Implementing Curriculum Change in Ghana: Exploring Teachers’ Experiences with Enacting 21st-Century Pedagogies

Richardson Addai-Mununkum; Seyram Setordzi

doi:10.29333/ajqr/13660

Implementing Curriculum Change in Ghana: Exploring Teachers’ Experiences with Enacting 21^st-Century Pedagogies

Richardson Addai-Mununkum ¹ ^* , Seyram Setordzi ¹

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AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 4, pp. 119-139

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13660

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Abstract

Research has long established that teachers’ characteristics such as attitude, knowledge, and pedagogical skills are superior expediters of curriculum implementation. Following Ghana’s recent introduction of a standards-based curriculum in K6 schools, we ponder how Ghanaian teachers are implementing change through their utilization of 21^st-century pedagogies. We implemented a qualitative descriptive phenomenology research that explored teachers’ experiences with emerging pedagogies. Twenty-one participants from four schools were observed and interviewed to reflect on their experiences and to facilitate a comprehensive description of the phenomenon. Having analyzed the data thematically, we observed that teachers adopt teasers, cooperative, experiential, and inquiry-based approaches in implementing the new curriculum. Regardless, the curriculum implementation is challenged by inadequate resources and teachers’ personality and competency factors. We discuss these findings in line with Fullan’s (2012) characteristics of change and conclude by categorizing our respondents along the line of an adapted Roger’s (1995) diffusion model; innovators, early majority, and laggards. For this, we confirm that the difference among the three groups of teachers lies in their personal motivation to embrace change. We therefore recommend for innovative teachers be motivated, early majority teacher to be offered training and laggards to be effectively supervised for the attainment of the goals of the new curriculum.

Keywords: Curriculum implementation, pedagogy, Africa, qualitative research

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Citation

Addai-Mununkum, R., & Setordzi, S. (2023). Implementing Curriculum Change in Ghana: Exploring Teachers’ Experiences with Enacting 21^st-Century Pedagogies. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 7(4), 119-139. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13660

Addai-Mununkum, R., and Setordzi, S. (2023). Implementing Curriculum Change in Ghana: Exploring Teachers’ Experiences with Enacting 21^st-Century Pedagogies. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 7(4), pp. 119-139. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13660

Addai-Mununkum R, Setordzi S. Implementing Curriculum Change in Ghana: Exploring Teachers’ Experiences with Enacting 21^st-Century Pedagogies. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2023;7(4), 119-139. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13660

Addai-Mununkum, Richardson, and Seyram Setordzi. "Implementing Curriculum Change in Ghana: Exploring Teachers’ Experiences with Enacting 21^st-Century Pedagogies". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2023 7 no. 4 (2023): 119-139. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13660

Addai-Mununkum, Richardson et al. "Implementing Curriculum Change in Ghana: Exploring Teachers’ Experiences with Enacting 21^st-Century Pedagogies". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 7, no. 4, 2023, pp. 119-139. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13660

Addai-Mununkum R, Setordzi S. Implementing Curriculum Change in Ghana: Exploring Teachers’ Experiences with Enacting 21^st-Century Pedagogies. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2023;7(4):119-39. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13660