Transforming Teaching and Learning for Quality Teacher Education in Ghana: Perspectives from Selected Teacher Trainees and Stakeholders in Teacher Education

This survey measured the perspectives of teacher trainees, classrooms teachers and stakeholders in teacher education regarding factors that could enhance teaching and quality teacher education in Ghana. Findings from the survey indicate that teachers’ content knowledge was considered appreciable, but more emphasis needed to be paid to cultivating critical and inquiry skills among Ghanaian teachers. Additionally, efforts were to be made in teacher education towards a more constructivists approach to teaching, with focus on student-centered teaching and attention to student diversity, as well as enhancing teacher professional development, especially in the area of academic research. Implications for policy and practice suggested among others, are that teacher education in Ghana needs a more professional development that is both data-based and standard driven, as well as collaboratively developed, as criteria to assess teacher quality and possible certification. 

This survey measured the perspectives of teacher trainees, classrooms teachers and stakeholders in teacher education regarding factors that could enhance teaching and quality teacher education in Ghana. Findings from the survey indicate that teachers’ content knowledge was considered appreciable, but more emphasis needed to be paid to cultivating critical and inquiry skills among Ghanaian teachers. Additionally, efforts were to be made in teacher education towards a more constructivists approach to teaching, with focus on student-centered teaching and attention to student diversity, as well as enhancing teacher professional development, especially in the area of academic research. Implications for policy and practice suggested among others, are that teacher education in Ghana needs a more professional development that is both data-based and standard driven, as well as collaboratively developed, as criteria to assess teacher quality and possible certification.