Análisis de las encuestas realizadas a los trabajadores de

The basic education reforms brought about significant changes in pre-service training of teachers in Ghana. The initial teacher training programmes were revised and new syllabuses reflecting the objectives of the 1987 reforms were designed for use in the training Colleges (MoE, 2000h). Further, four different teacher training programmes were scrapped and replaced with a unitary system called 3-year Post-Secondary Teacher Certificate. Also the pre-requisite entrance qualification for teacher training is now the GCE-O level or Senior Secondary Education Certificate (SSEC).

In terms of SEN, since the 1990s courses in aspects of special education have been introduced at all initial teacher training colleges in the country. These courses are offered as part of general education courses to sensitize regular education teachers about issues relating to disabilities, and have emphasized the traditional deficit, ‘medically based’ model of special education. The programmes focus on pupils’ deficiencies rather than skills in managing diversity the classroom. Also, the programmes do not include information regarding lower attainments.

Apart from the initial training colleges, special education programmes are offered at two universities in Ghana, Universities of Cape Coast and Winneba. Teachers pursue programmes leading to diploma, degree and masters in education studies and SEN. Apart from training special education teachers; both universities provide programmes in introduction to special education for teacher-trainees in the other subject-areas. The contents of programmes offered by the two universities differ slightly. Although, Cape Coast focuses on SEN in mainstream, the graduates from the Cape Coast University are mainly posted to senior secondary schools (SSS) and other higher institutions. The University of Education in Winneba has been focusing on specialization, training teachers for special schools for the deaf, blind and learning difficulties. Also, the graduates from Winneba are mainly posted to basic schools and initial training colleges.

However, like the initial training colleges the introductory courses do not include information for teaching and assessing lower attaining pupils. My personal knowledge (as a graduate from Cape Coast and as a teacher at Winneba) is that the programmes

at both universities do not include any information or practical training concerning lower attainments.

Furthermore, the two universities also offer distance education programmes for teachers at diploma and degree levels. In spite of these endeavours, the number of qualified teachers is less than the number required for schools in Ghana. In some areas untrained personnel are managing schools. The MoEYS (2004) states that there are about 24,000 untrained teachers in the education system (basic education) working in some of the most isolated, rural and under-served areas of the country. This situation is not strange; there is a general shortfall in the number of trained specialists to foster the implementation of inclusive practices in many countries.

In the UK, Corbett (2001) argues that the Warnock report in 1978 identified lack of specialist training as a barrier to the successful implementation of inclusive education. Twenty years later the Programme for Action (DfEE, 1998) indicated the need for teachers to undertake specific training in relation to SEN. Recently, the government has stated that successful practice was being inhibited by lack of specialist training in SEN (DfES, 2004). In Ghana, the few specialist teachers in SEN are not equipped with innovative skills for teaching and assessing pupils with SEN, including lower attainments in classrooms. The concern is reflected in the following statement by the MoEYS (2004):

Pre-/post- training in special educational needs for regular teachers. Inadequate structures/funds for pre-/post training programmes to equip regular teachers with pedagogical skills to enable them respond to children/youth with SEN (p. 15-16). Thus, both pre-service education and training, and teacher professional development in relation to SEN including lower attainments is weak. The argument is that teacher-

training programmes have consistently failed to address issues relating to lower attainments. Teachers may therefore lack competence, knowledge and skills in teaching and assessing such children, and may use the same approaches for all pupils to assess lower attainers in their classrooms.

2.7.1 Teacher continuous assessment competency

Regarding pre-service and post-service training in continuous assessment; in Ghana, teacher-trainees are offered modules at both initial training colleges and the universities (Amedahe, 2000; Asamoah-Gyimah, 2002). However, these modules emphasize measurement and statistics and focus on the technicalities of assessment, rather than innovative use of assessment for improvement of learning. The few publications on continuous assessment for example, Amedahe (2000) and Etsey (2001) have raised concern about the validity and reliability of teachers’ continuous assessment. They did not consider teachers’ skills in organizing, reporting and using assessment information to improve learning of all pupils and in particular, lower attaining children.

With respect to post-service training (in-service), the situation was depressing. For example, Angbing (2001) reported that, 64% of the JSS teachers stated that they did not have in-service training in continuous assessment. A year later, Asamoah-Gyimah (2002) also reported that, 60% of the SSS teachers said they did not have in-service training in continuous assessment. The MoEYS (2004) has acknowledged that teachers lacked skills and competency in the assessment of pupils and in particular, those who have SEN. As stated elsewhere, the report did not mention lower attaining pupils.

This situation is not peculiar to Ghana, writing in the context of the USA a decade ago, Plake and Impara (1997) reported that teachers were ill-equipped to successfully undertake one of the most prevalent activities of their instructional programme: pupil assessment. This was especially salient due to the current trend in pupil assessment, involving an increase in assessment strategies such as performance, portfolio, and other types of ‘authentic assessments’. These strategies required even more knowledge about assessment as they more directly involved the teacher in the administration and scoring of the result than did in multiple-choice assessments. Teachers should be competent in choosing, developing, administering, using, grading, and communicating assessment results of pupils to parents and families.

However, Cizek (1997) points out “many researchers and practitioners consider assessment reform to be the very foundation of general education reforms”. As one leader in assessment reform efforts puts it, “more important for school re-structuring is the need to build local educator capacity and interest in quality assessment” (Cizek, 1997, p. 8).