Abstract:
This study aimed to investigate the collaboration between colleges of
education and demonstration schools in the Central/Western Zone of Ghana. A
mixed method was used for this study. In all, a sample size of 360 (students
277, tutors 53, demonstration school teachers 20 and principals and head
teachers 10) was used for the study. The study employed stratified, simple
random and purposive sampling techniques to select participants for the study.
School Partnership Questionnaire (SPQ) and focus group discussion were used
to elicit information from the respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to
analyze data obtained from the structured questionnaire whiles focus group
discussion was analyzed using thematic analysis. It emerged that Colleges of
Education and demonstration schools in the Western/Central zone collaborated
in terms of field experience, sharing of expertise and organization of training
programmes for demonstration school teachers. It also emerged that such
collaboration led to reflective teaching activities, observation and teaching
practice in the schools, periodic in-service training for the Demonstration
School teachers and collaborated in conducting research. The study further
revealed that college-school partnership created opportunities for colleges and
schools to share their resources and encourage learning through participation.
The study unfolded that the challenges embedded in college-school
partnership include inadequate time for carrying out activities among others. It
is recommended that Demonstration schools and Colleges of Education
leadership within the Central/Western zone seek support from NGOs and
individual philanthropists as well as work hard to generate more funds
internally to help provide funds and instructional materials for collaborative
activities and not rely on only the government.
