Online instructional experiences in an unchartered field - The challenges of student-teachers of a Ghanaian College of Education

Abstract

Student satisfaction is the pinnacle upon which any effective online learning hinges. It is for that reason, educators design course activities that allow students to effectively practice, work together on relevant projects to personalize their learning. In emerging institutions like the Colleges of Education in Ghana that are traditionally inclined toward teachers’ professional development through conventional face-to-face interaction, online education became the medium of interaction for the first time to promote social distancing in response to COVID-19 pandemic while enhancing access and continuous professional development of the human resources for the education sector. This basic qualitative study examined the conduct of online teaching in a traditional face-to-face educational system in Ghana. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed that the basic infrastructure for online teaching and learning is absent. Specifically, student trainees are saddled by poor internet connectivity, high cost of data in an emergency remote teaching environment. Due to these challenges, a significant proportion of the participating student-teachers wouldn’t choose online learning for their work and professional development. In view of this, the study recommends policy makers to institutionalize online education into the curricula of all professional institutions of higher education in Ghana.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Asamoah Debrah

Debrah, Collins Asamoah is a trained geographer from University of Ghana, and teaches Social Studies at KPCE. He has over two decades of teaching across primary, intermediate and tertiary levels. Currently, he explores innovative pedagogies that promote learning.

Patrick Yeyie

Yeyie, Patrick is a Social Studies tutor at Kibi Presbyterian College of Education with over twenty years of teaching across primary, secondary and tertiary level. He is a Ph.D candidate at the University of Education, Winneba. Ghana.

Ethel Gyimah

Gyima, Ethel is a Ph.D student at University of Education, Winneba. Ghana and teaches Social Studies tutor at Kibi Presbyterian College of Education. Prior to joining KPCE, she has had over fifteen years of teaching using conventional practices at primary level of education in Ghana.

Gladys Graham Halm

Mensah, Timothy is a musicologist from University of Education, Winneba. Ghana and tutor in Performing Arts at KPCE. Timothy has taught at primary, intermediate and now tertiary since becoming a teacher fifteen years ago. He joined KPCE in 2017 to teach Music composition.

Francis Owusu Sarfo

Afful, Samuel Kwame has worked with the Ghana Education Service where he taught for eight years as a primary school teacher. Currently, Afful teaches Performing Arts at KPCE using conventional approaches. His interests are exploring indigenous music to enhanceteaching.

Timothy Mensah

Sarfo, Francis Owusu is a young researcher whose interests are in African Ethics. Francis has taught at the secondary and tertiary levels of education for the past fifteen years. He has several publications to his credit. He holds Master of Philosophy degree in Religious and Moral Education.

Samuel Afful Kwame

Halm, Gladys Graham is a veteran Religious and Moral Education tutor at KPCE. Together, Gladys has taught for over three decades from primary to tertiary level. Her interests are in teaching morality from religious perspectives.

Dimitrios Vlachopoulos

Vlachopoulos, Dimitrios is Academic Program Manager at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, leading the track “Educational Technology for Social Change”. Since 2005, he has worked in Higher Education in Spain, Greece, Cyprus, the UK, the USA and the Netherlands. He is Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE).