From the findings, it is evident that teacher agency plays a significant role in teachers’ professional practice. Furthermore, it is caused by a combination of contextual and biographical factors, which can be disaggregated into the iterational, projective and practical-evaluative dimensions (Priestley et al. 2015). The findings further indicate that teacher agency has significant effects and as such needs to be considered in educational planning. I therefore offer the following practical recommendations:
10.3.1 Biographical factors
In their journal article ‘Curriculum reform in post-1990 sub-Saharan Africa’, Chisholm and Leyendecker (2008, p. 203) contend that ‘teachers need to understand the underlying idea, be motivated to change practice, adapt and apply appropriate pedagogies, and have the capacity to do it’, which summarises the teacher’s position with regard to reform. In light of my study’s findings, I therefore suggest that education authorities should make committed efforts to involve teachers in the reform process from start to finish. This will enable them to contribute, as well as enhance their ownership of reforms. Furthermore, surveys of teachers’ attributes could be done to help in understanding and mediating their responses. From the data, several suggestions emerged encouraging the education authorities to collect teachers’ views regarding the thematic curriculum, teachers’ guide and pupils’ course books to be used for their review.
Furthermore, I suggest that sufficient teacher training and mechanisms for ‘sense-making’ (Wallace and Priestley 2011; Pietarinen et al. 2016) accompany the launch of new policies. The study identified training and sense-making gaps with regard to policies such as the ban on corporal punishment. In addition, the training should aim at enhancing teachers’ decision making and creativity through developing their professionalism, knowledge and skill. In that regard, I propose strengthening the role of head teachers as their first line trainers. The new policy which stipulates that head teachers should have a bachelor’s degree should therefore be fully implemented to support this role. Finally, a simplified policy guide should be compiled and distributed to all schools/teachers.
10.3.2 Contextual factors
The study found that contextual factors such as governance, resources and policies play a core role in shaping teacher agency. It is therefore imperative that education authorities pay close attention to them. To begin with, I suggest that excessive performativity, for example the practice of publishing PLE results in the national media should be reviewed as a move towards curbing ‘teaching to the test’, as well as ‘image fabrication’ (see Keddie et al 2011; Leat 2014; Altinyelken 2010b; Lewin 2009). Furthermore, I suggest that schools’ inspection be improved to ensure that DEDs are conversant with the challenges in their districts and can therefore devise solutions to redress them. The DEDs should also be more flexible and accessible to teachers, as well as respond more empathetically to their challenges.
The lack of inputs such as instructional materials should be urgently addressed. The findings indicate that it affects teachers both directly and indirectly. For example, it makes teachers reluctant to practice automatic promotion due the poor quality of learning. Furthermore, it forces them to adopt measures like sharing course books with their pupils which affects their efficiency. It is therefore imperative that government accelerates the provision of instructional materials in order to improve the quality of learning. This will, in turn, have a positive effect on other practices.
Similarly, government should improve the availability of infrastructure such as classrooms, staffrooms and teachers’ accommodation, all of which are still inadequate. GPE noted this as a priority in their recent conference in Dakar (Global Partnership for Education 2018). The provision of staffrooms is particularly urgent in respect of teacher agency. This is because staffrooms offer a conducive environment where teachers can interact and both develop themselves, as well as the curriculum. Government should therefore take it as a matter of priority. Efforts should also be placed on improving teacher welfare in order to enhance their pride and ownership of UPE.
Due to the significant influence of UPE policies on teacher agency, I make the following suggestions which arise from the findings:
1. Government should urgently address the contentious issues around local language teaching. Firstly, it should level the playing field by ensuring that both rural UPE schools and private schools adhere to the policy. This will eradicate the incessant transfers of pupils due to parents’ quest for exclusive English instruction. Furthermore, it will eliminate the habit of schools blaming their poor performance and low enrolment on local language teaching. Relatedly, government should ban the use of commercialised prep exams which are set exclusively in English. This repeatedly emerged as an argument against local language teaching. Furthermore, government should encourage UPE schools to set their own exams, which are tailored to their needs.
2. In regard to English subject teaching in lower primary, teachers should be permitted to use the local languages in explaining difficult concepts. However, the teachers and head teachers appeared uncertain as to what the policy stipulates (c.f Abiria et al. 2013).
3. Finally, UPE’s enrolment policy should be revised to ensure that parents/guardians physically accompany their children for enrolment. This will curb underage enrolment