“The fact is that teaching is not as simple as people perceive it. It is a complex activity that requires rigorous training and re-training,” noted Mr. Thomas Baafi, Deputy General Secretary of Education and Professional Development of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) at a recent in-service training workshop for selected teachers in Ghana.
This simple, yet profound statement, may not have been a new revelation for the participants at the conference. However, during the recent “capacity building workshop” for 150 teachers in Ghana, conference speakers and other participants urged the government to support the organization of more in-service training for teachers in the country. In a joint effort with the GNAT and the Canadian Teachers Federation (CTF) Project Overseas, these educators have collaborated to establish an in-service teacher training program that addresses some of the obstacles to quality education in Ghana.
The teachers were guided through various innovative techniques in the teaching of basic core subjects as well as foreign languages, technology, and special mathematics instruction for female educators. Also, strengthening support systems–targeting efficient management of school administrations—for basic and secondary schools became a part of the training program.
An added component of the recent workshop dealt with newly trained teachers. They were given special orientation to enable them to integrate smoothly into the teaching profession. The Deputy General Secretary of GNAT said the adjustment challenges and the shock of coming out of college to meet situations which were far below their expectation were “neglected” and that “the resultant effect of neglect had been the destruction of the enthusiasm they had come out of college to teach.” Despite these problems, the opportunity for teacher growth and development of the profession could be realized with ongoing teacher re-training.
In collaboration with GNAT and the Canadian Teachers Federation, a new program was initiated to assist teachers in their professional training in remote parts of the country. Workshop leaders acknowledged the unique needs of schools and instructors in urban versus rural schools. In addition, they addressed the challenges that normally faced teachers in deprived schools.
The President of GNAT, Mr. Samuel Doe Alobuia summarized the consensus of the conference discussions by explaining that “quality education begins with quality teachers”; and, the development of the capacity of teachers is crucial in the promotion of quality education in Ghana.
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Written by Melody Chiang