TY - JOUR
T1 - Teacher professional development (TPD) in Ghana
T2 - constraints and solutions
AU - Salifu, Inusah
AU - Agyekum, Boadi
AU - Nketia, Doris
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 International Professional Development Association (IPDA).
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - This study examined constraints facing teacher professional development (TPD) at the pre-tertiary level of education in Ghana and the measures that could address them. Based on an embedded mixed method design, we sampled 150 pre-tertiary school teachers from a purposively selected district in eastern Ghana. We used questionnaires for data collection and analysed the data using descriptive, factor, and regression analyses. The study revealed multitudes of systemic challenges, such as the failure of TPD organisers to follow up on in-service training programmes, infrequent state sponsorship of TPD activities, and the lack of transparency in awarding study leave for professional development. In resolving the challenges, the research found, among other things, the need to make follow-ups to address skill gaps after training programmes, increase budget spending on TPD activities, and decentralise the organisation of TPD activities to make them transparent. Locally, the findings highlight TPD as a crucial challenge in Ghana’s education system and underscore the importance of addressing skill gaps through follow-up initiatives after training programmes. Internationally, the study adds to the burgeoning literature on TPD by providing a more nuanced understanding of the nature of TPD challenges in an African context through the lens of the Theory of Constraints.
AB - This study examined constraints facing teacher professional development (TPD) at the pre-tertiary level of education in Ghana and the measures that could address them. Based on an embedded mixed method design, we sampled 150 pre-tertiary school teachers from a purposively selected district in eastern Ghana. We used questionnaires for data collection and analysed the data using descriptive, factor, and regression analyses. The study revealed multitudes of systemic challenges, such as the failure of TPD organisers to follow up on in-service training programmes, infrequent state sponsorship of TPD activities, and the lack of transparency in awarding study leave for professional development. In resolving the challenges, the research found, among other things, the need to make follow-ups to address skill gaps after training programmes, increase budget spending on TPD activities, and decentralise the organisation of TPD activities to make them transparent. Locally, the findings highlight TPD as a crucial challenge in Ghana’s education system and underscore the importance of addressing skill gaps through follow-up initiatives after training programmes. Internationally, the study adds to the burgeoning literature on TPD by providing a more nuanced understanding of the nature of TPD challenges in an African context through the lens of the Theory of Constraints.
KW - Ghana
KW - performance expectations
KW - solutions
KW - teacher professional development
KW - theory of constraints
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85192836297&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/19415257.2024.2351947
DO - 10.1080/19415257.2024.2351947
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85192836297
SN - 1941-5257
JO - Professional Development in Education
JF - Professional Development in Education
ER -