Educational Reforms and Pedagogy in Ghana: Implications for Learning Senior High Schools

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, it would give me great pleasure to show my gratitude to my professor, for his propositions, remarks, understanding and patience. It would also be an honour to express gratitude to my parents, my mother, my father, my sister and my brother for their endless support in my life and allowing me to make all my decisions. I would also like to take the opportunity to show appreciation to my co-workers for their expert cooperation on every occasion. I would also like to be grateful to the Department, managers of the university, instructors and students who have supported me throughout this research.

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DECLARATION

I declare that the content presented in this thesis/dissertation is, in my understanding and opinion, original and has not been presented for scholarly assessment in the past, either completely or partly, for an academic degree at this educational institution or elsewhere. I would also like to admit that I have studied and understood the principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines of the University regarding the higher academic degree research award and to my dissertation. I would also like to declare that I have abided by the University's principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines.

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ABSTRACT

Ghana has had several periodic reforms in its education over the past few decades. The impacts of these reforms have been studied at the primary and university levels. However, the implications of the reforms for the senior high school have not studied in earlier research. The present study, therefore, aims to focus on the implications of the reforms for the students, faculty, administrators and policy makers of educational system of Ghana. Currently, Ghana's senior High school students choose three elective of 5 programs available: Program of Agriculture, General Program (Arts or Science option), Special Events, vocational programs and technical programs. In 2007, the Ghanaian Parliament adopted a bill on education increasing the number of grades in high school from three to four years. The reform was both welcomed and criticised. In 2010, another revision reversed this, by reducing the senior high school years from 4 to 3. This revision had brought its share of problems, including complexities relating to infrastructure and logistics for the implementation of the program in four years. This study primarily aims to investigate the pedagogical implications of education reforms in Ghana for the senior high school level. The study follows these aspects in the form of a qualitative study. The study will conceptualize and elaborate the impacts the new reforms will have on the teaching, learning and administration outcomes in the context of Ghana. Although there was a massive curriculum reform revision in 2007 and 2010, this research will focus on the implications of changes from reducing the number of years at the senior high school level.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

National education policies2

Problem Statement4

Purpose of the study4

Significance of the Study5

Proposed Methodology5

Theoretical Framework6

Assumptions6

Limitations of ...