Teachers' and pupils' perceptions of the religious and moral education programme in the junior high school, implication for curriculum design

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to find out teachers and pupils perceptions of the Religious and moral education programme in the junior high school in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana and their implication for curriculum designed. The qualitative research design was used for the study. The population was all the teachers and pupils in the junior high school in the Cape Coast Metropolis. The sample random sampling was used to select twelve schools in Cape Coast and the purposive sampling technique was used to select twelve teachers and twelve pupils from the schools. The interview schedule was the instrument used and the data was manually analyzed. The findings revealed that both teachers and pupils has positive perceptions towards the religious and moral education programme. However the aims of the programme could not be achieves because they lacked teaching/learning materials/resources. Teachers mostly used discussion and dramatization methods in their teachings. Again, the study showed that some teachers had difficulty teaching certain aspects of the syllabus Also some pupils put up poor attitude towards the subject. It was therefore recommended that teachers be provided with teaching/learning materials/resources for effective teaching. Again, teachers should explore other teaching methods and use them for their lessons to arouse pupil’s interest. Ghana Education Service should organize in-service training, workshops and seminars for teacher. The Curriculum Research and Development Division should seek the views of teachers and pupils when designing the syllabus.