Abstract
In its quest for an optimal education system, Ghana has implemented a number of education reform policies ending with the 3-year and 4-year secondary education systems. The main focus of this study was to use research findings to determine which system, between the 3-year and 4-year secondary education policies, is optimal for Ghana. In the methodology, comparative analysis of secondary quantitative data in the form of test scores from the database of the West African Examinations Council was undertaken. The test scores were for the four core subjects, namely, English Language, Mathematics (Core), Integrated Science and Social Studies, for the period 2011 to 2015 within which the two policies operated equally. The difference in performance was subjected to Independent Sample T-test for statistical significance at p≤.05. The Cohen's d effect size of the difference was also considered. Government subsidies for the two systems were examined. The study found that the 4-year secondary education system offers a better chance for academic performance, but the 3-year system is economically more viable. Based on the findings, a 6-year primary, 2-year junior high and 4-year senior high (6+2+4) pre-tertiary education system was proposed for the consideration of policymakers, without abolishing the 2-year kindergarten. A new framework for educational policy evaluation, is proposed. The author believes that the findings will contribute immensely to the search for an optimal secondary education policy for Ghana.
Highlights
There is no argument against the fact that education is paramount for national development
In order to ensure that the variances in the observed test scores were not spurious, statistical tests were performed on the mean scores
Independent Samples T-Test was conducted to compare the mean scores of candidates in English Language, Mathematics (Core), Integrated Science, and Social Studies for the 3-year and 4-year secondary education systems
Summary
There is no argument against the fact that education is paramount for national development. In its efforts to catalyse national development, Ghana has implemented a number of education reform policies from pre-independence era ending with the recent 3-year and 4-year secondary education systems. During the immediate post-independence period, in a quest to fill gaps in the education system and develop appropriate manpower for national needs and the job market, successive governments in Ghana introduced a number of education policies. That government proposed the abolition of the General Certificate of Education (GCE), Advanced and Ordinary levels examinations, bequeathed to Ghana by its colonial masters, the British. This 1987 Education Reform policy found its full implementation in 1993, and since Ghana’s senior secondary education assumed a three-year format. It was during this same era that the debate on whether Ghana should follow a 3-year or 4-year education system at the senior secondary level started after
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