misconceptions about teaching in ghana
The author concluded that concept-changing texts were efficient in comprehension of photosynthesis and Finkelstein, V. (1988). Curriculum in 2018, was written to reform education and the school curriculum. If not, what can society do to nullify or erase some misconceptions about the teaching profession in Ghana and also equip ourselves in readiness for the task given to us as a group, that is Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Teaching Educators, Training Institutions, including the Universities and all other teaching affiliate bodies The SDGs 4 set out to achieve inclusion and equality in education whilst the social model of disability provides us with the opportunity to identify barriers to inclusion and how to address them. Of course, the known architectural barriers are the impediments as postulated by the social model of disabilities. The Impact of School Infrastructure on Learning: A Synthesis of the Evidence, Washington, DC: World Bank Publications. London: University World News, The Global Window on Higher Education. Published by the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike International. Prior to the 2018/2019 academic year, the Colleges of Education awarded diploma qualifications, while the universities awarded Bachelor of Education degrees and Post Graduate Diploma in Education PGDE/certificates in education. If you're in the same boat, here's a handy cheat sheet to help set your lunatic cousin Larry straight when he claims to know more than you do about your own vocation. Educ. But how prepared are student teachers at Colleges of Education in Ghana. World Health Organization. Post-2015 Education MDGs. Available at: http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Ghana/Ghana%20Education%20Strategic%20Plan.pdf (Accessed July 28, 2022). United Nations Educational, Scientific and cultural organization [UNESCO]. Ghana 2012 human rights report. The Curriculum Framework provides for teachers at the Universities offering Education and the Colleges of Education. In this paper, we have examined the preparedness of student teachers in Colleges of Education in Ghana in respect of the curriculum being delivered toward achieving inclusive education. Ghana, our work on SDGs in Ghana. 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. curriculum is used by Colleges of Education and other Universities offering education programs, as it was collaboratively produced by four teacher education universities with senior members of Colleges of Education (Ministry of Education National, 2017). 25, 2139. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.309. So, when they go out, they will observe the teacher to see if they are exhibiting these qualities. (2019) explains that while the CoE provides a yearlong school-based teaching practice in addition to a semester-long campus-based peer teaching, their colleagues offering education degrees in the University of Cape Coast (UCC) engage in a semester-long school-based teaching experience. Revista Educacin Superior y Sociedad (ESS) 32, 167201. Copyright 2023 Naami and Mort. If you're a teacheror if you've even thought about being a teacheryou've probably heard a few of these common misconceptions about teaching. In 2015, a policy on inclusive education was developed and adopted by the country toward fulfilling the aspirations of the 1992 constitution, which guarantees education as a fundamental human right. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Emmanuel College in Boston, MA. "Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action: Towards Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Lifelong Learning for All, UNICEF. The SDG 4 aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (United Nations [UN], 2015). UNESCO organizes the Global Education Meetings in partnership with all global education actors toward achieving SDG 4 (Fontdevila and Grek, 2020). The focus on myths and misconceptions is borne out of the fact that they are potential threat to preventive efforts [18-20]. 45, 175195. As someone who has supported many people into work, both as a recruiter and an employment specialist, I am here to tell you that you absolutely can teach! Copyright 2023 eSchoolMedia & eSchool News. Available at: https://mofep.gov.gh/sites/default/files/news/Ghana-SDGs-Budget-Report-July-2019.pdf. Dis. The upgrading of teacher training institutions to colleges of education: Issues and prospects. Attitudes towards inclusive education in africa scale (ATIAS): an instrument to measure teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education for students with disabilities. How to Respond to the 6 Biggest Misconceptions About Teaching by Nancy Barile, Award-Winning Teacher, M.A.Ed. Why are in-service teachers not writing Exams to acquire the License. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, Keywords: Ghana, inclusive education, persons with disabilities, student teacher, teacher preparedness, Citation: Naami A and Mort KS-T (2023) Inclusive education in Ghana: How prepared are the teachers? Assuming there is a learner with a mobility disability who uses a wheelchair in a school, will his/her characteristic of having an impairment be considered the barrier or some known access barriers such as storey building without elevators and staircase without accessible ramps? (2015). In the 24 years I've worked as a teacher, I've never had a single summer "off.". 9711 Washingtonian Boulevard, Suite 550, Gaithersburg, MD 20878 | 1-301-913-0115, By submitting your information, you agree to our, DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access), Video of the Week: Dealing with digital distraction in the classroom, Secrets from the library lines: 5 ways schools can boost digital engagement, Follow the Money Insights from K-12 Experts, Creating a winning K12 esports infrastructure, Charter Communications (Spectrum Enterprise). They also observe some of the qualities of the classroom teacher. Knowledge about genetically modified (GM) food and biotechnology is low among the Ghanaian public due to low levels of . (1994). Misconceptions about GMOs in Ghana due to weak education, study reveals. Politicians often like to say that teacher unions are part of the education problem, but as someone who has been teaching for decades, I can tell you that teacher unions are good for both teachers and students. The data sources were a face-to-face in-depth interview with the Quality Assurance Officer of the case and one site observation by the researchers. The policy (Ministry of Education, 2015: p. 6) defines a child with special educational needs [SEN] as: a child with disability, namely, visual, hearing, locomotor, and intellectual impairments. Throughout the curriculum and other auxiliary documents, there are phrases and statements such as How much time was spent helping this student? Did the teacher spend time helping them Did the student(s) with learning needs successfully complete the activities/tasks assigned in the lesson? These questions amply testify that the focus of curriculum and other auxiliary documents are on learners with learning difficulties to the neglect of other categories of disabilities. The overarching goal of the Inclusive Education (IE) policy is to ensure that schools identify children with different learning needs and adopt appropriate curricula that will meet their learning requirements (Ofori, 2018). Umm.Not.So.Much. Presently, there are 48 Colleges of Education (CoE) in Ghana, up from 38 in 2014 ( Buabeng et al., 2019) and in the 2018/2019 academic year, all Colleges of . University surroundings and infrastructures that are accessible and inclusive for all: listening to students with disabilities. Machado, C., and Davim, J. P. (2022). Science, Language Arts, History), K-12 educators have committed themselves to developing skills in how to engage and foster growth of young people around the content and processes that comprise that area of expertise. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) provides a comprehensive framework to describe health and health-related issues including disability. In 2012, Burnett and Felsman (2012) signaled the debate on post Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and pointed out the need to incorporate the SDGs in education, particularly in educational institutions. It further states that all children have the right to access basic education and that the education system should be dynamic to adapt to the needs of children. In year one, student teachers are required to do classroom observations to enhance their learning. Fundamental Principles of Disability. Socioeconomic factors hindering access to healthcare by persons with disabilities in the Ahanta west municipality, Ghana. Certification helps to build a skilled workforce that meets the needs of local employers and government tech initiatives. 3. doi: 10.21083/ajote.v3i2.2728. The ICF and social model of disability, on the other hand, helped us identify barriers that could inhibit access of persons with disabilities to inclusive education in Ghana at the systemic (teaching training colleges) and unit (classrooms) levels and to identify what could be done to address issues at these levels. If so, what were some of the teachers actions that seemed to promote or not promote participation? These questions aim at understanding how the teacher manages the classroom environment. CBR Incl. The proponents of the social model of disability contest that a students personal characteristics such as having an impairment is not the major impediment to learning, but barriers created by schools and society (World Health Organization, 2011; Nakua et al., 2017; Braun and Naami, 2021). Your source for IT solutions and innovations to support school-wide success. Educ. *Correspondence: Augustina Naami, [email protected], Transforming Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan African Countries Towards the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 by 2030: New Opportunities, Challenges, Problems and Prospects, View all Is Your Network Prepared to Meet the Demands of a Tech-Rich Environment? Lack of oral competence of both teachers and the children in the target language equally hinder the child's reading progress. eds. Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation [UPIAS] (1976). Target 4.a calls for the upgrading of educational facilities so that they are child-and disability-sensitive and to promote inclusive learning environments (United Nations [UN], 2015). The 5 million figure collaborates with the World Health Organizations estimates that disability affects 1520% of every countrys population (World Health Organization, 2018). The policy further envisions professional development of teachers in pedagogical skills that meets the needs of children with special needs using child-centered approaches. The student teacher in the first week of the supported teacher school placement are required to reflect on the school environment. Stay up to date on all the latest from Hey Teach: Get periodic emails that include exclusive content, special guides, and other great resources you wont find anywhere else! Finkelstein, V. (1980). It seems everyone has an opinion about teachers and their profession these days and most of them arent teachers. For example, in some schools at the kindergarten level televisions are used to aid teaching. All Rights Reserved. Stay up-to-date with the latest edtech tools, trends, and best practices for classroom, school and district success. ed. According to Yin (1981), p. 98, the decision to utilize a case study arises when an empirical inquiry must examine a contemporary phenomenon in its real-life context especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident. Ghanas 2019 SDGs Budget Report. on the eve of Ghana's independence and charged with the "dissemination of truthful unbiased news". The GCM is built on the back of the 2015 Incheon Declaration and Education 2030 Framework for Action, which envisages a cooperation, monitoring and evaluation mechanism which has the Global Education Meeting (GEM) as the pivot of action (Mundial, Grupo Banco, and UNICEF, 2016). These questions, as far as I can tell, partly state some of the misconceptions about the teaching of CSE. 6. We suggest that questions on disability are directly asked. The first 9years constitute basic education and are free and compulsory. Wheelchair accessibility to public buildings in the Kumasi metropolis, Ghana. Teach. One common belief about teachers is that we never work during the summer. World Health Organization. "Teachers Have a Paid Summer Vacation", Each year, teachers must take an unpaid furlough during July and August. This serves as a baseline. Other building facilities were ramped, but the ramps were not accessible. In many districts, teachers elect to have their salary divided over a 52-week period so they still have money coming in over the summer. Also, the B.Ed. Available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/21252030%20Agenda%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%20web.pdf (Accessed July 29, 2022). Clearly, some people will hold onto their mistaken views no matter how much evidence you present them. We wanted to know more about how the student teacher is taught to reflect on disability. Teachers Standards for Ghana: Guidelines. If your Aunt Sally really wants to help, she can vote for legislation that ensures teachers are paid fairly. J. Consistent with achieving improvement in the quality of teachers, the B.Ed. The inclusive policy of Ghana envisions the curriculum to be functional and consider the childs cultural background, family/community resources, values, interests, aspirations, future goals, and opportunities. The inclusive education policy acknowledges that: all children can learn irrespective of differences in age, gender, ethnicity, language, and disability. 10, 7086. High. Also, the condition was perceived to cause severe disease. Central Region of Ghana. The Policy further requires a multi-disciplinary assessment procedure at all levels of education to meet the needs of all pupils/students. In other words, Vocational and Technical Education and Training . World Health Organization. The school environment, the classroom, lessons, class management and assessment are all limited regarding inclusivity of learners with disabilities. The multiple data collection sources allowed data triangulations, increased rigor, and credibility of the study as well as a deeper and holistic understanding of the phenomenon (Yin, 2009). Next-Generation Data Strategies and Solutions, The Technology Tools, Skills, and Support Every Student Needs to Succeed, Strategies for Creating a Successful Collaborative Learning Environment, Virtual or In-Person, Do more with less with managed services for K12, The Earth Prize 2023 Winners Announcement, Latest Enhancements to Discovery Education Services Drive Deeper Student Engagement, KidWind and Toyota Join Forces to Bring Renewable Energy Education to West Virginia, ISTE and Capstone Collaborate on Childrens Books Championing Digital Citizenship, Ohio Department of Education Names Curriculum Associates i-Ready Assessment an Approved Dyslexia Screener for Grades K3, 6 benefits of immersive learning with the metaverse, Building a Successful Certification Program at Your Institution. The school and its environment must be safe and accessible for all learners. Available at: www.t-tel.org/hub.html (Accessed June 30, 2022). See response below: Whatever course that they take, we have components of misconceptions. (2015). Here are 10 misconceptions about teachers and teaching that emerged from readers (responses edited for brevity): The one misconception I would like to clarify is around the phrase, Those who can cannot do, teach. While many educators are active contributors to the particular area in which they have domain expertise (i.e. For most parts of the country, life is better than the outside world is made to believe. Educ. Ghana is no exception. The lower part of the diagram further illustrates the impact of contextual factors such as environmental (e.g., social, physical, transportation, and information barriers) and personal factors (e.g., education, gender, social background, and profession). Nancy Barile, Award-Winning Teacher, M.A.Ed. Ghana: Ministry of Education. The policy sets an agenda of child friendly schools, which implies schools in Ghana ought to look out for children; that is child-seeking and again they should focus attention on children; that is, schools should be child-centered. "Kids Today Are Entitled, Dangerous Brats", I can assure you that most of today's students are hardworking, fun-loving, eager-to-learn youngsters. As part of the global communitys efforts to address social problems collectively, post the Millennium Development Goals era, the Sustainable Development Goals were birthed in 2015 (United Nations [UN], 2015). We established that the curriculum and auxiliary teaching materials do not adequately address leaners with disabilities and their needs. 32:69. doi: 10.47985/dcidj.419. The sample was made up of one hundred and fifty-five students (155) from Aggrey Memorial . Dev. The SDGs target 4.8 outlines the need to build and upgrade educational facilities that are disability sensitive. J. Soc. High. There is nothing like seeing your students succeed. However, they posit that persons with disabilities are disabled more by their environment and other processes than their perceived impairments (Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation [UPIAS], 1976). The promises and limitations of the SDG framework for inclusive education and students with disabilities in Grading Goal Four. Conclusion We conclude that although knowledge and awareness about Ebola is high among Ghanaians who participated in the study, there are still misconceptions about the disease. Previously, the University of Cape Coast and University of Education, Winneba, had the traditional mandate to prepare teachers to teach at various educational levels including the basic school level (Buabeng et al., 2019). Systematic random sampling was used. I explained that tenure is a right to due process, so a teacher can't be fired without the administration presenting evidence that the teacher was incompetent or unprofessional. 1, 78377846. Goal four of the SDGs calls for inclusive and equitable quality education for all (Johnstone et al., 2020). It is the very special practitioner [who] makes a good educator; however, good educators need to have enough knowledge of their areas of expertise to cultivate excitement, curiosity, and spark the passion to commit to a vocation or avocation. For example, ICF combines both the social and the medical models of disability. The former Editorial Director for both eSchool News and eCampus News, and was formerly the Managing Editor of eCampus News. The outcome of the conference called for students with disabilities to be educated within an inclusive education system. These include talking, and chalking, marking . For example, Did the teacher ask learners with disabilities questions, and how did the teacher react to their responses? This will help identify the teachers perceptions, including biases and prejudices against learners with disabilities. However, disability is not mentioned in the four learning outcomes of the equity and inclusivity of the cross-cutting pillar and their targets. Sustainable Development Goals and sustainability teaching at universities: Falling behind or getting ahead of the pack? The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1056630/full#supplementary-material, Adams, R., Martin, S., and Boom, K. (2018). The ICF helps our understanding of the functioning of people with different disorders and their level of participation in activities as well as how contextual factors could facilitate or impact negatively on functioning. AN managed the project, including research planning, methodology, the design of the research instruments, fieldwork, data analysis, writing of results and assembled, wrote, and edited the first draft of the manuscript. However, when we prob. Adera, B. Also, emphasis was place more on the classroom environment, which is good. (2013). The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Until recently, only the University of Cape Coast and University of Education, Winneba, offered university-level training but now the University for Development Studies (UDS) and the University of Ghana, as well as other private universities have programs in teacher education. However, in our nations current climate, saying the word teacher is like Forrest Gump opening a box of chocolates: you never know what youre going to get, as teachers too often are seen as a convenient scapegoat for the perceived problems that are plaguing public education. The metaverse is a tool that blends experiences typically associated with either the virtual or physical worlds. Koomson et al (2000) also cites many activities which are involved in teaching. According to the Colleges of Education Act of 2012, Act 847, the process of preparing teachers in Ghana to teach at the basic school level takes place at the College of Education (CoE). Avoiding anthropomorphism helps young people to open the closed box of AI applications. A case study design was employed for this study. Available at: http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/report.pdf (Accessed June 17, 2017). Stressful school atmosphere, teachers' lack of knowledge and bad attitude towards work can equally hinder the reading process at this level. Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. He further made a remark, which we also observed on a visit to that College of Education. Ministry of Education. For example, in observing how a lesson is taught in week three of the student teacher observation checklist, the students are asked to identify How many girls and boys were called by the teacher to answer questions in class? and How did the teacher react to boys and girls differently if their responses to a question was not right? These two questions run through most of the weeks classroom observation. 2nd Edn. Disclaimer|Privacy Policy|Contact Us|About. The critical question is what to teach? Yin emphasized that a single-case design could be selected because of its criticalness, extremeness, typicalness, revelatory power, or longitudinal possibility (Yin, 1994). Shakespeare, T., and Watson, N. (2010). Given that persons with disabilities have been marginalized in all spheres of life, including their families and caregivers (Naami, 2019), conscientious efforts must be made to ensure that persons with disabilities/organizations of persons with disabilities or individuals/organizations that have the capacity to represent them are at the decision-making table to ensure that their needs are adequately addressed (Agyire-Tettey et al., 2019). Geneva: World Health Organization. The student teacher is required to reflect on seven questions listed under this theme but none of them captures disability. In their observation checklist, it is important that the students also identify whether what they identify are accessible to all learners particularly, persons with disabilities. Access barriers encountered by persons with mobility disabilities in Accra, Ghana. South and South-West Asia Development Papers, 2101. But the curriculum does not adequately address other categories of learners with disabilities who may require other forms of support as stated in the inclusive education policy. Educ. Thus, there should be more exercises to enable the student teachers to strengthen their reflection on disability to improve acceptance of persons with disabilities. The study explicitly followed a qualitative approach to research specifically a case study design. He noted that: For example, go to the new schools, yes, we are building nice laboratories, but they are not accessible for learners and student teachers with disabilities. From our observation, the entire school environment was not accessible. The B.Ed. Politicians especially are noted for living luxurious lives at the expense of their country folks. Thus, there are questions regarding participation on the student teacher checklist which states that: Did the teacher encourage students to actively participate in the lesson? The barriers also do not allow of first-hand experiences of inclusive education. The requirements for a qualified teacher include all of the skills needed for the 21st-century workplace. Mary Montag, teacher, St. Teresas Academy. doi: 10.1016/S0031-9406(10)62916-1. Kokutse, F. (2018). This study investigated the use of concept cartoons to diagnose and remedy pupils' misconceptions in selected science concepts. The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. Johnstone, C. J., Schuelka, M. J., and Swadek, G. (2020). The Jophus Anamuah-Mensah Educational Reform report (2007) presented the structure of education in Ghana to consist of two to threeyears of nursery school, six compulsory years of primary school, three compulsory years of junior high school and another threeyears of senior high school. Before working at eSchool Media, Meris worked as an assistant editor for The World and I, an online curriculum publication. There are so many more misconceptions about teaching that I could easily write a Part II to this article. Article 8 of the CRPD outlines measures that states parties could adopt to ensure that persons with disabilities are able to access education, including vocational training and lifelong learning. It is important that persons with disabilities are explicitly mentioned in targets and indicators to ensure that their needs are adequately addressed. Those who can't do, teach. To achieve inclusive education, a curriculum reform is fundamental to achieve the necessary improvements in the quality of new teachers. J. Although the various studies by Dodor et . Education has long been recognized as a global priority. Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs352/en/ (Accessed May 15, 2022). For instance, some Ghanaian teachers utilize proverbs and stories to contextualize their messages and some of these are negative toward persons with disabilities and teachers unconsciously make their statements without knowing that they are hurting some learners in the classroom. But the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) program was introduced in 1995 as part of efforts to fulfill UNESCOs mission of free universal education for all by 2015 (Akyeampong, 2009). The interview with the key informant was done in English, conducted in the participants office, and lasted for an hour. This has the potential of influencing the learning experience of such students in the classroom. However, it is equally important to find out whether what the teacher does promotes participation or alienates others. Further, the student teachers in year three are tasked to identify learners who struggle to overcome barriers. The student reflective journal and the observation checklists identify barriers to learning. CBR Inclus. In my view, it is good the government has assured Ghanaians that the CSE will not be part of the new basic school curricula, but we may eventually have to come back to the issue. Vol. Yin, R. K. (1994). In all one hundred and seventy-one (171) students participated in the study. The education of students with disabilities is affected by attitudinal, pedagogical, institutional, informational, and environmental accessibility barriers (World Health Organization, 2011; Nakua et al., 2017; Braun and Naami, 2021). Yes, this is what we want the students to know. To these little ones, reading must be fun. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Burnett, N., and Felsman, C. (2012). The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author. Afr. 27, 689701. Every child has a right to access quality education and acquire skills UNICEF/UN362021/ACQUAH Although this is a good attempt, it does not adequately address the end goal of being an inclusive teacher. Amandas Ong. J. Curr. It was the first news agency .
