Assessing Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge of Religious and Moral Educators of Colleges of Education in Ghana: A Survey

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the technological pedagogical content knowledge of Religious and Moral Education (RME) tutors in the colleges of education in Ghana. It is expected that the outcome of the study would have some implications for educational policy and practice. A survey was conducted using 50 tutors from all the 38 public colleges of education in Ghana to respond to a five-point Likert type of questionnaire containing forty-five items. Three main research questions were used to determine college tutors’ pedagogical, technological and content knowledge in RME at the colleges of education. The theoretical framework that was used for the study was Koehler and Mishra’s (2009) TPACK Framework. The tutors were selected from the colleges of education, using the purposive sampling method during a workshop, which was organized by the Institute of Education of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data collected. Findings of the study revealed that RME tutors of the colleges of education in Ghana demonstrated having good technological, pedagogical and content knowledge. They also demonstrated their ability to use their pedagogical and content knowledge. However, the college tutors revealed their inability to use technology in their teaching, due to lack of technological resources. The study recommended that periodic workshops should be organized for college tutors to upgrade their content and pedagogical knowledge in the subject. Secondly, RME tutors were encouraged to use improvised resource materials. The Curriculum Research and Development Division (CRDD) of the Ministry of Education should provide schools with instructional resources. Finally, the Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana, should revise the RME syllabus to expose college tutors to modern pedagogies like Concept Cracking and Gift to the Child.