One sector that fosters national development is education by ensuring functional human resource development. The institution of strong educational structures leads to a society populated by enlightened people who can cause positive economic progress and social transformation. Positive social change and its associated economic growth are achieved as the people apply the skills they learned in school. One individual facilitates the acquisition of these skills we all ‘teach.’ For this reason, nations seeking economic and social development need not ignore teachers and their role in national development.
Teachers are the major factor that drives students’ achievements in learning. Teachers’ performance generally determines the quality of education and the general performance of the students they train. Therefore, the teachers ought to get the best education, like that received when pursuing an early childhood education degree in PA, so they can, in turn, help train students in the best ways. It is known that the quality of teachers and quality teaching are some of the most important factors that shape students’ learning and social and academic growth. Quality training will ensure, to a large extent, that teachers are of very high quality to manage classrooms and facilitate learning properly. Teacher quality is still a concern, even in countries where students consistently obtain high international exam scores, such as Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Teacher education is primely important in such countries because it can potentially cause positive student achievements.
READ MORE :
- How A Mother Can Teach Their Kids Through Montessori Learning Materials
- Quality Education Vs. Accreditation
- 3 Reasons Why Having Goals Is Important
- Globalization And Primary Education Development
- India’s Education Sector
The structure of teacher education keeps changing in almost all countries in response to producing teachers who understand the current needs of students or just the demand for teachers. The changes are attempts to ensure quality teachers are paid and sometimes to ensure that teachers are not free. In the U.S.A., how to promote high-quality teachers has been an issue of contention and, for the past decade or so, has been motivated, basically, through the methods prescribed by the No Child Left Behind Act (Accomplished California Teachers, 2015). Even in Japan and other Eastern countries where more teachers are needed, and structures have been instituted to ensure high-quality teachers are produced and employed, issues relating to the teacher and teaching quality are still of concern (Ogawa, Fujii & Ikuo, 2013). Teacher education is, therefore, no joke anywhere. This article is in two parts. It first discusses Ghana’s teacher education system and, in the second part, looks at some determinants of quality teaching.
2.0 TEACHER EDUCATION
Ghana has deliberately attempted to produce quality teachers for its basic classrooms. As Benneh (2006) indicated, Ghana’s teacher education aims to provide a complete teacher education program by providing initial teacher training and in-service training programs that will produce competent teachers who will help improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning in schools. The Initial teacher education program for Ghana’s basic school teachers was offered in Colleges of Education (CoE) only until recently when the University of Education, University of Cape Coast, Central University College, and other tertiary institutions joined in. The most striking difference between the other tertiary institution programs is that while the Universities teach, examine, and award certificates to their students, the Colleges of Education offer tuition. In contrast, the University of Cape Coast looks, at and awards certificates read and awards certificates through the Institute of Education. These institutions’ training programs are attempts at providing many qualified teachers for teaching in the schools. The National Accreditation Board accredits teacher training programs to ensure quality.
The National Accreditation Board accredits teacher education programs based on the structure and content of the courses proposed by the institution. Hence, the systems run by various institutions differ in content and design. For example, the course content for the Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast, slightly differs from the Center for Continue Education, The University of Cape Coast. None of these two programs matches that of the CoEs, though they all award a Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) after three years of training. The DBE and the Four-year Untrained Teacher’s Diploma in Basic Education (UTUBE) programs run by the CoEs are similar but not the same. The same can be said of the Two-year Post-Diploma in Basic Education and four-year Bachelor’s degree programs run by the University of Cape Coast, the University of Education, Winneba, and other Universities and University Colleges. In effect, even though the same products attract the same clients, the preparation of the products is done differently.
Through these many programs, teachers are prepared for the basic schools – from nursery to senior high schools. Alternative pathways or programs through which teachers are prepared are seen to be good in situations with shortages of teachers, and more teachers should be trained within a short time. A typical example is the UTUBE above program, designed to equip non-professional teachers with professional skills. However, this attempt to produce more teachers tends to comprise quality because of the shortage of teachers.
As noted by Xiaoxia, Heeju, Nicci, and Stone (2010), the factors contributing to teacher education and retention problems are varied and complex. Still, one factor that teacher educators are concerned about is the alternative pathways through which teacher education occurs. In many ways, the prime aim is to fast-track teachers into the teaching profession. This short-changed the teacher preparation prospective teachers need before becoming classroom teachers. Those who favor alternative routes, like Teach for America (TFA), according to Xiaoxia, Heeju, Nicci, and Stone (2010), have defended their alternative pathways by saying that even though the students are engaged in a short period of pre-service training, the students are academically brilliant, and so have the capacity to learn a lot in a short period. Others argue that in subjects like English, Science, and Mathematics, where there are usually shortages of teachers, there must be a deliberate opening up of alternative pathways to good candidates who have done English, Mathematics, and Science courses at the undergraduate level. None of these arguments support alternative routes for the alternative teacher education programs in Ghana, where the academically brilliant students shun teaching for reasons I shall come to.
When the target is to fill vacant classrooms, quality teacher preparation issues are relegated to the background somehow. Right at the selection stage, the alternative pathways ease the requirement for entry into teacher education programs. When, for example, the second batch of UTDBE students was admitted, I can confidently say that entry requirements into the CoEs were not adhered to. What was emphasized was that the applicant must be a non-professional basic school teacher whom the Ghana Education Service has engaged and that the applicant must hold a certificate above the Basic Education Certificate Examination. The grades obtained did not matter. If this pathway had not been created, the CoEs would not have trained students who initially did not qualify to enroll in the regular DBE program. However, it leaves in its trail the debilitating effect of compromised quality.
Even with regular DBE programs, I have realized just recently; I must say, that CoEs, in particular, are not attracting candidates with very high grades. This, as I have learned now, has a huge influence on both teacher quality and teacher effectiveness. Teacher education programs in Ghana are not regarded as prestigious, so applicants with high grades do not opt for education programs. And so, most applicants who apply for teacher education programs have relatively lower rates. When the entry requirement for CoEs’ DBE program for the 2016/2017 academic year was published, I noticed the minimum entry grades had been dropped from C6 to D8 for West African Senior Secondary School Examination candidates. This drop in the standard could only be attributed to Coes’ attempt to attract more applicants. The universities, too, lower their cut-off point for education programs to attract more candidates. As alleged by Levine (2006), the universities see their teacher education programs, so to say, as cash cows. Their desire to make money forces them to lower admission standards, like the CoEs have done, to increase their enrollments. Admission standards are internationally lowered to achieve the goal of increasing numbers. This weak recruitment practice or standard lowering seriously challenges teacher education.
