Teacher Preparedness in Teaching Religious and Moral Education in the Junior High Schools in the Twifo - Hemang Lower Denkyira District

Abstract

The study examined the preparedness of Religious and Moral Education teachers in teaching Religious and Moral Education in Junior High Schools in the Twifo-Hemang Lower Denkyira District. The mixed method research design was adopted for the study. Through the use of census and convenience sampling procedure, 48 RME teachers were selected to participate in the study and 10 schools were used for observation respectively. Questionnaire, observation guide and content analysis were used to gather the necessary data for the study. The data were analysed through the computation of descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation and correlation. The study revealed that teachers had adequate content knowledge in RME. Though teachers were pedagogically prepared, there were factors such as lack of electricity that hindered their use of technology in teaching. The study revealed that RME teachers prepared to assess pupils during and after lessons; however, they did not use other forms of assessment other than written test. Again, RME teachers possessed adequate knowledge about preparing psychologically in teaching, even though they got frustrated at times. Moreover, there was a moderate positive correlation between teachers’ content and pedagogical knowledge preparedness. The study recommended that Head Teacher supervision, and that of Circuit Supervisors should be regular and intense in our schools. The Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service and National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) should organise in-service training for teachers on modern pedagogies.