Indicators of teacher effectiveness: A comparative study of rural and urban public junior high schools in the Keta District of the Volta Region of Ghana

Abstract

The study was conducted to find out the indicators of teacher effectiveness practices which affect students’ performance in rural and urban areas of the Keta district. The variables considered as elements of effective teaching included teacher quality, attitude to work, social traits of teachers, availability of resources, parental support to students and teacher competency.A total of 160 teachers and 320 students together with 32 headteachers were randomly selected from 32 schools from both rural and urban areas of the Keta district of Ghana. Questionnaires were completed by the respondents and observation checklists were used to observe competences and classroom procedures of 16 teachers. The questionnaires were validated by my supervisors subsequent to which reliability tests were conducted in a pilot study. The test results showed high Cronbach alpha coefficients between .730 to .844 for the questionnaires and .870 for the teacher competency instrument. Hence the instruments were found to be reliable for the study. The data collected was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Teachers in the rural areas were observed to have better quality than their urban counterparts. Urban teachers were, however, found to be more competent, with urban students receiving better supports from their parents. Urban students were more privileged in accessing educational opportunities than rural students. It is recommended that regular seminars and in-service trainings should be organised in order to update teachers on prevailing educational policies, regulations and issues.