Ibrahim/ Comfort Badu Yeboah, GNA
Koforidua, July 16, GNA – The performance of
the second year female teacher trainees of the Presbyterian College of
Education (PCE) at Akropong Akuapem has increased due to all-female extra
remedial sessions organised for the students.
The academic performance of the female teacher
trainees since the inception of the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) in 2005,
was estimated to be low compared to that of their male counterparts.
The school, in improving the academic
performance of the second year female teacher trainees, organised mentorship
workshops, Gender responsive pedagogy workshops and remedial classes for the
female teacher trainees.
Officials of the College stated at a
Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL) Challenge Fund End of
Project Learning Event at Koforidua, Eastern Region.
T-TEL through the Challenge Fund disbursed
GHC2.5 million to 31 Colleges of Education across the country, the end of
project event was therefore created for sharing key lessons, showcasing
achievements and exploring opportunities for taking best practices and results
forward in their institutions and within the teacher education sector as a
whole.
The T-TEL project also sought to harness the
energy and expertise of stakeholders across the teacher education sector, with
T-TEL incentivising innovation, inclusion, best practice and results ensuring
Ghana had high quality student teachers ready to teach and inspire young people
to lead the country’s progress and prosperity.
The Challenge Fund End of Project Learning
Event was on the general theme: “Mobilising Local Resources and Partnership to
Improve the Professional Preparation of Pre-service Teachers in Ghana’s
Colleges of Education”.
The Presbyterian College of Education undertook
a project aimed at improving academic performance of second year female teacher
trainees.
The College identified unfavourable prep time,
inadequate mentoring, too many tasks, low self-esteem as a result of previous
performance and phobia for key subjects as factors that led to the low
performance of the female teacher trainees.
The College therefore incorporated gender
pedagogy workshops into its activities, and also increased school contact
period to support female students in some critical subjects’ areas.
The College also organised quiz competition
between Presbyterian College of Education (PCE) and the Presbyterian Women
College of Education.
According to PCE the gender pedagogy workshop
for lead mentors and mentors had strengthened the relation between the
practising Schools and the college.
The Project Team commended the GCB Bank
Akropong Branch for pledging financial support to sustain the project.
Mr Robbin Todd, T-TEL Team Leader explained
that the Challenge Fun came at a critical moment for education in Ghana as the
government and stakeholders were determined to address poor learning outcomes
and recognised that teaching was both a barrier and a solution to progress.
He explained that the current education policy
environment provided a platform for improving the core and technical skills of
teachers, enabling the new policy framework for Pre-Tertiary Teacher
Professional Development and Management to be implemented.
“Colleges of Education are already doing great
work. They are ready to lead educational transformation in our nation. The
future is bright and the possibilities are exciting.
“As a Government of Ghana programme T-TEL is
providing continuous technical and funding support for the implementation of
the new bachelor of education curriculum for training teachers,” she said.
Under the initiatives, T-TEL has been working
with Universities to provide Continuous Professional Development support to
enable all lecturers and tutors to understand all aspects of the new curriculum
and deliver it effectively.
It has also focused on strengthening
partnerships between partner schools and Colleges of Education, guided by a new
School Partnerships Policy- to ensure that experienced teachers are effectively
mentoring student teacher.
It provides support to all Colleges of
Education to enable them to upgrade the qualifications of their tutors, within
a four year transitional period, to meet the minimum requirements of the
National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE)
It also Supports Colleges to achieve their
organisational objectives and development plans through a Payment By Results
(PBR) approach, providing funding for Colleges of Education to use as they see
it fit to improve their infrastructure and learning environment.
T-TEL Ghana is a four-year Government of Ghana
Programme supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID),
through an investment of £17 million.
T-TEL is supporting the country’s 46 public
Colleges of Education on their path to becoming tertiary “centres of excellence”
and producing high quality teaching graduates who can ensure our children
succeed at school.
GNA