UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST ASSESSMENT OF THE CHALLENGES OF OFF-CAMPUS TEACHING PRACTICE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST: MANAGEMENT EDUCATION PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVE BY ANASTASIA NANA AMA BAIDOO Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanitiesand Social Sciences Education, University of Cape Coast, in partial fulfilment of the requirements forthe award of Master of Philosophy degree in Curriculum and Teaching JULY 2016 i    Digitized by UCC, Library DECLARATION Candidate’s Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original research and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this university or elsewhere. Candidate’s Signature:……………………………… Date:………………..…. Name: Anastasia Nana Ama Baidoo Supervisors Declaration We hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this project work were supervised in accordance with the guidelines on supervision of thesis laid down by the University of Cape Coast. Principal Supervisor’s Signature: …………………… Date:……………..…… Name: Prof. Rosemond Boohene Co-Supervisor’s Signature: ……….………………… Date: ……………..…… Name: Dr. Bernard Yaw Sekyi Acquah ii    Digitized by UCC, Library ABSTRACT The study sought to assess the challenges of the off campus teaching practice as perceived by the pre-service teacher.The descriptive survey adopted a quantitative and qualitative approach to the study with the use of questionnaires and focus group discussion as the main means for collecting data. The proportionate random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 146 out of a total population of 188 from which 24 respondents were also engaged in a focus group discussionData obtained was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Narratives were also derived to support the quantitative data.The study revealed that pre-service teachers faceda number of challenges related to staff unreceptiveness, role ambiguity, supervision issues, lesson plan issues, assessment issues, poor trainee disposition, trainee unpreparedness and inappropriate teaching method. In addition, a significant relationship was found between the challenges of staff unreceptiveness, poor trainee disposition, inappropriate teaching methods and pre-service teachers’ performance. Again, the challenges relating to staff unreceptiveness and inappropriate teaching method were statistically identified as negative predictors of pre-service teachers’ perception of the teaching profession.Moreover, there were significant differences betweenmale and female pre-service teachers in relation to some of the challenges. However no significant differences were found in terms of challenges faced against the type of practicing school.It was recommended that the Teaching Practice Unit collaborate with supervisors and partner schools to help provide adequate experiences free from the challenges faced by pre-service teachers iii    Digitized by UCC, Library KEY WORDS Pre-service teachers Off-campus teaching practice/ field experiences Challenges iv    Digitized by UCC, Library ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my profound gratitude to my principal supervisor, Prof. Rosemond Boohene and co-supervisor, Dr. Bernard Yaw Sekyi Acquah for their commitment, encouragement, professional guidance and extremely insightful comments through the learning process leading to the completion of this thesis. I am very grateful and appreciative for your effort and support provided throughout my research journey. I am enormously grateful toDr. Cosmas Cobbold, Dr. Chales Oppong Adabo, Mr. Peter Anti- Partey, Mrs. Magdalene Tahiru, Miss. Ernestina Larbi, Mr. Kweku Holman Mr. Kingsley Boachie, and Mr. PrinceAsare, for their insightful counsel and contribution. Special thanks to my husband, Mr. Kodwo Obo Kumi-Korsah for his unconditional love, fruitful counsel and unflinching support throughout my life and this project. You remain my tower of strength. Thank you to my son, Nana Kwame Kumi-Korsah for being so understanding even when mummy was not always around to put you to sleep.Finally, I wish to thank my family and friends for their support, particularly my parents, siblings and my loving cousin, Samuel Valis Arthur v    Digitized by UCC, Library DEDICATION To my husband, son and parents. vi    Digitized by UCC, Library TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION ii ABSTRACT iii KEY WORDS iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v DEDICATION vi LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background to the Study 1 Statement of the Problem 7 Purpose of the Study 9 Research Questions 10 Research Hypotheses 10 Significance of the Study 11 Delimitation 12 Limitations 12 Definition of Terms 13 Organisation of the Study 14 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Introduction 15 Conceptual Review 16 Concept of Teaching 16 Concept of Teaching Education 19 vii    Digitized by UCC, Library Concept of Teaching Practice 24 Teaching Practice in the University of Cape Coast 31 Off-Campus Teaching Practice in the University of Cape Coast 34 Theoretical Review 36 The Systems Theory 36 Senior High School Categorization by GES 45 Empirical Review 46 Teaching Practicum Challenges of Pre-service Teacher 46 Factors Affecting Pre-service Teachers’ Efficacy 56 Perceptions/Beliefs of Pre-service Teachers 59 Differences in Gender About Teaching 64 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS Introduction 68 Research Design 68 Study Area 69 Population 69 Sample and Sampling Procedures 70 Data Collection Instruments 71 Validity and Reliability of Instruments 72 Ethical Considerations 73 Data Collection Procedures 74 Data Processing and Analysis 75 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Introduction 77 Demography of Respondents 77 viii    Digitized by UCC, Library Discussion of Main Results 79 Challenges Pre-service Teachers Face During OFCTP 79 Relationship Between Challenges Encountered by Pre-service Teachers During OFCTP and Their Teaching Performance 106 Influenceof the Challenges of Pre-service Teachers during OFCTP on Trainee Perception of the Teaching Profession 110 Differences Between Male and Female Pre-service Teachers About the Challenges of Field Experiences. 112 Differences Between Type of School and the Challenges Faced by Pre-service Teachers During Field Experiences 120 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction 123 Summary of the Study 123 Key Findings 125 Conclusions 126 Recommendations 127 Suggestions for Further Research 129 REFERENCES 130 APPENDICES 152 A Pre-service Teachers’ Questionnaire 153 B Interview Guide 160 C Introductory Letter 161 D Data Coding/Organization 162 E Transcript 165 ix    Digitized by UCC, Library F ANOVA Tables 187 x    Digitized by UCC, Library LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Data Analysis Matrix 75 2 Characteristics of Respondents 78 3 Summary of Challenges Related to Staff Receptiveness 79 4 Summary of Challenges Related to Role Ambiguity 82 5 Summary of Challenges Related to Resource Availability/ Accessibility 84 6 Summary of Challenges Related to Mentor Cooperativeness 86 7 Summary of Challenges Related to Student Characteristics 89 8 Summary of Challenges Related to Supervision Issues 91 9 Summary of Challenges Related to Assessment Issues 96 10 Summary of Challenges Related to Lesson Plan Issues 98 11 Summary of Challenges Related to Trainee Disposition 99 12 Summary of Challenges Related to Trainee Preparedness 102 13 Summary of Challenges Related to Adopted Teaching Method 104 14 Correlation Analysis 106 15 Pre-service Teachers Perception of the Teaching Profession During their Field Experience 110 16 Regression Analysis 111 17 Independent t-Test 113 xi    Digitized by UCC, Library xii    LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Diagram of Systems Theory 40 2 Theoretical Framework Underpinning the Study 44                             Digitized by UCC, Library 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background to the Study The quality of the human capital of any nation depends on the superiority of the kind of education it offers, and that is also determined by the quality of teachers who teach (Republic of Ghana, 2002). It is also widely acknowledged that the role of teachers in the quality of education is vital. Teachers’ competence, confidence, dedication, and general predisposition towards the profession are often informed by the kind of education or training they receive (Boadu, 2014). Ankuma (2007) points out that, teacher education is key in producing the right caliber of teachers to provide professional teaching services. Promoting teacher quality is thought of as a key element in improving education at all levels. Graduating from teacher education and starting to work as a teacher can be understood as a transfer or shift in professional identity where the interplay between the individual and their social environment is central for the development of the individual within the profession (McNally, Blake, Corbin & Gray, 2008). The teaching profession is thus often described in terms of a changed profession without much continuity between teacher education and schools (Cooney, 2001; Sowder, 2007) Teacher education programmes continue to serve as a means of kindling the teacher’s initiative for the purpose of keeping it alive to minimize the evils associated with the ‘hit and miss’ process that often accompanies teaching, ultimately to save time, money and the trouble of the teacher and the taught (Aggarwal, 2003). The importance of scientific knowledge in teacher Digitized by UCC, Library 2 education and its understanding may need to be emphasized because the professional teacher is not only viewed today as a ‘doer’ but also as ‘a reflective practitioner’. Consequently in the education of new teachers, teaching is expected to be seen as an outcome of a scientific approach and scientifically-grounded working methods. Ankuma (2007) also suggests that the teacher is the vehicle on which education thrives, and is therefore indispensable. In current times, the requirements for teachers’ work and competences have changed profoundly because teaching as a profession has had to face new challenges often related to new developments such as, ethical dilemmas due to migration, new technologies, social tensions in society and the development of entire schools as “learning communities” within the local community and the outside world (Swennen & Klink, 2008). In this changing context, the teacher’s own professional development has become more significant. As a consequence, there is a growing need for teachers in training to develop the professional and related skills necessary for effective practice as a teacher. Pre-service teacher training involves the provision of the best possible training to help prepare and usher students into professional teaching practice. Formal teacher training education has been identified as one which is crucial and has been interpreted as support for strengthening existing teacher preparation programmes in universities and increased expenditures on post-college training (Ebrahimi, 2014). In many countries around the globe, most teachers enter teaching through a 4-year undergraduate programme that combines academic courses and professional studies or a 5-year programme that focuses exclusively on Digitized by UCC, Library 3 professional studies. Professional preparation for teacher training often includes courses in educational foundations and general and/or specific methods of teaching. These arrangements have often been criticized on conceptual and structural basis (Goodlad, 1994; Howey & Zimpher, 1989; Tom, 1997). Researchers such as (Howey, 1996 & Smith, 1980) suggest that there are missing well-designed opportunities to link theory and practice, develop skills and strategies, cultivate habits of analysis and reflection through focused observation, child study, analysis of cases, micro- teaching, and other laboratory experiences. Some other criticisms border on the need for pre-service programmes to make effective use of the peer socialization processes employed in other programmes of professional preparation (Goodlad, 1994) In Ghana, the major institutions that collaborate to provide teacher education are: Ghana Education Service (GES), University of Education, Winneba (UEW), and the University of Cape Coast (UCC). The Ghana Education Service provides initial teacher education through 40 Colleges of Education located in various parts of the country. UCC and UEW on the other hand were set up to provide teacher education to supplement the efforts of the Ghana Education Service. The University of Cape Coast for example, is the pioneer in teacher education and was established to train teachers for the education sector of Ghana. The College of Education Studies (CES) in this institution is charged with the sole responsibility of training teachers and works mainly through the Teaching Practice Unit (TPU) to facilitate the process of teacher training by coordinating teaching practice among pre- Digitized by UCC, Library 4 service teachers. Teaching practice (TP) sessions are essentially practical and student centered exercises that provide pre-service teachers with the skills, knowledge and competencies required to enable students to become professional teachers. This exercise is a requirement for all students enrolled on any education programme for successful completion of their course of study. According to Brown & Brown (1990) the teaching practice period is one of the most important components of every teacher-training programme. The first recorded organized teaching practice as part of a teacher training programme is dated as far back as 1439 when William Byngham established Godshouse College in England (Morris, 1974). Ever since, teaching practice has become a popular instrument for the professional preparation of neophyte teachers in training. Teaching practice in the University of Cape Coast is not only an important exercise but also a crucial component of its teacher education programme. It is concerned with equipping pre-service teachers with relevant skills, knowledge and competencies needed for successful assimilation into the teaching profession. In the University of Cape Coast, TP sessions are carried out in two main phases; Micro teaching (On-Campus Teaching Practice - ONCTP) and field experiences (Off-Campus Teaching Practice - OFCTP). On-Campus Teaching Practice (ONCTP) sessions are carried out in the presence of a supervisor (usually a professional teacher) who scores the teaching performance of the pre-service teachers. After each teaching session for the ONCTP, peers are invited to critique or praise the performance of their colleagues in a feedback discussion which should serve as an objective and systematic appraisal of the students’ performance together with the observations and score of the supervisor. There Digitized by UCC, Library 5 is however, the need for a real teaching situation or a situation in which, as far as possible, aspects of the reality of actual teaching is present during practice in order to increase the possibility of transferring the acquired teaching activities. The Off-Campus Teaching Practice (OFCTP) is therefore used to provide such real teaching experiences. The OFTCP sessions are supervised teaching practice sessions that involve the pre-service teacher in teaching activities that require the demonstration of skills and knowledge acquired from ONCTP (micro teaching) sessions and adapting such to real classroom situations under the supervision of a trained professional. After every teaching session for the OFCTP, students are required to turn in a portfolio summarizing their lesson and reflecting their teaching upon which they are subsequently assessed. Teaching practice in totality represents an opportunity for every student to safely practice teaching and serves as useful feedback for preparing students adequately for the teaching profession. However, although teaching practice in UCC has been organized to make the teacher education programmes more rational or logical in structure, ONCTP has often been criticized by many students as fake, artificial and unrepresentative of how teachers actually experience their work (Ismail, 2011). Actual teaching often presents a number of challenges for both professional and practicing teachers because it is inevitable to observe some problematic cases in any teaching endeavour (Saricoban, 2010). The OFCTP for pre-service teachers may thus reveal some problems of practice perhaps usually concerned with foundational issues, curriculum, and practical knowledge. In other words, during OFCTP, pre-service teachers seemingly face considerable challenges when Digitized by UCC, Library 6 implementing knowledge acquired to expected classroom practices, such as incorporating student‐centered teaching practices and exploring knowledge and values in the context of the real life classroom situation. In Ghana, various subjects are taught in the Senior High School (S.H.S) in line with its own rationale of what the subject is expected to do. The teaching of business management as one of those is based on the rationale of helping to develop a business management culture among students which is vital for promoting economic development. It is also intended to acquaint students with knowledge of principles and procedures in business and skills that are necessary for a successful business career. It is further expected to lead to the acquisition of attitudes that are necessary for success in modern business practice. As a subject area, it requires teaching tools that involve doing. It requires students to practically get involved in the process of teaching, learning and doing things themselves, rather than just observing and taking lecture notes (Sternberg & Krauss, 2014). This brings to the fore the need for creative teaching methods which are expected to help teachers to engage students in participatory activities that improve learning. According to Ottewill and Macfarlane (2003) three clusters of challenges seem to be associated with the teaching of business studies; (1) the nature of business subject matter; (2) the context in which the teachers teach; and (3) the motivation/expectations and diversity of students. The presence of these problems of practice may also be evident in the field experiences of pre- service teacher which are likely to be challenging for these teacher trainees. An individual’s perception about a subject is likely to have a significant influence on his or her performance in the subject. Thus some Digitized by UCC, Library 7 researchers have suggested a positive relationship between student perception and performance (Charkins, O’Toole & Wetzel, 1985). That is to say what a student perceives is likely to influence his or her perception about a subject and ultimately his performance. It is therefore safe to assume that pre-service teacher’s performance is likely to be affected, if he/she perceives a subject in this case an activity in that subject area to be challenging. This study therefore aims to assess the challenges of management pre-service teachers in relation to their performance and perception of the teaching profession and to suggest useful ways by which such challenges may be abridged. Statement of the Problem Pre-service teachers, seemingly struggle with shifting into the new field experiences of OFCTP in which handling the full blown pressures and experience of actual teaching is evident. For many pre-service teachers, field experiences often represent a wide disparity between what was expected and what the real situation turns out to be (Ebrahimi, 2014). Cohen and Manion (1983) support this assertion in their suggestion that the theory and training in college prior to first practice cannot possibly provide answers for all the problems and contingencies a future teacher is likely to encounter in the school and the classroom. Although trainee teachers often regard student teaching as the most valuable part of their preparation they seem to be unable to count on regular opportunities to observe, analyze, and practice reform-minded teaching. At the same time, cooperating teachers often known as mentors may often see the need to protect student teachers from “impractical” ideas promoted by education professors who may be out of touch with classroom realities. This Digitized by UCC, Library 8 presupposes that in many instances there may be a disproportion between theory and actual practice of teaching. The realness of such teaching experiences can however be grounds for a candidate to either affirm or re- evaluate their decision to pursue teaching as a career (Darling-Hammond, 2005). That is to say the extent to which the OFCTP becomes real and authentic to the pre-service teacher may influence his decision to pursue teaching as a career or not. According to Azeem (2011) there are undoubtedly some inconsistencies between what has been learned in college or university and the actual situation in the classroom. Novice teachers in training may struggle with problems of practice such as the reality of transferring knowledge acquired to the real life situation, using practical knowledge, curriculum issues, availability of teaching and learning resources and other related teaching practice issues. Pre-service teachers appear to be also concerned with issues such as relations with other staff members, the school calender, lesson delivery, previous teaching methods, supervision issues, use of school equipment and mentor absence (Stratemeyer & Lindsey, 1969). While a number of studies have identified problems of practice for pre-service teachers (Azeem, 2011; Saricoban, 2010; Jusoh, 2011; Mtika, 2011; Boadu 2014; Hamaidi, Al-Shara, Arouri, & Awwad, 2014 ; Harrow, Dziuban & Rothberg, 1973, ; Lingam, 2002, Manzar-Abbas & Lu, 2013; Hormenu, Agyei & Ogum, 2014) very few studies have identified such challenges in relation to academic performance and trainee perception Moreover, such problems for pre-service teachers may also have been researched in relation to specific content areas ( Boadu, 2014; Hormenu, Digitized by UCC, Library 9 Agyei & Ogum, 2014), however, business management seems to be an area where there has been little or no focus. The applied nature of Business Studies, however requires teachers to secure an appropriate balance between theory and practice by using entrepreneurial pedagogies that ensure that any learning that takes place is a combination of theory and experience (Heinonen & Poikkijoki 2006). Business studies is a practical subject, its teaching should obviously include the theoretical and the practical aspects of business, one that pre-service teachers are likely to struggle with. The teaching of topics such as keyboard and office skills in office procedures requires students to make use of equipment such as typewriters, photocopiers and computers and such may often be unavailable in many practice schools. While these challenges may have already beset the teaching of management, the question then remains as to whether or not pre-service teachers, particularly those pursuing the management education programme face such challenges during their OFCTP. It is therefore based on the above issues that, the thrust of the study aims at assessing the challenges of the off-campus teaching experience in the University of Cape Coast from the pre-service teachers’ perspective and to suggest ways by which such challenges may be greatly reduced. Purpose of the Study The intent of this descriptive study is to critically assess the challenges of pre-service teachers during their field experiences. Specifically the study sought to; Digitized by UCC, Library 10 1. evaluate the challenges of pre-service teachers during off-campus teaching practice. 2. examine the relationship between the challenges encountered by pre- service teachers and their teaching performance? 3. ascertain the effect of the challenges of pre-service teachers during off- campus teaching practice on the perception of pre-service teachers of the teaching profession. 4. examine the differences between male and female pre-service teachers about the challenges of field experiences. 5. assess the difference between the type of school and the challenges faced by pre-service teachers during field experiences. Research Questions The following research question guided the study 1. What challenges do pre-service teachers face during off-campus teaching practice? 2. What is the relationship between the challenges encountered by pre- service teachers and their teaching performance? 3. What is the influence of the challenges of pre-service teachers during off-campus teaching practice on trainee perception of the teaching profession? Research Hypotheses The following hypotheses were formulated: 1. H0: There is no statistical significant difference between male and female pre-service teachers about the challenges of field experiences. Digitized by UCC, Library 11 H1: There is a statistical significant difference between male and female pre-service teachers about the challenges of field experiences. 2. H0: There is no statistical significant difference between type of school and the challenges faced by pre-service teachers during field experiences H1: There is a statistical significant difference between the type of school and the challenges faced by pre-service teachers during field experiences. Significance of the Study This study is expected to shed light on the challenges of field experiences from the perspective of the pre-service teacher and would thus be geared towards providing collaborators of teacher education programmes in Ghana ( mainly GES, UCC and UEW) and the world at large an opportunity to take a critical look at teaching education programmes in various universities and colleges to aid the formulation of policies that should create an avenue for many institutions to improve upon teacher education programmes. The study is also expected to help foster focused learning to insure opportunities for students to practice teaching activities which enable them to meaningfully integrate theory and practice. The document will serve as a guide to both students and educational institutions in the formulation and implementation of policies for pre-service teacher training within such institutions. It will also serve as guide to pre-service teachers about the type of practicing school to choose for their OFCTP. Digitized by UCC, Library 12 Delimitations In terms of coverage, the study was limited to level 400 management pre-service teachers pursuing education programmes within the Department of Business and Social Sciences Education (D.B.S.S.E) within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Education (F.O.H.S.S.E) in the University of Cape Coast. The study could have been extended to other departments and programmes within CES of the University of Cape Coast as well as other collaborators of teacher education programmes in Ghana specifically the training colleges and UEW. However the scope was limited to level 400 Management education students within D.B.S.S.E because the study sought to assess the challenges of pre-service teachers in the area of management and for which final year management education students provide adequate representation. The study also focused on some specific challenges pre-service teachers face during OFCTP particularly those related to the partner school, training institution and teacher trainee. Challenges that fell outside these areas were not included in the study. Limitations The research design adopted for this study presents the possibility for error and subjectivity. The predetermined and prescriptive nature of questions designed by the researcher may be susceptible to subjectivity. It is also possible for the researcher to record what she wants to hear and ignore data that does not conform to the research project's hypotheses and questions. Overcoming such a research bias is often difficult for researchers who choose to use the descriptive research design. The questionnaire that was employed Digitized by UCC, Library 13 for the study is also a self-report measure and for that matter, respondents could give responses that may not reflect the actual situation on the ground. However the researcher was confident that these limitations would not affect the validity and reliability of the results obtained for the study. To reduce such limitations, the researcher provided exhaustive explanations concerning the variables in the questionnaire and stressed the relevance of authentic responses by respondents during the administration of the questionnaire. Definition of Terms and Abbreviations Pre-service teachers; student teachers in training towards becoming professional teachers TP; practical and student centered exercises that provide pre-service teachers with the requisite skills, knowledge and competencies required to become a professional teacher On-Campus Teaching Practice (ONCTP); initial teaching practice sessions which requires pre-service teachers to demonstrate skills knowledge and competencies gathered from teacher education courses taught and carried out in the presence of a professional teacher who serves as a supervisor who objectively scores the teaching performance of the pre-service teachers while allowing peers to criticize or praise the performance of their colleagues in a feedback discussion. Off-Campus Teaching Practice (OFCTP); supervised teaching practice sessions that places pre-service teachers in teaching activities to demonstration skills, knowledge and competencies acquired from On-Campus Teaching Practice sessions and adapting such to real classroom situations under the supervision of a trained profession Digitized by UCC, Library 14 CES; College of Education Studies TPU; Teaching Practice Unit Organisation of the Study This study is organized into five main chapters. The introductory chapter (chapter one[1]) is made up of the background to the study, the statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research questions, significance of the study, delimitations, limitations, definition of relevant terms in the study and the organization of rest of the study. The rest of the study comprises chapter two (2) which reviews relevant and related literature, chapter three (3) which deals with the research methods/approach adopted for the study, chapter four (4) which deals with the results and discussion of the results and the final chapter (chapter five [5]), which presents the major findings, conclusions and recommendations for the study. The final chapter provides a summary of the entire study and conclusions derived by the researcher, for which various suggestions are offered. Digitized by UCC, Library 15 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Teacher education has over the years been an area of great concern to educational authorities worldwide. Effective educator programmes are expected to develop pedagogical skills and a teacher’s ability to analyze teaching in order to maximize student teaching (Darling-Hammond, 2010). Despite the fact that field experiences are consistently embedded in teacher education programmes, it may be necessary for these experiences to be transformed to become the centerpiece of the broader reforms being demanded of teacher preparation programmes. This chapter therefore reviews literature relating to teaching practice, particularly the OFCTP and other related issues. The review comprises the conceptual review, the theoretical review and the empirical reviews. The following sub headings are discussed under the conceptual review; the concept of teaching, concept of teacher education, concept of teaching practice, teaching practice in the University of Cape Coast and off-campus teaching practice in the University of Cape Coast. In addition, the theoretical review focused on the systems theory while the empirical review also focused on the challenges of teaching practicum, factors affecting pre-service teacher efficacy, perceptions/beliefs of pre-service teachers, the differences in gender perception about teaching and school categorization by G.E.S. Digitized by UCC, Library 16 Conceptual Review The Concept of Teaching The concept of teaching in its broadest sense may be viewed as the process where a teacher guides a learner or a group of learners to a higher level of knowledge or skills (Nilsen & Albertalli, 2002). Desforges (1995) also defines teaching as the management of pupils’ experience, largely in classrooms with the deliberate intention of promoting their learning. Teaching has often been described as a science or an art. As a ‘science’, teaching is believed to incorporate a body of systematized knowledge on teaching methodology, human development and human learning or educational psychology (Tamakloe, Amadahe &Atta, 2005). Teaching as an ‘art’ on the other hand involves inducing students to behave in ways that are assumed to lead to learning, including an attempt to induce students to so behave (Schlechty, 2004). Schlechty reiterate this by saying that as an ‘art’ the teacher is expected to create situations to facilitate learning and then motivate learners to have interest in what is being transmitted to them. Teaching should therefore not be seen as merely dispensing a subject or lesson but an art which involves the student in the teaching and learning process where the student is given the chance to participate fully in the process and where the teacher accepts each pupil and has a favourable attitude towards individual differences (Melby, 1994). It must be a relationship in which the teacher eschews sarcastic statements, ridicule and fault finding (Ababio 2013). Thring (2001) affirms this in his assertion that the pouring out of knowledge is not teaching. The mere act of speaking and listening to lessons cannot be thought of as teaching. Teaching involves all the means adopted to Digitized by UCC, Library 17 appeal to the heart and mind of the learner so that the learner values learning and believes that learning is possible in his/her own unique case. Teaching may thus simply be thought of as the process of carrying out activities that experience has shown to effectively get students to learn. In this light, Smith (2004) views teaching as that which results in learning. Farrant (1980) also supports Smith’s assertion in his definition of teaching to be any process that facilitates learning. Teaching is therefore as any set of events, outside the student often intended to support the internal process of learning (Sequeira, 2012) All the above definitions of teaching reveal that teaching is not the provision of information to the learner neither is it the acquisition of information by the learner but goes beyond such simple processes to include how the learner assimilates what is taught, interacts with it, and receives guidance and feedback from the teacher. Teaching is expected to guide students not to string them along, it should not suppress them but open the way making sure not to take them there but help them get there. If his students are encouraged to think for themselves, we may call the man a good teacher (Knott & Mutunga, 1993). The major goal of teaching is therefore to ensure that students learn what has been taught. Against this backdrop, the purpose of teaching is not the time for teachers to air their knowledge but to help children to learn (Colin, 1969). Effective teaching therefore involves that which leads to improved student achievement using outcomes that matter to their future success. Teachers may often teach within a context or framework of assumptions that shape their planning and interactive decisions. The teacher’s Digitized by UCC, Library 18 beliefs and understanding of teaching as well as learning play an important role in their classroom practices and in their professional growth (Kuzborska, 2011). According to Harste and Burke (1977), teachers make decisions about classroom instruction in light of the theoretical beliefs they hold about teaching and learning. This in turn influences their goals, procedures, materials, classroom interaction patterns, their roles, their students, and the schools they work in. Hence, it is argued that if theoretical orientation is a major determinant of how teachers act during instruction, then teacher educators can affect classroom practice by ensuring that teachers develop a theoretical orientation that is “reflective of current and pertinent research in the field” (Cummins, Cheek, & Lindsey, 2004). Theories of teaching are therefore central to how every teacher understands the nature and importance of classroom practices. The traditional “chalk and talk” lecture approach with the student as the passive recipient of knowledge may not be suitable for today’s generation. Although the traditional lecture approach has its own merits, it has become increasingly critical that educators employ a wide range of pedagogies and strategies to encourage students’ participation which often involves learning by doing. Learning by “doing” is a theme that many educators have stressed since John Dewey’s convincing argument that children must be engaged in an active quest for learning new ideas (Serbessa, 2006). Students should be presented with real life problems and then helped to discover information required to solve them (Dewey 1966). Research has identified that learning is generally more effective if it is based on experiences; either direct experiences or indirect experiences. There has thus been a shift from the Digitized by UCC, Library 19 traditional role of teaching to the modern role in the present context of education (Ornstein & Levine, 2006). Teaching, like many other professions depends on a large skill and knowledge base (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005) which suggests that teaching as an individual activity, will require individual teachers to develop skills and knowledge through an approach that draws on their experiences and understanding as well as their personal principles and theories of teaching. Such, often guides teacher education programmes geared towards providing individual teachers with skills and knowledge required to enable them succeed in actual classroom practice. Concept of Teacher Education Every educational institution is charged with the weighty task of providing learning experiences that is expected to lead students from the gloom of ignorance to the light of knowledge. The teacher is often seen to be the most important constituent in any educational programme because the teacher is mainly responsible for the implementation of the educational process at any stage. It is well known that the quality and extent of learner achievement may be determined primarily by teacher competence, sensitivity and teacher motivation. This may also be determined largely by the kind of education the teacher receives. A report by UNESCO defines teacher education as the pre-service and in-service programmes which adopt both formal and/or non-formal approaches through a continuing process which focuses on teacher career development. It may simply be thought of as any programme that is related to the development of teacher proficiency and competence and that which is expected to enable and empower the teacher Digitized by UCC, Library 20 in training to meet the requirements of the profession and face the challenges associated with the teaching profession (Kanayo, 2012). According to Florian and Rouse (2009), the task of initial teacher education is to prepare people to enter a profession which accepts individual and collective responsibility for improving the learning and participation of all children. Savolainen (2009) also notes that teachers play an essential role in quality education and quotes McKinsey and Company who say: ‘the quality of an educational system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers’. Some studies (Sanders & Horn, 1998) suggest that the quality of the teacher contributes more to learner achievement than any other factor, including class size, class composition, or background. The need for ‘high quality’ teachers equipped to meet the needs of all learners becomes evident to provide not only equal opportunities for all, but also education for an inclusive society. Reynolds (1990) asserts that it is the knowledge, beliefs and values of the teacher that are brought to bear in creating an effective learning environment for pupils, making the teacher a critical influence in education for inclusion and the development of the inclusive school. Teachers like managers need a special body of knowledge and set of skills. The nature of the various subject areas as formal academic disciplines, the objectives for teaching various subjects, the competencies demanded for their teaching and learning and the varied methods and materials required for such make it vital for every teacher to possess a repertoire of knowledge, qualities, attitudes and values. According to Shulman (1987), every professionally trained teacher should possess some specific characteristics. Digitized by UCC, Library 21 These include content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, curriculum knowledge, knowledge of learners and their characteristics, knowledge of educational context/human relations, pedagogical content knowledge/teacher craft knowledge and knowledge of educational ends. Many teacher education programmes thus encompasses teaching skills, sound pedagogical theory and professional skills (Joshi & Latha, 2014). It is concerned with playing a critical role in empowering trainee teachers’ capacities in content knowledge and pedagogical skills to equip the greater majority of individual students to adapt to the rapidly changing social, economic and cultural environment to ensure the development of human capital required for the economic and social growth of societies (Anamuah- Mensah, 1997). An amalgamation of teaching skills, pedagogical theory and professional skills would serve to create the right knowledge, attitude and skills in teachers, thus promoting a holistic development of the student teacher (Sachar, 2015). Generally, teacher education programmes includes four elements which imbibe the teaching skills, pedagogical theory and professional skills; improving the general educational background of the trainee teachers; increasing their knowledge and understanding of the subjects they are to teach; pedagogy and understanding of children and learning; and the development of practical skills and competences (Joshi & Latha, 2014). The balance between these four elements varies widely (Perraton, 2010), however the changing workforce and the need for the 21 st century skills have called for an effective education programme that prepares all learners for a full and productive life, making it no longer the issue of simply transmitting information that students memorize and store for future use Digitized by UCC, Library 22 (Barron & Darling-Hammond,2008). Teacher education today is expected to focus on helping students teachers learn how to teach, so they can manage the demands of their changing profession, technologies, and social conditions. It is focuses on some relevant aspects of teaching such as, who (Teacher Educator), whom (Student teacher), what (Content) and how (Teaching Strategy). Although there are similarities for most aspects of teacher education, the manner in which teacher education is organized varies in many ways both within and across countries. Some of these differences are major in the sense that they are likely to have considerable impact on the amount, scope, and nature of the opportunities to learn offered to future teachers as well as on what those teachers actually learn (Ingvarson, Schwille, Tatto, Rowley, Peck & Senk, 2013). Teacher education is thus expected to empower student teachers with the skills (teaching and soft skills) that would enable them to carry on teaching in the most efficient and effective manner. Teacher education also pays attention to its content matter (Joshi & Latha, 2014), one that has become necessary for an effective teaching and learning process. Teacher education programmes provide training through an increasing range and types of preparation programmes. Many teacher education programmes, primarily those we call the “early deciders,” take the traditional route to teaching by preparing student teachers to teach while they are in college, either in four- or five-year programmes of study. They study the subject matter they will teach, earning the equivalent of a major or a minor. Individual students often come to teacher education with beliefs, values, commitments, personalities and moral codes from their background Digitized by UCC, Library 23 and schooling which may affect who they are as teachers and what they are able to learn through teacher education (Sachar, 2015). Helping teacher candidates examine critically their beliefs and values in terms of teaching, learning and subject matter and helping student teachers to develop a good image of teaching expected to guide and stimulate their learning and work is therefore a central task of teacher education (Feiman-Nemser, 2001). According to Glattenhorn (1987), by gaining increased experience in one’s teaching role, student teachers should systematically gain increased experience in their professional growth through examination of their teaching ability. Teacher education in many ways has become more sensitive to the emerging demands from the school system because it has to prepare teachers to operate in a larger context and to handle the dynamics as well as concerns which impinge upon her functioning (Sachar, 2015). To help new teachers begin to apply knowledge gained through teacher education programmes to the classroom, most preparation programmes include a range of guided field experiences under the tutelage of more experienced classroom teacher and/or a university supervisor. Teachers’ pre-service programmes may differ in the approach they take to this learning and in the depth of knowledge and practice provided, but in general, teachers can be expected to bring this knowledge and experience to their first position. The crux of the entire process of teacher education is therefore dependent on its curriculum design, structure, organization and transaction modes as well as the extent of appropriateness (Kanayo, 2012). Nonetheless, it is important for teachers to understand that they hardly ever finish learning about the profession they have chosen to enter. Digitized by UCC, Library 24 Induction programmes may be required after professional training to help not to reteach, but to build upon and extend their initial preparation experience. Concept of Teaching Practice Teaching practice resides in a key position in every teacher education programme. It is a culminating experience in teacher preparation which helps to provides opportunity to beginning teachers to become socialized into the teaching profession (Furlong, Hirst & Pocklington, 1988). A number of terms such as the practice teaching, student teaching, teaching practice, field studies, infield experience, school based experience or internship are used to refer to this activity (Taneja, 2000). It embraces all the learning experiences of student teachers in schools. According to Stones & Morris (1977), the term practice teaching has three major connotations: the practicing of teaching skills and acquisition of the role of a teacher; the whole range of experiences that students go through in school and the practical aspects of the course as distinct from theoretical studies. Teaching practice is thus the preparation of student teachers for teaching through practical training which involves the practical use of teaching methods, teaching strategies, teaching principles, teaching techniques, practical training and practice or exercise of different activities of daily school life (Gujjar, Naoreen, Saifi & Bajwa, 2010) The popularity and criticality of teaching practice is a relevant contributing factor towards the quality of teacher education programmes. This is likely due to the fact that the teacher trainee’s performance during teaching practice often provides a basis for predicting the future success of the teacher. During teaching practice pre-service teachers feel themselves grow through Digitized by UCC, Library 25 experience and begin to link to a culture of teaching. They often feel involved, challenged and even empowered (Trowbridge & Bybee, 1996). Teaching practice exposes teacher trainees to the activity of preparing for teaching by way of practical training. According to Akbar (2002) teaching practice often has a number of objectives which include; (1) to provide the prospective teachers with an opportunity of establishing an appropriate teacher pupil relationship, (2) to provide an opportunity for evaluating the student potential as a teacher and suitability for the teaching profession, (3) to develop personal relationship with others: administrators, teachers, parents and students, (4) to provide the future teacher with practical experience in school to overcome the problems of discipline and enable him / her to develop method of control, and (5) to provide an opportunity for the trainee to put theories into practice and to develop a deeper understanding of educational principles and their implication for learning. These objectives suggest that teaching practice is not only a learning experience but also an opportunity for pre-service teachers to acquaint themselves with the practical school environment and to gather skills and knowledge that were not fully assimilated during the theoretical aspect of their studies which may be evident in the practical experience of teaching. According to Allsopp, DeMarie, Alvarez-McHatton & Doone, (2006) it is relevant for field experiences to be aligned with the theoretical and evidence-based teaching procedures taught in methods courses to foster meaningful field-based teaching experiences. Similar researchers have offered some suggestions to teacher preparation educators to enhance the probability of linking theory and practice including; changes in class schedules, more supervisor teacher involvement, enhanced orientations, restructured Digitized by UCC, Library 26 observations by university professors, course assignments related to field experiences, and collection of data to possibly link the partnership to increased student achievement. Field experiences are expected to function as a critical bridge between theoretical aspects of formal teacher training and the practical aspects of teaching (Dodds, 1989). They are an integral component of teacher preparation programmes because these teaching experiences are defined as early and ongoing opportunities in which teacher candidates integrate theory from pedagogical courses with the practice of classroom teaching. In an effort to increase the probability that field experiences will have these desired effects, there are certain factors or conditions that should be considered when they are designed. These clinical experiences may be based on school- university partnerships that include conditions such as: explicit purposes that are clearly explained to teacher trainees and mutually supported and understood by field-based practitioners and campus-based instructors; periodic evaluation that ensures that the purposes are being accomplished; field-based learning that is developmentally sequenced and integrated over the entire teacher education curriculum to avoid redundancy or creating conditions for assumptive teaching; provisions which exist for altering the quantity and duration of the field experience to fit individual differences based teacher educators (mentor teachers) which are identified and cultivated (Cruickshank & Armaline, 1986; Goodman, 1985). In addition, these educational partnerships should provide the contexts for rethinking and reinventing schools for the purposes of: developing and sustaining dynamic sites for best educational practices that positively impact student learning, contributing to the pre-service preparation and induction into the teaching profession as well Digitized by UCC, Library 27 as providing opportunities for the continuous professional development of practicing teachers (Lieberman & Miller, 1990). Many universities and college based teacher preparation programmes employ a wide range of field experiences for their teacher trainees. These experiences which takes many forms including observations, tutoring individual and groups of young people, working with children in before-or- after-school programmes, providing assistance to small groups, and teaching lessons to large groups (Capraro, Capraro, Parker, Kulm, & Raulerson, 2005). As teacher trainees progress through their teacher preparation programmes, they typically become progressively more involved in working intensively and directly with students (Capraro, Capraro & Helfeldt, 2010), however, at times mundane tasks; such as grading, lunch duty, materials management, and bulletin board development, may also overshadow the intended effects of the theory into practice model (Moore, 2003). While the field experience research base is not extensive, teacher preparation programmes must recognize that more systematically structured, intensive field experiences involving reflection and inquiry that link theories with personal learning experiences. Therefore, it may be necessary for teacher trainees to move beyond an intuitive understanding of their own learning and ultimately facilitate a more theoretically grounded understanding of their current students’ learning. Teacher trainees’ pre-existing behaviors, misperceptions, and beliefs about teaching are not easily changed (Clift & Brady, 2005); there are some potentially promising practices, including inquiry, that have the potential to inform future research and practice (Wilson, Floden, & Ferrini-Mundy, 2002). Digitized by UCC, Library 28 When teacher trainees address their misperceptions, this may help them to improve their classroom practices (Neapolitan & Harper, 2001). As these trainees implement inquiry they confront their own personal beliefs exposing conceptions and misperceptions that are not well aligned to evidence based or theoretically grounded classroom practices (Fetters, Czerniak, Fish, & Shawberry, 2002). If the purpose of field experiences is to offer opportunities, guided by universities, in which teacher trainees have authentic learning experiences, there is the need for pre-service teachers to apply what they have learnt in their programmes of study, and develop the effective teaching skills most likely to impact student learning (Singer, Catapano, & Huisman, 2010; Zeichner, 2010). These experiences provide opportunities for teacher candidates to come "face to face with their entering beliefs and assumptions" about schools, teachers, and the future students they will teach (Banks, Cochran-Smith, Moll, Richert, Zeichner, LePage, Darling- Hammond, L., Duffy, & McDonald, 2005). This self-confrontation provides the foundation that moves the development of teacher candidates beyond an apprenticeship of observation based on their personal experiences as students (Lortie, 1975) to that of preparation based in professional pedagogy and real-world experiences. The “realness” of such experiences may as well help a candidate either to affirm or re-evaluate their decision to pursue teaching as a career. Additionally, most field experiences involve reflection as teacher candidates frame their learning in the context of their experiences in the schools and "grapple" to connect the theoretical concepts introduced in university classrooms to the practices found in schools Digitized by UCC, Library 29 (Darling-Hammond, 2005). Thus, when colleges provide ongoing support to this reflective process, the connections between the campus and the classroom become more coherent (Scherff & Singer, 2012). In examining the purpose of field experiences two components emerge: the delivery model which must connect theory to teaching and teacher candidates’ need for university support and guidance during field experiences (Schaffer & Welsh, 2014). In terms of delivery, optimal field experiences are purposefully integrated with university coursework (Darling-Hammond, Hammerness, Grossman, Rust, & Shulman, 2005). Teacher candidates develop a greater understanding and are better able to apply the theory introduced in university coursework when they are simultaneously participating in field experiences (Darling-Hammond, 2005; Zeichner 2010). Also, to accomplish stronger school-university partnerships which are crucial for the success of field experiences, teacher education must venture out further and further from the university and engage ever more closely with schools in a mutual transformation agenda, with all of the struggle and messiness it implies (Darling- Hammond, 2005). Although the collaborative work to form meaningful partnerships may be complicated, school-university partnerships show promise in improving teacher candidates' ability to work in school settings and enhancing the quality of feedback regarding their performance (Dean, Lauer, & Urquhart, 2005; Sykes & Dibner, 2009). The importance of this school-university partnership is to ensure a shared decision-making and oversight regarding teacher candidate and co-operating teacher selection. This is expected to lead to a better communication between Digitized by UCC, Library 30 all of the involved parties, which, in turn, should bring accountability close to the classroom, based largely on evidence of candidates’ effective performance and their impact on student learning. Appropriate supervision of teacher candidates participating in field experiences is also important to strengthen the linkages between university coursework and classroom practice and may create the ideal conditions to form a third space (Zeichner, 2010). The concept of third space has been used to describe a learning space in which two perspectives or patterns of interaction intersect and create an opportunity for learning to occur (Gutierrez, Baquedano-Lopez, & Turner, 1997). The supervision of field experiences within the framework of the third space could create an environment where there are more linkages within authentic learning environments. Teacher preparation programmes can no longer rely on unsystematic experiences that may either place teacher candidates in classrooms in which they experience effective teaching or regrettably, in which they experience ineffective teaching (Feldman & Kent, 2006; Zeichner, 2010). Programmes must also carefully consider the guidance and supervision received by the teacher candidates while they are completing field experiences and should not rely primarily on co- operating educators to provide this supervision and guidance (Scherff & Singer, 2012). For many teacher preparation programmes, there is a faculty in charge of both teaching and supervision of teacher candidates, immersing themselves along with the candidates in the school site (Darling- Hammond, 2005). Preliminary evidence from several studies suggests that Digitized by UCC, Library 31 guidance and supervision may impacts the teacher candidates' level of comfort and sense of preparedness to teach (Feldman & Kent, 2006; Schaffer, 2012; Wyss, Siebert, & Dowling, 2012). Despite the potential impact of supervision, teacher preparation programmes have struggled to provide this type of guidance during field experiences. Even in student teaching, the highest profile field experience, supervision is often assigned to part time graduate assistants or adjunct faculty (Zeichner, 2010). The use of part time supervisors however, may do little to foster the school-university partnerships that may lead to improved field experiences (Feldman & Kent, 2006; Sykes & Dibner, 2009). Teaching Practice in the University of Cape Coast Teaching practice plays a crucial role in all teacher education programmes because it provides an avenue that allows student teachers to develop knowledge and skills necessary for the teaching profession. Every institution has its own beliefs and considerations about what should constitute effective teaching practice. An institution’s philosophy of teaching practice is thus all that the institution accepts as part of its teaching practice. In the University of Cape Coast, teaching practice is organized into two main phases; micro teaching (on-campus teaching practice) and field experiences (off- campus teaching practice). The on-campus teaching practice (ONCTP) in UCC is mainly concentrated on helping student teachers in their third year of study to acquire knowledge and skills peculiar to the teaching profession through peer teaching under the supervision of trained professionals to help improve their future classroom skills. The off-campus teaching practice on the other hand exposes Digitized by UCC, Library 32 students in their final year of study to an extended period of actual school teaching experience under the guidance of experienced and trained university supervisors and mentors selected from individual host schools. According to the teaching practice handbook, the philosophy that guides teaching practice in the University of Cape Coast is based on the knowledge that teaching is an activity intended to promote learning while taking into consideration the fact that there is no one best approach for achieving such intended outcomes. The College of Education Studies views teaching practice as an opportunity to provide students with knowledge, skills, and experiences as may be required by students within an enabling environment that places priority on the need for diversity. This environment is expected to provide avenues for problem solving, experimentation and discovery of proper teaching strategies. Again, teaching practice is expected to provide an atmosphere that stimulates critical questioning and discussions aimed at proper construction of knowledge for both the learner and the teacher as well as to foster the reflective capacities of observation, analysis, critical thinking and decision making for the teacher in particular (University of Cape Coast, 2013). The University of Cape Coast responds positively to the fact that effective teaching is dependent on good mastery of subject matter; demonstration of effective use of diverse teaching techniques, strategies and resources; warm interpersonal relationships and thoughtful reflection on practice. It also recognizes the school and classroom settings where teaching and learning take place as an indeterminate, dynamic and knotty environment which requires a teacher to be a reflective practitioner. Teaching practice has Digitized by UCC, Library 33 its relevance in its ability to provide intense training and socialization for teacher trainees in all aspects of the teaching profession both in and outside the classroom (Farrell 2008; Chiang, 2008). It serves as an outlet for exposing the realities of teaching and the performance of professional activities to teacher trainees even before they enter into the profession. Research has indicated that teacher trainees value the teaching practice component of their teacher education programmes (Chiang, 2008). It is also equally important for teacher trainees to have a feel of the intensiveness of the teaching profession through initial training to help minimize the difficulties associated with translating theoretical ideas into practice as experienced by many (Bhargava, 2009). According to Vieira and Marques (2002), the quality of teacher development practices has become a major concern in recent educational discourse with a growing emphasis on a reflective approach which has necessitated the need for quality to be assessed through reflection with reference to teacher empowerment. This reflective process involves continuous self-observation and evaluation of the trainee to understand individual actions and reactions of learners (Brookfield, 1995 & Theil,1999). People may often learn and create knowledge by critically reflecting upon their action and experiences, forming abstract concepts and testing the implications of these concepts in new situations. The ability to reflect is often regarded as an important attribute of effective teachers (O’Donoghue & Brooker 1996,), thus the University of Cape Coast has integrated into its training programmes to give trainees the opportunity to acquire such skills before and during the OFCTP. Digitized by UCC, Library 34 Teaching practice in the University of Cape Coast is expected to begin with the student teacher initially gathering theoretical knowledge and then taking some teaching responsibilities under the guidance of mentors or supervisors before fully taking charge to carry out independent teaching in the real classroom setting. It is geared towards developing teacher trainees in totality for personal, community and national development. It offers three main opportunities for the teacher trainee; it offers professional knowledge, professional skills and professional attributes expected to be demonstrated by the teacher trainee and confirmed by supervisors during OFCTP. Off-Campus Teaching Practice in the University of Cape Coast Teacher education training programmes offer two main types of knowledge; the received knowledge and the experiential knowledge (Wallace, 1991 & 1998). According to him, received knowledge include all theoretical knowledge handed down from experts while experiential knowledge comes from the trainee’s direct contact with the real context of teaching. Teaching as one of several professions whose mission is to effect desirable changes in human learning abilities and behaviour in our society (Afram, 2001) requires members of the profession to undergo both academic and professional training to acquire skills and techniques evident in the work of teaching. The off-campus teaching practice is a critical aspect of every teacher training programme because it is a period which provides teacher trainees with first-hand experience in working with a particular group of students in a school setting (Perry, 2003). In UCC, OFCTP are cooperative endeavours in which host schools work closely with the University to provide quality practical experiences for teacher trainees. It is structured as a clinical Digitized by UCC, Library 35 component of the teacher education programme to provide practical experiences to final year students for a semester duration as part of the teacher preparation programme within the University. Trainees are provided guidance and assistance from professors, supervisors and co-operating school teachers (Al-Mahrooqi, 2011) According to Ligadu (2004), the purpose of the teaching practicum is to integrate educational theory with practice. This is based on the assumption that the practicum will provide teacher trainees with the opportunity to develop a professional identity, be able to teach and to participate in multiple complex and concrete experiences essential for meaningful teaching and learning. The University of Cape Coast holds that teaching practice is not only a process of learning to teach but also teaching to learn, thus to facilitate this process, the University believes that student teachers must experience an extended period of school placement under the guidance of experienced mentors and university supervisors. Students must be prepared not only for work in classrooms but also for work in schools and communities. The supervisor and teacher trainee are the two main parties of concern during teaching practice. Each has a set of responsibility to carry out during teaching practice. The College of Education Studies has also documented in the teaching practice handbook (University of Cape Coast, 2013) rules and regulations that teacher trainees are expected to strictly adhere to during the OFCTP. These rules clearly state that student teachers are expected to teach for a minimum of 14 periods and a maximum of 18 periods. Students are also expected to prepare detailed notes of what is to be taught in a bound notebook which is to be made available to all supervisors. Again, students are to remain Digitized by UCC, Library 36 in their host schools whether or not they have a lesson. If for any reason, a teacher trainee has to leave the school before the normal daily session is over, a written request for permission must be lodged with the head of the host school. After every visit by a supervisor, teacher trainees are to request a copy of the supervisor’s report (Form B) which enables them to know their performance. It is also expressly stated and in categorical terms that for the trainee’s own interest; he/she should welcome advice and criticism from experienced staff and supervisors and feel free to present problems in connection with their teaching to supervisors. These rules and regulations are expected to ensure that the teacher trainee is well groomed for the teaching profession. Tamakloe (1999) indicates that the student’s knowledge of rules and regulations governing teaching practice helps to equip him/her with facts about what to expect and what not to and from whom and where. This also provides caution to student about their individual conduct. Knowledge of such rules and regulations saves and shields the teacher trainee from embarrassing situations and provides adequate information about the workings of the practice (Tamakloe, 1999). Student teaching has been described as the most challenging, rewarding and critical stage of teacher education (Geothal & Howard, 2000). It is also generally agreed that students teaching experience is key for every teacher preparation programme (Guyton & McIntyre, 1990) Theoretical Review The Systems Theory The systems theory is a transdisciplinary study of the abstract organization of phenomena, independent of their substance, type, or spatial or temporal scale of existence. It is a theory that may be applied to general Digitized by UCC, Library 37 systems that exist in nature or, in a business context, organizational or economic systems. The systems theory was first proposed under the name of "General Systems Theory" by the biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy who noted that all systems studied by physicists are closed: thy do not interact with the outside world. When a physicist makes a model of the solar system, of an atom, or of a pendulum, he or she assumes that all masses, particles, forces that affect the system are included in the model. It is as though the rest of the universe does not exist. This makes it possible to calculate future states with perfect accuracy, since all necessary information is known. However, as a biologist von Bertalanffy believed that such an assumption is simply impossible for most practical phenomena. Separate a living organism from its surroundings and it will die shortly because of lack of oxygen, water and food. Organisms are open systems: they cannot survive without continuously exchanging matter and energy with their environment. The peculiarity of open systems is that they interact with other systems outside of themselves. This interaction has two components: input, that what enters the system from the outside, and output, that what leaves the system for the environment. In order to speak about the inside and the outside of a system, we need to be able to distinguish between the systems itself and its environment. System and environment are in general separated by a boundary. For example, for living systems the skin plays the role of the boundary. The output of a system is in general a direct or indirect result from the input. What comes out needs to have gotten in first. However, the output is in general quite different from the input: the system is not just a passive tube, but an active processor. For example, the food, drink and oxygen we take in, leave Digitized by UCC, Library 38 our body as urine, excrements and carbon dioxide. The transformation of input into output by the system is usually called throughput. This has given us all the basic components of a system as it is understood in systems theory. In 1968, von Bertalanffy extended systems theory to include biological systems and three years later, it was popularized by Lotfi Zadeh, an electrical engineer at Columbia University (McNeill & Freiberger, 1993). A system variable may be thought of as any element in an acting system that can take on at least two different states. Some system variables are dichotomous, and can be one of two values--the rat lives, or the rat dies. System variables can also be continuous. The condition of a variable in a system is known as the system state. The boundaries of a system are defined by the set of its interacting components. Kuhn recognizes that it is the investigator, not nature that bounds the particular system being investigated (Kuhn, 1974). An input may also be defined as anything put into a system or expended in its operation to achieve output or a result. It is the movement of information or matter-energy from the environment into the system. An output is the information produced by a system or process from a specific input. In another sense it may be thought of as the movement of information or matter- energy from the system to the environment. Within the context of systems theory, the inputs are what are put into a system and the outputs are the results obtained after running an entire process or just a small part of a process. Outputs can be the results of an individual unit of a larger process, thus outputs of one part of a process can be the inputs to another part of the process. Both input and output involve crossing the boundaries that define the Digitized by UCC, Library 39 system. When all forces in a system are balanced to the point where no change is occurring, the system is said to be in a state of static equilibrium. Kuhn (1974) states that all systems tend toward equilibrium, and that a pre-requisite for the continuance of a system is its ability to maintain a steady state or steadily oscillating state. Negative equilibrating feedback operates within a system to restore a variable to an initial value. It is also known as deviation-correcting feedback. Positive equilibrating feedback operates within a system to drive a variable future from its initial value. It is also known as deviation-amplifying feedback. Equilibrium in a system can be achieved either through negative or positive feedback. In negative feedback, the system operates to maintain its present state. In positive feedback, equilibrium is achieved when the variable being amplified reaches a maximum asymptotic limit. Systems operate through differentiation and coordination among its components. "Characteristic of organization, whether of a living organism or a society, are notions like those of wholeness, growth, differentiation, hierarchical order, dominance, control, and competition." (Bertalanffy, 1968) A central topic of systems theory is self-regulating systems, that is to say systems are self-correcting through feedback. Self-regulating systems are found in nature, including the physiological systems of our body, in local and global ecosystems, and in climate as well as in human learning processes. Systems theory provides an internally consistent framework for classifying and evaluating the world. There are clearly many useful definitions and concepts in systems theory. In many situations it provides a scholarly method of evaluating a situation. An even more important characteristic, Digitized by UCC, Library 40 however, is that it provides a universal approach to all sciences. Bertalanffy (1968) points out, "there are many instances where identical principles were discovered several times because the workers in one field were unaware that the theoretical structure required was already well developed in some other field. As a transdisciplinary, interdisciplinary and multi perspectival domain, the area brings together principles and concepts from ontology, philosophy of science, physics, computer science, biology, and engineering as well as geography, sociology, political science, psychotherapy, economics among others. Systems theory thus serves as a bridge for interdisciplinary dialogue between autonomous areas of study as well as within the area of systems science itself. Figure 2.1: A diagram of the systems theory All educational institutions are charged with the responsibility of providing learning experiences estimated to provide students with knowledge, skills and competencies they may require in future professions. The teacher is an important constituent in any educational programme mainly because the teacher is the implementer in the educational process and is responsible for providing such learning experiences. Teacher education programmes are thus Digitized by UCC, Library 41 crucial for the development of teacher proficiency and competence that is expected to enable and empower the teacher in training to meet the requirements of the profession and face the challenges associated with the teaching profession (Kanayo, 2012). Teacher education plays a critical role in empowering trainee teachers’ with capacities in content knowledge and pedagogical skills for the purpose of equipping student teachers to adapt to the rapidly changing social, economic and cultural environment. A consolidation of teaching skills, pedagogical theory and professional skills through teacher education programmes provides the right knowledge, attitude and expertise needed to promote a holistic development of the teacher trainee. Student teachers may learn different things from diverse teacher preparation programmes They feel differently well prepared for specific aspects of teaching depending on the kind of pathway into teaching they have pursued and the type of programme they have completed (Darling-Hammond, Chung & Frelow, 2002; Imbimbo & Silvernail, 1999). They also vary in their sense of efficacy and effectiveness as a consequence of their learning experiences (Andrew & Schwab, 1995: Cohen & Hill, 2000; Denton & Lacina, 1984; Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon & Birman, 2002). In light of these considerations, it is tempting to conclude that learning experiences provided through teacher education may ultimately determine the kind of teacher a trainee may turn out to be. While most learning experiences may be positive, the experiential nature of the learning experiences provided through the OFCTP component of teacher education programmes in UCC may expose the teacher trainee to some challenges often associated with such learning Digitized by UCC, Library 42 Figure 2.2 proposes a framework within which the challenges of off- campus teaching practice and its possible effects and relationships are examined. The framework is based on the System’s Input-Output theory advanced by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy in 1968. The choice of the model is based on the belief that, every organism interacts with its environment and the quality of input draw from its environment may invariably affect quality of output. The teacher education programme provides a training arena for student teachers mainly in the form of theoretical and practical learning experiences which may be viewed as inputs to be processed by teacher trainees. The trainee constantly interacts with all teacher preparation activities provided through such teacher education programmes. As the concept of experiential learning suggests, student should be involved in challenging and difficult situations while discovering (Wurdinger & Carlson, 2010). The general application of such learning to teacher education is made evident in the practical component of the teacher education programme; teaching practice, particularly the off-campus teaching practice which in many related ways require students to be involved in difficult and challenging situations while discovering their innate ability to teach as well as to learn teacher professionalism. OFCTP provides teacher trainees with an opportunity to put into practice knowledge and skills developed through teacher preparation programmes through an on-site experience in partner schools as well as opportunities for formal and informal candidate reflection on their teaching experience. Very recent research examining the impact of differing field-based experiences has been characterized as sparse at best (Shanahan, 2008), yet the Digitized by UCC, Library 43 presumption or myth persists that all field experiences result in positive consequences for teacher trainees (Zeichner, 1980). There is thus a need to focus attention on the predicament that some trainee teachers face as a result of the nature of the practicum arrangements and school they are placed in (Du Plessis, Marais, Schalkwyk & Weeks, 2010). If poorly designed teaching practicum can contribute to teachers leaving, it may also discourage prospective trainee teachers from entering teacher education in the first place. The experiential nature of the off-campus teaching practice may thus predispose the teacher trainee to some challenges that may be associated with the learning experience. For the purpose of this study, the framework suggests that the challenges become the uncontrollable inputs that coexist with the controlled input of OFCTP. These challenges (inputs) are fed into the teacher trainee (organism) who processes these inputs to produce outputs in terms of performance and their perception of the teaching profession. The challenges of OFCTP may emanate from three sources; the teacher trainee, the partner school and the training institution. Trainee related challenges may originate from factors such as the trainee preparedness, trainee’s disposition, and teaching methods adopted. Challenges related to partner schools may also stem from areas such as staff receptiveness, absence of mentors, student characteristics, availability and use of teaching learning facilities and lesson duration. Challenges related to the training institution may stem from factors such availability of supervisors, lesson plan issues and mode of supervision and assessment. The frameworks is thus designed to take a look at the challenges of the off-campus teaching practice from the trainee’s perspective where such Digitized by UCC, Library 44 challenges are viewed as inputs, how such inputs are processed by the teacher trainee and its resulting output mainly by examining the relationship and effect of such challenges on trainee performance and perception of the teaching profession respectively. Figure 2.2: A theoretical framework of the challenges of off-campus teaching practice Source: Student’s own construct Challenges of off-campus teaching practice TRAINEE RELATED Trainee disposition Teaching method Trainee preparedness PARTNER SCHOOL Staff receptiveness Role ambiguity Resource availability Time allocations Absence of mentors Student characteristics TRAINING INSTITUTION Supervision issues Lesson plan issues Assessment issues TRAINEE THINKING PROCESSES OUTPUT Performance/ Perception OFF-CAMPUS TEACHING PRACTICE Digitized by UCC, Library 45 Senior High School Categorization by GES The GES initially categorized Senior High Schools in Ghana into seven main categories, A, B, C, D, T, P and P. This criteria were based on factors such as school facilities, school performance, sex and geographical location. A new categorization by GES places Senior High Schools in Ghana into five options based on the same criteria as before. The five options are named 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (GES, 2015). Options 1, 2 and 3 represent public senior high schools while option 4 represents public technical/vocational institutes. The option 5 however represents private senior high schools as well as technical and vocational institutes. From the categorization, the option 3 consists of senior high schools considered to be most endowed public senior high schools, the option 2 is made up of endowed public senior high schools and option 1 comprises less endowed schools. Option 4 is made up of public technical/vocational institutes while option 5 consist private senior high schools and private technical/vocational institutions. According to the GES, schools that fall into option 3 have good facilities, are located in areas that are conducive for learning and constantly produce students with high academic performance (GES, 2015). School characteristics in terms of facilities, school environment and student characteristics differ among each of the school option. The option 3 is considered to have the best of these resources while option 2, 1, 4 and 5 are ranked in a descending order Some private senior high schools were however exclude from the categorization because they failed to satisfy the criteria upon which the Digitized by UCC, Library 46 categorization was done (GES, 2015). These schools who failed to make the GES list did not receive postings for both students and teachers. Empirical Review Teaching Practicum Challenges of Pre-service Teachers Maintaining balance between theory and practice is a persistent issue that has plagued teacher education programmes. The theory-practice gap was identified as a serious concern by most teacher trainees (Farrington, 2008). Some argue that more credit hours should be spent on ensuring mastery of content knowledge and less in pedagogy, while others assert that the teacher candidates will recognize the value of education studies later in their teaching careers. There are also calls to make the practicum more effective and make more diverse and meaningful learning opportunities available to trainees. The discontinuity between coursework and practice is also evident to teaching candidates as there is a disparity between the theoretical works they are taught and their observations of teaching practices. Grossman (2008) calls for a stronger connection between research on teaching and research on teacher education. Clearly research on teaching could and should inform the content of teacher education that is what gets taught, how and for what purposes they are taught because teacher trainees bring varying backgrounds, motivations, experiences, and preparation levels to their initial teaching experience. Their view of the profession and their role in it is shaped by these motivations, as well as by the context in which they begin their work. More often teacher trainees enter classrooms with high expectations for themselves and for their students. However, the actual practice of teaching seems to be a sobering experience for most teacher trainees. It is asserted that over the course of one Digitized by UCC, Library 47 year after school, beginning teachers experience a decreased strength of belief in their own efficacy and in the learning potential of their students (Harris & Associates, Inc., 1991). Nearly every study of retention in the teaching profession identifies the first three years as the riskiest on the job, the years in which teachers are most likely to leave. The dropout rate is highest among teachers in hard-to-staff and urban schools, which have the most difficulty both attracting and then retaining fully certified teachers (Ingersoll, 2001). The early years of teaching are often characterized by a “sink-or- swim” or “survival” mentality due to the lack of careful support and thoughtful development of teaching expertise over time. In many respects teacher trainees are traditionally expected to assume all the same responsibilities as the more experienced teachers, and are often assigned the most difficult and challenging students, those that more experienced teachers are often reluctant to teach. There is no staging or levels of responsibilities as there is in many other professions and thus it is no surprise that often beginning teachers speak of just trying to survive during their initial years in the classroom. For most teacher trainees who enter the classroom having been through a comprehensive preparation programme , there is always the need for assistance from experienced teachers (mentors) in applying what they have learnt and in moving from a student-teaching situation to real life classroom situations where they now become fully in charge. For the increasing numbers of teacher who enter classrooms without strong academic and professional preparation, the challenges may invariably be magnified An investigation by Harrow, Dziuban & Rothberg, (1973) into student teacher problems during practice teaching revealed some problem related to Digitized by UCC, Library 48 the student teaching experience. Weekly seminars were organized for student teachers from which data was collected on some specific problems. Fifty problems were identified and then rated according to severity by over 300 students. A correlation matrix was formed, and a component analysis was performed. As a result, items were combined according to component loadings. The components were grouped to provide a factor base. Five scales were formed: administrative, discipline, student peer, motivation, and school policy. Specific problems were identified within each scale. The administration factor emphasized problems that student teachers had with practices in the schools. Such as classes without books, films arriving at wrong times, not enough supplies, not being able to use gym or classroom when needed, failure of lights, wrong numbers on classroom doors and teacher complaints about student teacher teaching too slow. Component two was the Discipline factor, which focused on items concerned with student behavior in the classroom; students not staying in seats, students always causing a disturbance, students picking on other students verbally, students knocking on desk and students engaging in activities which required the teacher to be calling the class down the entire period. The third component was called student peer group interaction focused on student peer group pressures on the student teachers. These included problems such as female students not sitting properly, female students combing hair and putting make-up on in class and students exchanging homework to finish it. The fourth component factor was motivation of students which focused on the student teacher and learning in various subject areas. Problems identified included students who were so tired they could not keep their eyes open during class, students not bringing Digitized by UCC, Library 49 supplies to class and students who were slow learners. The final focused on school which was high in loading of students that broke school policies; these included boys putting hands on girls, Students smoking on school ground and lack of school spirit. The conclusions drawn from the study revealed that the five main areas of study should be revealed problems that needed to be addressed for the development of an effective student teacher preparation programme. According to the results of this study, student teachers should be provided with relevant information concerning administrative functions, discipline of students, problems of student peer groups, motivation of students and policies of the school and school system. A similar study by Boadu (2014) focused on identifying the anxieties faced by student teachers in the area of history on the premise that the over- engaging and multi-tasking nature of the teaching profession exposed student- teachers on teaching practice to a number of anxiety inducing factors. The research attempted to discuss three of such anxiety-inducing areas to the history student-teacher; heavy workload, classroom management, and lesson supervision. The findings of this study concluded that history student-teachers should be made aware of the over-engaging nature of teaching the subject they embark on teaching practice by providing compulsory pre-teaching practice attachment for all prospective history teachers during vacations to enable the students to come to terms with the demands of the profession and better prepare them for the actual teaching practices. This will in turn reduce their anxiety with heavy workload. Student-teachers should also be introduced to the various mechanisms of managing every classroom situation. The researcher suggested that history students should be encouraged to take their Digitized by UCC, Library 50 classroom management strategies during microteaching seriously to help them gain some experience before the teaching practice. Finally Supervisors should also exercise some restraints in the kind of comment they make on students’ lessons. The researcher recommended that teaching supervision should be conducted by viewing the mentees as students and not as experienced teachers. Student-teachers should in turn try and overcome the tensed atmosphere that comes with the presence of the supervisor by using various methods and resources that would engage their students. Hormenu, Agyei and Ogum (2014) investigated the challenges and prospects of the off-campus teaching practice as experienced by the Physical Education (PE) student teacher. The research made use of descriptive survey design with respondents to the study comprising student teachers on teaching practice during the 2013/2014 academic year who were purposively selected to respond to a 3-point Likert Scale questionnaire. Student teachers were asked to respond to statements either they agree, undecided or disagree. It was found that majority 41 (93%) of PE student teachers on practice have positive attitudes towards the practicum. The study also found that poor learning environment, lack of teaching equipment, facilities and materials 31(70%), uneasy accessibility of some of the locations by supervisors 25 (57%), mentors not having time to guide the student teacher were some of the major challenges encountered by the PE student teachers. The main challenges of pre-service teachers identified from the study include; student teachers inability to access marked scores after supervision as well as the supervisors’ refusal to show them their marks to indicate how they fared in the lesson, lack of the needed equipment, facilities and materials required for teaching and Digitized by UCC, Library 51 uneasy accessibility of some school locations by supervisors. The researchers recommended that the orientation for teaching practice should be given to heads of institutions and mentors on their role in teacher preparation. Another recommendation from the study was that only supervisors with PE background 22 (50%) should supervise PE lessons and only lecturers in the Faculty of Education should be allowed to supervise teaching practice 34 (77%). Saricoban (2010) also tried to scrutinize the potential problems student-teachers encounter during their practicum studies and suggested ways to cope with them. In order to get valid and reliable data, a sample of 118 student teachers were covered under the study (n=59 in the public primary schools: n=39 and secondary schools: n=12 for Public High School and n=8 for Public Anatolian High School). At the end of their practicum studies these student teachers were administered a questionnaire adapted from Ersen Yanik (2008:131) which was modified by the researcher and approved by a team of experts in the field was used to collect data from the respondents. Quantitative methods included a self-report survey that was administered to the student- teachers who did their practicum studies in the state primary and secondary schools. The 32-item survey was constructed by the researcher was judged by three experts for the validity of the items and internal consistency analyses were conducted. Any result 3 and over was considered a problematic case in this study. The survey also included the qualitative method with open-ended questions to seek for the suggestions of those student teachers for the problems they encountered during their in-classroom teaching. The survey highlighted problems such as (a) lack of support in terms of materials and equipment, (b) problems resulting from the course book, (c) problems resulting from the Digitized by UCC, Library 52 students, (d) problems resulting from the curriculum, and (e) problems resulting from the classroom environment. It is hypothesized that most of the problems take place due to the lack of mainly audio-visual materials, other supplementary materials needed. It was also agreed that overcrowded classrooms and sitting arrangement impeded the effectiveness of instruction. Azeem (2011) conducted a study on problems of prospective teachers during teaching practice was also undertaken to identify the problems faced by the student teachers during teaching practice. It was delimited to teacher training institutions of Lahore city. One Hundred (100) B.ed students were selected by convenience sampling and a questionnaire comprising thirty-five questions was constructed and administered to the respondents. Data collected and analyzed in the form of tables revealed that majority of the schools failed to prepared the timetable for the pupil teachers, the majority of the students were not informed about the rules and regulations of the practicing schools, the consent of the majority of the students regarding the choice of the schools were not considered important, majority of the students were not provided with transport facilities, an introductory gathering of teaching practice was not arranged for the pupil teachers before the commencement of teaching practice and student teachers were not informed of the existing practical facilities available in the schools. The study recommended that it was important for proper planning for teaching practice to be made before its commencement such as consent of students, transport facility, orientation of teaching practice, available facilities, and school rules and regulations. It was also important for partner schools to prepare a feasible timetable for student Digitized by UCC, Library 53 teachers in collaboration with school administration and the need for regular supervision and guidance to increase the quality of output. A study by Hamaidi, Al-Shara, Arouri, and Awwad, (2014) similarly aimed at investigating the student-teachers' perspectives of practicum experiences and challenges. The study included all student teachers from the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Jordan who enrolled in a practicum course in the second semester of their academic year 2012/2013. A quantitative questionnaire consisted of 41 items was administered on (71) student- teachers of early childhood education and classroom teacher majors. The findings of the study revealed that the participants benefited from the practicum practices through the development of many teaching skills such as: the interaction and communication with students and classroom management skills. However, both classroom student-teachers and early childhood student- teachers highlighted certain common challenges they encountered during their practicum experience; student-teachers’ personal issues hindered their progress in practicum practices, lack of guidance provided by practicum supervisors, assessment challenges, challenges related to student-teachers understanding and handling of teaching assignments during their practicum, communication with cooperative teachers and subjectivity of cooperative teachers A qualitative case study by Mtika (2011) was concerned with teaching practicum as a pivotal component of teacher education in Malawi. It sought to address some of the issues and concerns associated with workload, ill-defined mentoring support, and implementation of certain pedagogical orientations during teaching practicum placement. Purposive sampling was used to select Digitized by UCC, Library 54 participant and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that trainee teachers undergo varied and often challenging experiences during teaching practicum. Such challenges included professional role ambiguity which supported Marais and Meier, (2004) findings in one institution in South Africa, which revealed that trainee teachers were enlisted as cover teachers; absence of formally identified co-operating teachers; lack of formal structure of support and collaborative relationship inevitably rendering trainee teachers to operate as “marginal” people within school systems (Sabar, 2004) which was echoed by Marais and Meier (2004) that the most outstanding positive experience of the trainee teachers was the professional support offered to them by school staff; the number of pupils and class size was another problem. To counter some of the concerns, suggestions were made to improve certain aspects of teaching practicum. The researcher suggested that the need for authentic school – college partnerships, improved structures of school-based professional support, and a deeper awareness of the complexity of learner-centered pedagogy. According to the researcher, it is imperative that teacher educators engage with the findings of this to further improve the design of teaching practicum and the overall quality of teacher education and teaching. Other significant research that have discussed practicum issues and obstacles include researches such as those of Jusoh (2011) who conducted a study aimed at examining the problems that student-teachers faced in PTEP at the University of Sultan Zainal Abidin in Malaysia. In-depth interviews were conducted with two student-teachers who completed their practicum. The results showed that student-teachers have faced a variety of challenges, some Digitized by UCC, Library 55 were personal challenges related to the students themselves, while other challenges were associated with teaching. In addition, Manzar-Abbas and Lu (2013) analyzed PTEP in China and conducted a comparative study of practicum experiences in ten universities. The results asserted three key issues: the duration of practicum, timing, and methods of practicum. Researchers pointed out that the duration of practicum in China was very short, the time of sending student-teachers to the field was not appropriate. More importantly, the implemented methods in the practicum were outdated. The researchers’ recommendations included increasing the duration of practicum and sending student-teachers to do their field practicum earlier. Another researcher, Lingam (2002) studied the factors that positively or negatively affect the preparation of novice student-teachers. A questionnaire was distributed to106 student-teachers from the Faculty of Fiji. The results showed that there are gaps in the preparation of student-teachers, and that there are 10 out of 17 factors that affect the preparation of student- teachers negatively. Some of the most important factors were: the duration of the practicum, reflection time spent by student-teachers, and the provision of learning resources. One of the most important factors that affected student teachers negatively was the lack of guidance provided by cooperative teachers and academic supervisors. Within the same line of thought, Hammad’s (2005) study aimed at understanding the reality of practicum in Al-Quds Open University in Gaza Governorates. This study included 134 students who enrolled in the practicum programme. The results showed that the highest factor that affects the practicum experience was related to the academic Digitized by UCC, Library 56 supervisor while the lowest factor was related to the effect of co-operative school. The above studies highlight a number of challenges that pre-service teacher face during the teaching practice practicum. However these studies have failed to assess the impact of these challenges on trainee performance and perception of the teaching profession. As a result, this study seeks to investigate the challenges of management teacher trainees during the off- campus teaching practice in the University of Cape Coast and to examine its relationship with trainee performance as well as to examine its influence on trainee perception of the teaching profession. It will attempt to add to literature by highlighting how such challenges are likely to affect/relate to the pre- service teacher’s performance and perception of the teaching profession. One of the major values underpinning this study is that it is expected to increase the usability of pre-service teachers’ perspectives about the teaching practice component of teaching since more often, reforms undertaken on teaching practicum are imposed from above without necessarily taking the perspectives of pre-service teachers’ into account (Goodson, 2003). Factors Affecting Pre-service Teachers’ Efficacy The explanations given by teachers for what they do are typically not derived from what they were taught in teacher education programmes. Rather, the classroom actions of teachers are guided by internal frames of reference which are deeply rooted in personal experiences, especially in schools and based on interpretations of these experiences. Many preservice teachers have identified a number of challenges which they encounter in real life classroom Digitized by UCC, Library 57 situation which in many ways often affect the quality of education they are able to offer to students. Hoy and Spero (2005) studied the changes in teacher efficacy during the early years of teaching using a comparison of four measures. He suggested that some of the most powerful influences on the development of teacher efficacy are mastery experiences during student teaching and the induction year. Using Bandura's theory of self-efficacy as its supporting theory the study suggested that efficacy may be most malleable early in learning, thus the first years of teaching could be critical to the long-term development of teacher efficacy. However for the researcher, very few longitudinal studies existed that track efficacy across these early years thus necessitating this study. This study reports changes in teacher efficacy from entry into a teacher preparation programme through the induction year. Multiple quantitative assessments of efficacy were used including Gibson and Dembo's Teacher Efficacy Scale, Bandura's assessment of Instructional Efficacy, and an instrument designed to reflect the specific context and goals of the preparation programme studied. Results indicated significant increases in efficacy during student teaching, but significant declines during the first year of teaching. Changes in efficacy during the first year of teaching were related to the level of support received. An investigation by Çapa (2005) into the factors influencing first-year teachers’ sense of efficacy was also based Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy that efficacy may be most malleable early in learning, thus the first years of teaching could be critical to the long-term development of teachers’ sense of efficacy. This study however suggested that despite the importance of first- year experiences, little was known about the kinds of context variables that Digitized by UCC, Library 58 support and undermine efficacy in the early years. This study addressed the void by investigating sources of efficacy information of first-year teachers. The target population for the study was all first-year teachers during the 2003- 2004 school years in the state of Ohio. A survey instrument (The First-Year Teacher Survey) was mailed to 1,500 randomly selected first-year teachers, of which 617 were returned (a 41.1% return rate). The First-Year Teacher Survey instrument, accompanied by a letter and a postage-paid return envelope, consisted of two main sections: Part I of the instrument consisted of items assessing personal and school characteristics of respondents. Part II of the instrument consisted of subscales assessing variables of the study: teachers’ sense of efficacy, characteristics of teaching assignment, principal support, mentor support, colleague support, and teacher preparation programme quality. Teacher efficacy and mentor support were measured using pre- existing scales. For the rest of the variables, items were developed based on the literature. The scales showed good psychometric characteristics (high reliability estimates and substantial validity evidences). Utilizing structural equation modeling, this descriptive survey study tested a model of teacher efficacy in which efficacy beliefs of first- year teachers were predicted by teacher preparation programme quality, principal support, colleague, support, mentor support, and characteristics of teaching assignment. Findings suggested that the model fits the data well. Three independent variables were significant predictors of first-year teachers’ sense of efficacy: teacher preparation programme quality, principal support, and characteristics of teaching assignment. Overall, they explained 24 percent of the variance of teacher efficacy. Digitized by UCC, Library 59 A study by Muwonge and Ssenyonga (2015) examining factors and challenges affecting performance of student-teachers during their practicum sought to establish factors affecting student’s performance and challenges faced in their practicum in the various secondary schools where they were posted. Data was collected from 567 second and third year teacher trainees during the school practice sessions of the period ranging from 2012 to 2014. Analysis was performed using SPSS-17. Significant differences were obtained between performance with different subject combinations offered and year of study, with third year students having better performances compared to second year students. There was a significant difference between school type preference with gender type and students offering different subject combinations. Challenges faced by teacher-trainees during SP included poor social support from school administrators and supervisors from the university, too many students in some schools, poor allocation of teaching load, and being unjustly shifted from their original schools of posting. In conclusion, there is need for improving the mode of supervision by the lecturers and school administrators for proper mentorship of the teacher-trainees at MUST. Perceptions/ Beliefs of Pre-service Teachers The significance of teachers’ preconceptions has become increasingly apparent in recent years, and the volume of research on these preconceptions has increased dramatically in the last decade. The preconceptions of teachers have been described by researchers in a number of ways; values (Gudmundsdottir, 1990), conceptions of practice (Freeman, 1993) images of good teaching or bad teaching (Calderhead and Robson, 1992), conceptions of self as teacher (Bullough & Knowles, 1991), and simply beliefs. Some Digitized by UCC, Library 60 research findings have indicated that pre-service teachers enter teacher education programmes with images of themselves as teachers. At the time they enter their teacher education programmes, most college students have images of what they will be like as teachers. They envision themselves working with small groups rather than at the board, for instance, or envision themselves as being enthusiastic teachers. These images are often formed in response to their early childhood experiences with teachers, and may be modeled after former teachers or put forward as improvements on their former teachers (Calderhead & Robson, 1992; Kagan, 1992). Again other findings suggest that pre-service teachers are remarkably confident that they will make it as teachers. Even before they have formally studied teaching, pre-service teachers are mostly confident that they will be good teachers and that they already possess the most important qualities needed to be a good teacher. Much like debutantes imagining themselves as the bell of the ball, these young people are sure they can enact the images they hold and believe they are already have the personal traits (caring, enthusiastic, dynamism, empathy) they need to succeed as teachers in the future (Brookhart & Freeman, 1992; Weinstein,1990.) Both practicing teachers and students entering pre-service teacher education programmes generally have self-sacrificing motives for entering teaching and believe that an important element of good teaching is to be caring and nurturing toward students. They believe it is important to have strong personal relationships with their students and that fostering self-esteem in students is important, ometimes the most important goal of teaching (Brookhart & Freeman, 1992). Digitized by UCC, Library 61 In a review, Pajares (1992) suggests that conceptions formed early in life are more difficult to alter. Moreover, he notes that conceptions strongly influence behavior and that they strongly influence perceptions of events, so that they are self-reinforcing and self-perpetuating. Researchers who have followed teacher candidates and novice teachers over time have found that their images often persist throughout their teacher education coursework and throughout their teaching experiences (Aitken & Mildon, 1991). Kagan (1992) provides a review of this research and identifies stability of teachers’ conceptions as a major theme emerging from research on professional development among novices. The subject matter and teaching routines are also interrelated. A study by Fajet, Bello, Leftwich, Mesler and Shaver (2005) on pre- service teachers’ perceptions in beginning education classes was based on research concerning the influence and persistence of beliefs about teaching that pre-service teachers (students who are not yet teaching professionally) bring with them to their courses. This study used a survey and semi-structured interview to ascertain what students in a beginning education course felt were the qualities and determining characteristics of both good and poor teachers. The findings of this study suggested that pre-service teachers conceive teaching primarily as a task involving affective, interpersonal relationships rather than a profession requiring a skilled and knowledgeable practitioner. Hong (2010) looked into pre-service and beginning teachers’ professional identity and its relation to dropping out of the profession. He explored different perceptions of pre-service and beginning teachers’ professional identity in relation to their decisions to leave the profession. This Digitized by UCC, Library 62 study employed mixed-methods which included 84 participant surveys and 27 interviews from four groups of participants at different stages of teaching. Teachers’ professional identity was broken down into six factors: value, efficacy, commitment, emotions, knowledge and beliefs, and micro politics. The findings of this study showed that pre-service teachers tended to have naïve and idealistic perceptions of teaching, and dropout teachers showed most emotional burnout. An examination by Rust (1994) on the relationship between teachers' espoused belief and beliefs in action focused on the first year experiences of two beginning teachers - one a graduate of a baccalaureate programme and the other a graduate of a master's programme who were engaged in a longitudinal study of evolving beliefs about teaching among pre-service and beginning teachers. It contrasted their beliefs in action with their beliefs about teaching that they articulated over 3 years in a belief questionnaires that they were required to completed at the beginning of each school year. The findings of this study revealed that beginning teachers develop a set of beliefs about teaching and learning in their teacher education programmes that is not necessarily related to the set of beliefs about teaching and learning that they developed over the course of their elementary and secondary education. The latter set of beliefs is brought to the fore by the exigencies of the first year of teaching. The study shows new teachers are strongly affected by the conditions of the workplace and most particularly by the climate of acceptance established by the school principal. The paper ended with suggestions for pre- service faculty and for school personnel receiving beginning teachers. Digitized by UCC, Library 63 Rots, Aelterman, Vlerick, & Vermeulen (2007) also looked into teacher education graduates’ choice (not) to enter the teaching profession. Student teachers (subsequently graduates) (N = 217) of integrated teacher training for secondary education were surveyed shortly before as well as shortly after graduation. A prospective research design with two data collection phases was adopted the study identified the predictors of teacher education graduates’ choice on job entry (teaching profession or not). Results of chi-square and t-tests indicated gender, initial motivation for teaching, mentor support, teacher education preparation, teacher efficacy, learner- oriented beliefs, performance in teacher education, and employment opportunities as predictors that showed differences (at 1% level) between graduates who entered and those who did not enter the teaching profession. Results of the subsequent logistic regression validated the importance of teacher education (i.e. mentor support) beside initial motivation and labour market factors to explain graduates’ decision on job entry. These studies do not provide much optimism for changing teaching practices, most teacher conceptions fit the criteria for resistance to change: They are formed early in life, they are connected to teachers identities, and they form highly interconnected systems of ideas. This mainly suggests that the teacher’s conception of teaching rest on conceptions about ones role as a teacher, conceptions about what makes one teacher better than another, conceptions about the nature of the subject matter, conceptions about how students learn, and so forth.. Taken together, these researches may lead us to conclude that teacher conceptions are an important contributor to teaching practice and learning Digitized by UCC, Library 64 experiences of pre-service teachers (Brophy, 1991; Kagan, 1992) and an important contributor to the stability of traditional teaching practices to the persistence of recitation. As a set, teachers’ conceptions of their practice differ from the conceptions of reformers and they suggest that, if teacher education programmes are to contribute to the reform of teaching, they must find a way to address and to alter these conceptions. Differences in Gender About Teaching Gender is a cultural construct that distinguishes the role, behaviours, mental and emotional characteristics between females and males developed in a society. Udousoro (2011) defines gender as a psychological term used to describe behaviours and attributes expected of individuals on the basis of being born as either male or female. Men and women differ psychologically in the way they act, from the style in which they communicate to the way in which they attempt to influence others (Merchant, 2012). A study by Lacey, Saleh, and Gorman (1998) examined the relationship between teaching style and gender by taking a look at the teaching styles at one institution through measures of inclusion and sensitivity preferences. Faculty staff at the school of education in a mid-Southern university was asked to complete the Van Tilburg/Heimlich Teaching Beliefs Scale and a demographic profile. The response rate was 57 percent, with 47 percent of the replies from male teachers and 53 percent from female teachers. Data analysis grouped respondents as: providers (low inclusion, high sensitivity, structured activities); facilitators (high inclusion, low sensitivity, subject-centered); experts (low inclusion, low sensitivity, subject-centered); enablers (high inclusion, high sensitivity, varied teaching practices); or Digitized by UCC, Library 65 neutral. The study found that 78 percent of all respondents preferred either the provider or enabler style; however, 53 percent of females preferred teaching- learning decisions constructed by learners, and 65 percent of males used teaching styles that do not allow participants to freely share ideas. Male teachers were found to be more dominant and exacting in their teaching style, while female teachers tended to be more informal and open toward students. The study thus revealed that the styles of male and female faculty differed, especially with how much each of the genders valued student inclusion. Whereas over half of the female faculty members believed that students should be allowed to define the learning experience for themselves and discern their own style, male faculty believed they are the holder of the information and know what it is best for students. The study concluded that the central differences in teaching styles resided in issues of inclusion and control A similar study by Grasha (1994) used a larger sample of institutions and faculty sought to assess the teaching style among gender using the following categories: expert, formal authority, personal model, facilitator, and delegator. The results suggested that women were more likely to use a facilitator or delegator style that emphasizes relating to students as a guide, consultant, or resource as opposed to transmitting knowledge, setting goals, and providing feedback. Statham, Richardson, and Cook (1991) also found that gender differences persisted even after controlling for course level, class size, professor’s rank, and the gender ratio of the faculty in a given department. Women professors spend significantly (p < 0.05) greater proportion of time encouraging and allowing student participation than men professors. From the Digitized by UCC, Library 66 study, women spent 4.7% of their time soliciting students’ input, whereas men spent only 2.9%. Similarly, men only solicited responses from students 3.7% of the time, whereas women did this 5.1% of the time. Starbuck (2003) conducted a study on college teaching styles by gender. The study examined gender differences in teaching styles while controlling for disciplinary area. Given that faculty from some fields are predominantly women, controlling for discipline is important. Starbuck measured 22 different teaching activities, ranging from class discussion and group projects to simulations and role plays. a survey was conducted for all faculty members of North Central Mesa State College. Twenty two questions about teaching techniques were included in the survey. Each question was asked of those teaching lower division, upper division, and graduate level classes. Respondents answered question on a questionnaire. A total of 221 responses were received, a response rate of about 80%. Part-time faculties were least likely to respond. The study revealed that only three of the activities were significantly different by gender: small group discussion, lecture, and the use of power-point slides. However, these differences became non-significant once the analyses controlled for discipline. While the above research provides significant evidence that gender differences are evident in teaching styles adopted by each sex, it is equally relevant to note that beyond understanding how men and women may teach differently, it is also essential to examine gender differences among teacher trainees in light of the challenges they may encounter during their OFCTP The empirical review took a look at studies on the challenges of pre- service teachers during their practicum, factors affecting teacher performance, Digitized by UCC, Library 67 preconceptions of pre-service teachers and gender differences among teaching. All the above areas were reviewed to provide insight into what is already in existence in relation to the specific issues of interest to this study. Digitized by UCC, Library 68 CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODS Introduction This chapter mainly focused on providing a description of the research methodology adopted by the researcher for the study. The chapter describes the research design, the population from which the sample was drawn, the sampling techniques used, the data collection instruments, validity and reliability of the instruments, data collection procedure and the mode of data analysis. Research Design The approach adopted for study involved triangulating both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data sequentially (Creswell, 2008). The use of the mixed method made it possible to provide a more comprehensive and in-depth approach to the analysis of the issues identified in the study. It also helped to provide a better understanding of the challenges of OFCTP by converging numeric trends from quantitative data and specific details from the qualitative data obtained. The use of this method also provided a better view of the issues under research from several angles rather than to look at it from a single perspective. Given that the intent of this study was to provide an accurate description and interpretation of the activities, objects, processes and persons (Amedahe, 2002) relating to the challenges of the off-campus teaching practice of pre-service teachers in the University of Cape Coast, the descriptive survey was the most appropriate and convenient research design to adopt. The purpose of this descriptive survey was therefore to assess the Digitized by UCC, Library 69 challenges of the off-campus teaching practice from the perspective of pre- service teachers by determining, reporting and interpreting these challenges without any attempt at manipulating any variable. These challenges were identified along three main dimensions; challenges relating to the pre-service teacher, those related to partner schools and challenges related to the teacher trainee. The choice of this research design however lent itself to some weaknesses connected with the use of such a design. It may be intrusive; delving into private matters of respondents. Some respondents may thus be reluctant to disclose the true information. Study Area The study was carried out in the University of Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana. The University of Cape Coast is located five kilometers west of Cape Coast, on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The core mandate of the University was to train graduate teachers for second cycle and technical institutions although it has added to its functions the training of education planners, administrators, agriculturalists and health care professionals. The Teaching Practice Unit of the Faculty of Education is charged with the coordination of teaching practice in the University. The study focused on management education students in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Education, specifically the Department of Business and Social Sciences Education. Population The target population for this study comprised all final year (level 400) Management Education students in the Department of Business and Social Digitized by UCC, Library 70 Sciences Education (D.B.S.S.E) in the University of Cape Coast. The final year students were targeted because they had successfully completed their off- campus teaching practice and therefore possessed the unique characteristics required to serve as respondents to the study. The total population for the study constituted 188 final year Management Education pre-service teachers which comprised 173 B.ed Management and 15 B.ed Social Sciences pre- service teachers. The total population for male and female pre-service teachers was 129 (68.6%) and 59 (31.4%) respectively. Sample and Sampling Procedures Based on the sampling framework by Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2007), for a population of about 200, for sampling error of 5% and a confidence level of 95%, a minimum representative sample of 132 is acceptable. For external validity and to cater for unreturned questionnaires, the sample size was increased to 146 for the study. The study sought to determine gender differences in relation to the challenges preservice teachers encountered during their field experiences. Therefore, the proportionate random sampling technique was used to select male and female respondents based on their percentage representation in the population. As a result 100 males and 46 females were selected. The simple random technique specifically the lottery method was used to obtain the respondents for the study. The males and female students were separated. To select 100 males the researcher indicted ‘yes’ (100) or ‘no’ (29) on pieces of paper and placed in a bowl for the respondents. The same procedure was used for the female respondents, ‘yes’ (46) and ‘no’ (13). The respondents who picked ‘yes’ were involved in the Digitized by UCC, Library 71 study while those who picked” no” were rejected. Respondents for the focused group discussion were selected using the purposive sampling technique. Data Collection Instruments Two main instruments were adopted for the study, a questionnaire and an interview guide. The questionnaire was used to collect statistically quantifiable data on the research objectives. McMillan and Schumacher (2001) opined that the questionnaire may be used where respondents will be able to read, understand and answer the questions that will be provided in the instrument. The respondents for the study were pre-service teachers in their final year of study which necessitated the choice of a questionnaire which was to be in no way challenging for them because they were capable of reading and understanding on their own. The questionnaire was divided into three main sections. Section A, which dealt with relevant preliminary information on the students specifically relating to four main items; information on the students’ programme of study, level, sex and school of practice. The section B contained items on a five (5) point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree that sought to assess some of the challenges of off-campus teaching practice as experienced by pre-service teachers. It was coded as follows: neutral = 0; strongly disagree = 1; disagree = 2, agree = 3; strongly agree = 4. The final section, section C covered items on a three (3) point scale also ranging from positive to negative relating to the perception of pre-service about the teaching profession based on their field experiences (appendix A). The second instrument adopted for the study was the interview guide which was employed to gather data on the study using small groups of respondents known as a focus group. The interview guide was used to Digitized by UCC, Library 72 maximize the neutrality of the researcher's approach and improve the consistency of the findings. Focus group discussions are also efficient where the researcher intends to gather data about several people in one session and the group is homogenous. The focus group for the study was homogenous particularly because all the respondents were management education pre- service teachers who had successfully completed their off-campus teaching practice. Patton (2002) argued that focus group interviews might help to provide quality controls because participants tend to provide checks and balances on one another that can serve to curb false or extreme views. The interview guide contained 20 open-ended questions structured to gathered data on some challenges of the off-campus teaching practice from the pre-service teachers’ point of view. It also covered information on the influence of the challenges on their perception of the teaching profession (appendix B) . Both instruments were chosen to complement each other by making up for the disadvantages of each instrument. Validity and Reliability of Instruments It is of greatest essence that any research instrument intended for the purpose of collecting data for research purposes to be tested for its reliability and validity, only then can it qualify as research tool. According to Joppe (2000), reliability is the extent to which results are consistent over time and are an accurate representation of the total population under study in such a way that if the results of a study can be reproduced under a similar methodology, then the research instrument adopted for the study is considered to be reliable. A scale is therefore reliable to the extent that repeated measurements obtained using it under constant conditions will give the same Digitized by UCC, Library 73 results (Ranjit, 1999). The reliability of the instruments for this study was ascertained by measuring the internal consistency of the two instruments. Cronbach’s alpha was used to obtain a reliability coefficient of 0.8 for the questionnaire and the structured interview guide. This affirms the view of De Vellis (1991) that a reliability coefficient of 0.70 or more is appropriate for determining the reliability of an instrument. Joppe (2000) again suggests that validity is concerned with determining whether the research truly measures that for which it was intended to measure or how truthful the research results are. It refers to the researcher's ability to capture precisely the participant's view of the world and accurately portray it to the reader" (Wolcott, 1990). In other words, the research instrument must allow the researcher to hit "the bull’s eye" of his or her research object. Thus to ascertain validity for the instruments adopted for this study, the instruments were meticulously vetted by the researcher’s supervisors and other experts in the field of research. The instruments were then pilot tested in the University of Education Winneba on fifty (50) management education students. These students were chosen because they provided an almost exact reflection of the characteristics of the population under study Ethical Considerations A confidentiality agreement was drafted and administered together with the questionnaire to assure respondents of their privacy, anonymity, and confidentiality. All respondents were therefore expected to provide their signature on the agreement. Respondents were not coerced or deceived in any way to participate in the study and data collected from this research was in no way manipulated to suit the researcher’s objectives or otherwise. Digitized by UCC, Library 74 Data Collection Procedures To enable the researcher to have access to the sample and information that would reflect the general views and characteristics of the population, an extensive plan was required to provide direction for the data collection. Ahead of the data collection, copies of an introductory letter were obtained from the Head of Department (H.O.D) of the Department of Business and Social Sciences Education (D.B.S.S.E), University of Cape Coast, which was subsequently distributed to lecturers of management education courses to seek permission for their students to be engaged for the research. The introductory letter also sought to request for co-operation and to create rapport between the lecturers and the researcher. The researcher then met the respondents after a lecture to schedule an appropriate time for the administration of the instruments. The researcher in collaboration with the respondents agreed on a specific date on which the questionnaire was administered and for which respondents were given the necessary guidance to enable them to complete the instrument. The response rate was a hundred percent (100%). Focused group discussions for 2 groups of 10 and 14 respondents were then carried out following the administration of the questionnaire to collect in-depth information that the questionnaire may have been too standardized to collect. The respondents were engaged in an interactive discussion which lasted for about 38 minutes for each group. The teaching practice scores for management pre-service teachers was also obtained from the teaching practice unit to help facilitate data analysis Digitized by UCC, Library 75 Data Processing and Analysis Results of quantitative studies should be presented in numeric form, whereas that of qualitative studies should be presented either as verbal data (transcripts of interviews) or visual data (Borg, Gall & Gall, 1993). The data collected from the questionnaire was edited, coded (refer to appendix D) and analysed using the Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS, v. 16). The preliminary information on students as well as other data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequencies, percentages, mean, standard deviation and mean differences were obtained and discussed thoroughly. For the qualitative data, the written and recorded data collected from the focus group was studied and transcribed. Narrative notes were used to analyze the patterns identified from the discussion then organized and synthesized in relation to specific research questions. Table 1 provides a summary of the data analysis procedure. Table 1 - Summary of Data Analysis Research Question/Hypotheses Type of Data Statistical Tool 1. What challenges do pre-service teachers face during off-campus teaching practice? Quantitative/qualitative Means, standard deviations/ narratives 2. What is the relationship between the challenges encountered by pre-service teachers and their teaching performance? Quantitative PPMC 3. What is the influence of the challenges of pre-service teachers during OFCTP on trainee perception of the teaching profession? Quantitative Multiple regression Digitized by UCC, Library 76 Table 1 (Continued) 4. H0: There is no significant difference between male and female pre-service teachers about the challenges of field experiences. Quantitative Independent t- test 5. H0: There is no significant difference between type of school and the challenges faced by pre- service teachers during field experiences Quantitative One way ANOVA Source: Field data, 2016 Digitized by UCC, Library 77 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Introduction This study sought to assess the challenges that pre-service teachers face during their OFCTP and to look at such challenges in relation to student academic performance and its influence on preservice teachers’ perception about the teaching profession. To this end, a self-developed questionnaire and interview guide were validated and used to collect data to enable the researcher to address the 3 research questions and to test the 2 hypotheses formulated for the study. All questionnaires administered were retrieved on the field that gave a return rate of 100%. Descriptive Statistics (Means (M), Mean of means (MM), Standard Deviations (SD) and Mean of Standard Deviations (MSD) and inferential statistics (multiple regression, correlation, independent t-test and ANOVA) were employed to analyse the data. Data from the focus group discussion was also transcribed to provide narratives in support of the quantitative data. This chapter is devoted to the presentation and discussion of the results that emerged from the study; it is presented according to the 3 research questions and 2 research hypotheses for this study. Demography of Respondents This section provides information on the demographics of the respondents. It covers the programme of study and gender of respondents. Table 2 shows the distribution of the respondents according to the programme of study and gender. Digitized by UCC, Library 78 Table 2 - Characteristics of Respondents Variable Subscale N % Programme of Study B.Ed Management 133 91.1 B.Ed Social Sciences (Management) 13 8.9 Gender Male 100 68.5 Female 46 31.5 Source: Field data, 2016. In terms of the programme of study for the respondents, the majority of (n = 133, 91.1%) were B.Ed Management students whilst the least (n = 13, 8.9%) were B.Ed Social Sciences students. Taking into consideration the fact that the study focused on management education pre-service teachers mainly because the researcher wanted to look at such challenges in relation to management education, the B.Ed Management programme in the University of Cape Coast were larger in number because the programme focused mainly on the training of management teachers. The B.Ed Social Sciences programme on the other hand provides options from which students may decide to choose management or any related subject (Accounting, History or French) as a major subject area. This therefore accounted for their small representation. The B.ed Management programme thus dominated the study making it safe to assume that the findings of the study may very well be skewed towards B.ed Management pre-service teachers. Digitized by UCC, Library 79 In the area of gender, majority (n = 100, 68.5%) of the respondents were male pre-service teachers whilst the minority (n = 46, 31.5) were female pre-service teachers. In all African societies, the aim of female education was generally to make them into good wives and mothers (Graham, 1971). Males therefore seem to often dominate studies conducted in the educational settings in Ghana. It appears the males have shown some interest in the teaching job. Therefore, the findings of this study are likely to move towards the male pre- service teachers. Discussion of Main Results Challenges Pre-service Teachers Face During OFCTP Research question 1 sought to identify the challenges that pre-service teachers face during their field experiences. Tables 3 – 13 provide results on the challenges identified in relation to partner schools, training institution and the trainee. Table 3 - Summary of Challenges Relating to Staff Receptiveness Mean SD There was no official school introduction by the school headmaster 2.29 1.11 The school teachers did not make me feel like I was a part of the school community 2.67 .82 There were no clear disciplinary actions for students misbehaviour 2.97 .96 Some of the school teachers were unfriendly 3.24 1.00 Mean of Means/Average Standard Deviation 2.79 0.97 Source: Field data, 2016. U = 0; SD (1); D (2); A (3); SA (4) Table 3 shows that the majority (mean = 2.67, SD = .82) of respondents indicated that they were not made to feel as a part of the school Digitized by UCC, Library 80 community. The level of congruence in their responses was high. This result is in consonance with the findings of other studies (Azeem, 2011; Mtika, 2011; Sabar 2004) that practise schools often fail to provide any formal structure of support and collaborative relationship for student teachers. From the focus group discussion a participant had this to say: My problem was with the headmistress, she was quite hostile. You know, she never recognized the off-campus personnel as teachers so sometimes if you greet her she doesn’t respond, yeah, and even staff meetings, you know, sometimes they never call us. I think they had two staff meetings, it was the first one that they introduced us to the teachers but the last one, they never called us, yeah (D2. P9:15). Another participant also lamented that; For my school there, at the start, the teachers were friendly but as time went on they started being, I don’t know the word but, discriminative sometimes and they were accusing most of us of having relationships with the students. Meanwhile it was the permanent teachers who were doing that so there was confusion between the interns and the national service persons and the staff (D1. P10; 15). Pre-service teachers who are separated from the school system are likely to feel unmotivated to practice teaching. Despite their status as student- teachers, it is important that they are recognized as part of the school system to enable them to grow into the professional and go through their professional training which is complementary to the theoretical knowledge they have received to enable them to teach in the classroom. According to Ligadu (2004), practicum should provide teacher trainees with the opportunity to Digitized by UCC, Library 81 develop a professional identity, be able to teach and to participate in multiple complex and concrete experiences essential for meaningful teaching and learning. An environment that is hostile to pre-service teachers is therefore likely to stifle their ability to participate in meaningful teaching and learning and ultimately their growth and assimilation into the profession. The unfriendliness of in-service teachers (mean = 3.24, SD = 1.00) is unhealthy not only for the pre-service teachers but also for the permanent staff. Such an environment presupposes that some teachers and staff are reluctant to give pre-service teachers the necessary support they need in order to fully understand teaching in its practicality. Hence, pre-service teachers may have found it difficult to consult such teachers on matters that may have been confusing for them during their delivery inevitably rendering trainee teachers to operate as “marginal” people within school systems. This is likely to breed contempt among students leading to situations where students may misbehave toward pre-service teachers, especially, when there are no appropriate disciplinary measures. From the focus group discussion a participant indicated that; Some of them (the students), they saw us to be students so they can’t match up to their teachers, so some of them were rude (D2. P6; 36). Although the collaborative work to form meaningful partnerships may be complicated, school-university partnerships are essential because it shows promise in improving teacher candidates' ability to work in school settings and enhancing the quality of feedback regarding their performance (Dean, Lauer, & Urquhart, 2005; Sykes & Dibner, 2009). This leads to better communication between all of the involved parties, Digitized by UCC, Library 82 which, in turn is expected to bring accountability close to the classroom, based largely on evidence of candidates’ effective performance and their impact on student learning. The results also indicated that there was no clear disciplinary actions for students’ misbehaviours (mean = 2.97, SD = .96). This suggests that in the absence of such disciplinary action, pre-service teachers were probably unable to deal with students’ misdemeanour. Student misconduct may therefore be left unchecked The mean of means (2.79) and average standard deviation (0.97) indicate the challenge of staff receptiveness as one facing pre-service teachers and the overall degree of homogeneity in their responses respectively. It therefore safe to concluded that pre-service teachers go through challenges relating to staff receptiveness in their partner schools. The respondents seemed certain in their responses and therefore in order to determine if pre-service teachers face any other partner school related challenge particularly one related to role ambiguity, data was also collected and the results are presented in Table 4. Table 4 - Summary of Challenges Relating to Role Ambiguity Mean SD My lessons sometimes clashed with other lessons 2.43 1.07 I was assigned demanding school tasks that made it difficult for me to prepare for my lesson plan on time 2.71 .85 Mean of Means/Average Standard Deviation 2.57 0.96 Source: Field data, 2016. U = 0; SD (1); D (2); A (3); SA (4) Digitized by UCC, Library 83 Table 4 clearly shows the results on the extent to which the duties and responsibilities of pre-service teachers were clearly defined. The majority (mean = 2.71, SD = .85) of respondents affirmed that they were assigned demanding tasks that made it difficult for them to prepare their lesson plans on time. This finding is consistent with studies of several researchers (Marais &Meier, 2004; Saricoban, 2010; Boadu, 2014) that identify professional role ambiguity and workload as a challenge for pre-service students. Every teacher is expected to plan their lesson before its delivery. The lesson plan provides a summary and evidence of a teacher’s lesson. It is a critical component of every teacher’s lesson and ultimately teaching effectiveness. It is believed that a well prepared lesson plan makes room or provides the platform for an effective lesson delivery. If pre-service teachers in training are required to perform other teaching related tasks that encumber them so much so that they are unable to prepare their lesson plans, the effectiveness of their lesson delivery is likely to be affected. This is in line with Moore’s (2003) assertion that during field experiences, sometimes, mundane tasks such as grading, lunch duty, materials management and bulletin board development may often overshadow the intended effects of the theory acquired being put into practise. The respondents however were in disagreement (mean = 2.43, SD = 1.07) that their lessons sometimes clashed with other lessons. This finding is in conflict with Azeem’s (2011) finding that practise schools often fail to prepare a time table for pre-service teachers. A standard deviation of (1.07), suggest that the responses in relation to the clash of lessons varied. It may be safe to deduce that even though the time table might have been prepared for Digitized by UCC, Library 84 individual teachers, a few teachers may have decided to use some time within periods allocated to pre-service teachers. Inferring from the mean of means (2.57), a conclusion that can be drawn is that pre-service teachers faced the challenge of role ambiguity because the average standard deviation (0.96) shows that the respondents overall level of congruence was high. Table 5 also looks at whether pre- service teachers encountered the challenge of resource availability /accessibility. Table 5 - Summary of Challenges Relating to Resource Availability/Accessibility Mean SD The school library did not have the recommended textbooks 3.54 1.03 Sitting arrangement impeded the effectiveness of my lesson 1.94 .87 I sometimes had to go to class with my own marker/chalk and duster 1.88 .97 My practice school lacked the needed teaching equipment 3.25 1.05 Mean of Means/Average Standard Deviation 2.65 0.98 Source: Field data, 2016. U = 0; SD (1); D (2); A (3); SA (4) Results from Table 5 highlights challenges related to the availability of resources necessary for lesson or curriculum implementation by pre-service teachers. Most of the pre-service teachers indicated (mean = 3.54, SD = 1.03) that the school libraries did not have the recommended textbooks needed for teaching their specific subjects. From the focus group discussion a participant said: When I went there, all that I was given was the teaching syllabus, that was all. So everything that has to be used in teaching, I had to provide it on my own taking into consideration textbooks and other things, so Digitized by UCC, Library 85 one particular lady that I went with, she bought one ‘Gabet’ , so that was what we were using throughout. The school did not provide anything. All that was given was the syllabus that was all (D1. P7; 41). For me, I didn’t know if the teachers did not know TLM because you ask them and they tell you to go and teach so I had to do everything. They see you holding cardboard and they say “wokora woha wo ho too much”, yeah so I had to do everything (D.1, P8; 42.). Again, they were of the view (mean = 3.25, SD = 1.05) that their practice school lacked needed teaching equipment. These materials are all that is necessary to support curriculum implementation. The non-availability of these materials may often lead to improvisation as described by this participant; I had to improvise all the time, one time, I needed a certificate with a seal on it and I couldn’t find mine, I brought it to school but couldn’t find mine and I think GES was checking all teacher’s certificate, no one wanted to give me theirs, I just needed it for some few minutes and no one gave it to me so I had to improvise all the time (D1. P2; 34). However, the pre-service teachers had an opposing view concerning about sitting arrangement in their various classrooms as an impediment to effective lesson delivery (mean = 1.94, SD = .87). This suggests while some may have struggled with class sizes, others had relatively small classes. The classrooms may have been spacious to accommodate the entire class during teaching periods. A lack of congestion in classrooms will allow teachers to navigate through the aisle to ensure students are attentive and also to monitor student progress in class. The sitting arrangements might also provide a clear Digitized by UCC, Library 86 vision path for students to see the chalkboard and to probably facilitate classroom discussions. This is clearly good for classroom instruction. Also, the pre-service teachers indicated (mean 1.88, SD = .97) that they were provided with marker/chalk as well as dusters in their classrooms. The conclusion that may be drawn from the mean of means (2.65) is that per-service teachers encountered challenges related to resource availability/accessibility. The respondents overall level of congruence in their responses was high (SD = 0.98). The above finding corroborates the findings of Saricoban (2010) who identified some pre-service teachers’ problems to be lack of support in terms of materials and equipment and problems resulting from the course book. Table 6 outlines some challenges related to mentor cooperativeness. Table 6 - Summary of Challenges Relating to Mentor Cooperativeness Mean SD My mentor did not monitor my progress at all after handing over the class 3.12 1.03 My mentor always interfered and made interjections in my class 1.89 .94 My mentor sometimes complained that my teaching pace was slow 1.97 .92 My mentor did not believe I was capable of handling the class 1.82 .88 My mentor was sometimes unfriendly and uncooperative 1.79 .93 Mean of Means/Average Standard Deviation 2.11 0.94 Source: Field data, 2016. U = 0; SD (1); D (2); A (3); SA (4) Table 6 shows that majority (mean = 3.12, SD = 1.03) of the pre- service teachers agreed that their mentors did not monitor their progress at all Digitized by UCC, Library 87 after handing over the class to them. Mentors or cooperative teachers are expected to provide guidance to pre-service by helping them in their exposure to real life teaching. The results however indicate that mentors often disregard their duty of ensuring that pre-service teachers acquaint themselves with the school climate and are well directed/supported in their learning experience. The relevance of mentor-mentee relationship is therefore undermined leaving pre-service teachers to fend for themselves. Some participants had this to say from the focus group discussion: The issue is that the moment I came to the school, he handed everything over to me. At a point in time, even my first week, I was expecting him to take me to the class and then introduce me but he didn’t do that, it was a colleague teacher who did that. (D1. P5; 47). The first two weeks she came to supervise me but after, the subsequent ones, she didn’t come (D1. P10; 53). I don’t know, last he supervised me to see whether when my supervisor come how I’m going to react. After that he never came back. He doesn’t go to class, the form 2 and form 1 class, I was the only person handling it and all that so sometimes I feel very tired. Whenever I tell the course rep to go and call him, he will just return the course rep back to me that I’m doing the thing so there is no need for him to come. Everything, setting of questions and all that, it was left to me but aside that, he was very friendly (D.2, P14; 29). My problem was that I was in a private school and most of the teachers were part time teachers, they do teach at Nungua Secondary School so my mentors were not all that ready to be helping me anytime, so I Digitized by UCC, Library 88 could say that they left most of the work for me. So because I was there, they don’t come because they had to share the time for Nungua and St Peters and because I went there, they always concentrated on Nungua and didn’t come to St. Peters till I left the place so that was my only challenge. So if you have a problem, I have no one to go to, like, to get help and I was there alone (D2. P13; 33). Mine was that when they found out I was teaching before coming for further studies they thought I could do it so my mentor/ immediate boss over there, he was not even paying attention to me. He was doing his own thing, when you ask him, he said, you were teaching before going to school so what is your problem. Not knowing, I want to learn more but still he was not all that helpful to me (D2. P12; 33). The pre-service teachers, also indicated that their mentors did not interfere with their class (mean = 1.89, SD = 0.94). This is in line with the above results. If mentors failed to monitor their progress, it obviously meant that they were absent from class. There were no interjections or interruptions because they were simply not present. It is also possible that although some mentors may have been present in class they gave pre-service teachers the opportunity to operate and to do their own thing. This in my opinion would be extremely helpful as it provides an avenue for pre-service teachers to gain a sense of independence when operating in the classroom. The results in Table 6 also revealed that the in-service teachers (mentors) did not complain about the teaching pace of the pre-service teachers to be slow (mean = 1.97, SD = 0.92). This suggests that the pre-service teachers managed to keep up the pace in terms of their teaching. This may Digitized by UCC, Library 89 probably account for the reluctance of in-service teachers to monitor the progress of pre-service teachers. They therefore believed that the pre-service teachers were capable of handling the class (mean = 1.82, SD = .88). Based on the earlier findings, it is clear why the responses of pre-services teacher indicated that the in-service teachers/mentors were friendly and cooperative (mean = 1.79, SD = 0.93). The overall mean (2.11) however, shows that the pre-service teachers did not view their mentor relationships as challenging although they were mostly absent from class. The degree of homogeneity (SD = 0.94) in their responses was high. Mentor-mentee cooperation was therefore confirmed. This finding is in conflict with other studies that identified mentor relationships as a source of challenge to pre-service students ( Lingam 2002; Hamaidi, Al-shara, Arouri & Awwad, 2014). Table 7 further provides results on the challenges students encounter during their teaching practice in relation to student characteristics. Table 7 - Summary of Challenges Relating to Student Characteristics Mean SD I always had to plead with students to behave before my supervision commenced 3.01 .99 Some students were loud, uncooperative and disruptive in class 3.42 1.01 Some students misbehaved because they did not consider me a permanent teacher 2.97 .91 Some students were deliberately mischievous in the presence of my supervisor 2.96 .91 I had to call the class down all the time during my presentation 2.99 .95 Mean of Means/Average Standard Deviation 3.07 0.95 Source: Field data, 2016. U = 0; SD (1); D (2); A (3); SA (4) Digitized by UCC, Library 90 Table 7 shows results on student characteristics that made the field experiences of pre-service teachers challenging. Majority (mean = 3.01, SD = .99) of the pre-service teachers acceded to the statement that they always had to plead with the students to behave before supervision commenced. The authority given to pre-service teachers is seemingly not regarded by students in the school setting. In relation to earlier results from table 3, it may be deduced that pre-service teachers are likely to struggle with getting students to behave. If students believe them to be non-permanent staff that are disregarded by their permanent teachers and staff, they are likely to make things difficult for the pre-service teachers. It was therefore not outlandish when the pre- service teachers indicated that some students misbehaved because they did not consider them to be permanent teachers (mean = 2.97, SD = .91). With no clear disciplinary actions for students misbehaviour (mean = 2.97, SD = .96), students are likely to go berserk and make teaching quite problematic for pre- service teachers. This accounts for the deliberate attempts by students to be mischievous in the presence of the external supervisors assessing pre-service teachers’ (mean = 2.96, SD = 0.91). From the focus group discussion, a participant lamented that They always threatened me and one of the personnel from Winneba, so then we are doing this for marks and they always tell me when my supervisor is in they will ‘mafia’ me (D2. P1; 38). “Mafia” in this sense suggests that the senior high school students will misbehave in the presence of the supervisors. Some students were also loud, uncooperative and disruptive in class (mean = 3.42, SD = 1.01) necessitating Digitized by UCC, Library 91 pre-service teachers to call their classes down, all the time during presentations (mean = 2.99, SD = .95). Students’ characteristics were thus identified as an area that was particularly challenging to pre-service teachers. The overall mean of means (3.07) shows that students’ characteristics presented major challenges to pre- service teachers during field experience. Respondents were very assertive in their responses which was indicated by the overall standard deviation (SD = 0.95).The findings of this study confirms the findings of similar researchers (Harrow, Dziuban & Rothberg, 1973; Saricoban, 2010) that identified student characteristics as a major challenge for pre-service teachers during their field experiences. Table 8 further present results on the challenges pre-service face with respect to supervision issues. Table 8 - Summary of Challenges Relating to Supervision Issues Mean SD Some supervisors insisted that I teach even when I did not have a lesson 3.58 1.19 Some supervisors were reluctant to visit our school because of its location 1.98 1.10 Some supervisors did not listen to anything I had to say in my defence 3.09 .95 Some supervisors marked our lesson plan but did not observe our lesson 2.73 .92 Some supervisors criticized my lesson but did not provide any guidance for improvement 2.98 .92 Some supervisors were unapproachable and unfriendly 2.19 .98 The intimidating nature of some supervisors made me tense during my lesson delivery 2.07 .99 Digitized by UCC, Library 92 Table 8 (Continued) I sometimes had to delay my lesson because some supervisors were late 3.18 1.00 Some supervisors requested that I change my school because the location was inaccessible 1.68 .89 My team leader always had to call supervisors before they visited our centre 2.01 1.00 Some external supervisors interacted with my mentor about my teaching 1.90 .97 Some supervisors were always late for my lesson 2.99 .85 Mean of Means/Average Standard Deviation 2.53 0.98 Source: Field data, 2016. U = 0; SD (1); D (2); A (3); SA (4) Table 8 provides results on supervision issues that arose during the pre-service teachers’ field experiences. The pre-service teachers lamented (mean = 3.58, SD, 1.19) that some of their supervisors insisted that they teach even when they did not have lessons. This is a demanding situation that is unhelpful for pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers are expected to teach within teaching schedules provided by the school. An insistence from supervisors that they organize classes outside these schedules becomes very challenging for these trainees. From the focus group, a participant lamented that: I had 2 in Krobo Girls and then they called me to have another one at Ackro Sec Tech, Somanya which is a distance I have to travel before meeting them and the Ackro Sec Tech one, it was late, 4:30pm or 5:00pm. They had even closed so I had to go organize the people I don’t know. I had to beg them to stay before I had the class with them, it was a short class, it wasn’t easy, it was very tough (D2. P12; 11). Digitized by UCC, Library 93 In another vein, such insistence for pre-service to organize classes when they do not have one scheduled is likely to increase the anxiety level of trainees which in turn is also likely to affect their performance. One of the trainees commented during the focus group discussion that: At first, they (students) were cooperative but later on, they tend to change especially when supervisors come at the time that we don’t have management and you are trying to, get them to teach, they will be telling you, we don’t have it, I didn’t bring my notebook today. They will be giving you a whole lot of stories so if you convince them and send them to class, if you ask them questions, they feel reluctant to answer (D1.P5;59). Such practices, if allowed to continue are likely to disrupt school activities because pre-service teachers might have to beg other subject teachers to use their period allocation for their practice. The Senior High School students may also become agitated about having to sit in a class that they have already had or one that was not on their schedule. Another challenge in relation to supervision was that some of the supervisors were always late for lessons (mean = 2.99, SD = .85) and this resulted in the delay of lessons by pre-service teachers (mean = 3.18, 1.00). This suggests that productive instructional time may be lost. This may cause a ripple effect where teachers may be unable to the complete topics in the syllabus as planned. It was disheartening to also find out that some of the supervisors marked the lesson plans of the pre-service teachers without observing their lessons (mean = 2.73, SD = .92). Two participants from the focus group were particularly concerned about this practise, their grievances were that; Digitized by UCC, Library 94 He came but I didn’t teach. What happened was that, when he came, he just gathered all of us who were there and took our lesson plan, met us one by one, just went through the lesson plan for about 5 minutes or 10 minutes, just took TLM and looked at what we were doing. And what happened was that on the assessment sheet, he didn’t write anything, he just wrote our names and index number and just left so we didn’t know the marks that was being allocated to us so we were not happy. That was one of the supervisions that we had (D1, P3; 68). We also had the same problem in our school. I remember some 3 supervisors came at once, we were calling them the “trinity”. When they come, they wouldn’t come to the class, they will take the lesson notebook and go and sit under the summer hut and then they will mark it. They wouldn’t come to the class to supervise; they would just judge you based on your lesson plan which wasn’t fair at all (D2, P5:55). According to Darling- Hammond (2005) supervision requires supervis ors to immerse themselves along with the candidates in the school site. The marking of lesson plans without the correspondent observation of the student in practise provides an artificial and unrealistic view of student performance. This practise is not only unprofessional but also detrimental to student progress during their field experiences. Again, the majority (mean = 2.98, SD = .92) of the respondents indicated that some supervisors who criticized the lessons failed to provide guidance for improvement. Supervision is geared towards identifying weaknesses for remediation and strengths for consolidation in order to ensure that quality teaching is provided. Hence, the lack of guidance from supervisors about how pre-service teachers can improve Digitized by UCC, Library 95 renders the job of the supervisor incomplete. Appropriate supervision of pre- service teachers during field experiences is crucial to strengthen the linkages between the university coursework and classroom practise (Zeichner, 2010). A participant who participated in the focus group discussion had this to say There was one supervisor who came and instead of him to tell me my loopholes or where I went wrong so that I could improve upon my teaching, he just left and when I left the class and then asked him, like if he was not going to say anything to me, he said everything is in the notebook so I should read it myself (D1, P1;83). The pre-service teachers further lamented (mean = 3.09, SD = 0.95) that some of their supervisors failed to listen to any plea in their defence on any issue. By implication, some of the supervisors were not patient enough to allow the trainees to defend themselves in areas where they may have faltered. The pre-service teachers, however refuted the statement that some of their supervisors were reluctant to visit their school because of its location (mean = 1.98, SD = 1.10), this suggests that supervisors did not request that pre-service teachers change their school due to the inaccessibility of its location. Some of the supervisors were also approachable and friendly (mean = 2.19, SD = .98). This indicates that some supervisors were ready to supervise despite all the odds. The pre-service teachers also indicated that they were not intimidated by the presence of the supervisor during their lesson delivery (mean = 2.07, SD = .99). In conclusion, the pre-service teachers faced supervision challenges. This is evidently summarised by the mean of means (2.53). The average standard deviation also indicates that the pre-service teachers were emphatic in Digitized by UCC, Library 96 their responses (SD = 0.98). This finding is in congruence with similar researches (Hammad, 2005; Lingam, 2002) that identified academic supervision as a source of challenge for pre-service teachers. Table 9 presents the results on assessment issues as challenges facing pre-service teachers. Table 9 - Summary of Challenges Relating to Assessment Issues Mean SD Some supervisors did not make available our Form B after supervision 1.95 1.01 Some supervisors told us we had already failed the practice 1.88 .95 Some supervisors assessment did not give any new ideas 3.31 .95 Some supervisors made very harsh comments about my delivery 2.84 .84 Mean of Means/Average Standard Deviation 2.50 0.94 Source: Field data, 2016. U = 0; SD (1); D (2); A (3); SA (4) Table 9 indicates assessment issues perceived as challenges to the pre- service teachers. As can be observed, majority (mean 3.31, SD = 0.95) of the respondents asserted that some of their supervisors assessment did not offer any new ideas to them. Perhaps, they did not get new ideas because they were within the expectations of the supervisors. However, it seems odd to think that no ideas were given to trainees on how to further improve teaching. It is probable that some of the supervisors lacked the required pedagogical knowledge or perhaps lacked knowledge in specific content areas. It is relevant that pre-service teachers receive new ideas that should be helpful in developing their teaching skills. The pre-service teachers also indicated that some supervisors made very harsh comments about their delivery (mean = 2.84, SD = 0.84). From a professional standpoint, it is important that supervisors exercise some decorum when dealing with students. The essence Digitized by UCC, Library 97 of the whole exercise is to refine the pre-service teachers, implying that they are not ‘there’ yet. There is therefore no need for harsh comments. The trainees also indicated that some supervisors were helpful by not discouraging them in statements suggesting that they had already failed the practice (mean = 1.88, SD = 0.95). It is important that supervisors help students to grow by providing them with feedback on their performance in a more subtle manner to prevent panic and demotivation on the part of these pre-service teachers. Some of the supervisors also provided timely feedback about the performance of the pre-service teachers. This is indicated in Table 9 when the pre-service teachers affirmed that some of the supervisors made available the ‘Form B’ to them after the supervision (mean = 1.95, SD = 1.01). The ‘Form B’ contains the comments and suggestions from supervisors to help communicate to the students their weaknesses and strengths and to suggest ways to improve on their next lesson. The form B is essential because it provides pre-service teachers with information on their teaching performance. In conclusion, the mean of means (2.50) and the average standard deviation (0.94) show that assessment issues were a source of challenge to the pre-service teachers since there was a high level of congruence. Hamaidi, Al- Shara, Arouri, and Awwad (2014), agrees with this finding that assessment issues are challenging to pre-service teachers. Table 10 also presents results on lesson plan issues as a challenge to pre-service teachers. Digitized by UCC, Library 98 Table 10 - Summary of Challenges Relating to Lesson Plan Issues Mean SD Some supervisors were more concerned about my teaching than my lesson plan 3.26 1.00 Some supervisors complained that my lesson plan was too detailed 2.03 .96 Some supervisors failed to explain their comments indicated in my lesson plan 3.05 1.00 Mean of Means/Average Standard Deviation 2.78 0.99 Source: Field data, 2016. U = 0; SD (1); D (2); A (3); SA (4) From Table 10, majority (mean = 3.26, SD = 1.00) of the pre-service teachers were of the view that some of their supervisors were more concerned about their teaching rather than their lesson plan. Although the lesson delivery is an important aspect of the practicum because almost all the emphasis is placed on the pre-service teacher’s ability to teach, it is equally relevant that tools such as the lesson plan are given priority. A teacher is often as good as his lesson plan and so placing more emphasis on teaching at the expense of all the other preparation tools that make teaching effective is just like sending a policeman to work without his gun. Some supervisors also failed to explain their comments indicated in the lesson plan (mean = 3.05, SD = 1.00). If pre- service teachers are unable to comprehend these comments from the supervisors, there is the likelihood that such comments will not be incorporated into their teaching. Failing to clear any ambiguities that may be present after making such comments is tantamount to giving no remarks at all. It may be safe to assume that some supervisors place very little importance on Digitized by UCC, Library 99 their role as supervisors. This may probably account for the earlier findings in Table 8 that, some supervisors were always late for lessons (mean = 2.99, SD = 0.85), some did not listen to anything the pre-service teachers had to say in their defence (mean = 3.09, SD = 0.95) and some criticizing lessons but failing to provide any guidance for improvement (mean = 2.98, SD = 0.92). Also, in Table 9, some supervisors made very harsh comments about the pre-service teachers’ delivery (mean = 2.84, SD = 0.84). Despites these odds, the respondents indicated that some of the supervisors did not complain that their lesson plans were too detailed (mean = 2.03, SD = 0.96). This suggests that pre-service teachers may be preparing adequately for every lesson by ensuring that their lesson plan were up to the required standards. The mean of means (2.78) shows that lesson plan issues were another challenge facing pre-service teachers on their teaching practice experience. The respondents were consistent in their responses (SD = 0.99). Tetteh (2014) agrees with is finding in his research that identified lesson plan issues as a major challenge for pre-service teachers. Table 11 presents results on trainee disposition as another challenge encountered by preservice teachers on their OFCTP. Table 11 - Summary of Challenges Related to Trainee Disposition Mean SD It was sometimes difficult to control my class during my lesson presentation 2.89 .86 Some students always made me upset in the classroom 3.19 .92 I was not always confident in my lesson delivery 1.85 .96 Digitized by UCC, Library 100 Table 11 (Continued) My class was not always interesting 2.90 1.01 I was unable to sustain students’ interest for longer lesson durations 2.93 .92 I sometimes had to assume an authoritarian posture in order to make students comply 3.46 1.03 The presence of the supervisor sometimes made me uncomfortable 3.16 .93 I was not always enthusiastic about teaching 2.02 .90 Mean of Means/Average Standard Deviation 2.80 0.94 Source: Field data, 2016. From Table 11, pre-service teachers (mean = 2.90, SD = 1.01) indicated that their classes were not always interesting. An interesting class is often dependent on the teacher’s ability to combine different teaching methods that sustain students’ interest. This is often dependent on the trainee’s disposition and ability to know which methods to combine to help make lessons more interesting. This suggests that some challenges that pre-service teachers faced emanated from their individual personalities. This finding is corroborated by the fact that pre-service teachers were unable to sustain students’ interest for longer lesson durations (mean = 2.93, SD = 0.92). If the principle that students learn better when they perceive teaching to be interesting has some relevance to educators, then all efforts would be channelled into ensuring that pre-service teachers are given the necessary guidance in order to make their classroom interaction. Again, pre-service teachers were of the view that it was sometimes difficult to control their classes during their lesson presentations (mean = 2.89, Digitized by UCC, Library 101 SD = .86) and perhaps this may have accounted for their decision to assume an authoritarian posture in order to make students comply (mean = 3.46, SD = 0.93). It is evident that trainees or pre-service teachers were not adequately prepared in terms of their possession of behaviour management competencies which undoubtedly seemed to have affected classroom instruction and therefore given students the urge to misbehave. Also, the absence of clear disciplinary actions for students misbehaviour in the schools (mean = 2.97, SD = 0.96) as mentioned earlier may have accounted for students misbehaviour. This is probably why the pre-service teachers indicated that some students always made them upset in the classroom (mean = 3.19, SD = 0.92). Pre-service teachers appear to be excited about teaching. This is seen in Table 12 when they consented that they were always enthusiastic about teaching (mean = 2.02, SD = 0.90). The notion held formerly among most people that teaching was not a good job appears to be changing over time and more and more people seem to be appreciating the teaching profession. Also, pre-service teachers affirmed the statement that they were confident in themselves during their lesson delivery (mean = 1.85, SD = 0.96) and if such confidence is nurtured, they will be in a better position to deliver good teaching to students. The mean of means (2.80) identified trainees’ disposition as a challenge faced by pre-service teachers during their teaching practice. The level of homogeneity in the responses of the respondents was high (0.94). Other researchers (Jusoh’s 2011, Hamaidi, Al-Shara, Arouri, & Awwad, 2014) have similar findings that also identified some challenges that pre-service teachers faced to be personal challenges relating to the trainee teachers Digitized by UCC, Library 102 themselves. Table 12 presents results on the preparedness of the pre-service teachers during their field experience as a challenge. Table 12 - Summary of Challenges Related to Trainee Preparedness Mean SD I sometimes went to class without a TLM 3.10 .96 I only prepared my lesson notes for supervision 2.94 1.02 Some topics were difficult for me to teach 2.94 .89 I was sometimes unable to answer students’ questions 1.84 .86 I was sometimes unable to prepare my lesson plan before going to class 1.90 .89 I sometimes had too rush to prepare my lesson plan before going to class 2.10 .96 I only read what was in the syllabus and recommended textbooks 3.14 1.06 It was difficult to find TLM’s for some topics I taught 3.63 1.16 Mean of Means/Average Standard Deviation 2.70 0.98 Source: Field data, 2016. U = 0; SD (1); D (2); A (3); SA (4) Table 12 shows the challenges that emanate from pre-service teachers level of preparedness. As part of pre-service teachers’ preparation, they indicated that it was sometimes difficult to find Teaching Learning Materials (TLMs) for some of topics they taught (mean = 3.63, SD = 1.16) and so they sometimes went to the class without TLM (mean = 3.10, SD = 0.96). Although not all topics lend themselves to the use of TLM’s, students are expected to use TLM’s where necessary. Trainees who prepare thoroughly before heading to the class are more likely to use TLMs than those who do not. The pre- Digitized by UCC, Library 103 service teachers also indicated that they only read what was in the syllabus and recommended textbooks (mean = 3.14, SD = 1.06). This suggests that pre- service teachers fail to read outside the syllabus and recommended texts. This is likely to leave them disconnected with knowledge about current trends in an era of knowledge explosion; however, the need to maintain a real world focus in the teaching of business studies is crucial and necessitated by the fact that the business education curriculum is vocational, practical and training-oriented (Ottewill & Macfarlane, 2003). There is therefore the need to employ teaching approaches that ensure that learning takes place in authentic and real-world contexts. This can only be done through the use TLM’s. Pre-service teachers also indicated that some topics were difficult for them to teach (mean = 2.94, SD = 0.89). This may perhaps be attributed to the pre-service teacher’s lack of touch with the real world. Many of these trainees may have no real experience when it comes to the world of business. The majority (mean = 2.94, SD = 1.02) of pre-service teachers again admitted that they only prepared lesson notes for supervision. This suggests that in the absence of supervision, they are likely to avoid lesson plans. Lesson plans are not only a guide to the teacher but also provides the framework for another teacher who may have to step in the shoes of a colleague teacher. However, pre-service teachers were able to answer students questions (mean = 1.84, SD = 0.86), prepare lesson plans before going to class (mean = 1.90, SD = 0.89) and these lesson plans were not prepared in a rush (mean = 2.10, SD = 0.96). In general, pre-service teachers faced challenges in relation to their preparation towards lesson delivery (mean of means = 2.70). Pre-service Digitized by UCC, Library 104 teachers were congruent in their level of responses (SD = 0.98). Finally, Table 13 presents pre-service teachers challenges in relation to the adoption of teaching methods. Table 13 - Summary of Challenges Related to Adopted Teaching Method Mean SD I was unable to use the discussion method because the students were not cooperative 3.00 1.01 It was difficult to use a variety of methods to sustain students’ interest for longer lesson duration 3.15 .90 Teaching for longer periods was not easy at all 3.48 1.01 I always used the lecture method because I was very well prepared 2.85 .86 Mean of Means/Average Standard Deviation 3.12 0.95 Source: Field data, 2016. U = 0; SD (1); D (2); A (3); SA (4) Table 13 shows the challenges in relation to the teaching methods adopted by pre-service teachers during their field. The majority (mean = 3.00, SD = 1.01) of pre-service teachers lamented that they were unable to use the discussion method because the students were not cooperative. Students’ misbehaviour seems to have been a bane to pre-service teachers. Indeed the discussion method thrives in a co-operative environment and so students’ co- operation would be needed. This may have accounted for pre-service teachers’ preference for the lecture method because they were often well prepared to teach (mean = 2.85, SD = 0.86). The use of the lecture method is however not encouraged at the Senior High School level because of its rigidity. If ever it were to be used, it was to be used parsimoniously. It seems pre-service Digitized by UCC, Library 105 teachers were having great difficulty to using a variety of methods to sustain students’ interest for longer lesson duration (mean = 3.15, SD = 0.90). This presents a serious challenge because teaching methods are the only means by which teachers can transmit knowledge to students. If students are to understand lessons and accumulate knowledge, then pre-service teachers must be in the position to select the right teaching methods necessary to drive the content to the students. Since pre-service teachers are unable to select the right teaching methods, teaching for a longer periods was made quite difficult for them (mean = 3.48, SD = 1.01). The mean of means (3.12) shows that adopted teaching methods was a challenge that pre-service teachers were faced. A high congruence (SD = 0.95) is seen in their level of responses. (Mtika, 2011 and Al-Ajez & Hallas, 2011) all agreed with this finding that some challenges faced by pre-service teachers is often related to the implementation of certain pedagogical orientations during the teaching practicum. The quantitative results found out that pre-service teachers encountered several challenges during their teaching practice. These challenges were related to the partner schools: staff receptiveness; role ambiguity; resource availability/accessibility; senior high school students’ characteristics; training institution: supervision issues; assessment issues; lesson plan issues; and trainee related: trainee disposition; preparedness and adopted teaching method. Digitized by UCC, Library 106 Relationship Between Challenges Encountered by Pre-service Teachers During OFCTP and Their Teaching Performance The quintessence of the above research question was to find if any of the challenges encountered by the pre-service teachers had a relationship with pre-service teachers’ performance. In order to address this research question, Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to analyse the obtained data. The results are presented in Table 14. Table 14 - Correlation analysis Variable Score in Off-Campus Teaching Practice Score in Off-Campus Teaching Practice Pearson Correlation 1 Sig. (2-tailed) N 146 Staff Unreceptiveness Pearson Correlation -.016 Sig. (2-tailed) .045 N 146 Role Ambiguity Pearson Correlation .016 Sig. (2-tailed) .852 N 146 Resource Unavailability Pearson Correlation .012 Sig. (2-tailed) .883 N 146 Poor Student Characteristics Pearson Correlation .120 Sig. (2-tailed) .148 N 146 Supervision Issues Pearson Correlation .033 Sig. (2-tailed) .695 N 146 Digitized by UCC, Library 107 Table 14 (Continued) Assessment Issues Pearson Correlation .037 Sig. (2-tailed) .660 N 146 Poor Trainee Disposition Pearson Correlation -.015 Sig. (2-tailed) .022 N 146 Trainee Unpreparedness Pearson Correlation .017 Sig. (2-tailed) .838 N 146 Inappropriate Teaching Method Pearson Correlation -.107 Sig. (2-tailed) .035 N 146 Lesson Plan Issues Pearson Correlation .096 Sig. (2-tailed) .250 N 146 Source: Field data, 2016 U = 0; SD (1); D (2); A (3); SA (4) From Table 14, the PPMC was run to determine the relationship between the challenges faced by pre-service teachers during OFCTP and their performance during the practice. There was a weak positive relationship between: role ambiguity and teaching performance, (r = 0.016, n = 146, p > 0.05); resource availability and teaching performance (r = 0.012, n = 146, p > 0.05); student characteristics and teaching performance (r = 0.120, n = 146, p > 0.05); supervision issues and teaching performance (r = 0.033, n = 146, p > 0.05); assessment issues and teaching performance (r = 0.037, n = 146, p > 0.05); pre-service teachers’ preparedness and teaching performance (r = 0.017, n = 146, p > 0.05); and lesson plan issues and teaching performance (r = 0.096, n = 146, p > 0.05). The positive relationship meant that as the challenges reduced or improved, pre-service teachers’ performance also Digitized by UCC, Library 108 reduced. In the same vein as the challenge worsened, pre-service teachers’ performance increased. This fails to make sense in the real world since it is expected that once the challenges are being improved (reduced) performance should also increase and by this a negative correlation coefficient is expected. It is therefore worthy to note that none of these relationships were statistically significant and therefore concentration was only needed for those which were statistically significant. There was a weak negative significant relationship between poor staff receptiveness and teaching performance (r = -0.016, n = 146, p = 0.045), which suggests that as poor staff receptiveness improves (reduces), pre-service teachers’ performance is likely to improve (increase). This implies that if pre- service teachers are made to feel that they are part of the school community where the staff of the school are more receptive and in-service teachers are also more friendly, pre-service teachers are likely to give their best which in turn is likely to result in better teaching performance. Also, if clear disciplinary actions for students’ misbehaviour are outlined, it is likely to put pre-service teachers at ease and ensure that students respect and recognize them. However, all such practices may not result in a change in their performance to a higher degree. Again, there was a weak negative significant relationship between poor trainee disposition and teaching performance (r = -0.015, n = 146, p = 0.022), which implies that as poor trainee disposition is being improved (decreasing), pre-service teachers’ performance will be improving (increasing) This also implies that that if pre-service teachers are able to control their class during lesson presentation, they are able to control students’ ill behaviours and are Digitized by UCC, Library 109 able to make the class interesting, their performance is not likely to drop. However, their ability to perform all these actions may not have a significant impact on their entire performance. Finally, there was a weak negative significant relationship between the challenge of adopting teaching method and teaching performance (r = -0.107, n = 146, p = 0.035), which suggests that if pre-service teachers are assisted in adopting the right teaching methods, their performance is likely to improve. Pre-service teachers indicated that the challenges they had in adopting teaching methods were that they were unable to use the discussion method; they found it difficult to use a variety of methods to sustain students’ interest for longer lesson duration which necessitated the use of the lecture method. Its negative relation with performance point towards the need for students to be provided with all the necessary assistance regarding the use of the discussion method as well as the need to vary their teaching methods, this will go a long way to ensure that the lecture method is a resort. This is ultimately expected to help to improve the pedagogical practices of pre-service teachers during their OFCTP. Nevertheless, the provision of such assistance to improve their practices may not significantly sway their teaching performance in a positive direction due to the weak relationship between the two variables. In conclusion, three challenges; poor staff receptiveness, poor trainee disposition and the adoption of appropriate teaching methods significantly correlated with the trainee’s teaching performance. Even though it is of great essence to address these challenges, efforts to do so may not significantly change or relate positively to their teaching practice performance. This finding corroborates the findings of Rust (1994) who suggests that new teachers are Digitized by UCC, Library 110 affected by conditions of the workplace particularly by the climate of acceptance established by the school. Capa (2005) also identified teaching preparation quality as a predictor of the pre-service teacher’s sense of efficacy. Influence of the Challenges of Pre-service Teachers during OFCTP on Trainee Perception of the Teaching Profession Research question three (3) sought to find out the influence of the challenges of pre service teachers during their field experiences on the trainee teacher’s perception of the teaching profession. The dependent variable was perception of pre-service teachers after their field experience and the independent variables were the challenges encountered during the OCTP. The dependent variable is presented in Table 15. Table 15 - Pre-service Teachers Perception of the Teaching Profession During their Field Experience N % Negative 99 67.8 Positive 47 32.2 Total 146 100 Source: Field data, 2016. From Table 15, the majority (n = 99, 67.8%) of pre-service teachers had a negative perception after they had gone through their OFCTP. As seen, only 32.2% (n = 47) had positive perception after having experienced the OFCTP. It can be concluded that pre-service teachers had a negative perception towards the teaching profession. In order to know whether their negative perception was influenced by the challenges they encountered during Digitized by UCC, Library 111 the OCTP, multiple regression analysis was run. The results are presented in Table 16. Table 16 - Regression Analysis Model B t Sig. 1tre (Constant) .760 5.471 .000 Staff Unreceptiveness .026 2.008 .047* Role Ambiguity -.004 -.176 .860 Resource Unavailability .002 .190 .849 Poor Student Characteristics .005 .352 .725 Supervision Issues -.002 -.273 .785 Assessment Issue -.003 -.254 .800 Poor Trainee Disposition .019 1.844 .067 Trainee Unpreparedness .009 .848 .398 Inappropriate Teaching Method -.045 -3.076 .003* Lesson plan issues -.048 -.604 .547 R 2 0.111 df1 10 df2 Durbin-Watson 135 2.013 F 1.683 Sig Number of observations .041 146 Significant at 0.05* Source: Field data, 2016. Negative Perception = 0.760 + 0.026Staff receptiveness -0.045Adopted teaching method Digitized by UCC, Library 112 A multiple regression was run to predict pre-service teachers’ perception about the challenges that they experienced during their field experiences. As seen in Table 16, poor staff receptiveness and inappropriate adopted teaching method statistically significantly predicted their negative perception experienced during the OFCTP, F (10, 135) = 1.683, p = .041, R 2 = 0.111. A unit change in staff receptiveness increases the prediction by 0.26 whilst that of adopted teaching method reduces the prediction by 0.045. This finding suggests that challenges related to staff receptiveness and adopted teaching methods are predictors of the pre-service teacher’s negative perception in relation to the teaching profession. A participant from the focus group discussion said that We have the passion but reality has taken the passion away. The passion for teaching is there, I would have wanted to become a teacher but you move to the field and the conditions are so bad, you just can’t survive in such a condition (D1:P6,122). This validates the findings of Rots et al (2007) that identified the teacher preparation variable as a predictor of the trainees’ intention to enter the profession or not. In this case the teacher preparation variable is the challenges inherent in the teacher education programme specifically the field experience component. Differences Between Male and Female Pre-Service Teachers About the Challenges of Field Experiences. Research hypothesis one (1) sought to find out the differences between the male and female pre-service teachers about the challenges they faced Digitized by UCC, Library 113 during their field experiences. Table 17 presents the results of the challenges in respect to males and females. Table 17 - Independent t-Test Variable Gender N Mean SD t df Sig Staff Unreceptiveness Male 100 7.86 2.37 -2.322 144 .022* Female 46 8.88 2.54 Role Ambiguity Male 100 4.00 1.46 .774 144 .440 Female 46 3.79 1.55 Resource Unavailability Male 100 8.40 2.48 -1.561 144 .121 Female 46 9.12 2.66 Poor Student Characteristics Male 100 10.18 3.06 -.910 144 .031* Female 46 10.67 2.72 Supervision Issues Male 100 20.40 5.05 -.923 144 .358 Female 46 21.23 4.81 Assessment Issues Male 100 19.89 5.03 -.978 144 .330 Female 46 20.77 4.66 Poor Trainee Disposition Male 100 19.19 4.70 .712 144 .478 Female 46 18.60 4.21 Trainee Unpreparedness Male 100 14.10 3.96 .705 144 .482 Female 46 13.60 3.54 Inappropriate Teaching Method Male 100 8.40 2.44 -.400 144 .034* Female 46 8.58 2.74 Lesson Plan Issues Male 100 2.16 .59 -.568 144 .571 Female 46 2.22 .69 Significant at 0.05* Source: Field data, 2016. From Table 17, the results are presented in terms of the challenges faced by male pre-service teachers and female pre-service teachers during their OFCTP. The Levene’s test of equality of variance showed that both male and female pre-service teachers were assumed to have equal variances on each of the challenges encountered during the OFCTP. With respect to role ambiguity, there are differences in the mean value (4.00) of the male pre- service teachers and the mean value (3.79) of the female pre-service teachers. Digitized by UCC, Library 114 This suggests that the challenge of role ambiguity was higher for the male pre- service teachers than the females. However, the t-test showed that there is no statistically significant difference between male pre-service teachers (M = 4.00, SD = 1.46) and female pre-service in terms of the challenge of role ambiguity (M = 3.79, SD = 1.55); t (144) = 0.774, p > 0.05, (two tailed). The null hypothesis was therefore not rejected. It can be concluded that both male and female pre-service teachers faced the same level of challenge as far as the challenge of role ambiguity was concerned. Regarding the differences between male and female pre-service teachers in terms of facing challenges related to resource availability, the descriptive results revealed that there were differences between the mean value (8.40) of the male pre-service teachers and the mean value (9.12) of the female pre-service teachers in terms of the challenge of resource availability challenges. This suggests that female pre-service teachers seem to be facing higher challenges regarding the access and use of resources to teach their lessons during their field experience as compared to their male counterparts. Conversely, the t-test results show that there are no statistically significant difference between the male pre-service teachers (M = 8.40, SD = 2.48) and female pre-service teachers in terms of the challenges related to resource availability/accessibility. (M = 9.12, SD = 2.66); t (144) = -1.561, p > 0.05, (two tailed). The null hypothesis was not rejected. This means that the differences between the male and female pre-service teachers were not relevant. Looking at the differences between male and female pre-service teachers in terms of supervision challenges, the descriptive result shows that Digitized by UCC, Library 115 there are differences in the mean value (20.4) of the male pre-service teacher and female pre-service teachers (21.23). This mean that the female pre-service teachers faced more supervision challenges than the male pre-service teachers. In order to determine whether the differences were statistically significant, a t- test was carried out. The results show that there are no statistically significant difference between male pre-service teachers (M = 20.40, SD = 5.05) and female pre-service teachers in terms of supervision issues (M = 21.2, SD = 4.81); t (144) = -0.923, p > 0.05, (two tailed). The null hypothesis was not rejected. This means that the differences between the male and female pre- service teachers were not relevant. Again, differences were found between the male and female pre- service teachers in terms of assessment issues. The descriptive result shows that there are differences between the mean value (19.89) of the male pre- service teachers and the mean value (20.77) of the female pre-service teachers, meaning that the female pre-service teachers faced higher assessment challenges than the male pre-service teachers. A statistical proof with the use of t-test was carried out to determine if the differences were significant. The result revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between the male pre-service teachers (M = 19.89, 5.03) and the female pre-service teachers in terms of assessment issues (M = 20.77, SD = 4.66); t (144) = - 0.978, p > 0.05, (two tailed). The null hypothesis was not rejected. This means that the descriptive differences between the male and female pre-service teachers regarding assessment issues were not relevant. Furthermore, the descriptive results showed differences between the mean values (19.19) of the male pre-service teachers and the mean values Digitized by UCC, Library 116 (18.60) of the female pre-service teachers in terms of their dispositions. This implied that the male pre-service teachers had higher negative dispositions than the female pre-service teachers. Nonetheless, the t-test results indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the male pre- service teachers (M = 19.19, SD = 4.70) and the female pre-service teachers in terms of their dispositions during their field experiences. (M = 18.60, SD = 4.21), t (144) = 0.712, p > 0.05, (two tailed). The null hypothesis was not rejected. This means that both male and female pre-service teachers faced the same challenge of poor dispositions during their field experiences. In relation to the differences between male and female pre-service teachers in terms of challenges related to trainee preparedness, the descriptive results showed that there are differences between the mean value (14.10) for the male pre-service teachers and the mean value (13.60) for the female pre- service teachers in terms of challenges related to trainee preparedness, implying that the male pre-service teachers were facing higher challenges than the female pre-service teachers in terms of their unpreparedness towards the teaching practice. To determine whether the differences are statistically significant, a t-test was computed. The results of the t-test showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the male pre-service teachers (M = 14.10, SD = 3.96) and female pre-service teachers in relation to the challenge of trainee preparedness during their field experiences (M = 13.60, SD = 3.54), t (144) = 0.705, p > 0.05, (two tailed). The null hypothesis was not rejected. The conclusion drawn was that the male and female pre- service teachers faced the same challenge of trainee preparedness. Digitized by UCC, Library 117 Again, in relation to pre-service teachers’ differences in lesson plan issues, the descriptive results showed that there are differences between the mean value (2.16) of the male pre-service teachers and the mean value (2.22) of the female pre-service teachers, indicating that the male pre-service teachers faced higher lesson plan issues than the female pre-service teachers. To find out whether these differences were statistically significant, the t-test was computed. The results showed that there is no statistically significant difference between the male pre-service teachers (M = 2.16, SD = 0.59) and the female pre-service teachers in terms of facing lesson plan issues (M = 2.22, SD = 0.69), t (144) = -0.568, p > 0.05, (two tailed). The null hypothesis was not rejected. The differences indicated by the descriptive results were not considered relevant. Lesson plan issues were therefore considered to be faced equally by both genders. In relation to the challenge of staff receptiveness, between male and female pre-service teachers, the descriptive results showed that there were differences between the mean value (7.86) of the male pre-service teachers and the mean value (8.88) of the female pre-service teachers in relation to the challenges of staff receptiveness. This showed that the female pre-service teachers encountered issues of staff receptiveness more than the male pre- service teachers. To further determine whether these differences were statistically significant, the t-test was computed. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the male pre-service teachers (M = 7.86, SD = 2.37) and female pre-service teachers in terms of challenges related to staff receptiveness (M = 8.88, SD = 2.54), t (144) = -2.322, p < 0.05, (two tailed). Hence, the null hypothesis was rejected. It can be concluded that Digitized by UCC, Library 118 the female pre-service teachers encountered more challenges in terms of staff receptiveness challenges than the male pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers, both male and female also had differences in challenges bordering on bad students’ characteristics. The male pre-service teachers responses indicated that they faced lesser challenges in relation to bad student characteristics (M = 10.18) as compared to that of the female pre- service teachers (M = 10.67). The t-test showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the male pre-service teachers (M = 10.18, SD = 3.06) and the female pre-service teachers in terms of bad students characteristics challenges (M = 10.67, SD = 2.72), t (144) = -0.910, p < 0.05, (two tailed). The null hypothesis was therefore rejected. It was concluded that the female pre-service teachers encountered higher challenges in terms of bad students’ characteristics challenges than the male pre-service teachers. Finally, the descriptive results showed that there were differences in the mean value (8.40) of the male pre-service teachers, in terms of challenges faced in adopting appropriate teaching methods during their OFCTP, and the mean value (8.58) of the female pre-service teachers. This means that the female pre-service teachers did not find it easy adopting learner-centered methodologies compared to their male counterparts. These differences were subjected to statistical test. The t-test results showed that there were statistically significant difference between the challenges faced by the male pre-service teachers (M = 8.40, SD = 2.44) and that of the female pre-service teachers regarding the use of appropriate teaching methods during OFCTP (M = 8.58, SD = 2.74); t (144) = -0.400, p < 0.05, (two tailed). Due to that, the null hypothesis was rejected and the conclusion drawn was that the female Digitized by UCC, Library 119 pre-service teachers encountered more difficulty in appropriate adopting teaching methods during OFCTP than the male pre-service teachers. From the findings, it was revealed that there were no significant differences in the challenges relating to role ambiguity, resource availability, supervision issues, assessment issues, trainee disposition, trainee preparedness and lesson plan issues as faced by male and female pre-service teachers. However, in relation to staff receptiveness, it was established that female teachers encountered this problem more than their male counterparts. According to Merchant (2012) men and women differ psychologically in the way they act, from the style in which they communicate to the way in which they attempt to influence others. Staff receptiveness borders on the extent to which the partner schools accommodate pre-service teachers and make strides to work with them. Several researchers suggest that women are more likely than men to seek social support at the workplace(Ashton & Fuerhrer, 1993; Richman, 1989), it is therefore possible that women’s workplace friendships will be more affected by negative or stressful workplace environment than men’s. In light of the above statement, female pre-service teachers are likely to be affected by staff unreceptiveness in their partner schools than the male pre-service teachers. This may account for the differences between the two sexes in relation to the challenge of staff receptiveness. A teacher’s gender may also affect the effective management of classroom behavioural problems. It is common belief that female teachers are less firm when it comes to management of classroom misbehaviours and may not be able to effectively manage the classroom as their male Digitized by UCC, Library 120 counterparts. The differences between male and female pre-service teachers about challenges emanating from student characteristics corroborates the findings of Omoteso & Semudara (2011) that male teachers are more in control of their classrooms because they are autocratic, rigid, impersonal, assertive and more aggressive than female teachers. Female pre-service teachers may have encountered higher challenges in relation to student characteristic because of their approach to student management compared to the males. The finding indicating differences among male and female pre-service teachers about challenges in relation to their adopted teaching method confirms the findings of Lacey, Saleh and Gorman 1998; Starbuck 2003;Grasha, 1994; Singer 1996 and Statham, Richardson and Cook 1991 that women tend to be more likely to use a facilitator or delegator style of teacher than males. This suggests that females are more likely to be inclusive in the teaching methods they adopt than the males. The use of the discussion method by pre-service teachers may be more challenging during real life classroom experiences. Since the females are more inclined towards the use of such methods they are likely to face more challenges in relation to adopted teaching methods than the males, in this case the discussion versus the lecture method. Differences Between Type of School and the Challenges Faced by Pre- Service Teachers During Field Experiences. In Ghana, Senior high schools have been categorized for selection and entry. The bases for such categories are often dependent on the type of school (private or public), resource availability and academic achievement, location, cut-off point. Since these senior high schools differ in terms of slots allocated Digitized by UCC, Library 121 for selection, the possibility exists that the challenges the pre-service teachers encountered may have been influenced by the type of practicing school. This research hypothesis thus sought to find out whether or not the challenges that the pre-service teachers encountered were school type sensitive. In order to find out whether these challenges encountered by the pre- service teachers were influenced by the type of practicing school, one way ANOVA was computed at a significance level of 0.05. The levene’s result (Appendix E) of equality of variance showed that the practicing school types were assumed to have equal variances. The ANOVA result (Appendix E) showed that there is no statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one way ANOVA for poor students characteristics [F (3,142) = 0.621, p = .0.602]; for staff receptiveness [F (3,142) = 0.285, p = 0.836]; for poor role ambiguity [F (3,142) = 0.377, p = 0.770]; for resource availability [F (3,142) = 0.914, p = 0.436]; for supervision issues [F (3,142) = 0.577, p = 0.631]; for negative assessment issues [F (3,142) = 1.457, p = 0.229]; for poor trainee disposition [F (3,142) = 0.622, p = 0.602]; for pre-service teacher unpreparedness [F (3,142) = 0.786, p = 0.503]; for adopted teaching method challenges [F (3,142) = 1.318, p = 0.271]; and for lesson plan issues [F (3,142) = 1.191, p = 0.315]. It is therefore concluded that type of practicing school had no influence on the challenges that pre-service teachers encountered. This may be attributable to the generalisability of the reality of the experience of pre- service teachers’ regardless of the practicing school. Since, these challenges appear to be exclusive to students, it may be safe to deduce that all the practicing schools might be exhibiting the same organizational characteristics Digitized by UCC, Library 122 and therefore providing the same environmental context for pre-service teachers. Digitized by UCC, Library 123 CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction This chapter summarizes the study in order to provide appropriate conclusions for the study. Based on the conclusions and findings, recommendations are made as well as suggestions for further research. Summary of the Study Supervised practical experience for every teacher education programme is expected to provide a very solid basis for professional development and subsequent assimilation into the teaching profession. In teacher education, the OFCTP component is highly valued (Wilson, 2006) because it helps to deepen students’ experiences by providing professional insight. It also provides pre-service teachers with an opportunity to put into practice knowledge and skills developed through teacher preparation programme through an on-site experience in partner schools as well as opportunities for formal and informal candidate reflection on their actual teaching experience However many researchers have identified a number of challenges faced by pre-service teachers during their practicum (Ligadu, 2005; Azeem, 2011; Saricoban, 2010). The experiential nature of the off-campus teaching practice however predisposes students to some challenging and difficult situations that may be evident in practical teaching experiences. This suggests that the experience may in some ways be problematic for pre-service teachers. This study therefore sought to assess some of the challenges that pre- service teachers face during their off-campus teaching practice. The researcher sought to address and test the following research questions Digitized by UCC, Library 124 1. What challenges do pre-service teachers face during off-campus teaching practice? 2. What is the relationship between the challenges encountered by pre- service teachers and their teaching performance? 3. What is the influence of the challenges of pre-service teachers during field experiences on trainee perception of the teaching profession? The following hypotheses were also formulated: 1. H0: There is no statistically significant difference between male and female pre-service teachers about the challenges of field experiences. H1: There is a statistically significant difference between male and female pre-service teachers about the challenges of field experiences. 2. H0: There is no statistically significant difference between type of school and the challenges faced by pre-service teachers during field experiences. H1: There is a statistically significant difference between type of school and the challenges faced by pre-service teachers during field experiences A descriptive survey was employed as the research design by the researcher. The population of the study comprised all final year (Level 400) management education students from the University of Cape Coast who had successfully completed their off-campus teaching practice within the 2015- 2016 academic year. A total population of 188 final year Management Education students which comprised 173 B.Ed Management students and 15 B.Ed Social Sciences students were targeted for the study. A sample size of Digitized by UCC, Library 125 146 was selected for the study using the proportionate random sampling technique. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected using a questionnaire and interview guide. The teaching performance scores for the pre-service teachers were also collected for further analysis The data obtained were analysed using both descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (correlation, multiple regression, independent t-test and ANOVA). Key Findings The key findings of the study include the following: 1. The study revealed that pre-service teachers faced partner school related challenges such as poor staff receptiveness, role ambiguity, resource availability/accessibility and bad student characteristics. Challenges in relation to the training institutions bordering on supervision issues, lesson plan issues and assessment issues also emerged from the study. Challenges related to the trainee such as those in terms of poor trainee disposition, inappropriate teaching methods and trainee unpreparedness were also found. 2. The study found a statistically significant relationship between the challenges of staff receptiveness, trainee disposition, adopted teaching methods and trainees teaching performance. 3. It was found that pre-service teachers had negative perception towards the teaching profession as a result of their field experience. The study also revealed poor staff receptiveness and inappropriate teaching Digitized by UCC, Library 126 method significantly predicted the pre-service teachers’ negative perception of the teaching profession. 4. The study revealed that there were no significant differences in the challenges of role ambiguity, resource availability, supervision issues, assessment issues, trainee disposition, trainee preparedness, and lesson plan issues between male pre-service and female pre-service teachers. However, the study established a statistically significant difference in the challenges of staff receptiveness, student characteristics and adopted teaching methods between the male pre-service teachers and female pre-service teachers 5. There was no statistically significant difference in the type of practicing school in relation to the challenges encountered by the pre- service teachers. Conclusions Pre-service teachers struggle with a number of challenges during their OFCTP, if such are left unaddressed it is likely to affect their ability to teach effectively during their OFCTP. These challenges may as well stifle the ability of pre-service teachers to perform during their practicum. This suggests that pre-service teachers may not only view their field experiences as burdensome over time but may become nonchalant about doing their best doing during their OFCTP and subsequently passing out into the teaching profession. Some challenges were also identified to have a negative relationship with performance. These challenges may in time prove to be a force to reckon with if steps are not taken to address such challenges. Challenging situations Digitized by UCC, Library 127 often lead to negative outcomes; in this case, it may lead to the eventuality of affecting pre-service teachers’ teaching performance during OFTCP. A few challenges were found to be predictors of pre-service teachers’ perception about the teaching profession. These challenges may therefore become factors in deciding whether pre-service teachers will be enthusiastic about entering the teaching profession or decide otherwise after training. If these challenges lead to a negative effect on pre-service teachers’ perception, the teacher education programme becomes a failed attempt at producing teachers. The difference that emerged between male and female pre-service teachers in relation to the challenges identified suggests that female pre- service teachers are more inclined towards the use of teaching methods that are not student friendly (e.g. the lecture method). It is possible that female pre- service teachers preferred to use such methods to ease their experience of real classroom teaching. Female teacher also seem to be affected more by the environment and student characteristics in partner schools. If females who are often more emotional are not supported by partner schools, there is the likelihood that they may become discouraged from pursuing a teaching career as a result of their experience from the OFCTP. The challenges that pre-service teachers faced during their off-campus teaching practice was independent of the practicing school. It is possible that the schools presented the same kind of challenges to the students. Recommendations On the basis of the findings revealed by this study and the conclusions that were drawn, the following recommendations are proposed: Digitized by UCC, Library 128 1. It may be prudent for the College of Education Studies to work through the Teaching Practice Unit to take a second look at the field experiences of pre-service teachers. Orientation programmes for both students and supervisors must be structured to address the challenges pre-service teachers face during their field experiences. It is critical that such challenges are lessened to enable pre-service teachers to assimilate easily into their OFCTP. 2. It may be relevant for the TPU and supervisors to assess the effect of the challenges pre-service teachers encounter during their field experiences on their teaching performance to determine whether the effect is significant. Immediate steps should be taken to ensure that the challenges are reduced. 3. In relation to the challenges that have an influence on pre-service teachers’ perception, The Teaching Practice Unit must intensify its efforts at ensuring that partner schools provide a conducive environment for pre-service teachers. Supervisors must help pre- service teachers to identify and use teaching methods that will help sustain students’ interest during their field experiences. This is to help alter pre-service teachers’ negative perception about the teaching profession. 4. Orientation programmes developed by the TPU must be structured to give special attention to female pre-service teachers to help them to overcome challenges related to adopted teaching methods. Lecturers/ supervisors must also be particular about ensuring that female pre- service teachers learn and are willing to use student friendly teaching Digitized by UCC, Library 129 methods to help them overcome the challenges they face. Partner schools must also be encouraged to provide peculiar support for female pre-service teachers to encourage them about their experience. However, precautionary measures must be taken to prevent reverse discrimination, in this case, a situation where the male pre-service teachers is left out. 5. The TPU must liaise with partner schools to help provide an atmosphere free from the challenges of field experiences as perceived by pre-service teachers during their OFCTP. Monitoring teams must also intensify their supervision activities to ensure that practicing schools are committed to helping and providing authentic experiences to pre-service teachers during their field experiences Suggestions for Further Research Taking into consideration the scope and limitations of this study, the researcher suggest that further research be conducted into the following areas: 1. 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Rethinking the connections between campus courses and field experiences in college and university based teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education. 61(1-2), 89-99. Zeichner, K.M. (1980). Myths and realities: Field-based experiences in pre- service teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 31(6), 45-9, 51-55. Digitized by UCC, Library 152 APPENDICES Digitized by UCC, Library 153 APPENDIX A UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST COLLEGE OF EDUCATION STUDIES FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES EDUCATION QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS This questionnaire is developed to assess the challenges faced by pre-service teachers during their off-campus teaching practice. Students are assured of strict confidentiality and anonymity for all the information they provide. Students are therefore not required to provide their names and registration number. SECTION A Students Preliminary Information Instruction: Please answer the following questions by writing or ticking [√] where appropriate. 1. Programme of study ………………………………………………………… 2. Students’ level ………………………….. 3. Gender male female 4. Name of practicing school ……………………………………………………………… SECTION B CHALLENGES OF THE OFF-CAMPUS TEACHING PRACTICE EXPERIENCE AS PERCEIVED BY THE PRE-SERVICE TEACHER Instruction; Below are statements on a five (5) point scale relating to some challenges you may have faced on your off-campus teaching practice. Please indicate your response by ticking (√) the scale which best describes the challenges you faced during your off-campus teaching practice S/N Challenges of the off-campus teaching practice SA A U SD D 5. There was no official school introduction by the school headmaster 6. Some supervisors insisted that I teach even when I did not have a lesson 7. My lessons sometimes clashed with other lessons 8. I was unable to use the discussion method because the students were not cooperative Digitized by UCC, Library 154 S/N Challenges of the off-campus teaching practice SA A U SD D 9. It was sometimes difficult to control my class during my lesson presentation 10. Some supervisors were reluctant to visit our school because of its location 11. My mentor did not monitor my progress at all after handing over the class 12. I always had to plead with students to behave before my supervision commenced 13. Some supervisors did not listen to anything I had to say in my defense 14. The school teachers did not make me feel like I was a part of the school community 15. There were no clear disciplinary actions for students misbehavior 16. Some supervisors marked our lesson plan but did not observe our lesson 17. I was assigned demanding school tasks that made it difficult for me to prepare for my lesson plan on time 18. The school library did not have the recommended textbooks 19. My mentor always interfered and made interjections in my class 20. Some of the school teachers were unfriendly 21. Some supervisors did not make available our Form B after supervision 22. Sitting arrangement impeded the effectiveness of my lesson 23. Some supervisors were more concerned about my teaching than my lesson plan 24. Some supervisors complained that my lesson plan was too detailed 25. Some supervisors failed to explain their comments indicated in my lesson plan 26. My mentor sometimes complained that my teaching pace was slow 27. I sometimes went to class without a TLM 28. Some students were loud, uncooperative and disruptive in class 29. Some students always made me upset in the classroom 30. My mentor did not believe I was capable of handling the class 31. Some students misbehaved because they did not consider me a permanent teacher Digitized by UCC, Library 155 S/N Challenges of the off-campus teaching practice SA A U SD D 32. I was not always confident in my lesson delivery 33. My class was not always interesting 34. I only prepared my lesson notes for supervision 35. I was unable to sustain students’ interest for longer lesson durations 36. I sometimes had to go to class with my own marker/chalk and duster 37. Some supervisors criticized my lesson but did not provide any guidance for improvement 38. Some topics were difficult for me to teach 39. My mentor was sometimes unfriendly and uncooperative 40. I was sometimes unable to answer students’ questions 41. I sometimes had to assume an authoritarian posture in order to make students comply 42. My practice school lacked the needed teaching equipment 43. Some supervisors’ directive on my lesson plan run contrary to what I was taught 44. Some supervisors were unapproachable and unfriendly 45. The intimidating nature of some supervisors made me tense during my lesson delivery 46. Some students were deliberately mischievous in the presence of my supervisor 47. The presence of the supervisor sometimes made me uncomfortable 48. Some supervisors told us we had already failed the practice 49. I sometimes had to delay my lesson because some supervisors were late 50. It was difficult to use a variety of methods to sustain students’ interest for longer lesson duration 51. I was sometimes unable to prepare my lesson plan before going to class 52. I sometimes had too rush to prepare my lesson plan before going to class 53. I was not always enthusiastic about teaching Digitized by UCC, Library 156 SECTION C PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION OF THE TEACHING PROFESSION BASED ON THEIR FIELD EXPERIENCES Instruction: Below are statements on a three (3) point scale relating to how the challenges of your perception of the teaching profession after the OFCTP. Please indicate your response by ticking (√) the scale which best describes your perceptions. S/N Challenges of the off-campus teaching practice SA A U SD D 54. Some supervisors assessment did not give any new ideas 55. Teaching for longer periods was not easy at all 56. Some supervisors requested that I change my school because the location was inaccessible 57. I only read what was in the syllabus and recommended textbooks 58. It was difficult to find TLM’s for some topics I taught 59. I had to call the class down all the time during my presentation 60. My team leader always had to call supervisors before they visited our centre 61. Some external supervisors interacted with my mentor about my teaching 62. I always used the lecture method because I was very well prepared 63. Some supervisors made very harsh comments about my delivery 64. Some supervisors were always late for my lesson S/N Experiences during off-campus teaching practice Positive Neutral Negative 65. There was no official school introduction by the school headmaster 66 Some supervisors insisted that I teach even when I did not have a lesson 67. My lessons sometimes clashed with other lessons 68. I was unable to use the discussion method because the students were not cooperative 69. It was sometimes difficult to control my class during my lesson presentation 70. Some supervisors were reluctant to visit our school because of its location 71. My mentor did not monitor my progress at all after handing over the class Digitized by UCC, Library 157 S/N Experiences during off-campus teaching practice Positive Neutral Negative 72. I always had to plead with students to behave before my supervision commenced 73. Some supervisors did not listen to anything I had to say in my defense 74. The school teachers did not make me feel like I was a part of the school community 75. There were no clear disciplinary actions for students misbehavior 76. Some supervisors marked our lesson plan but did not observe our lesson 77. I was assigned demanding school tasks that made it difficult for me to prepare for my lesson plan on time 78. The school library did not have the recommended textbooks 79. My mentor always interfered and made interjections in my class 80. Some of the school teachers were unfriendly 81. Some supervisors did not make available our Form B after supervision 82. Sitting arrangement impeded the effectiveness of my lesson 83. Some supervisors were more concerned about my teaching than my lesson plan 84. Some supervisors complained that my lesson plan was too detailed 85. Some supervisors failed to explain their comments indicated in my lesson plan 86. My mentor sometimes complained that my teaching pace was slow 87. I sometimes went to class without a TLM 88. Some students were loud, uncooperative and disruptive in class 89. Some students always made me upset in the classroom 90. My mentor did not believe I was capable of handling the class 91. Some students misbehaved because they did not consider me a permanent teacher 92. I was not always confident in my lesson delivery 93. My class was not always interesting 94. I only prepared my lesson notes for supervision 95. I was unable to sustain students’ interest for longer lesson durations 96. I sometimes had to go to class with my own marker/chalk and duster Digitized by UCC, Library 158 S/N Experiences during off-campus teaching practice Positive Neutral Negative 97. Some supervisors criticized my lesson but did not provide any guidance for improvement 98. Some topics were difficult for me to teach 99. My mentor was sometimes unfriendly and uncooperative 100. I was sometimes unable to answer students’ questions 101. I sometimes had to assume an authoritarian posture in order to make students comply 102. My practice school lacked the needed teaching equipment 103. Some supervisors’ directive on my lesson plan run contrary to what I was taught 104. Some supervisors were unapproachable and unfriendly 105. The intimidating nature of some supervisors made me tense during my lesson delivery 106. Some students were deliberately mischievous in the presence of my supervisor 107. The presence of the supervisor sometimes made me uncomfortable 108. Some supervisors told us we had already failed the practice 109. I sometimes had to delay my lesson because some supervisors were late 110. It was difficult to use a variety of methods to sustain students’ interest for longer lesson duration 111. I was sometimes unable to prepare my lesson plan before going to class 112. I sometimes had too rush to prepare my lesson plan before going to class 113. I was not always enthusiastic about teaching 114. Some supervisors assessment did not give any new ideas 115. Teaching for longer periods was not easy at all 116. Some supervisors requested that I change my school because the location was inaccessible 117. I only read what was in the syllabus and recommended textbooks 118. It was difficult to find TLM’s for some topics I taught 119. I had to call the class down all the time 120 My team leader always had to call supervisors before they visited our centre Digitized by UCC, Library 159 S/N Experiences during off-campus teaching practice Positive Neutral Negative 121. Some external supervisors interacted with my mentor about my teaching 122. I always used the lecture method because I was very well prepared 123. Some supervisors made very harsh comments about my delivery 124. Some supervisors were always late for my lessons Digitized by UCC, Library 160 APPENDIX B UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST COLLEGE OF EDUCATION STUDIES FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIA SCIENCES EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES EDUCATION FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW PROTOCOL INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR STUDENTS This interview guide is developed for the purpose of an interview to assess the possible challenges faced by pre-service teachers during their off-campus teaching practice. Students are assured of strict confidentiality and anonymity for all the information they provide. Students’ preliminary information 1. Are you Management education students? 2. Are you in your final year? Questions 3. Where did you undertake your off-campus teaching practice? 4. What were some of the challenges you faced during your off-campus teaching practice? 5. What was the general atmosphere of your practicing school? 6. Was the staff of the school receptive? 7. Were you given extra school duties that were challenging? 8. Did you have access to all the needed teaching and learning resources? 9. What was your mentor’s general attitude towards you? 10. Were your students co-operative throughout your off-campus teaching practice? 11. How challenging was supervision for you? 12. Did your supervisors have any problems with your lesson plan? 13. Do you think you were assessed fairly? 14. Were you always confident during your lesson delivery? 15. Were you always prepared for your lesson delivery? 16. What preferred teaching method did you adopt for your lesson presentation? 17. What is your perception of the teaching profession after your off- campus teaching practice experience? 18. Do you think teaching is a demanding profession? 19. Do you want to become a teacher after your off-campus teaching practice experience? 20. Can you please suggest ways in which the off-campus teaching practice may be improved? Digitized by UCC, Library 161 APPENDIX C Digitized by UCC, Library 162 APPENDIX D DATA CODING/ORGANIZATION The data collected from the questionnaire was grouped under the following main themes and subthemes. PARTNER SCHOOL Staff receptiveness Q5. There was no official school introduction by the school headmaster Q.14. The school teachers did not make me feel like I was a part of the school community Q15. There were no clear disciplinary actions for student misbehavior Q.20 Some of the school teachers were unfriendly Role ambiguity Q7. My lessons sometimes clashed with other lessons Q17. I was assigned demanding school tasks that made it difficult for me to prepare for my lesson plan on time Resource availability/accessibility Q.36. I sometimes had to go to class with my own marker/chalk and duster Q.18. the school library did not have the recommended textbooks Q.42. my practice school lacked the needed teaching equipment Q.22. Sitting arrangement impeded the effectiveness of my lesson Mentor cooperativeness Q.11. My mentor did not monitor my progress at all after handing over the class Q.19. My mentor always interfered and made interjections in my class Q.26. My mentor sometimes complained that my teaching pace was slow Q.39. My mentor was sometimes unfriendly and uncooperative Q.30. My mentor did not believe I was capable of handling the class Student characteristics Q.59. I had to call the class down all the time during my presentation Q.28. Some students were loud, uncooperative and disruptive in class Q.31. Some students misbehaved because they did not consider me a permanent teacher Q.46. Some students were deliberately mischievous in the presence of my supervisor Q.12. I always had to plead with students to behave before my supervision commenced Digitized by UCC, Library 163 TRAINING INSTITUTION Supervision issues Q.10. Some supervisors were reluctant to visit our school because of its location Q.44. Some supervisors were unapproachable and unfriendly Q.60. My team leader always had to call supervisors before they visited our centre Q.56. Some supervisors requested that I change my school because the location was inaccessible Q.37. Some supervisors criticized my lesson but did not provide any guidance for improvement Q.61. Some external supervisors interacted with my mentor about my teaching Q.64. Some supervisors were always late for my lesson Q.16. Some supervisors marked our lesson plan but did not observe our lesson Q.13. Some supervisors did not listen to anything I had to say in my defense Q.6. Some supervisors insisted that I teach even when I did not have a lesson Q.45. The intimidating nature of some supervisors made me tense during my lesson delivery Q.49. I sometimes had to delay my lesson because some supervisors were late Assessment issues Q.54. Some supervisors assessment did not give any new ideas Q.63. Some supervisors made very harsh comments about my delivery Q.48. Some supervisors told us we had already failed the practice Q.21. Some supervisors did not make available our Form B after supervision Lesson plan issues Q.23. Some supervisors were more concerned about my teaching than my lesson plan Q.24 Some supervisors complained that my lesson plan was too detailed Q.25. Some supervisors failed to explain their comments indicated in my lesson plan Q.43. Some supervisors’ directive on my lesson plan run contrary to what I was taught TRAINEE RELATED Trainee disposition Q.33. My class was not always interesting Q.32. I was not always confident in my lesson delivery Q29. Some students always made me upset in the classroom Q.47. The presence of the supervisor sometimes made me uncomfortable Digitized by UCC, Library 164 Q.41. I sometimes had to assume an authoritarian posture in order to make students comply Q.53. I was not always enthusiastic about teaching Q.9. It was sometimes difficult to control my class during my lesson presentation Q.35. I was unable to sustain students’ interest for longer lesson durations Preparedness Q.51. I was sometimes unable to prepare my lesson plan before going to class Q.52. I sometimes had too rush to prepare my lesson plan before going to class Q.57. I only read what was in the syllabus and recommended textbooks Q.58. It was difficult to find TLM’s for some topics I taught Q.40. I was sometimes unable to answer students’ questions Q.38. Some topics were difficult for me to teach Q.34. I only prepared my lesson notes for supervision Q.27. I sometimes went to class without a TLM Adopted teaching method Q.8. I was unable to use the discussion method because the students were not cooperative Q.55. Teaching for longer periods was not easy at all Q.62. I always used the lecture method because I was very well prepared Q.50. It was difficult to use a variety of methods to sustain students’ interest for longer lesson duration For the coding, the items were assigned numerical values of 1, 2,3,4,5 for each of the following: i. “Strongly Agree” (4); “Agree” (3); “Uncertain” (0); “Disagree”(2); “Strongly Disagree” (1) ii. “Positive” (2); “Neutral” (0); “Negative” (1) Digitized by UCC, Library 165 APPENDIX E TRANSCRIPT Location: D.B.S.S.E Duration: Discussion 1 (38 Mins, 3s), Discussion 2 (40 Mins, 5s) Time; 10:00 am Keys/ Coding R: Researcher Q: Question P: participant DISCUSSION 1 R : Q1. 1. P(all); in unison; Yes madam R : Q2. 2. P(all) Unison;yes madam R : Q3. 3. P1. : Accra Academy P2. : Wesley Grammar P3. : Dwaaso Senior High School P4. : Oguaa Senior Technical School P5. : Twifo Praso Secondary high School P6. : Ebenezer Senior High P7. : Angel Senior High P8. : Asamankese Senior High School P9. : Eguafo Senior High School P10. : Tema Methodist day R: Q4. 4. P1; a. in my case enough food was not provided for us and I didn’t get enough supervision until the final weeks of the programme R: okay but in terms of food were they bringing food to the staff Digitized by UCC, Library 166 5. P1; yeah, but R: but you weren’t given food or it was not enough? 6. P1; it wasn’t enough R: but you were given food 7. P1; like, it was given to us to share with the national service personnel and the food that came wasn’t enough R: okay but for the permanent staff they had food to eat 8. P1; yes R: okay, okay, yes anymore yes ? 9. P3. :Mine was transportation, although the school had a bus we were not allowed to take the bus due to some management issues that they were having so most of us had to take our own taxis and buses and it was quite expensive, yeah so that was a big challenge because it also weaned our coffers and that was the challenge I personally had. 10. P6. : okay, some supervisors didn’t call before coming, I was just there and they just barged on me like that but I was prepared though so I was able to deliver to expectation and also I had to provide my own marker. The school was not provding maker as expected, that was what I went through. 11. P5.: mine too was about transportation, but the issue was that the bus used to pick students so if you are a teacher and you have to join, you have to wake up early and go and join so by 6:00am you have to leave the house and then go and wait for the bus. 12. P2. : extra periods were allocated to me just because I was an intern whilst the staff were doing nothing. Just because I was there or had nothing doing, they had to allocate extra periods to me. 13. P 8.: mine has to do with our staff room. It was so small we had to stand under trees, we the interns. 14. P2.: and the poor performance of the students was blamed on us and some of them had to ask us to make adjustments to the results just to meet up with the other schools like Achimota and the rest of them which was really bad. R: Q5 15. R: what I want to know is , were they receptive, the staff, were they ready to work with you, do you get it ? or were they hostile. 16. P1.: in my case they were very cool, like the atmosphere was very welcoming. They taught us a lot during the times that we shared with them when we were in the staff room and they provided us with TLM’s that we needed for our lessons. 17. P2.: some of them were discriminative in the early stages but as time went on they got used to us, they warmed up to us. Digitized by UCC, Library 167 18. P10.: for my school there, at the start, the teachers were friendly but as time went on they started being , I don’t know the word but, discriminative sometimes and they were accusing most of us of having relationships with the students. Meanwhile it was the permanent teachers who were doing that so there was confusion between the interns and the national service persons and the staff. 19. R: did you also face the same challenge. 20. P8.: yes, I did R: yes, anymore, the atmosphere of the school? 21. P5.: mine the teachers were friendly with us, we didn’t have any challenge with them and they were willing to help us if you had any problem with your subject, they were willing to do that. R: Q6 22. R: ok you have already mentioned that for some of you it was receptive and for others it was not . R: Q7. 23. P10. : we were given a few extra classes, we had to close around 4:30pm whilst the teachers were there doing nothing and during their exams, we were the ones invigilating the students and the teachers were not doing anything. The permanent teachers, they were not doing anything, and when you came late, they would be shouting on you and other things so we thought, but during some stage we decided not to go at all because we thought we are done with the teaching but we were encouraged by other teachers to do it. 24. P1. : in my case, we were, like, I got the required number of periods I was supposed to get and besides that we were asked to check on the form 1’s who came but it was not a tedious work. So in my case, it was manageable. 25. P3.: my case was the invigilation during the exams, most teachers dodged, errm, we were mixed so most of the teachers dodged their periods so maybe when it was time for them to do the invigilation, because they know that we are around, they just add up to ours so maybe if we are doing 2 classes a day, we were asked to do 4 classes for the invigilation because they thought that we were there doing nothing. Most of them went home and all that, so they just pushed everything on us because we were around 26. P3.: Same issue 27. P5. : mine too was that they gave me extra load like typing their exam questions and they said that while I am typing the questions, they will not be given, assigned to any invigilation but later on, when I was done, I was also called to come and invigilate nad sometimes with the typing of questions, since I was an attachee, I wasn’t allowed to send the questions home. I was made to type it at the school and with this Digitized by UCC, Library 168 ‘dumsor’, sometimes you go home around 5:00pm because when you are typing and the lights go off, you have to wait till it comes then you continue . but with regards to the permanent staff, they were allowed to take theirs home. 28. P6.: and mine too, please I was made to do everything that a teacher would do . that is from preparation of lesson notes, teaching, setting questions, invigilation and marking, everything that comes with the job I did. 29. R: but that didn’t make it challenging for you, did it ? 30. P6.: no, no, it didn’t make it challenging 31. R: ok so it taught you a lot 32. P6. : yeah it taught me a lot. It gave me the experience. 33. R: so it wasn’t extra duties that were added too R: Q8 34. P2. : no it was difficult, I had to improvise all the time, one time, I needed a certificate with a seal on it and I couldn’t find mine, I brought it ti school but couldn’t find mine and I think GES was checking all teacher’s certificate, no one wanted to give me theirs, I just needed it for some few minutes and no one gave it to me so I had to improvise all the time. 35. P1.: in my case, I had all the TLM’s that I needed except some one or two that I had to download from the internet and then use it. so in my case it was ok. 36. P5. : mine was the school was not providing the TLM, but the issue is if I told my mentor that I need this and he thinks he can get it, he will give it to me but if he doesn’t he will just download it for me and print it for me. 37. P3.: in my case, there was no TLM provided. I had to buy it myself and if you asked them they say they don’t have. Even the simple ones that they think maybe at every school it will be available for us, at least all schools. 38. R: simple ones like? 39. P3. : simple ones like, errm, cardboards that was this, like sheets that maybe you write something on it or maybe you do some examples on it, they were not provided. Yeah, they were saying it was limited and all that. R: did you face the same challenge? 40. P6. : yes I had to provide my own TLM’s, I just had to think and when the need be that I buy, I have to buy it with my own money. If it is printing, I do it with my own money, everything came from me and none from the school. 41. P7. : with the TLR’s, like when I went there , all that I was given was the teaching syllabus, that was all. So everything that has to be used in Digitized by UCC, Library 169 teaching, I had to provide it on my own taking into consideration textbooks and other things, so one particular lady that I went with, she bought one ‘Gabet’ , so that was what we were using throughout. The school did not provide anything. All that was given was the syllabus, that was all. 42. P8. : for me , I didn’t know if the teachers did not know TLM because you ask them and they tell you to go and teach so I had to do everything. They see you holding cardboard and they say “wokora woha wo ho too much” , yeah so I had to do everything. R: Q9 43. P9. : mine, personally, she was offering her masters so she was in a way friendly to me so that I would take over all the duties. 44. P1. : in my case, he was very supportive, he criticised me when I needed to be criticized and then he gave me the thumbs up when my performance was good. 45. P7. : with regards to my own, he was very supportive, one particular aspect was, he was my teacher at the time of me being in S.H.S so actually, he supported me in diverse ways, if I have problems with the class, I complain to him and he tells me everything that I need to know. So in all round, he was supportive. 46. P6. : yes my mentor was really supported me, he told me how to go about certain things and then how to keep the students on track. He was really supportive. 47. P5. : mine too, he was supportive but the issue is that the moment I came to the school, he handed everything over to me. At a point in time, even my first week, I was expecting him to take me to the class and then introduce me but he didn’t do that, it was a colleague teacher who did that. 48. R: but was he supervising you from time to time? Were you always going to class alone ? 49. P5. : oh no, I was going to class alone. He wasn’t coming to class, it was rather a colleague teacher. My mentor was the head of department for the business department so it was a teacher from the business department who used to. R: Did you face the same kind of challenge? Did your mentor come around to supervise you? 50. P7. : not really. 51. P2. : no, he didn’t have time. 52. P4. : once 53. P 10. : the first two weeks she came to supervise me but after, the subsequent ones, she didn’t come. 54. P8. : for me, he just went once, that was all Digitized by UCC, Library 170 55. P1. : my mentor, he was always with me. In situations where I found it difficult to explain certain things, he came in to help me. R: Q10 56. P (ALL) : in unison, Yes 57. P1. : I had to punish them a little for them to act right 58. R: ok, did you have the same experiences, 59. P5.: at first, they were cooperative but later on, they tend to change especially when supervisors come at the time that we don’t have management and you are trying to ,get them to teach, they will be telling you, we don’t have it, I didn’t bring my notebook today. They will be giving you a whole lot of stories so if you convince them and send them to class, if you ask them questions, they feel reluctant to answer. 60. P3.: mine, they were very cooperative, very very cooperative from the beginning to end and that was the relationship I was able to build with them, even if we didn’t have BM, and then a supervisor comes, they say that ooh as for sir Rich, sir this , this , we will do it for him 61. P7.: I had the privilege to teach the form 3 students whom they have been supervised with a mentee before so actually, they comported themselves and sometimes they even bring out issues that I have not taught them in class and that made the class very lively. Some of the supervisors actually commended them on that so they were very cooperative and supportive R: Q11 62. P.2 : not challenging at all. 63. P1. : my problem was with the time they came. It was when we started the term I had one supervision during the first week but I didn’t get any till the final two weeks of the period where we were supposed to do the off-campus and it brought some pressure to me. 64. P8. : for me, the last person who came to supervise, I don’t know, during the supervision, he was on the phone, he didn’t even see me use my TLM and later on, he was asking me if I used it. I had to show it to him for him to cancel it on my form because he wrote it that I did not use it but I did, he was making a call so he did not see it. 65. P6. : yes my supervision was really challenging, especially, we started off-campus on the 5 th of August and on The 7 th , I had my first supervision and he came without telling me, in fact I would have better understood inner sweating if someone had described it at that stage. I was so tensed up, I just, I was so confused but all the same I was able to deliver. 66. P5. : my case was that from the start, the supervisors were not coming but getting to the latter part of it that they started pressuring, even the Digitized by UCC, Library 171 last supervisor came at the time that the student were on revision and they were preparing for exams the next day. 67. P3. : mine was with the timing aspect , it was that, one supervisor didn’t supervise me but he wrote something on my sheet. I was not happy R: he didn’t come in to supervise you at all? 68. P3. : he came but i didn’t teach. What happened was that, when he came, he just gathered all of us who were there and took our lesson plan, met us one by one, just went through the lesson plan for about 5 minutes or 10 minutes, just took TLM and looked at what we were doing . and what happened was that on the assessment sheet, he didn’t write anything, he just wrote our names and index number and just left so we didn’t know the marks that was being allocated to us so we were not happy. That was one of the supervisions that we had. 69. R: ok did you have a similar experience. 70. P9. : yes R: Q12 71. P10. : for me, it was the objectives. Some will say ‘ by the end of the lesson, students should be able to “, some will also say “at the end of the lesson students must be able to”, so we had a slight confusion. R: did you encounter same problems with the lesson plan, 72. P6. : yes, I realized that each and every lecturer had his style that he preferred. Some preferred we use the syllabus as reference, some also didn’t . now some preferred at the end of the lesson, some were also of the view that by the end of the lesson and others also had different things that they also wanted so in fact if you make a correction and the next supervisor will tell you, it should have been that, then you show it to him that no the previous supervisor made me correct this mistake then that is when they accept it or probably he will ask you to change it back and we were just confused. We didn’t know what was right from wrong. 73. P2. : every supervisor had a different way of referencing. We knew the A.P.A style but every single time we do it, there is almost always something wrong with it so everyone had a different way of doing it. R: Q13 74. P1. : I think I was 75. P8. : I was, but some people, they had the opportunity of seeing their marks but me, no, so I don’t know why. 76. P10. : as I said were assessed fairly but it didn’t correspond with the results that came. 77. P2. : same here, the assessment was fair but it did not reflect in the results Digitized by UCC, Library 172 78. P3. : some of my supervisors, the comments they gave and also, I had the opportunity to see some of the results but it didn’t correspond because most of even my mates were thinking that maybe I will get this particular grade but when it came and I didn’t get that, they were all surprised because of the comments that lecturers were giving when they came around. 79. P6. : ok I can’t determine that because some of the lecturers, they will come and then you see them writing your name and index number only to be told that they will go and fill it, I don’t know from where they will get such information but all the same, the grades came and probably what I expected wasn’t what I saw. 80. R: What you expected wasn’t what you saw? 81. P6. : what I was expecting wasn’t what I saw R: you expected to do better? 82. P6. I expected to do better but I saw I didn’t do too well. Not too well but I did better but it wasn’t the best. 83. P1. : there was one supervisor who came and instead of him to tell me my loopholes or where I went wrong so that I could improve upon my teaching, he just left and when I left the class and then asked him, like if he was not going to say anything to me, he said everything is in the notebook so I should read it myself. I disturbed him one time when he was lecturing me when I was in level 200, I think he still bore a grudge I’m not supposed to mention names other than that, I would have. R: Q14 84. P2. : yes 85. P10. : my first supervision, I was a bit shaky but as time went on, my confidence level increased. 86. P5. : not always, during the times that I wasn’t prepared and when a supervisor calls that he is coming whereby I think I am not prepared, I will be shaky. 87. P6. : I was really confident throughout, I knew what I was about and I prepared very well before I came. 88. P7. : my confidence level came as we were on the second supervision because with the first supervision, I wasn’t prepared, actually so I was there when a supervisor called, I’m coming, I’m right at your door step so get prepared for the lesson. So actually, I did my best though but the comment he made was not that to the expectation so compared to the second supervision, which he himself also came to supervise, he then told me there had been an improvement with regards to the first one. The first one was a little bit not good. R: Q15 89. P (ALL): in unison, we were always 90. R: all of you were always ? Digitized by UCC, Library 173 91. P5. : the issue is that sometimes, you will prepare, the supervisor will call you that he is coming so you prepare but you go and he will not come then at the time when you haven’t prepared your lesson note, he will come. There are instances that I used a lesson plan to teach twice but the issue was that I was teaching two different classes so I was just swapping and going to the other class with the same lesson plan. 92. P6. : I was actually always prepared and each new lesson had its own lesson notes. R: so in a situation where the supervisor didn’t call you before coming what happens? 93. P6. : I had already prepared my lesson notes. R: Q16 94. P10. : most of my teaching was discussion R: did you ever use the lecture method? 95. P2.&P1. : yeah 96. P2. : very little 97. P1. The lecture method was used for topics that were a little complex, so I did the lecturing and afterward they asked their questions and I threw more light on those that they didn’t understand and it made their understanding better. 98. P5. : I used the question and answer method. R: Q17 99. P1. : I see teaching to be nice and in my case, due to how, like the teaching practice went, I would love to enter the profession. R: do you all have the same good feelings about teaching? 100. P5. : I see teaching to be a good profession of which I would love to enter. 101. P6. I think teaching is a very nice profession. It’s really nice to be a teacher but the motivation level. You speak to the teachers over there and then some were just advicing you that it is better you end up teaching in the tertiary because way down at the S.H.S, the motivation level is very low. R: so would you want to go to the S.H.S? 102. P6. : no I wouldn’t want to. 103. P3. : just as he said, teaching is a very good profession that imparts knowledge into people but the motivation was really bad. Especially with those that we worked with, even with the extra fees that they were collecting, they were not happy, seriously and even some of the teachers were not motivated to teach when it was time because they were talking about the motivation given by the head and all that. So for me, I will enter not the S.H.S, maybe I will enter the S.H.S if there is no job or something like that but I will aim for the tertiary institution. Digitized by UCC, Library 174 104. P7. : with mine, I think with the motivation, it varies in various schools. Yeah so if really I want to teaching in the S.H.S, I will choose a highly competitive school which I think there will be more motivation for teachers, otherwise, it is not a place I would want to go, no, not at all. 105. P9. : No R: why what went on? 106. P9. : I think it is a difficult profession. 107. P2. : I think teaching is good but it’s a stressful profession. As they said, the motivation level is low and in the second cycle institutions, the means of assessment is very bad. It varies but it is very bad because there is lots of a comparison to high standard schools as compared to the low standard schools or the middle level schools. So assessment is not what we learn in school. It’s a different ball game all together out there. R: Q18 108. P (ALL): in unison, yes 109. P1. : very demanding but it comes with a condition. It is demanding when you the teacher wants to teach very well but if you just want to do something and then go away and take your salary at the end of the month, it won’t be demanding to you. . 110. P4. : it is also demanding when your students are not willing to learn because you have to do all the research and impart to them and still you have problems. 111. P10. : for example if you are teaching in Wesley Girls High School, as a teacher, you have to get well prepared before you enter into the classroom but in some schools, the students , they are not serious, so you the teacher also become something else. You just go there and do anything. R:Q19 112. P1. : yeah 113. P6. : not at the S.H.S 114. P1. : I wouldn’t want to get into a job where I would have to sit in one enclosed area for 8 hours. I would like to see new faces as time goes on, get to know people, that is what I want R: but you can also do that in other professions so if you have the chance to work elsewhere? 115. P1. : in my case, I want to become a teacher but my aim is to go for the tertiary institution but for starters I will take the S.H.S 116. P2. : I don’t think I want to be a teacher but I think I would love to own a school so I can make changes to the educational system in the county. 117. P10. : no Digitized by UCC, Library 175 118. P8. : no R: is this decision shaped by what you faced during OFCTP? 119. P (ALL) : in unison, yes 120. P8. : I had some students who made me enjoy teaching and some made it difficult for me. 121. P10. : yes but not now 122. P6. : we have the passion but reality has taken the passion away. The passion for teaching is there, I would have wanted to become a teacher but you move to the field and the conditions are so bad, you just can’t survive in such a condition. R: do you feel the same way? 123. P3. : personally, I want to become a teacher , no matter the conditions, they are saving people because the school that I went, they really need help so seriously, if I decided, yeah, I am very willing to help them. R: so if that condition didn’t exist, what you faced during OFCTP, would that make you decide to become a teacher? 124. P3. : yeah 125. R: same, you want to become a teacher? 126. P4. : sure I want to become a teacher R: Q20 127. P1. : In my case, I will suggest that after every supervision, the supervisor should sit down with the student and then try to discuss the negative things he found with respect to the student teaching so that the student can improve as time goes on. 128. P2. : I think students should be allowed to see their scores so it would motivate them to do better the next time. 129. P5. : my issue is that the supervisors should inform students when they are coming to supervise them and sometimes too, they will call you at a time when you don’t even have a lesson that day. But they will just call you “ I’m on my way coming” . even some will call and say they are in the school which is bad and also they should allow us to see our results before they paste it. 130. P3. : I will suggest that supervisors who don’t record the marks especially during the supervision should not be allowed to undertake the various supervision and also marks that are given to the students should be known and lastly, if it is possible, the supervision that will be done by the student should be recorded because that will a very (if possible audio) because what we say is what they mark, because sometimes the supervisors who don’t record the marks there, what are the basis they are going to use to give the marks so maybe if it is recorded then it is easier for them to score. Digitized by UCC, Library 176 131. P6. : I think supervisors should meet before coming out to the OFC field and then, they should agree on certain things. For instance, referencing style, we are going by this. I know the university is going by A.P.A style but you do it the A.P.A style you know and then they will come to the field and tell you another A.P.A style you haven’t met before and also with the statement of objectives, they should adopt one style, this is what we want and such styles should be communicated to the student so that we know what we are doing. And also when they come and record our marks, they should make us see it, oo, for this one you had this, for this one you had that so that you know how to improve upon it, then we are making progress, either than that, I wouldn’t say that I will suggest that they should meet us and then tell us our mistakes from after supervision because we were made to understand that that is what they should do. But then I will say they should emphasize that need again because we really need that to improve upon our teaching. 132. P8. : I think we should have supervisors from our department because my last supervisor, I learnt was from physics department, he came and was rather telling me what to teach and I was like I am following the syllabus and he said no,no,no, take this before this and I learnt he went to other schools and a person was teaching and he was rather googling what the person was saying so we should have supervisors from our department who know what we are doing than from other departments. 133. P10. : actually, it was a post graduate students and the supervisor was from HYPER department and they were arguing about communication. He said after teaching the definition, go straight to the importance of communication but the guy said from syllabus he had to move to the steps, so there was confusion there. 134. P1. : I think I agree with what my colleagues are saying, it would be better to get supervisors from our department because in one of the topics that I was teaching, I had to explain consideration and the supervisor didn’t understand consideration in the context that I was using so he made some negative remarks but after the lesson, he called me and asked me what does the consideration mean and I explained it to him but he had already indicated it and deducted marks so it would be better if we get supervisors from our department. END OF DISCUSSION 1 Digitized by UCC, Library 177 DISCUSSION 2. R: Q1. 1. P (ALL): in unison, yes R: Q2. 2. P(ALL): in unison, yes R: Q3. 3. P1. : Ghana Secondary School P2. : Bremen Esikuma S.H.S P3. : Konogo Odumasi S.H.S P4. : Ascension S.H.S P5. : University Practise S.H.S P6. : Wilberg S.H.S P7. : Edinaman S.H.S P8. : Obrakyere S.T.S P9. : Dwaaso S.H.S P10. : Techiman S.H.S P11. : Action S.H.S P12. : Ackro S.T.S P13. : St Peters Anglican P14. : Enyan Denkyira S.H.S R: Q4. 4. P6. : I was the only off-campus personnel in my school so because of that I had to call supervisors to come to my school. Sometimes I face difficulties getting them to supervise me. 5. P 1. : my problem is we have some of the supervisors not having the content knowledge so whatever you say, it tends to contradict what they have so that was one of the challenges I had. 6. P10. : some of the supervisors may come at a time when I have no lesson and during sometimes too, the student may be on break but they still tell me to organize a class and teach for them. 7. P4. : mine is related to the number of students in the class. For instance, I was teaching in a class with about 4 students offering management so that was the main challenge I faced. It was a private school so the number of students were few. Digitized by UCC, Library 178 R: Q5. 8. P2. : I think with my school, the atmosphere was very conducive. The whole staff supported us. We were even part of staff meetings and then we were allowed to contribute to any discussion that goes on in the staff common room. So in all, they were very, very cooperative. 9. P3. : they were receptive, they welcomed us very warmly and at the same time, they also advised us on how to handle students . 10. P11. : okay the atmosphere in Action was a very cool one and there is student teacher relationship, very cordial one and moreover, they included we the interns as part of staff members so every activity that goes on we partake in it. 11. P12. : the same applies to Krobo Odumasi; Ackro Sec Tech. it was cordial and I had colleagues from Winneba who were about 4 of them practicing and 4 postgraduate diploma. So we were all together there and the condition was ok. The only challenge I had as an individual was that, my supervision was not all that like the one I want it because the challenge I had personally was I had only one supervision in my own school and the other three which make it four is in different schools but all the same I had one in Krobo Odumasi, I had 2 in Krobo Girls and then they called me to have another one at Ackro Sec Tech, Somanya which is a distant I have to travel before meeting them and the Ackro Sec Tech one, it was late, 4:30pm or 5:00pm. They had even closed so I had to go organize the people I don’t know. I had to beg them to stay before I had the class with them, it was a short class, it wasn’t easy, it was very tough R: Q6. 12. P12. : they were helpful when they introduced us in the campus, they managed to help us and detain the students for some time before. 13. R : you all had the same experience? 14. P1. : yes 15. P9. : my problem was with the headmistress, she was quite hostile. You know, she never recognized the off-campus personnel as teachers so sometimes if you greet her she doesn’t respond, yeah, and even staff meetings, you know, sometimes they never call us. I think they had two staff meetings, it was the first one that they introduced us to the teachers but the last one, they never called us, yeah. 16. P8. : in my school, we were given the opportunity to join staff meetings and even there were committees in the school. We were added to the committees and they made sure that the end of the month, sometimes, they give you some small amount of money. R: did you all have that kind of allowances? 17. P6.,P7.,P9. : yes 18. P11. : I also had some, that was when I was about leaving. Digitized by UCC, Library 179 19. P6. : yeah I was also given an amount of money in an envelope R: Q7. 20. P10. : yes, my school like this, they left the school in our care for one day for them to see if we can manage the school without the help of the staff and we did that and they were really happy with what we did. R: so were you given extra duties outside what you had to do in the classroom? 21. P6. : they weren’t challenging. 22. R: and they didn’t take your time too? 23. P6. : no R: Q8. 24. P7. : with my school, yes, I think the TLM’s like the cardboard and stuff they provide it for us. We don’t need to buy it. all you have to do is to go to their bookshop and to ask for it and you would be given. R: was your school a private one? 25. P7. : no, a public school. 26. P12. : mine wasn’t like that. For the cardboards and other things, I need to teach, I had to provide it for myself but the marker and chalk, they gave it to me. Everything was given to us. R: Did you all have that? 27. P10. : no, not me. 28. P7. : me, they went the extra mile with the cardboard, the TLM, everything that I need, you just have to go and book for it. by the next day, they will provide it for you. R. : Q9. 29. P 14. :as for my mentor, he was very very friendly but then, I didn’t know, last he supervised me to see whether when my supervisor come how I’m going to react . after that he never came back. He doesn’t go to class, the form 2 and form 1 class, I was the only person handling it and all that so sometimes I feel very tired. Whenever I tell the course rep to go and call him, he will just return the course rep back to me that I’m doing the thing so there is no need fro him to come. Everything, setting of questions and all that, it was left to me but aside that, he was very friendly. 30. P13. : my problem was that I was in a private school and most of the teachers were part time teachers, they do teach at Nungua Sec School so my mentors were not all that ready to be helping me anytime so I could say that they left most of the work for me. So because I was there, they don’t come because they had to share the time for Nungua and St Peters and because I went there, they always concentrated on Nungua and didn’t come to St. Peters till I left the place so that was my only challenge. So if you have a problem, I have no one to go to, like to get help and I was there alone. Digitized by UCC, Library 180 31. P11. : at Action, my supervisor was a very good person, he is also the head of business for the business department. Aside that, I was teaching two different subjects in addition to management but from time to time, when I started, he comes around to see what I was doing. Not only him but other teachers in the business department. Then afterwards, in the staff common room, we have a short discussion like you can do it better or this place there was this lapse so even before the supervisor came, I had my first supervision. I already worked on some of my weak points I noticed from the beginning from their responses. So there was a cordial relationship between myself and my supervisor. 32. P1. : my supervisor in my case was a lady and she was friendly, always ready to assist but what I saw about her was, she was lazy. She never attended my class to monitor me and there was a case where she instructed me to prepare my lesson plan, show it to her before I present it for vetting because I was doing it for marks so that was actually helpful. 33. P12. : mine was that when they found out I was teaching before coming for further studies they thought I could do it so my mentor/ immediate boss over there, he was not even paying attention to me. He was doing his own thing, when you ask him, he said, you wer teaching before going to school so what is your problem. Not knowing, I want to learn more but still he was not all that helpful to me. 34. P9. : I remember one day, when I started teaching and the mentor was not in the class. So the headmistress was going around so she came to my classroom and said where is your mentor, I said he is not around she got angry, she was saying aah, why should you leave the class to this guy alone to teach because I don’t know if he can do the work. So the headmistress was very very angry. So the next day she called my mentor and told him never to leave the class to me alone again because she doesn’t trust we the mentees, the OFC personnel. So from that day onwards, my mentor was always in the classroom because of what the headmistress told him. As I said, earlier, the headmistress didn’t recognize the OFC personnel. R: Q10. 35. P2. : my students were very cooperative, seriously, they comported themselves because my mentor wasn’t around. He introduced me to the class in the early stages and after that he left everything to my care and they comported themselves and it was just like a friendly environment. 36. P6. : on the general, they were cooperative but I can single out some few ones who gave me problems. Some of them, they saw us to be students so they can’t match up to their teachers , so some of them were rude but on the general most of them were cooperative. Digitized by UCC, Library 181 37. P5. : I was given a form 3 class and looking at them in their final year, they sometimes misbehave but I was able to handle them. 38. P1. : they always threatened me because one of the personnel from Winneba, so then we are doing this for marks and they always tell me when my supervisor is in they will ‘mafia’ me. At the beginning I was a little bit harsh, getting to the middle of the term, I realized I need to be calm with them so that I could get the maximum cooperation that I need to get from them so it wasn’t all that cool 39. R: Q11 40. P2. : on the general note, it was normal but just that they were not coming. Me for instance, I had only three supervisions, it was getting to the latter part. In my zone, they said they divided themselves into subs so two supervisors will supervise a number of schools and another too, so because of that we didn’t have enough supervision, they would come and then they will have to supervise for just a small minute and then they would go so that was the problem I had 41. P5. I think we had a little problem with supervisors. Our school was very close to U.C.C so I think they were thinking that because the school is very near, they can come there at anytime. I remember one day, some came very early and we were not having a classs and then he was angry that why is it that this early morning no one is having a class. So the person went, so getting to the end of the teaching practice they were coming in 4’s and 3’s and when they came the three of them will come and sit in the class and then they will expect to assess you at the same time and that one wasn’t helping us at all. It was very intimidating for us. 42. P1. : for my case like this, we had early supervision and before we realized, they were coming in their numbers and sometimes they wouldn’t even call you. You will be there aah, and they will be around to supervise you and it was a little bit sudden for me because sometimes my lesson plans were not ready and other stuffs but if they should invade on us like that we had a little problem in teaching. 43. P12. : mine was very challenging because I had to move from school to school. When you compare the standard of my school to the school that I was going especially when I was going to Krobo Girls in their area, in their zone, we have about 8 secondary schools and when I was going there compared to the standard I am meeting over here, I was afraid but I have to go and teach two times. I went there and I went to Somanya there too to teach one. It was very challenging moving from school to school. You don’t know the students’ name and all those things and I don’t know, they were expecting me to mention their names and all those things, it was very challenging moving from school to school. Digitized by UCC, Library 182 44. P1. : one challenge was that most of us, this is our first exposure and the problem was, me for instance, I was given three classes which I find it difficult to handle. My class numbers were huge and it even got to a time I marked aah which I even fell sick so they rushed to the hospital because of the marking. So I wish schools, they could consider us, we those who are new to the system, they could consider us so they reduce the number of classes for us. 45. R: Q12 46. P6. : some had and then I realized that every course and how the lesson plan goes so some of them with their own knowledge, I quite remember, one lecturer, he is a P.E lecturer so he assessed me based on the way their lesson plan is developed, he said I should indicate the method of teaching I will use to evaluate and I don’t remember our lecturer telling me that. So he had a problem and he commented on that 47. P10. : similar to what she said, sometimes a supervisor may come to look at you lesson plan and suggest a format or different way in which you should make and you will do it as in the way he suggested but then a different one will come and suggest a different thing all together so when it happens like that it gets you confused, you don’t know which of them to adhere to. 48. P11. : I also had a challenge with one of my supervisors, he said my lesson notes was not prepared well but then looking at what we were taught, I realized what we were taught was the same procedure I used so in his next coming, I prepared the next one to suit him and then I went back to what I was taught. but then, the subsequent ones, they didn’t have any problems with it 49. P12. Mine too is about one particular supervisor who said the lesson note is too elaborative, I should shorten things and that I had explained things too much, it was too elaborative and she was tired of reading it. R: Q13 50. P9. : With regards to the results pasted or ? R: what you went through there and the results pasted. 51. P9. : terrible 52. P( ALL): in unison, no 53. P9. : The results didn’t tally with the comments we were given because some of them what they will tell you, they will give you good remarks. Even before we went for the off-campus, we had orientation at FELT and the man said we are supposed to get six supervisions before you qualify for something, something. But I learnt someone even had one supervision and still managed to get an A whilst somebody will be having 9 but …….only one supervision, some ne got two but had C+. Digitized by UCC, Library 183 Somebody had even seven supervisions and had a B or so. So it’s a big challenge. 54. P11.: one supervisor supervised me based on the postgraduate. He thought I was a postgraduate student. After I explained to him that I’m not, he came twice, the first time I told him I am a degree/ undergraduate and he said ok not knowing he was scoring me according to the postgraduate and then he came for a second time and I told him that, sir, this is what you wrote on my first this thing, like as a postgraduate and he repeated the the same comments on my form. But the comments. But the comments he wrote were fairly indicated. There wasn’t anything bad. 55. P5. : we also had the same problem in our school. I remember some 3 supervisors came at once, we were calling them the “trinity” . when they come, they wouldn’t come to the class, they will take the lesson notebook and go and sit under the summer hut and then they will mark it. they wouldn’t come to the class to supervise, they would just judge you based on your lesson plan which wasn’t fair at all. R: Q14 56. P14. : excuse me to say but some old man, the way this man was serious when teaching, at least, he should have relaxed in a way and acted as if he was not watching you but he will just be watching you at every turn so the students were even timid to answer questions. So it made me also ………….. He was too intimidating. 57. P12. : mine wasn’t that I was this thing, but because I am moving from school to school that gives me problems because I was changing environments. I only had one supervision in my own school and the other 4 outside and it is making me disturbed. 58. P11. : one of the supervisors who came, he was a bit strict but then I managed to overcome it by cracking jokes for the class and at the end of the day, I even noticed that he was laughing and then he left the class happy . 59. P6. : one supervisor came and after some few minutes he started sleeping but at the end of the day, he commented and he gave me marks so I was wondering how. So whether in his dreams I was teaching or …………………. R: did some of you have that experience? Supervisors sleeping? 60. P12. : in my case when I went to Eukro Sec, the woman was tired coming from Akosombo to meet me at 4:30 / 5:00pm . she was tired so when I was teaching, she was sleeping and the comments she wrote, its like even what I had written in my notebook she didn’t even see it. she said that mu this thing was too elaborate she couldn’t read and the mistake she is pointing in my comment, I had shown her they were all in my notes but she didn’t have time to read it because she was tired. Digitized by UCC, Library 184 R: Q15. 61. P (ALL) : in unison, Yes 62. P8. : sometimes some supervisors may come without letting you know so we always prepare like a soldier. Anytime he comes, you need to be ready. R: Q16. 63. P6. : discussion method 64. P14. : question and answer method 65. R: did you ever use the lecture method? 66. P (ALL) : in unison, no 67. P2. : I quite remember, I used, the lecture method once but even that I made sure that maybe with key terms I will ask them because I was teaching law of contract and most of them were abstract to them R: Q17 68. P9. : it is quite demanding because before you come to the classroom to teach, you have to search for some information, prepare your lesson notes, even with the lesson notes preparation, you have to state objectives that you think you can achieve, you know, then you come to the classroom, you teach the students, you evaluate them, after evaluation, you mark their exercises , do corrections ……………..it is quite demanding. 69. P4. : I think it is demanding but it is the best profession so far because looking at sitting in the bank working, for instance, you will sit the whole day and just be sitting and typing things so looking at the teaching profession, I think it is best R : I want to know your perception after OFCTP , do you want to become a teacher or not ? 70. P9. : Yes 71. P2. : well you can enter because it gives a lot of time for you to do other things, personally I don’t want to 72. P8. Personally, I want to enter the teaching profession even if I am doing something different, I will still have to teach. Seriously, this is what I told myself . 73. P12. : already I’m in it and I love it because of time. I love teaching and I’m already on it. 74. P14. : without supervision, I like it. R: but there will always be supervision 75. P14. : but that wouldn’t be too strict like…………… R: Q18. 76. P (ALL) : in unison , yes R: Q19. 77. P8. : yes 78. P2. : part time or no Digitized by UCC, Library 185 79. P9. : yes 80. P7. : yes 81. P12. : yes 82. P14 : yes R: Q20 83. P1. : I think U.C.C should adopt the policy like Winneba where they have a mentor to always be monitoring you and I think the mentor is actually the person on the ground and know what is going on but with the supervisors, some even spend like 15 minutes with you and they still want you have your maximum number of periods that you are supposed to have. I think they should adopt the policy, it would really help. 84. P2. : I believe if they adopt that it won’t be fair because all you have to do is to please your mentor and at the end of the day you get your marks . I remember I was in the same school with one Winneba lady, her supervisor came only once and she had only one chance so all the rest was up to the mentor and she was in a good relationship with the mentor so even if she is not doing well koraa, at least some marks. So if you want fair supervision and results, I think the supervisors must do their duties very well and I think everything will be okay. I think its all about even before we move to our various schools to teach, I think we as students should know our supervisors and the supervisors should also know us so that we can just have some sort of meeting with them so even before off-campus starts, we would get to know each other and then have some sort of rapport before everything starts 85. P9. : the orientation before our OFC, I believe they should make it compulsory or something like very intense because the last one that we had, some people were even in the house. I was in the house and they said we are having orientation so everybody must come so I think right now that students are in school, maybe level 300 last semester, before they go to their house, you call for the orientation programme me for everybody to be able to attend . 86. P8. : I think U.C.C should coordinate with the heads of the various high schools because sometimes getting a school for your OFC becomes a problem. You go to the school, there might be a vacancy but the headmaster may not be willing to accept you. So U.C.C should coordinate so that even if 2 students for one subject, they should still accept you because sometimes the students suffer a lot getting a school and it becomes a problem. 87. P4. : I am also thinking that aside the comment, if they can create a column where they can give let’s say percentages of your performance. Let’s say generally, it is over 100, so you had 80 or 90 so that after the whole OFC thing, when the results are out, you can use that Digitized by UCC, Library 186 performance to check whether it corresponds with whatever grade you will be given. Assuming with my paper I had 5 supervisions and let’s say I am given 90,90,90 and the results come and I’m given B. I can take those papers to the next level for them to see whether it corresponds or does not. 88. P6.: I also want to add to what he said with the school , U.C.C, providing schools for students. I quite remember we spent a lot on transportation fare before we could get a school and even got it at the latter part of the semester and then another thing I want to add is that lecturers for specific fields should be assigned to supervise you because the teaching method differs from courses to courses and most of them they want you to do it according to how they understand the method so our own lecturers should be given to supervise us during the OFCTP. 89. P2. : we should be able to check our results because a couple of results, actually I’m talking about the mark. It should be provided so students can check. 90. P11. : It is the same view that I want to say, that at least the form that they fill in awarding the marks, at least we should have a copy so that at the end of the day we will be able to calculate and know what we are getting at the end of the day. 91. P1. : in addition to that, they should make students know their mode of assessment. How can one get 1 supervision and get A and someone will get 7 and the person will get B. it means they should help students to just know their mode of assessment. I think it would help students. 92. P11. : I have another suggestion, I think we should do the OFC during the long vacation because when we resume you realized that there are some courses that are needed for us to do but because we are supposed to spend only one semester to do the course work, we will not be able to catch up because comparing it to our colleagues in the school of business, B.ed Management is supposed to do other courses which are relevant in the business field so I think doing it during the long vacation period will help. 93. P3. : internal supervision should be very effective as in mentors should be allowed to supervise us so when the senior supervisors come in then they get to them to find out if the student is performing before they proceed to supervise. END OF DISCUSSION 2 Digitized by UCC, Library 187 APPENDIX F Test of Homogeneity of Variances Levene Statistic df1 df2 Sig. Student Characteristics 1.032 3 142 .381 Staff Receptiveness .147 3 142 .932 Role Ambiguity .588 3 142 .624 Resource Availability 4.504 3 142 .005 Supervision Issues 1.104 3 142 .350 Assessment Issues 1.296 3 142 .278 Trainee Disposition 1.380 3 142 .251 Preparedness 1.341 3 142 .263 Adopted Teaching Style .782 3 142 .506 Lesson plan issues .793 3 142 .500 ANOVA Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Student Characteristics Between Groups 16.512 3 5.504 .621 .602 Within Groups 1257.707 142 8.857 Total 1274.219 145 Staff Receptiveness Between Groups 5.231 3 1.744 .285 .836 Within Groups 868.823 142 6.118 Total 874.055 145 Role Ambiguity Between Groups 2.531 3 .844 .377 .770 Digitized by UCC, Library 188 Within Groups 317.914 142 2.239 Total 320.445 145 Resource Availability Between Groups 17.816 3 5.939 .914 .436 Within Groups 922.931 142 6.500 Total 940.747 145 Supervision Issues Between Groups 43.227 3 14.409 .577 .631 Within Groups 3548.253 142 24.988 Total 3591.479 145 Assessment Issues Between Groups 104.991 3 34.997 1.457 .229 Within Groups 3411.694 142 24.026 Total 3516.685 145 Trainee Disposition Between Groups 39.006 3 13.002 .622 .602 Within Groups 2969.932 142 20.915 Total 3008.938 145 Preparedness Between Groups 34.919 3 11.640 .786 .503 Within Groups 2101.746 142 14.801 Total 2136.664 145 Adopted Teaching Style Between Groups 24.934 3 8.311 1.318 .271 Within Groups 895.230 142 6.304 Total 920.164 145 Digitized by UCC, Library 189 Lesson plan Between Groups 1.361 3 .454 1.191 .315 Within Groups 54.099 142 .381 Total 55.460 145 Digitized by UCC, Library