Teachers’ Perception Of The Standards-Based Curriculum And Its Implementation In Primary Schools Within The Cape Coast Metropolis

Abstract

The study examined basic school teachers’ perception of the new standards-based curriculum within the Cape Coast Metropolis. The study was guided by five objectives which were converted into three research questions and two hypotheses. The descriptive survey design, specifically, the cross-sectional design, with a quantitative approach was employed in the conduct of the study. The study targeted all public primary school teachers in the Cape Coast Metropolis, with a total number of 748. Through a multi-stage sampling technique, questionnaires were administered to 300 basic school teachers. Two hundred and seventy-nine of the questionnaires were however completed and returned, this resulted in a 93% response rate. Hence, all the analyses were based on 279 respondents. The various scales on the questionnaire were standardised scales adapted from authors in the area of curriculum implementation. The data collected were analysed using means and standard deviations as well as one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The study discovered that basic school teachers within the Cape Metropolis generally had positive perceptions regarding the implementation of the standards-based curriculum. The study further discovered that challenges such as large class sizes and increased workload on the part of teachers affected the smooth implementation of the standards-based curriculum. Curriculum developers are therefore entreated to liaise with head teachers to ensure a reduction in large class sizes as well as teachers’ workload, in order to enhance the effective implementation of the curriculum.