Educator Workforce Research in Ghana

• In Event: Redesigning the education workforce: findings from the education commission's educator workforce report

Proposal

Located in West Africa, Ghana is a low-middle income country that has the highest GDP per capita in the region and is considered one of the fastest growing economies in the world. As the country’s economy continues to grow there have been considerable achievements in expanding access to basic education and improving gender parity. However, these efforts have not necessarily translated into visible learner outcomes as a large number of students fail to meet the minimum competency levels in English and mathematics and access for children with disabilities or from poor households remain limited.

Furthermore, challenges remain around the education workforce where teacher attrition and absenteeism, a large number of untrained teachers and teaching positions remain vacant. Few studies take a systematic approach to understand the education workforce beyond the traditional teacher role which fails to capture the multiple other roles that operate within the broader education ecosystem to facilitate student learning, wellbeing and inclusion outcomes.

The Ghana study utilized qualitative methodologies within a social constructivist approach. For this study, as an exploratory methodology, qualitative research methodologies allowed for an understanding of the ways in which different stakeholders experience and perceive the current educator workforce while providing an opportunity to generate and explore new possibilities through dialogue. This study was guided by constructivist grounded theory as a methodological and analytical framework. Grounded theory acknowledges that existing theories/models are not always appropriate for different contexts or research topics that have been under-explored. Thus, constructivist grounded theory allowed for “a context relevant model to be generated” (Mlambo, 2017, p. 67) as grounded in the lived experiences of the participants, that is, the educators, leaders and beneficiaries of education systems at the district and school levels in Ghana and Vietnam. Purposive sampling was used to identify study participants and allowed for a deliberate selection of individuals who provided rich information on topics (Mlambo, 2017). Individuals were recruited at the district, school levels in both rural and urban schools in two different educational districts within Ghana. These broad criteria allowed for inclusion of both formal and informal roles as well as other roles that may be discovered within the field. Qualitative data was collected using a combination of in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus groups, photovoice methods and daily written diaries. Initial desktop and case study research was conducted to inform the development of the fieldwork protocols.

Following analysis of the qualitative data, different scenarios were created as prompts during a one-day redesign workshop held in each region after completion of the qualitative data collection. Using such scenarios, stakeholders were guided through a series of discussions and brainstorming activities aimed at solving educator workforce challenges through identifying the supports needed, the positions and roles of value and potential tools (including technology) that could assist in providing quality education and comprehensive support to that student. Data analysis is currently underway, and the findings will serve as the basis for discussion during the panel presentation.

Authors

• Yeukai Mlambo, Arizona State University

• Freda Wolfenden, The Open University, UK