Basic school leaders in Ghana: how equipped are they?

Abstract

This paper examines the leadership preparedness of institutional-level practice with focus on basic schools in Ghana. The analysis of documents on teacher training curriculum and, one-on-one and focus group interviews with teachers and school leaders revealed that in all the 38 teacher training institutions in Ghana where teachers are prepared for the nation’s basic education system, school leadership is not taught as a full course. Thus, teachers are ill-equipped for leadership positions in basic schools. In addition, the educational system in Ghana does not have a uniform or well-defined criterion for appointing basic school leaders and this creates power struggle and animosity among teachers. The proliferation of private schools and the expansion of public schools from pre-school to the tertiary level are the order of the day in Ghana. Unfortunately, leaders for these institutions are not considered. Nonetheless, it is a truism that many reforms or programmes in education fail for lack of efficient and effective leadership. The study confirmed the inadequate attention that policy-makers and teacher training institutions in Ghana give to basic school leadership. The bottom line is that basic school leaders in Ghana need to be equipped with knowledge and skills in management and leadership to enable schools improve in performance.

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Anthony Kudjo Donkor

Anthony Kudjo Donkor is an assistant professor in the Department of Education, Faculty of Education, Law and Business Studies, at the University for Development Studies, P. O. Box UPW, 36Wa Campus–Ghana. Email: [email protected]. He is also the Graduate Programmes coordinator and a co-founder of an elementary school in Ghana that provides quality and supportive education for the children of needy families. Research interests include multicultural education, parental involvement in education, educational leadership/administration, school-community relations, college teaching and learning/higher education and international perspectives on educational reform. His recent publications include ‘Cultural practices and education in Ghana: The effects of traditional culture on parental involvement in education’, Journal of Research on Humanities and Social Sciences (2013) and ‘Changing the context of learning for a better education’, Journal of Education and Practice (2013).