From student teachers to newly qualified teachers in

International Journal of Educational Development 22 (2002) 339–352 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijedudev

From student teachers to newly qualified teachers in Ghana: insights into becoming a teacher Kwame Akyeampong b, Keith M. Lewin a,∗ a

The Centre for International Education, University of Sussex Institute of Education, Education Development Building, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9RG, UK b Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Abstract This paper explores the perceptions of three groups of teacher education trainees in Ghana—those beginning training, those completing training, and those with two years’ experience in schools. A structured instrument was used to assess responses to statements about the status of teachers and teaching, teacher control, preferences for posting and different aspects of learning and teaching. Some differences were found between the responses of the groups. The direction of these differences was not always consistent with the aspirations of training curricula, suggesting other factors might be influential, and that more attention should be given to establishing what initial teacher training can and cannot achieve.  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ghana; Teacher education; Attitude survey; Student teachers

1. Background In 1987 Ghana launched major educational reforms following years of decline in the quality of its education system from the late 1970s to early 1980s. This period was characterised by a deteriorating economic climate with the real value of government spending on education falling sharply from 6.4% of GDP in 1976 to 1.4% by 1983. As a consequence of the recession teachers were not paid promptly, supervision and inspection of teachers and schools virtually ceased, and the supply of textbooks and instructional materials diminished (Nti, 1997, p. 5; World Bank, 1996, p. 2). The edu-

∗

Corresponding author. Tel.: +44-1273-678970. E-mail address: [email protected] (K.M. Lewin).

cation reforms were designed to recover lost ground and focused on whole system re-structuring and curriculum improvement at school level.1 By mid 1990s it was clear that the reforms were having a limited impact on pupil learning and achievement. This prompted growing concern about the quality of teachers and the effectiveness of their training. Newly trained teachers, it was 1 Before the 1987 reforms, education in Ghana consisted of a six-year primary; a four-year middle; a seven-year secondary (the first five years leading to the ‘O’ level certification and the last two leading to the ‘A’ level); and a three or four-year tertiary. Structural changes led to a new basic education cycle consisting of six years’ primary and three years’ junior secondary. After nine years’ basic education comes three years of senior secondary education from which students can proceed to university, polytechnic, initial teacher training and other tertiary level institutions.

0738-0593/02/$ - see front matter  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 7 3 8 - 0 5 9 3 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 5 9 - 1

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K. Akyeampong, K.M. Lewin / International Journal of Educational Development 22 (2002) 339–352

argued, were ill prepared to handle the new elements of the curriculum in the primary and junior secondary schools (MOE, 1994). Pupil performance in national tests was often quoted as evidence of critical problems with learning achievement, and by implication, with the quality of teacher education provision. For example, of the pupils at grade six in public primary schools tested in the 1997 national criterion-referenced assessment, only 6% achieved a criterion score of 60% and above in English. Even worse, less than 3% achieved a criterion score of 55% and above in mathematics (MOE/PREP, 1996). Research conducted by the Centre for Research into Improving the Quality of Primary Education in Ghana (CRIQPEG) at the University of Cape Coast also showed that despite the reforms, pupils’ achievement had not improved and was embarrassingly poor. The CRIQPEG studies showed that at grade five, between 40% and 50% of those tested could not decode typical passages from the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th English grade books. Only about one-sixth of grade four children and one-third of grade five children could decode a reading passage with at least 70% accuracy (CRIQPEG Report, 1995). The “discourse of derision” (Ball, 1990) of the teaching profession that followed from such poor results came from both Government and the media. In particular, the teacher training system was criticised for admitting students with poor senior secondary leaving certificate examination (SSCE) results, leading to the selection of trainees who lacked the motivation, commitment and aptitude for teaching (Agboka, 2000). The training programme was seen as deficient in its lack of focus on methods of teaching, and criticised for overemphasising the academic knowledge of trainees (Awuku, 2000). An evaluation in 1999 of the World Bank-supported Primary School Development Project (PSDP) indicated that teachers were not meeting professional expectations. The study reached the conclusion that the management and utilisation of instructional time was a fundamental problem which undermined the quality of education in public schools. It revealed that high teacher absenteeism, frequent loss of instructional time, poor instructional quality, poor management,

and inadequate textbooks were major problems (Fobih et al., 1999). In Ghana, there is very little empirical evidence of the efficacy of the teacher training system, except for some small-scale evaluations of teacher education project inputs (e.g. GES/TED/ODA, 1993). These studies were limited in their insights into training because of their restricted focus on project performance. Strategies that have been recommended by Ghanaian teacher education policy makers to improve teacher quality have focused on (1) tightening selection procedure for teacher training,2 (2) the introduction of a promotional exam on subject content knowledge after one year in training, and (3) restructuring the training programme to increase the school focus. The first two strategies are being implemented, but the third has yet to be realised. Like previous attempts at reform these innovations may underrate the socio-political factors that influence teacher professionalism such as status, monetary rewards and public recognition, and the images of the profession teachers hold (UNESCO, 1998). They may also underestimate historically embedded values related to education (Tabulawa, 1997). The research reported here was developed to give some insight into how teachers’ attitudes and dispositions change during the training process and in the early years of teaching. Beginning to understand more about these shifts is a necessary precursor to improving the effectiveness of the teacher education curriculum, since awareness of some of its limits is essential to the development of policies that could support new teachers to work more effectively. The study took place within the framework of the Multi-Site Teacher Education Research (MUSTER) project.3 The following sections detail 2

Those intending to go into teaching have to pass an entrance examination set by the West African Examination Council. To qualify to take this exam, students must possess a minimum qualifying aggregate of ‘24’ from their secondary school leaving exam. Thus students wishing to enter teacher training have two qualifying entry hurdles to overcome. 3 MUSTER is a collaborative research project co-ordinated from the Centre for International Education at the University of Sussex Institute of Education. Financial support for MUSTER was provided by the British Department for International Development (DFID).


the methods used to collect and analyse data, identify some of the constructs that inform trainees’ attitudes, and explore how such attitudes might change over the period of training and into the early years of teaching. Other MUSTER discussion papers provide more extensive qualitative analyses of the training process which help gain insights into the patterns reported in this paper (Akyeampong and Stephens, 2000, Akyeampong and Furlong, 2000, Hedges, 2000, Akyeampong, Ampiah et al., 2000, Akyeampong, Furlong et al., 2001).

2. Methods of data collection 2.1. The questionnaire A questionnaire was developed and administered to three groups of trainees: beginning student teachers (BSTs) in their first year of training, final year student teachers (FSTs) and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) with two years’ teaching experience. Each questionnaire had a biographical section relating to age, sex, religion, ethnic group, language spoken at home, family members who are teachers, parents’ level of education, occupation and years of teaching before entering training college. Questionnaire items for the FSTs and NQTs also included additional sections on views on teaching practice and college training. The last section of the questionnaire contained 18 statements4 to which respondents could indicate agreement and disagreement using a four-point Likert format with categories from Strongly Disagree (scored 1) to Strongly Agree (scored 4). A four-point Likert format was chosen to encourage respondents to make choices that reflected their opinions. This was considered the best option for systematically trying to capture respondents’ atti-

4 These 18 statements were overlapped with those used for the sample of entrants reported in the article by Coultas and Lewin in this special issue. However, additional items were included and the wording of some items changed. The results cannot be directly compared with those from the earlier sample. Where inconsistencies occur they are likely to have arisen from differences in the samples and differences arising from the point in time the survey was administered.

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tudes, though it was recognised that the format might result in responses which exaggerated the amount of agreement with statements that reflected views promoted by training courses (Akyeampong, 1997; Akyeampong, Ampiah et al., 2000).5 Initially the questionnaire statements were generated at a MUSTER workshop. The statements were discussed with various reference groups of lecturers and teachers before deciding on a final collection. The items were modified after pilot testing on appropriate samples to enhance construct validity and reliability. The final samples of respondents consisted of three groups. There were 400 first year and 300 final year student teachers, randomly selected from four teacher training colleges in the south of Ghana, and 134 newly qualified teachers with two years’ teaching experience. All the newly qualified teachers taught in schools in the Central Region of Ghana, which is also located in the south. These NQTs had received their training from one of the four training colleges from which the student teacher sample was drawn. In all 834 student teachers and newly qualified teachers were included. 2.2. Factor analysis A factor analysis was performed on the responses to the statements to see whether any grouping emerged from statistical analysis.6 Items with response patterns that inter-correlated could be seen as part of a cluster of traits which were linked.7 Principal component factor analysis and varimax rotation were used to extract six factors. In identifying the clusters, coefficients with a value greater than 0.3 were used as a cut-off point. Using this method of analysis all eighteen statements were allocated to one of six factors. These six fac5 The strengths and weaknesses of this approach to measure attitudes are well known. The results reported here should be read in conjunction with data collected through other methods reported in the MUSTER discussion paper series. 6 The authors acknowledge the assistance of Dr Julie Coultas in the early stages of analysis of data used in this article. 7 The factor analysis was also used to establish how consistent the respondents were in the manner in which they responded to statements. Some statements were reversed to check if the response patterns were consistent.

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tors accounted for 52% of the variance. Table 1 summarises the results, identifies the statements, and their abbreviations.8 The six factors that emerged from the factor analysis are:9 앫 Status: commitment/enthusiasm for teaching 앫 Teacher Control: attitude towards class control and discipline 앫 Placement Preference: readiness to teach at different schools 앫 Teaching and Learning 1: attitudes to teachers and teaching 앫 Teaching and Learning 2: attitudes to group work 앫 Teaching and Learning 3: attitudes to learning These six factors are groupings justified by the patterns of response. They represent groups of items where response patterns inter-correlated. This in itself does not mean they constitute unambiguously linked constructs in trainee teachers’ minds. Their acceptance and use is primarily to organise the following discussion. The groups of items do, however, appear to have some conceptual congruencies, reflected in the descriptors used.

3. Analysis of findings

training was having an effect. Clearly many other things might affect attitudes of trainees which are exogenous to the college experience. It might also be the case that attitude change might not be progressive across the three cohorts, since the experience of being an NQT is not managed in any systematic way to be a continuum which reinforces training. Other limitations of the data, most obviously that it is cross-sectional not longitudinal, might also affect any conclusions reached. These points should be borne in mind when interpreting the results below. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)10 was conducted to evaluate the differences between the three independent variables represented by the three groups (BST, FST and NQT). Initially, mean responses to the 18 statements were compared across the three groups. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) confirmed that there were differences in agreement between the three groups for 14 out of the 18 statements.11 No significant difference means that the three samples did not appear to differ at the 5% level between the samples. Follow-up tests were conducted to evaluate pairwise differences among the means of the 14 statements. This was based on Scheffe post-hoc tests on pairwise comparisons. The results of these tests, as well as the means and standard deviations for the three groups, are reported in Appendix 1. For simplicity of presentation the patterns of response are shown graphically.

An underlying presumption behind this analysis is that by exploring the response patterns of entering and exiting trainee teachers and of newly qualified teachers in schools it should be possible to observe some progressive changes which might be associated with the effects of training. It might be expected that changes would be consistent with dispositions promoted in the teacher education curriculum, and that changes would be substantial if

The first five statements all appeared to show significant shifts in response between the three samples using an F-test. Fig. 1 shows the results graphically. Beginning student teachers (BST) tend to agree12 most with the statement that ‘being a

8 The order chosen here is not the order in the questionnaire, but that arising from the factor analysis. 9 To verify these factors we entered them as prediction variables in a discriminant function analysis. Factors 1 through 5 were found to have significant differences between the three teacher groups, while factor 6 did not (F=71.7, 21.9, 27.0, 10.8, 11.8, 1.2 with df1=2, and df2=831 for each F; p⬍0.001 for factors 1 to 5 and p⬎0.05 for factor 6).

10 ANOVA is a parametric test and strictly speaking a nonparametric test (e.g. Kruskal–Wallis) is preferable. This might produce different groupings and some variations in significance depending on how far the distributions in the data diverge from the assumptions of parametric tests. 11 Statements 2, 6, 13 and 17 showed no differences. 12 Differences cited are at the 5% level here and subsequently.

3.1. Status


teacher is the best job I can get’ when compared with final year students (FSTs) and NQTs. The differences are significant and progressive indicating that at the end of training fewer agreed, and the trend continued for NQTs. Mean scores for the statement, ‘I would rather have gone to University than Teacher Training College’ suggest that NQTs are most likely to say they would have preferred university and BSTs least likely. The response to ‘friends think I’m fortunate to be (training as) a teacher’, suggest that BSTs

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believe this more often than either of the other two groups. NQTs are not statistically different to FSTs. For ‘I would rather get a higher qualification and do a different job than remain in teaching’ BSTs disagree whilst the other two groups agree. In relation to feelings that ‘teachers of today have more respect than years before’ FSTs and NQTs are most likely to disagree. This evidence is not very encouraging. It suggests that positive attitudes to teaching deteriorate as trainees pass from BSTs to FSTs and become

Table 1 Results of factor analysisa Factor 1 STATUS

Factor 2 TEACHER CONTROL

Factor 3 PLACEMENT PREFERENCES

1. I think being a teacher is the best job I can get. (0.806) (BEST)

6. Caning is necessary to maintain discipline in school (⫺0.828) (CANE)

8. Newly qualified teachers should teach where they like (⫺0.448) (CHOOSET)

2. I would rather have gone to the university than teacher training college (⫺0.602) (PREFUNI) 3. My friends think I’m fortunate to be a school teacher (0.602) (FORTUNE) 4. I would rather get a higher qualification and do a different job than remain in teaching (0.765) DIFFJOB 5. Teachers today are more respected than they were before (0.351) (RESPECT)

7. Caning will not help children do better (0.824) (NOCANE)

a

Factor 4 Factor 5 TEACHING AND TEACHING AND LEARNING 1 LEARNING 2

11. Teachers can’t do much to improve the academic performance of slow learners (0.514) (SLOWLRN) 9. I don’t mind 12. Teachers are whether I teach in the born and not made junior secondary or (0.640) (TBORN) primary school (0.651) (NOPREFT) 10. Both male and female teachers are equally capable of teaching in the primary school (0.697) (MFEQUAL)

13. It is difficult to bring changes in school as a teacher (0.510) (NOINNOV) 14. Teaching is more difficult than many other jobs I could do (0.428) (TDIFF)

Rotation converged in 11 iterations. Six factors account for 52% of variance.

Factor 6 TEACHING AND LEARNING 3

15. School children learn best when in small groups (0.656) (LRNGRP)

17. The most important thing a teacher can do is to teach pupils facts (0.654) (TFACTS)

16. It is difficult to teach children of different abilities unless they are grouped (0.725) (ABILGRP)

18. School pupils learn more from asking questions than from listening (0.399) (LQUEST)

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Fig. 1.

NQTs. The trends appear marked and move from a majority positive to a majority negative. Many explanations are possible. It may be that as students acquire more exposure to the realities of teaching in primary schools they become less idealistic, and for some this encourages a lessening of commitment to teaching and a weakening in their beliefs about the status of the profession they are entering. MUSTER qualitative evidence regarding student teachers’ teaching practice experience suggests that once exposed to real classroom teaching, there is a ‘reality shock’ leading to belief that teaching is more demanding than had been made to appear during college training (Akyeampong, Ampiah et al., 2000). As a result some student teachers felt frustration and disappointment with their initial teaching encounters. It may be that the training programme does not expose student teachers sufficiently to the realities of teaching in ways that help them to maintain high levels of motivation. It may also be that problems with unsuitable accommodation, challenges of working in deprived communities, and conflicts with community members over poor pupil performance, begin to undermine motivation and commitment (Hedges, 2000, Akyeampong and Stephens, 2000). So also may peer comparisons with colleagues who did not go into teacher training and who may appear to have more attractive occupational futures. It may of course be that the

Status cluster.

changes would be even more negative if training was not taking place, but this is impossible to demonstrate from this data. Finally we can note that the positive attitudes to teaching shown by BSTs may not be quite what they appear at first sight. In another MUSTER study (Hedges, 2000) it became clear that beginning students often explained their interest in teaching as being motivated by the opportunities for social and academic advancement that arise through ‘study leave with pay’13 after a short period of teaching. These trainees were open about their intentions to move out of primary teaching whenever the opportunity arose. Two quotes from beginning student teachers interviewed about their reasons for entering teacher training illustrate this: A teacher can further his or her education and there is study leave with pay. You can further your course at the University to become a secondary school teacher. NQTs were asked what they would most likely be doing career-wise in five years time. Only 3% 13

After graduating from teachers’ college, NQTs are eligible for study leave with full pay, after three years service. Most see this as an opportunity to further their education to the University and move up to teach in a secondary school or enter more lucrative jobs (Akyeampong and Stephens, 2000).


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indicated they might be teaching at the junior secondary and none expected to remain teaching in a primary school. Over 80% indicated they would most likely have gone on to further studies—an indication of their readiness to apply for ‘study leave with pay’ after teaching for three years. Study leave with pay was introduced to provide an incentive for the professional development of teachers, but this may have provided the motivation for moving out of primary teaching. With the difficult circumstances of primary teaching and its generally low status in Ghanaian society (Bame, 1991; World Bank, 1996) it is perhaps not surprising that FSTs and NQTs aspire to get a higher qualification and teach in a senior secondary school, or do a different job.

Hedges’ (2000) in-depth study of new teachers working mostly in rural Ghana revealed that most did believe in corporal punishment to address problems of indiscipline. The following quote from a female teacher in his study is illustrative:

3.2. Teacher control

There is a tension between practice, which often favours some corporal punishment, and training and official policy which discourage it. NQTs may take their cues more from school norms than from the advice they receive in training colleges. (see Fig. 2)

BSTs and FSTs are similar in their responses to the item concerning the extent to which caning ‘is necessary to maintain discipline’, with most disagreeing. NQTs predominantly agree and are significantly more likely to support this view. BSTs and FSTs agree that ‘caning will not help children do better’. Again NQTs differ and are more likely to disagree, though in this case their mean score suggests that a small majority remain in overall agreement. The real shift therefore is between those in training and those in schools for two years. Plausibly this is the result of experience in the schools where caning is not uncommon, and is widely condoned though officially frowned upon. Student teachers appear to have more liberal views on the subject than NQTs. Beginning student teachers’ recollections of their worst school experience often featured corporal punishment in the form of caning and this may be why they were predisposed against its use. Most student teachers described it as having a psychologically negative effect on learning but some believed it served a moral purpose and for that reason was a good thing (Akyeampong and Stephens, 2000). NQTs tend to favour using the cane to maintain discipline, reflecting common practice in schools and perhaps the lack of effectiveness of their training to use other methods of classroom control.

Well, we have been made to understand that corporal punishment is very bad in the classroom especially when you are using the cane to beat the child, but you see some of the children are just hard nuts, I mean if you talk to them in the form of counselling, unless you use the cane, they don’t care … In fact, talking to them sometimes we didn’t solve the problems but just giving them some whips will…[Female teacher in a rural JSS, Quoted from Hedges, 2000]

3.3. Placement preferences Three statements dealt with preferences for placements in schools and whether males and females were likely to be equally capable teachers. The responses to the statement, ‘newly qualified teachers should teach where they like’ produced strong agreement amongst FSTs. BSTs’ and NQTs’ responses were similar to each other, and different to FSTs in their level of agreement. The most obvious explanation of this is that FSTs are most concerned since they are about to be posted.14 NQTs may have either resigned themselves to the postings they have accepted, or found ways to acquire the postings with which they are comfortable and are evenly split between those who agree and disagree. BSTs are more likely than FSTs not to have a 14

Qualified teachers are allowed to make three choices, in order of preference, of where they will prefer to begin their teaching after college. However, the final decision rests with national and regional posting boards who decide on final postings based on the situations of teacher supply and demand.

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Fig. 2. Control cluster.

preference for the level they will teach (‘I don’t mind whether I teach at the JSS or primary school level’). Differences between FSTs and NQTs are not significant. BSTs are most likely to agree that males and females ‘are equally capable of teaching in primary schools’. The differences in mean scores across all the groups for this item are small and indicate strong overall agreement that males and females are equally capable. Posting to a rural community and teaching at the primary level are not the first choices of many of those trained. There is no systematic data on how many finishing student teachers refuse posting and leave teaching because of their unwillingness to work in rural communities. However, according to a World Bank (1996) report on Basic Education sector improvement, between 50 and 70% of teachers remain untrained and these are mostly teachers in rural districts—an indirect indication that perhaps trained teachers disproportionately refuse to accept teaching positions in poor rural communities. The MUSTER NQT15 survey data confirmed the unpopularity of teaching in primary schools in rural areas. Over 80% preferred to teach in urban 15

The 134 NQTs surveyed were all teaching in urban or semi-urban districts in the south of Ghana. During fieldwork in Ghana, it was observed that whereas those posted to urban and semi-urban areas had remained at post, some posted to villages had obtained transfer to bigger towns.

areas, of whom the great majority—over 80%— expressed a preference for junior secondary rather than primary. Only 13% said they would like to teach in junior secondary schools in rural areas and only 3% expressed a preference to teach in primary schools in rural areas. (see Fig.3) 3.4. Teaching and learning 1 The next group of items explored attitudes to slow learners, teachers’ competencies, innovation in schools, and the perceived difficulty of teaching. Two items—‘teachers can’t do much to improve the performance of slow learners’ and ‘it is difficult to bring changes in school as a teacher’ showed no significant differences in response between the groups. In the first case the mean scores were very low suggesting a high level of disagreement across all groups. Mean scores were also low in the second case. These responses indicate some optimism about the extent to which new teachers feel they can improve pupil achievement, and introduce more effective teaching methods. Interview data confirmed that NQTs believed quite strongly in their ability to improve children’s learning and attributed most difficulties they faced in teaching to external factors, such as unavailability of instructional materials (mostly textbooks) and pupil absenteeism. However, head teachers often indicated that NQTs had difficulty selecting


Fig. 3.

Placement cluster.

appropriate content and instructional strategies to meet pupils’ ability level and background characteristics. MUSTER analysis of the college curriculum in action suggested that dominant approaches stressed prescriptive teacher behaviours, rather than critical reflection and personal agency in teaching (Akeaympong, Ampiah et al., 2000). Thus although trainees may believe that they can improve learning, it may be that they need much advice and assistance in converting the aspiration into viable teaching strategies. (see Fig. 4) The two other statements produced significant differences. BSTs are less likely than FSTs to

Fig. 4.

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believe that teachers are ‘born not made’. FSTs and NQTs hold this view more frequently. It may be that if beginning teachers find their early career experiences stressful, belief strengthens that some are more suited than others to the profession independent of the training they receive. Some head teachers interviewed explained differences in NQTs as arising from prior characteristics. One argued that: One thing I have observed is that some of them [NQTs] are not born teachers. I believe that they would leave the teaching service very soon

Teaching and learning 1.

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because they find it to be very tedious work. (Head teacher, emphasis added) BSTs are less likely than FSTs and NQTs to feel that teaching ‘is more difficult than many other jobs’. Thus those with more training and experience appear more likely to believe that teaching is more demanding than many other occupations. During interviews with FSTs there were indications that teaching practice experiences had been quite stressful because of the teaching problems encountered. Some of the areas mentioned were dealing with pupils’ learning readiness, pupil absenteeism which obstructed systematic delivery of lessons, teaching children with mixed abilities, and the barrier of the poor English language background of pupils. These problems assumed greater importance in trainees’ minds as they experienced the realities of coping with their consequences (Akyeampong, Ampiah et al., 2000). 3.5. Teaching and learning 2 Two items ‘school children learn best when in small groups’ and ‘it is difficult to teach children of different abilities unless they are grouped’ were used to see if attitudes to group work appeared to change. In the first case there was very strong overall agreement that did not vary between the groups. In the second, FSTs and NQTs were more likely to agree that grouping was necessary for effective teaching. But generally, strong preferences for group work persist across all groups. School and college observation data indicate that in reality the use of group work as a teaching strategy is fragmented and sporadic. It seems that the training curriculum does not provide many examples of the ways in which group work can be organised, given the logistical and spatial constraints of most Ghanaian classrooms. Neither does college work often take this form (Akyeampong, Ampiah et al., 2000). Thus though group work is a theme emphasised during training as a teaching strategy and is rated highly by both student teachers and newly qualified teachers, this may be more a reflection of an aspiration rather than a commitment to use the approach. (see Fig. 5)

3.6. Teaching and learning 3 Two statements: ‘the most important thing a teacher can do is to teach pupils facts’ and ‘school pupils learn more from asking questions than from listening’, addressed pedagogic questions. In the first case there was a strong difference in level of agreement between BSTs, and FSTs and NQTs. Enthusiasm for teaching facts appears to diminish with training and time (though observational data from classrooms suggests this might be more rhetoric than a reality). Nevertheless levels of agreement as represented by mean scores remained high, even for FSTs and NQTs, suggesting it remains a dominant perspective. Responses to the second item produced no significant differences across the groups, though there was strong overall agreement that question-based teaching methods were desirable. MUSTER FST and NQT survey data suggest that the use of question and answer technique in teaching is a valued practice and emphasised during college training. For example, over 50% of the NQTs surveyed indicated they often or very often used the techniques learnt at college. Observational data from college lessons also suggest that this instructional technique is encouraged and favoured by college tutors (see Akyeampong, Ampiah et al., 2000, p. 23). This could explain the reason for student teachers and newly qualified teachers valuing questionbased teaching. The emphasis on teaching as the presentation of facts is not necessarily inconsistent with a preference for using questioning as a teaching strategy. The questioning may of course be predominantly focused on factual recall. The emphasis on teaching facts reflects the deeply entrenched tradition of knowledge transmission practised in Ghanaian schools (cf. Akyeampong et al., 1999, see also Jessop and Penny, 1998 and Tabulawa, 1997 for its influence in other African education systems). (see Fig. 6)

4. Concluding discussion These preliminary results are intriguing. They indicate some of the ways beginning student teach-


Fig. 5.


Fig. 6.


ers may differ from those completing training, and those who have been in schools for two years. We have noted that the grouping of the data is tentative, and that the limitations of the methods used to accumulate the data place constraints on the confidence with which it can be interpreted. Nevertheless there are differences, most of which may indeed represent shifts in attitudes, and the overall mean scores for the different statements themselves tell a story. The importance of opening up the debate about how the attitudes and dispositions of BSTs, FSTs and NQTs differ is obvious. There are no system-

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atic data in Ghana on this question, but plenty of assertion and casual empiricism. Yet if the training college curriculum is to be developed to recognise the attitudes and dispositions of trainee teachers when they are first enrolled, a picture needs to be constructed which provides a profile. This data provides a start, which needs to be evaluated further through more research on the pertinent issues raised. It is also true that if teacher education is to demonstrate an impact commensurate with the resources it consumes, it needs to show that it can be a transforming experience that shapes motiv-

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ation and pedagogic beliefs. Whatever the effects are of the existing system, they do not show unambiguously in this data. The initial expectations— that there would be progressive changes in directions consistent with the aspirations of the teacher education curriculum—are at best only evident in a few of the results. There are many possible reasons. If the reasons lie in limitations of the methods chosen for this study, the challenge is to refine the methods. If they are because such changes (or lack of changes) are predominantly grounded in realities exogenous to the college training process, then these need to be addressed, and somehow linked to the training process. And if they are the result of less than effective curriculum planning and realisation in the colleges, then it is time to revisit what can and cannot be achieved using existing and reformed training methods. In reality, what will transform teachers into effective practitioners may not just be simply the result of effective curriculum planning and realisation, but must include the support of other policies

that together work in concert to promote positive change in becoming a teacher. There is a need, as others have observed, to: conceptualise the content of learning to teach and to sort out what can best be taught and learned at the college level prior to teaching, what can best be learned through guided practice in someone else’s classroom, and what should be learned through structured induction support, and what depends on learning from teaching over time. (Feiman–Nemser and Remillard 1996, p. 66) To this might be added the observation that until it is clearer what current methods of training do actually achieve in terms of transforming student teachers’ capabilities and attitudes, it will be difficult to design ways of increasing the effectiveness of training. This paper starts this process in relation to some attributes of trainees, and challenges others to extend and deepen the analysis.

Appendix 1. Differences between groups in response patterns by statements

Statement

Sample

1. I think being a teacher is the best job I can get. (0.806) BST (BEST) FST NQT 2. I would rather have gone to the university than teacher BST training college (⫺0.602) (PREFUNI) FST NQT 3. My friends think I’m fortunate to be a school teacher BST (0.602) (FORTUNE) FST NQT 4. I would rather get a higher qualification and do a BST different job than remain in teaching (0.765) DIFFJOB FST NQT 5. Teachers today are more respected than they were BST before (0.351) (RESPECT) FST NQT 6. Caning is necessary to maintain discipline in school BST (⫺0.828) (CANE) FST NQT 7. Caning will not help children do better (0.824) BST

Mean

SD

BST

FST

3.07

0.96

2.57 2.26 2.06

1.01 0.96 0.84

∗ ∗

NS

2.39 2.81 3.04

0.90 0.83 0.91

∗ ∗

∗

2.69 2.52 2.10

0.81 0.89 0.94

∗ ∗

NS

2.80 2.90 2.51

1.00 0.90 1.11

∗ ∗

NS

2.15 2.08 2.24

1.02 0.96 0.88

∗ ∗

NS

2.34 2.86 3.11

0.94 0.81 0.84

NS ∗

∗


351

(NOCANE) FST NQT BST

3.06 2.64 2.59

0.93 0.93 1.07

NS ∗

FST NQT 9. I don’t mind whether I teach in the junior secondary or BST primary school (0.651) (NOPREFT) FST NQT 10. Both male and female teachers are equally capable of BST teaching in the primary school (0.697) (MFEQUAL) FST NQT 11. Teachers can’t do much to improve the academic BST performance of slow learners (0.514) (SLOWLRN) FST NQT 12. Teachers are born and not made (0.640) (TBORN) BST FST NQT 13. It is difficult to bring changes in school as a teacher BST (0.510) (NOINNOV) FST NQT 14. Teaching is more difficult than many other jobs I BST could do (0.428) (TDIFF) FST NQT 15. School children learn best when in small groups BST (0.656) (LRNGRP) FST NQT 16. It is difficult to teach children of different abilities BST unless they are grouped (0.725) (ABILGRP) FST NQT 17. The most important thing a teacher can do is to teach BST pupils facts (0.654) (TFACTS) FST NQT 18. School pupils learn more from asking questions than BST from listening (0.399) (LQUEST) FST NQT

3.37 2.56 3.11

0.85 0.98 0.86

∗ NS

2.76 2.92 3.32

1.00 0.84 0.80

∗ NS

NS

3.13 3.30 1.63

0.91 0.67 0.78

∗ NS

NS

1.66 1.78 2.28 2.51 2.40 2.21

0.81 0.74 1.08 1.05 0.92 0.96

NS NS

NS

∗ NS

NS

2.24 2.10 2.69

1.01 0.93 0.95

NS NS

NS

3.12 3.00 3.54

0.93 0.87 0.62

∗ ∗

NS

3.61 3.55 2.94

0.66 0.57 0.88

NS NS

NS

3.21 3.08 3.44

0.81 0.85 0.77

∗ ∗

NS

3.06 3.07 3.37

0.92 0.93 0.80

∗ ∗

NS

3.43 3.55

0.72 0.66

NS NS

NS

8. Newly qualified teachers should teach where they like (⫺0.448) (CHOOSET)

References Agboka, G., 2000. Teacher trainees to be sanctioned if … Newspaper Report in the Ghana Daily Graphic. Akyeampong, A.K., 1997. Continuous assessment in post-secondary teacher training in Ghana: a case study evaluation. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Nottingham, UK. Akyeampong, K., Ampiah, J., Fletcher, J., Kutor, N. and Sokpe, B., 2000. Learning to Teach in Ghana: an evaluation of curriculum delivery. MUSTER Discussion Paper No 17, Centre for International Education, University of Sussex. Akyeampong, K., and Furlong, D., 2000. Ghana: A Baseline Study of the Teacher Education System. MUSTER Discussion Paper No 7, Centre for International Education, University of Sussex.

∗ NS NS NS

Akyeampong, K., Furlong, D., and Lewin, K.M., 2001. The Costs and Financing of Teacher Education in Ghana. MUSTER Discussion Paper No 18, Centre for International Education, University of Sussex. Akyeampong, A.K., Pryor, J. and Ampiah, J., 1999. A vision of successful schooling: Ghanaian teachers’ understanding of learning, teaching and assessment. Paper presented by John Pryor at BERA conference, University of Sussex. Akyeampong, K., Stephens, D., 2000. ‘On the Threshold’: the identity of student teachers in Ghana. MUSTER Discussion Paper No 4, Centre for International Education, University of Sussex. Awuku, K., 2000. Current Structure and Development in Basic Teacher Education. Paper presented at Institute of Education Test Development Workshop, Saltpond, Ghana, January.

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