CONCERNS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE CAPE COAST METROPOLIS ABOUT THE 2007 EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN GHANA

ABSTRACT

The study sought to track the concerns of primary school teachers in the Cape Coast  Metropolis about the 2007 educational reform  in Ghana  within the framework of  the  Stages  of  Concerns  dimension  of  the  Concerns-Based  Adoption  Model developed  by  Hall,  Wallace  and  Dossett  in  1973.  Data  were  gathered  from  three hundred  and  sixteen  (316)  private  and  public  school  teachers  in  the  Cape  Coast Metropolis of the Central Region. Results indicated that teachers  have high concerns at  personal,  management,  consequence  and  refocusing  stages.  This  is  an  indication that primary school teachers in the metropolis are more concerned  about the impact of the reform  on learners. However, they are limited by  their inadequacy in terms of knowledge  and  skills  required  by  the  reform  and  lack  of  material  resources  for successful  implementation.  Notwithstanding  teachers’  lack  of knowledge and skills, they  have  developed  other  strategies  of  improving  upon  the  implementation  of  the reform.  ANOVA  results  showed  that  primary  school  teachers’  concerns  are  totally independent of the type  of  school they work  in  whether private or public.  Regarding gender, it was found that female teachers have more management concerns than their male counterparts. It  is  recommended  that  Ghana  Education  Service  organizes  a  series  of workshops, seminars and  forums  for heads of schools and their  teachers  to upgrade their  knowledge and skills as required  by the 2007 reform.  Again, material resources needed to enhance the implementation of the reform should be provided.