TITLE:
Pre-Service Teachers’ Evaluation of Teaching and Learning of Core Courses in Regular and Distance Education Programmes in Ghanaian Colleges of Education
AUTHORS:
Millicent Narh-Kert
KEYWORDS:
Pre-Service Teacher, Distance Education, Regular Education, Self-Efficacy, Teacher Competency
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.9 No.9,
September
23,
2021
ABSTRACT: Almost all pre-service
teachers from Colleges of Education in Ghana, whether from the regular or
distance mode, teach in the basic schools. This research employed survey to
examine pre-service teachers’ evaluation of teaching (ET) on teaching and
learning in the regular and distance modes of teacher education in Ghana. The
analytical cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study. Four hundred and fifty-five (455)
pre-service teachers of Accra College of Education and the College of
Distance Education at Papafio Hills, both of University of Cape Coast were used
as the sample for the survey. Questionnaire of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α) of 0.81 was used to solicit
views regarding students’ evaluation of teaching and learning. Frequency and
percentages were used to describe the data. They have the belief that tutors
are competent in subject matter knowledge, pedagogy and assessment.
Empirically, tutors’ knowledge of subject matter was rated ‘good’ by majority
of distance (89.57%) and regular (51.17%) students. Organization of lessons by
the college tutors was also judged as good by majority of the distance (73.07%)
and regular (61.67%) students. Teacher assessment by college tutors was rated “good”
and constructive by majority (66.0%) of the distance students, and a few
regular students (36.8%). Similarly, pre-service teachers in the two colleges
have positive self-efficacy in learning. Evidence from the study shows that,
majority of the male (64.56%) and female (53.25%) students in the distance mode
as well as female students in the regular mode (52.25%) did not find it
stressful using mathematics and science textbooks to work on homework, except a
few male students (48.41%) in the regular mode. Pre-service teachers have the
belief that College of Education tutors in Ghana are competent in subject
matter knowledge and pedagogy to teach in both regular and distance education
programmes. Pre-service teachers in Ghanaian College of Education have
self-efficacy in learning core courses in regular and distance education
programmes. This study concludes that distance education programmes are equally
effective and efficient means of education and training of pre-service teachers
in Ghana just as the regular or traditional mode of teacher education and training. It is therefore recommended that, policy
makers including the Ministry of Education and the National Council on
Tertiary Education in liaison with Ghanaian universities should give similar attention
to distance education just as it is done to the regular pre-service teacher
education programmes in Ghanaian colleges of education.