adaptations
to the curriculum and teaching approaches; be familiar with assessment for learning and
methods focused upon identifying the strengths of a learner.
Year four- Extending Teaching: teaching all learners; learners, school and community.
level four hundred (400) is divided into two semesters:
Semester one: student teachers will complete their final supported teaching in school. This
will be on internship basis (out programme) and for significant classroom-based enquiry and
action research projects.
Semester two: student teachers will return to college to complete some courses. By the end
of the fourth year, student teachers will: plan, teach and assess their learners independently
and with increasing consistency; exhibit the ethical codes of conduct, values and attitudes
expected of a teacher; carry out extensive action research projects and to provide evidence of
meeting the National Teachers’ Standards in full.
• Consistently and independently plan for and teach, motivate and extend the learning of all
children; to improve the learning opportunities of an agreed group of learners to promote
greater inclusion;
• Identify/screen learners within a class, who might need: group, targeted, intensive
interventions and plan accordingly (identify human resource support);
• Work with families and external professionals to ensure barriers to learning are identified,
addressed and overcome;
• Understand that inclusive teaching is based on a collaborative working approach and
requires all teachers to work in teams;
• Be aware of the added value of working collaboratively with parents and families;
• Be aware of the impact of inter-personal relationships on the achievement of learning goals;
• Be familiar with different levels of need/intervention aimed at preventing student failure;
• Be familiar with professionals who can support a learner overcome barriers;
• Collaboration, partnerships and teamwork are essential approaches for all teachers and
should be welcomed;
• Be familiar with the language/terminology and basic working concepts and perspectives of
other professionals involved in education;
• Be familiar with the power relationships that exist between different stakeholders that have
to be acknowledged and effectively dealt with.
CHANGING PHASES OF TEACHER EDUCATION AFTER INDEPENDENCE IN
GHANA AND THE NEW 4-YEAR BACHELOR OF EDUCATION PROGRAMME
Teacher training from early to recent developments
Certificate "A": The four-year Teacher Training course was established in 1930 for the
training of middle school leavers to teach in the primary and middle schools. It attracted
middle school leavers with the best qualifications since teaching was quite highly respected
as a profession.
Certificate "B": In order to meet the increasing demand for more teachers at the primary
level due to the rapid expansion of the education system, a two-year Certificate "B", post-
middle school training programme was introduced in 1937.
Post-B Certificate "A": As a result of further expansion of the education system, at the time
of the Accelerated Development Plan in 1951, a new two-year programme was introduced for
Certificate " B" holders which enabled them to upgrade to a Post-"B" Certificate "A" after a
period of teaching experience in the classroom.
Certificate "A" (Post-Secondary): With the expansion of secondary education, in 1950 a
new two-year programme was established for secondary school leavers to train them to teach
in middle and secondary schools. These graduates were awarded the Certificate "A".

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Two-year Specialist/Three-year Diploma: These were teachers trained in specialised
subject areas. The two-year programme covered specialisation in Home Science, Physical
Education, Music, and Art. It was later upgraded to a three-year diploma course to embrace
more subject areas such as English and Mathematics. This programme was introduced in
1962, and was open to all Certificate "A"
teachers with some classroom experience. All the programmes described above had been
phased out 1978 and replaced with the three-year Post-Secondary Teacher Training
Programme leading to certificate "A" qualification. The main purpose of this new programme
was to improve the professional competence of trained teachers. In 1993, the Education
Commission on Teacher Education recommended the setting up of only two levels of teacher
education. These are:
• 4-year straight degree programmes for graduates from senior secondary schools; and
• 2-year post-diploma degree programmes for practising teachers.
Teacher Education under the 2007 Education Reforms
Anamuah-Mensah, committee was set up in 2007 to review the entire educational system in
Ghana and make it more responsive to current challenges threatening Ghana’s development.
The committee after studying the pre-school, basic, secondary, technical, vocational, teacher
and tertiary education, made recommendations to improve teacher education delivery in
Ghana. Among these recommendations included the upgrading of teacher training colleges to
diploma awarding institutions with a new name “Colleges of Education”. The colleges of
education were also recommended to be affiliated to education-oriented universities. In line
with the demands of the 2007 Education Reforms, all colleges of education in Ghana, were
affiliated to the University of Cape Coast. Currently the Colleges of Education has been
upgraded to a Bachelor degree in Basic Education awarding institutions and are divided
among the 5 public universities for mentoring namely University of Cape Coast, University
of Education
Winneba, University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and
University of Development Studies.
KEY POLICIES INFLUENCING TEACHER EDUCATION IN GHANA
Why do we need a policy on teacher education?: This policy initiative has brought about a
framework that is intended to ensure that teachers are adequately prepared to respond to the
changing needs of Education in the country as a whole. More importantly, the policy
framework is to ensure that there are clear and explicit standards which govern the
preparation and management of teachers in Ghana.
National Teachers’ Standards (NTS): Teachers play such a critical role in inspiring and
challenging learners to achieve their potential, for this reason their training and subsequent
developments require the highest possible standards in knowledge, conduct and practice in
the workplace.
The National Teachers’ Standards (NTS) set out the minimum levels of practice that all
trained teachers must reach by the end of their pre-service teacher education course in order
to play such a critical role. The minimum levels of practice are described as Standards that
beginning teachers must meet under the following three categories:
• Professional Values and Attitudes: According to the NTS Guidelines, teachers should be
guided by legal and ethical teacher codes of conduct in their development as professional
teachers.
• Professional practice: The teacher should employ a repertoire of learning strategies in
order to meet the learning needs of all children through the application of relevant resources.
• Professional knowledge: The teacher should understand how children develop and learn in
diverse contexts (cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic and educational backgrounds) and apply
this in their teaching.

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National Teacher Education Curriculum Framework (NTECF): The Curriculum
Framework is a document against which all future teacher education curricula would be
assessed. It concentrates on the essential elements a pre-service teacher education curriculum
needs to focus on to produce the best teachers, and against which all Teacher Education
Curricula, including the DBE, can be reviewed. Under this framework, fully prepared
student-teachers would be enabled to teach the Basic School Curriculum, in particular,
Ghanaian languages and English, mathematics and science, concentrating on relevant subject
and pedagogic knowledge.
The keys to success in Teacher Education depend on the following four pillars:
Pillar 1: Subject and Curriculum knowledge
Pillar 2: Pedagogic Knowledge
Pillar 3: Literacy Studies (Ghanaian languages and English)
Pillar 4: Supported Teaching in Schools
Pre-tertiary Teacher Professional Development and Management (PTPDM) policy
Vision: The policy seeks to produce quality, highly skilled, knowledgeable and committed
teachers to teach in Ghanaian schools. In effect it will support teachers to enable them
function effectively in the basic and second cycle schools in Ghana and to develop and
nurture them to become reflective and proficient practitioners capable of providing quality
education for all Ghanaian children.
Core Values: The core values for teachers shall reflect commitment, attitudes, ethics and
morals that should promote quality education for all children in Ghana.
The policy goal is to ensure that teachers are recruited, trained to teach and to continue to
develop their competencies and skills through lifelong learning.

THE ROLE OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN PROVIDING EDUCATION TO THE

GHANAIAN CHILD UNIT 4 SECTION 6
The Role of the State
• Drawing the curriculum for use in schools.
• Motivating teachers with incentives e.g. through the Best Teacher Awards and
accommodation.
• Formulation of appropriate policies and national objectives for the education of the
Ghanaian child (e.g. legal bills on FCUBE).
• Mobilization of resources to provide infrastructure e.g. school buildings, workshops and
laboratories in support of the educational system.
• Provision of funds for scholarship for the marginalized, needy but brilliant children.
• Provision of both pre-service and in-service training for teachers and the payment of salary
for teachers.
• Provision of adequate textbooks and other teaching and learning materials so as to ensure
the proper development of the child at school.
The Role of the District Assemblies
• The provision of school infrastructure e.g. classroom buildings, workshops etc.
• The provision of school furniture.
• Provision of scholarships for needy but brilliant students.
• Conduct of educational campaigns to sensitize parents to ensure that children of school
going age in the community, particularly the girl child attend school.
• Provide financial assistance to support the organization of Science. Mathematics and
Technology Workshops.
• Sponsorship for organization of best teacher Awards.
• Establishment of Community Libraries.

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The Role of the Community:
• Ensure regular and total attendance of pupils to school until they complete.
• Assist the school to organize and form Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and the School
Management Committee (SMC).
• They can also participate in communal labour to provide facilities for the school. Help in
providing residential accommodation for teachers, show respect to and encourage teachers in
their school work.
• Supplement the efforts of teachers in training and socialization of pupils e.g. some can be
used as resource persons in certain subject areas.
• Make philanthropic contributions of various kinds to the school.
• Material resource of the community like traditional regalia may be made available to the
school for its activities (e.g. in Cultural Studies).
• To ensure good upbringing and discipline among children in the community.
• To monitor teacher conduct and performance.
• To maintain cordial relations with school staff.
The Role of the Parents:
• They help solve teachers' accommodation problems.
• Parents are the first teachers of the child from whom he learns responsible behaviour pattern
e.g. greetings and caring habits.
• Parents initiate the child into his cultural heritage. For example, he learns the language,
beliefs, customs, norms and values of the society from his parents.
• Parents provide love, security, attention, belongingness (i.e. the psychological needs of the
child).
• Through his own observation and the direct teaching of his parents, the child recognizes
gender roles of father, mother and the extended family.
• Provision of basic school materials e.g. Uniforms, bags and stationery.
• They release land for school projects e.g. farm.
• Provision of well-balanced diet to ensure the proper physical and mental development to
enable him to cope with the stresses and strains of school life and work.
• Payment of user fees, extra classes and other fees charged by the school to enhance
effective teaching and learning.
THE CONCEPT SCHOOL-COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIP UNIT 5 SECTION 1
What is a School?: A School is a training centre which helps develop pupils into efficient
social being and to train them to further educate the backward members of their society. The
school is a special environment where a certain quality of life types of activities and
occupations are provided with the object of securing child’s development along desirable
lines (Mishra, 2007).
What is Community? : A Community according to Jones and George (2006), refers to
physical location like towns or cities or to social milieus like ethnic neighbourhoods in which
an organization is located. A community provides an organization with the physical and
social infrastructure that allows it to operate; it utilities and labour force; the homes in which
its managers and employees live; other organization such as hospital, town services, carriers
and theatres that service their needs.
What is a School -Community Partnership? : A school-community relation is a mutual
interaction between the school and community in which both assist each other to achieve
their respective goals. A school community relation is a two-way interaction of give-and-take
between the school and the community. The school receives its inputs from the community
and sends its outputs back to the community. The input from the community includes
students, teaching and non-teaching personnel, funds and facilities. The inputs are processed
into outputs in the school through teaching, assignments, exercises, research studies,

59
guidance and counselling, etc. The output which consists of cultured, disciplined and
productive individuals is sent back to the community to serve it in various capacities.
Characteristics of a Healthy School and Community Relationship
• A clear and shared focus
• High standards and expectations for all students
• Effective school leadership
• High levels of collaboration and communication
• A supportive learning environment that is safe, healthy and secured
Types of School-Community Relationship
According Pawlas (2005) identified six types of school -community relationship:
• Parenting: Schools and communities relate as parents of a student. Families must provide
for the health and safety of children, and maintain a home environment that encourages
learning and good behaviour in school. Schools provide training and information to help
families understand their children development and how to support the changes they undergo.
• Communication: School must reach out to families with information about the school
programmes and student reports, as well as new information on topics such as school choice
and making the transition from elementary school to higher grades.
TYPES OF SCHOOL COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIP UNIT 5 SECTION 2
• Learning: With the guidance and support of teachers, family members can supervise and
assist their children at home with homework assignment and other school related activities.
• Decision Making: School can give parents meaningful roles in the school decision making
process, and provide parents, with training and information so they can make the most of
those opportunities. This opportunity should be open to all segments of the community, not
just people who have the most time and energy to spend on school affairs.
Ahrweiler (2011) also classifies school-community relationship three different types. They
include:
• The School as a Closed System: In this type of relationship, all the boundaries of the
school are closed to the community and both the school and the community are separated
from each other. In a closed-system, the school sufficiently is independent in solving most of
their problems through their internal forces, without taking into account forces in the external
environment. The kind of relationship in a closed school- community relationship exists as
separate entities. Both are seen as performing different functions and hence need not interfere
with each other. The school officials run the school while the Community looks on. What
happens by way of development or information flow in the community is not the concern of
the school and vice versa. Members of the community do not care to find out what goes on in
the school nor does the school develop interest in what goes on in the community. Each of
them feels the other has nothing to offer, and no effort is made for cooperation. (Amofa,
1999).
• Interpretation System Relationship: In this type of relationship, all although the school
interacts with the community, people hold a distorted view about the school or see the school
in a different light. For example, the society see the school as punishing body so when pupils
offend at home, they are sent to the school to be punished. The school is not seen as a place
where skills and knowledge are acquired.
• The co-operative System of Relationship: This is an example of an open system. There is
community involvement in the school’s affairs. The school’s boundaries are open to the
community and the school allows itself to be influenced by the community. Thus, the
community understands what the school stands for and there is effective collaboration. The
cooperation that exists between the school and community help each to work closely with
each other to meet their mutual goals. Schools can provide more support for students,

60
families and staff when they are an integral part of the community. On the other hand, the
community provides and share facilities and equipment and other resources
with the school. Appropriate and effective collaboration and team work are seen as key
factors to school- community development, learning and family self-sufficiency in the co-
operative system relation.
Principles Underlying Good School – Community Relationship
• A good school and community relationship should stress the aim and aspirations of the
school. By aspirations we mean the things learners hope to achieve for themselves in the
future by the help of the school. The school therefore needs to make it clear to the community
about the aims and aspirations they want to achieve with the learners so that collaboratively,
all will play major part in ensuring that.
• Ability to give precise and correct information helps to build public confidence in the
school.
• School should support community programmes. A school which does not only allows but
also creates opportunities to involve itself in community programmes builds a cordial
relationship among the two parties and that is viewed as very necessary. The school should
not
always benefit from the community.
• The school should make the community Involvement a Priority.
• The school is an institution with its own structure, culture, rules and regulations. These
structure, culture, rules and regulations are sometimes misunderstood by the community and
do not know how these school system works. It therefore becomes a mandatory for the
school to become interpreters for such structure, rules and regulations to the community so
that all thought, misunderstanding, misconceptions are cleared.
• There should be shared responsibilities by both the school and
community.

STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING A HEALTHY SCHOOL COMMUNITY

RELATIONSHIP UNIT 5 SECTION 5
• The formation of Parents-Teacher Associations: Parent –Teacher Associations (PTA)
also constitute another major means by which schools and communities are able to reach one
another. PTA’S exits to facilitate cooperation between parents and school teachers so that
both parties can best promote the interest of the children in schools (Asiedu
–Akrofi, 1978).
• Organization of Special Events: The organization of speech and Prize-Giving Days or
Open Days by schools is yet another means by which the school teaches reaches the
community.
• The use of the media: Upcoming community forums, orientation programmes, or events
for parents and families can be done through printed handouts, emails, newsletters, or other
publications. Again, other social media such as whatsApp, twitter, Facebook and others will
be useful to parents and more specially whose who have less time and cannot visit the school
will be able to get any important information to such parents.
• Setting of leadership team comprised of school and community stakeholders. It is
critical to engage the school head, specialized instructional support personnel, parents,
families, students, and community leaders in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of
school–community partnerships.
• Clear expectations and shared accountability for the school and community partners.
Delineation of roles and responsibilities for school personnel and community providers
enhances efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery while ensuring that the needs of the
school are being met.

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• The use of school-community facilities: Members of the community or the general public
where the school is located can be given the opportunity to for the community to use school
premises for anniversary celebrations, special community /town meetings, concerts, Sunday
schools, among others.
Benefits of School –Community Relationship
• Effective school –community relationship will keep parents informed about school
programmes so that they can advise their children intelligently.
• The community will come to know the value of the teacher and accord him/her the same
respect accorded to other professions like doctors and lawyers.
• The community will come to understand and sympathize with the school and also renew
commitment to the sustenance of education vital for social progress and development.
• Good relationship between the school and community brings the home and the school
together in meeting the needs of children.
• Peoples’ belief in the benefit and usefulness of education is reinforced.
• Literacy rates among the people are improved considerably.
• Learners’ good performances are assured.
• The school and the community come together to ensure discipline among learners.
The Concept Technology and Society Coherence
What is technology? The word technology comes from two Greek word transliterated techne
and logos. Techne means art, skill, craft, or the way, manner, or means by which a thing is
gained. Logos means word, the utterance by which inward thought is expressed, a saying, or
an expression.
So, literally, technology means words or discourse about the way things are gained.
Technology is the set of knowledge, skills, experience and techniques through which humans
change, transform and use our environment in order to create tools, machines, products and
services that meet our needs and desires.
• Technology is about taking action to meet a human need rather than merely understanding
the workings of the natural world, which is the goal of science
• Technology involves organized ways of doing things. It covers the intended and unintended
interactions between products (machines, devices, artifacts) and the people and systems that
make them.
• Technology is knowledge or a set of tools that helps make things easier or resolve problems.
For example, the pen is one of the first technologies that made it easier for humans to record
and reference their previous thoughts and actions.
• Technology is the skills, methods, and processes used to achieve goals. People can use
technology to: Produce goods or services. Carry out goals, such as scientific investigation or
sending a spaceship to the moon. Solve problems, such as disease or famine
Misconceptions about the use of Technology and Social Coherence
• Technology can replace (Good) Teacher: Technology, at least in its current form, cannot
replace good teachers. Neither can it magically make bad teachers produce good results
(unless we are speaking of teacher training, in which case those teachers are now good). It
can at most enhance a teachers’ ability to give individual attention to kids, as well as aid the
teacher in delivering content better. In fact, great teachers are often role models and inspire
their students to be lifelong learners. Many of them influence their students so profoundly,
that students turn to them for advice through-out their life. It’s hard to see how technology
can replace that.
• Technology integration is time consuming: We probably all heard of the time excuse
somewhere preventing us moving forward with technology integration. Teachers are very
busy professionals, and all sorts of mandates and standards leave no desire of many educators
to try new approaches. But it is important for educators to realize that our students now live

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their lives with technology and we should make time for technology to relate better with our
students. It may take time to starting out on teaching with technology, but like all
experiences, as it turns into a routine, it will be quicker and easier.
• Technology can hamper learning: One of the major concerns people have about
Technology, is that it can hamper learning by distracting kids. There are also concerns about
child safety in exposing them unmonitored to the digital world, which is filled with
unsavoury content as well as digital stalkers. The best way to address these concerns is by
making Technology kid-safe. There are various tools that can help you lock down a computer
or a tablet such that only educational and informative content is available. Not only can this
minimize distractions, but also isolate kids from dangerous influences, handholding their first
few steps in the digital world till they can survive on their own.
• Technology is Expensive: Technology does seem expensive. However, there are several
benefits that can offset the costs; first the cost of content reduces dramatically, when it’s in
digital format. In countries such as US, textbooks are much more expensive than their digital
counter parts. Also compared to the overall cost of education, the cost of technology is not
significant, considering that it can improve outcomes significantly. Technology also saves a
lot of time and effort for teachers, making them a lot more effective. Content software such as
educational games can help flip classrooms. Grading and administrative software can reduce
paperwork and improve turn-around time for feedback.
• Using Technology is Difficult: This is true to a certain extent, especially because of the
speed at which technology changes. Just few years back, technology meant smart boards, and
computers. Now they mean touch devices such as iPod or iPads. There are already
technologies such as Google Glass or Oculus Rift on the horizon which might see
applications in education and learning in next few years.
• We don’t need Technology in Education: Actually, there are several reasons we do,
indeed, need technology in Education. It is one of the most effective ways to improve
learning outcomes without significantly increasing cost. Kids are already used to technology,
and it is necessary to improve the engagement provided in our classrooms to keep them
interested. Technology, when used properly, boosts student achievement as well as
engagement, particularly among students most at risk.
The Benefits of using Technology in the classroom.
It Improves engagement: When technology is integrated into lessons, students are expected
to be more interested in the subjects they are studying. Technology provides different
opportunities to make learning more fun and enjoyable in terms of teaching same things in
new ways. For instance, delivering teaching through gamification, taking students on virtual
field trips and using other online learning resources.
Technology helps students be more responsible: Owning your own device or borrowing
the school's devices gives students the opportunity to improve their decision-making skills as
well as taking ownership of a valuable (and often times expensive) device.
It Improves knowledge retention: Students who are engaged and interested in things they
are studying, are expected to have a better knowledge retention.
Encourages individual learning: No one learns in the same way because of different
learning styles and different abilities. Technology provides great opportunities for making
learning more effective for everyone with different needs. For example, students can learn at
their own speed, review difficult concepts or skip ahead if they need to. What is more,
technology can provide more opportunities for struggling or disabled students. Access to the
Internet gives students access to a broad range of resources to conduct research in different
ways, which in turn can increase the engagement.
Encourages collaboration: Students can practice collaboration skills by getting involved in
different online activities. For instance, working on different projects by collaborating with

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others on forums, or by sharing documents on their virtual learning environments, technology
can encourage collaboration with students in the same classroom, same school and even with
other classrooms around the world.
Students can learn useful life skills through technology: By using technology in the
classroom, both teachers and students can develop skills essential for the 21st century.
Benefits of technology to the teacher.
• Technology helps teachers to develop in learners’ digital skills: Using technology in the
classroom gives teachers and other faculty members the opportunity to develop their student's
digital citizenship skills.
• Technology helps teachers to maximized learner’s engagement: Students are more
engaged when teachers use technology to teach as they enjoy it more with the use of visuals
in lessons to attract them to learning.
• Teachers use Less of books and papers for teaching: It’s convenient for teachers to set
homework online and for students to complete it from home or anywhere on their iPad/laptop
• Technology helps Teachers save time: Teachers can obtain lesson plans and essential
resources online for the student’s learning and that saves them time from writing on the board
or struggling to come up with the plan.
• Improved digital literacy: There’s a high demand for digital skill and use in the 21st
Century and leading on in the future; this will be a mandatory requirement as everything in
daily life functions on the internet and technology. By combining Educational Technology
into schools, you are raising the standards of digital knowledge.
• Technology will help teachers automate grading: In the past, teachers have spent hours
after school and on weekends grading papers.
• Teachers can get in touch 24/7 with learners: With technology and the internet, students
and teachers can stay in touch all the time.
Barriers to the use of Technology
• Budget and prepare for the cost: The cost of educational technology is, for many, the
deciding factor on whether or not the school or district can adopt new technology or not.
Many schools are already struggling with finances and are have to make significant budget
cuts to salaries and extracurricular programs.
• Lack of training: Schools must invest money and time into education technology
initiatives to see positive results. Even if teachers have access to learning technologies,
they’re not receiving the proper training to harness these technologies.
• Resistance to adopting new technologies: Sometimes, change doesn’t happen because
people don’t understand it, or are comfortable with the tools they have always used such as
Excel spreadsheets. Many tenured administrators, for example, might be nervous about
adopting more technology because they simply don’t know how to use it themselves.
• Insufficient infrastructure: Even if the education sector widened their budgets for
education technology, they would still encounter a barrier to adoption: many schools lack the
network infrastructure needed to support education technology. Perhaps the largest issue is
lack of internet access.
• Blending technology: It is becoming incredibly difficult for teachers to convince a student
to give up a smart device, whether it’s a smartphone or tablet. Rather than forbid students to
use them in class, teachers should consider a seamless learning model. This means blending
technology with non-technology learning.
• Institutional impediments: Aspects happening outside the class, such as leadership and
school planning, might obstruct the proper use of technology too. They can be quite tough to
handle because they’re out of a teacher’s control.
• personalized learning: New educational models are competing with traditional models.
Even though some institutions are willing to accept and integrate technology into the class,

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some don’t believe in customized learning. Rather than attempt to explain a process the old-
fashioned way, teachers can easily play a video on a video projector to help a student learn
and understand faster. But some don’t do it because they believe this attempt is distracting the
student.

ABUSES AND EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING.

SECTION 2
Technology abuse
• Students’ malpractice using the internet during examination periods in cheating.
• Learners are using cellphones, playing games, and surfing on some pornographic web sites
and other non-suitable sites during class.
• Students ‘staying on the internet for so many hours chatting unnecessarily.
• Students picking every information from the net instead of researching. Such students
become lazy.
• Instead of learning, students spend hours watching videos and listening to music.
• People use digital counterfeiting to illegal create copies of items such as currency, legal
documents, and credit cards with the use of computers, printers, and scanners.
• Making continuous controlling or threatening phone calls
• Sending abusive texts, emails or messages via social media.
• Checking someone’s text messages, social media activity or internet activity.
• Spying on, monitoring or stalking someone through any type of surveillance device (such as
a tracking system or spyware)
• Sharing intimate photos of someone without their consent (sometimes called revenge porn)
• People manufactures use it as weapons to destroy others instead of improving themselves
The Effect of Technology Abuse on the Society
• There are many physical health issues that are caused by dealing with technology but the
critical ones are weaken the eyesight. People who usually deal with computers for long
periods of time like programmers suffer from blurry vision and eye soreness. According to
Tripp (2013), people who usually use computers for long terms experience serious issues
such as soreness of the eyes and blurring the vision. That can be clearly seen since eyes have
to concentrate all the time on the screen that emits dangerous radiations that affects the eyes
critically leading the eyes to start dropping tears which can make the eye blurry.
• Another negative effect of overuse of technology on the society is the deprivation of privacy
and security. As the world experiencing much advancement in technology, it is also facing
problems of privacy and security that can strip the society and for that matter the world from
personal information. First privacy problems are considered as one of the critical issues.
• When you use a smartphone, the chances are that you’re holding your head in an unnatural
forward-leaning position is very possible. This position puts a lot of stress on your neck,
shoulders, and spine.
• Sleep can become a problem. Technology in the bedroom can interfere with sleep in a
number of ways. Using technology devices in the hour before going to bed can be
physiologically and psychologically stimulating enough to affect sleep. Having electronic
devices in the bedroom places temptation at your fingertips, and it can make switching off
more difficult example, television and radio. That can in turn, can make it harder to drift off
when you try to sleep.
• Children who have television, video games, phones, tech toys, computers and other
technology device at home spend most of their time watching or listening. Sometimes, doing
their assignments becomes a problem to their parents.

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• There are computer crimes. The availability of information that can be accessed with a
computer paired with a lax attitude toward security means credit card numbers and identities
are constantly at risk. Entering your credit card on a seemingly innocuous website may seem
like an everyday activity, but that site could be a clever scam designed to fraud you out of
your hard-earned money.
• There is also communication Issues among people. Computers have completely altered the
way humans interact with each other. With the invention of electronic mail, online messaging
and social networking sites, face-to-face conversation seems to be a dying art.
• People tend to socially isolate themselves. Email, online chat rooms and social networking
sites enable people to keep in touch, but psychologists are concerned that the lack of real
human contact may have an adverse effect on people's emotional and social well-being.
• Cybercriminals exploit communication technology to steal financial information and
perpetrate identity theft. They do this by installing illegal spyware on people's computers
without their consent, or by exploiting security vulnerabilities on online merchants' websites
to steal customers' bank and credit card details.
What is a career? A career can be defined as the sum total of decisions that direct your
educational, social, economic, political, and spiritual endeavours and reflect your unique
personality characteristics and basic life values. (Phifer, 2003).
A career refers primarily to the sequence and variety of work roles, paid or unpaid, that
individuals undertake throughout their lives; but it is also the construct which enables
individuals to make sense of valued work opportunities and how their work roles relate to
their wider life roles. A career is a sequence of positions held by a person during the course
of a life
time. It consists of all the jobs that one does during one’s working life
What is a career path? A Career path can be seen as a line, a route or a course along which
an employee moves upward in organization’s hierarchical structure. The career paths are
affected by the organization’s strategy or policy. Generally speaking, career paths start with
the most junior position and end
with the most senior position.
Types of career paths
There are three types of career paths which is discussed below:
• Multiple unrelated jobs: Your career could be made up of different jobs that are unrelated
to one another. For example, you could work as a teacher in a private school then as a server
in a restaurant and then as a receptionist in a veterinary clinic. Because each job is vastly
different than the next, there is no way to predict what your next position will be.
• Advancing within one occupation: This path involves advancing in the same occupation,
whether you work for the same organization or at different establishments. For example, if
you are working as a teacher in Ghana Education Service, you could move through the ranks
of
superintendent ii, superintendent i, senior superintendent ii, through to the rank of a Director
of education. Eventually you could be moved to a Director General of Education, supervising
all education workers in the country.
• Advancing in the same industry but not occupation: This path involves staying in the
same industry, but not necessarily the same occupation. For example, if you start as a teacher
in Ghana Education Service, you teach children in the classroom but if you reach the status
of a Director you become a supervisor and a policy decision maker.
Examples of career paths
• Ghana Education Service: superintendent II-- superintendent I— Snr. superintendent II—
Snr. superintendent I—Principal superintendent—Assistant Director II—Assistant Director I
— Deputy Director—Director II—Director I—Deputy Director General—Director General

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• Customer service and sales: Customer service representative --inside sales representative-
outside salesperson -- account executive -- sales manager
• Editorial: Editorial assistant -- assistant editor -- editor -- senior editor-- editorial director
• Retail: Sales associate -- assistant management -- store manager --regional manager
• Human resources: HR assistant -- HR specialist -- assistant director of HR -- director of
HR
Factors to consider when choosing a career path.
• Availability. First, consider how easy it is to get a job in your respective field. Some career
paths are in higher demand than others;
• Pay. Obviously, you’ll also want to consider pay. Many people mistakenly use this as the
only factor for consideration, or the most important factor for consideration, but it should
only be one of several factors for consideration.
• Stress. Don’t forget about the role that stress and job satisfaction can play in your life,
either. For example, nursing is a career with many available openings and good pay, but it
also comes with extreme stress—to the point where ongoing self-care is considered part of
the job if you want to stay sane.
• Future options. What options are you going to have in this job in the future? For example,
if you decide you don’t like your specific role, would it be easy to switch to a different role in
a similar field?
• Personal interest. For most new college students, this is the most important consideration,
but again, it’s only one of several that should factor into your decision. How much are you
personally interested in this area? Are you truly passionate about this job and this work?
• Flexibility. How much flexibility does the career offer? For example, if you’re into writing
or accounting, you may be able to work from home, and choose your own hours by being an
independent contractor.
• Longevity. Many jobs are already falling to the wayside due to new technology, so it pays
to consider careers that aren’t as easily replaced.
• Education and Training. Most jobs require ‘some’ education and training, even if it’s
learned on-the-job. Other times, professional classroom training only takes a matter of weeks
or months.
How to Find the Right Career path
• Network regularly: Connecting with your peers and building and nurturing professional
relationships can help you identify new directions for your career.
• Be a lifelong learner: The job market is always shifting and with technology and best
practices continually changing, it’s important to always be in learning mode. Review the
LinkedIn profiles of people who have similar careers or who are in your industry and look at
the hard and soft skills that they currently have.
• Pay attention to industry news: Read industry blogs or magazines to keep up with trends.
These will also give you an idea of what the occupational outlook is for your occupation.
• Make plans but be flexible: When developing your career path, don’t hold on too tightly to
a specific plan. Be open to new opportunities that might present themselves and keep your
goal in mind
• Be ready for career shifts: If you’ve been in your position or are in an industry that is
declining, it may be time to consider making a complete career change or at least shifting in a
different direction.
• Be open to lateral moves: Be open to the idea of a lateral move, or even a step backward,
if it means you will have a chance to develop valuable skills or connections that can impact
your career in the future.

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• Assess yourself: Each individual has different goals, talents, interests, and values. In other
words, there are certain careers each individual should not pursue and others where they'd
excel and be satisfied.
• Make a list of potential occupations: After conducting some self-assessment, it should be
apparent the types of careers you should pursue. It is not possible to pursue each one, so the
list should be used to determine where to begin your career
• Explore the options: Learn about each potential career after narrowing your list. Be sure to
learn about educational or training requirements, job duties, employment outlook, annual
earnings, and promotion opportunities.
• Narrow down your list: Eliminate careers that no longer interest you after thoroughly
reviewing each one.
• Set goal: After your list has been narrowed, establish attainable goals.
• Create a career action plan: Once you've established career goals, begin developing a
career action plan consisting of goals and specific steps to reach them.
What is Lifelong Learning? Lifelong learning is a process of gaining knowledge and skills
throughout your life, often to help you do your job properly (Cambridge Dictionary)
Lifelong learning is a form of self-initiated education that is focused on personal
development. Lifelong learning can be referred to the learning that occurs outside of a formal
educational institute, such as a school, university or corporate training.
Here are some of the types of lifelong learning initiatives that you can
engage in:
• Developing a new skill (e.g. sewing, cooking, programming, public speaking, etc)
• Self-taught study (e.g. learning a new language, researching a topic of interest, subscribing
to a podcast, etc)
• Learning a new sport or activity (eg. Joining martial arts, learning to ski, exercise, etc)
• Learning to use a new technology (smart devices, new software applications, etc)
• Acquiring new knowledge (taking a self-interest course via online education or classroom-
based course)
BENEFITS OF LIFELONG LEARNING UNIT 6 SECTION 5
Benefits of lifelong learning
• Renewed self-motivation. Sometimes we get stuck in a rut doing things simply because we
have to do them, like going to work or cleaning the house.
• Recognition of personal interests and goals. Re-igniting what makes you tick as a person
reduces boredom, makes life more interesting, and can even open future opportunities.
• Improvement in other personal and professional skills. While we’re busy learning a new
skill or acquiring new knowledge, we’re also building other valuable skills that can help us in
our personal and professional lives.
• Improved self-confidence. Becoming more knowledgeable or skilled in something can
increase our self-confidence in both our personal and professional lives.
• Fight Boredom. Staying challenged helps fight boredom.
• Keep Your Brain Healthy and Your Mind Sharp. The brain is a muscle. We should continue
to keep it in shape by giving it new challenges and opportunities for learning and growth.
According to Science Daily, mental facilities are best protected when they are used
often and continued learning can slow the physical process of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Learn Practical Life Skills. Besides the professional knowledge we acquire through school
or work, it’s important that we learn practical skills such as handling our finances, improving
our communication skills, as well as basic computer skills.
Teaching: The main career path in education is teaching. This is the most commonly
available job for every student who earns a diploma or degree in education, and it’s a great
option if you like working with children or adults in a classroom setting. A student can

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choose to do special education, early grade education, primary education, JHS or Secondary
education.
Education Administration: Some teachers who are looking for an opportunity for growth
within their school community can pursue an advanced degree to become an educational
administrator. A Master’s Degree in Education Administration, for example, can prepare you
to help fellow teachers align their lesson plans with district, state and federal materials and
requirements.
An education administrator is responsible for all administrative duties at a school, including
budgets, schedules, disciplinary actions, and event planning. Having keen attention to detail,
excellent organization skills and a passion for connecting with students, as well as teachers,
are important skills for an education administrator to have.
School Counselling: School counsellors help students to solve many personal, social,
academic and emotional problems as well as guide them along their path to schooling or into
the workforce.
They assist in gathering information from teachers, school records, parents and other
community agencies. They also assume the responsibility of communicating information
about each student’s progress to parents, teachers and other professionals
School Social Worker: A school social worker assists in collecting information from
parents, coordinating the efforts of other community agencies and observing school
children’s interaction and settings outside the classroom. They also provide consultative
services to parents, teachers and pupils. Social workers work with teachers and school
administrators to identify behaviour issues in
students that might lead to aggressive behaviour, bullying or absences. They then work with
the students and their families to address the root of the problem and develop strategies to
improve students’ academic performance and social development.
TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING

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