Attitudes of Basic School Teachers in the Cape Coast Municipality Towards Staff Development Activities

Abstract

Continuing education through Staff development activities meant to enhance skills, knowledge, abilities, and beliefs are inextricably linked to effective teaching and learning. This study sought to determine the attitude of basic education teachers in Ghana toward staff development programmes. Two hundred and twenty-two (222) basic school teachers from Upper Primary and Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in the Central Region were selected using stratified random sampling methods for the study. The main instrument used for the collection of data was a researcher-designed questionnaire following the principles of the Likert Scale to ascertain teachers' personal characteristics and attitudes towards staff development programmes. The data obtained was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The study showed that Basic school teachers in the Cape Coast Municipality have a positive attitude towards staff development programmes. However, a more positive attitude is possible if staff development programmes are organised on regular basis and teachers are encouraged to appreciate the importance of staff development activities to the teacher and the school as a whole. The study also revealed that there is no systematic evaluation of the impact of staff development activities on the teaching practices of the individual teachers as well as the gains in students learning. There is, therefore, the need for organizers of staff development activities especially the Ghana Education Service (GES) to enforce proper supervision and evaluation of the impact of such programmes. Some recommendations are suggested on the basis of the findings. International Journal of Educational Research Vol. 3 (2) 2007 pp. 161-171