Teachers concerns about the implementation of the standard-based curriculum in Ghana: A case study of Effutu Municipality

Abstract

The successful implementation of a school curriculum depends significantly on the extent of how stakeholders address the concerns of teachers. This study, therefore, investigated the concerns of basic school teachers in the Effutu Municipality towards the implementation of the standards-based curriculum. The explanatory sequential design of the mixed-method approach was adopted. The study randomly selected 197 primary school teachers for the quantitative research method, whilst six teachers were purposively sampled for the qualitative phase of the study. The quantitative data were analyzed through means and standard deviation. The qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The study found that the primary highest concern of the basic school teachers was collaboration and their second-highest concern and lowest concern were focusing and management, respectively. The study further found that age and experience statistically predict the stages of concern of the teachers in the implementation of the standard-based curriculum. However, the gender and educational qualifications of the teachers were not statistically significant predictors of their concerns towards the implementation of the standard-based curriculum. The study recommends that the district training officers should train and sensitize teachers in the various districts to create enabling environments within the different schools for teachers, school authorities and parents to collaborate among themselves in the implementation of the standard-based curriculum.