Transcript PanAf – [country]

PanAf – Ghana
Phase 1 Research
Report / Results / Recommendations
Introduction to research team
• Partner institution: University of Education,
Winneba, Ghana
• Focal Point: Prof. D. K. Mereku, Ph.D.
• Primary Researcher: Issifu Yidana, Ph.D.
• Secondary Researcher: Mr. Wisdom Hordzi
• Others in Research Team / Assistants
– Messrs: J. B. Williams, I. Tete-Mensah , T. Akorlie
– Mrs. W. Tete-Mensah
Overview of Participating Schools
Mixed/
Singlesex
Institution
Size
(Females %)*
Type of
Location
Level/Type
University of Education,
Winneba, Winneba
24, 982
(36%)
Teacher Training
Mixed
(advanced/Public)
Urban
Senior High SecondaryTechnical, Obrachire
810
(39%)
Secondary/Techni
Mixed
cal (upper/Public)
Nonurban
Asuasi Technical Institute, 647
Asuasi
(2.6%)
SingleSecondary/Techni
sex
cal (upper/Public)
(mixed)
Nonurban
Ayirebi Junior High,
Akyem-Ayirebi
200
(41%)
Secondary
(lower/Public)-
Mixed
Nonurban
Tamale Senior High
Secondary School,
Tamale
1,794
(28%)
Secondary
(upper/Public)
Mixed
Urban
Overview of Results
• General state of pedagogical integration of ICTs
– State of integration in Ghana is low
– Impact on Educators/Learners could not be established as very few
teachers actually use ICT
– No examples of ICT-based productions by learners were obtained,
because many schools still lack computer accessories
• Highlighted successes in pedagogical integration of ICTs
– limited impact was observed in educators and learners involved in
department-based ICT courses (Math, Music, Arts, ICTE, ICT); FM Radio
Lectures
Overview of Research Results
(Contd)
• Specific challenges in pedagogical integration of ICTs
– Limited ICT facilities and resources (Computers, Accessories, and
multimedia digital Equipment); high students per computer ratios
– Limited access time for student ICT use
– Unreliable power supply and poor maintenance culture, resulting in high
down-time of equipment
– Lack of efficient connectivity, Limited Internet Connectivity
– Lack of management support, motivation and incentives for innovative
educators
– Lack of computers and presentation equipment in classrooms
– Lack of Subject-based Software
– Lack of institutional ICT Policies
• Policy
Data Analysis
– Vision 2015
• Thrusting Ghana into a middle income country
– ICT4AD (2003)
• Development and deployment of ICTs to modernize the educational
system of Ghana
– Anamuah-Mensah’s Educational Review Committee
Report (2006)
– ICT in Education Policy (2006)
– e-Readiness assessment of second cycle institutions
in Ghana Report (2009)
Data Analysis (cont’d)
• Access to / connectivity of computers in schools
– Inadéquate & obsolète stand-alone PCs, no/unreliable Internet connectivity
• Pedagogical use of ICTs by educators/learners
– Educators of across the curriculum, except the Core ICT course, did not use
ICTs for instruction
– No examples of ICT-based productions by learners were obtained, because
many schools still lack computer accessories and use obsolete computers
(low speed and storage capacities)
• Tertiary Level
– Some limited impact was observed in educators and learners involved in
department-based ICT courses (Math, Music, Arts, ICTE, ICT); FM Radio
Lectures
Data Analysis (cont’d)
• Reported impact of ICTs on teaching / learning
– Impact on Educators could not be established as very few
teachers actually use ICT in their instruction
– Impact was minimal at the tertiary level, based on
Academic Departments’ innovativeness
• Managerial use / impact of ICTs
– Largely in processing and storage of students and
personnel data and information (Admissions, Student
Academic Records, Personnel Records, Payroll, etc)
Data Analysis (cont’d)
• Themes of particular interest (gender, language, special needs)
– At the tertiary level, a proportional gap of 0.56 was observed for male/female
learners’ ICT use (average hours/week) for academic purposes in favour of
males
– At the tertiary level, male educators’ average ICT use for academic purposes
was three times that of female educators (8:24)
– For educators at the secondary level, not much difference was observed
between female and male, since ICT is not generally being used across the
curriculum
– No significant impact of native language on ICT use by Educators/Learners
• Other results to highlight: Continuing TPD Activities
• Pre-tertiary level, under 5% of female educators had TPD activities not
exceeding 50 hours (overall was 10%)
• Tertiary Level, almost all the female educators had up to 50 hours of TPD
activities
Policy Dialogue
• Overview of policy dialogue workshop
– Participants, Objectives, Presentation, Group Discussions
• Recommendations ensuing from policy dialogue
workshop
– Ghana Education Service (GES) should establish a reward system to recognize
innovative teachers who use ICT
– The Ministries of Education (MOE) and Communication (MOC) should
collaborate to assist educators to acquire their own computers
– MOE, GES & Schools Management should make budgetary allocations
annually to acquire, maintain, replace, and expand ICT facilities and resources
in schools
– Continuing TPD programmes should be made formal in institutions to equip
educators with skills and knowledge in ICT Integration; and interactive tutorial
packages should be developed to facilitate this process.
Policy Dialogue (Contd)
• Next steps (how the dialogue will continue)
– Find means and strategies to support heads of institution to
address identified challenges
– Identify software packages that can be adopted for
teaching the core subjects at various levels (Mathematics,
Science, English Language, & Social Studies)
– Design model lessons that use appropriate modern
instructional strategies (e.g., PBL, IBL, Connected Learning,
and Authentic Assessment models) and develop these into
multimedia packages (CDROMs) to guide formal TPD
programmes
Conclusion
• Review successes and challenges in the pedagogical
integration of ICTs
– The contextual conditions that facilitate ICT integration
and use by educators were inadequate
– Not much can be said about successes
• What does this say about the country’s education
system more generally?
– Generally, the e-Readiness across all educational levels in
Ghana is low;
– Some tertiary and private insitutions have started making
serious efforts to address the challenges in the
pedagogical integration of ICTs
Conclusion (cont’d)
What recommendations (supported by the data) for
change to ICT4ED policy and practice?
1.
Identify, in the various subjects, specific content areas where ICT tools
(hardware/software) can be integrated into the teaching and learning processes
2.
Select four core courses (Mathematics, English Language, Integrated Science,
and Social Studies) to determine which software packages can be used to teach
these subjects and train teachers to use them
3.
Design model lessons that use appropriate modern instructional strategies (i.e.
those that facilitate and meet the diverse learning styles and needs of digital
learners) and develop these into multimedia packages (CDROMs) to guide formal
TPD programmes
4.
Review pre-service programmes to equip trainees with skills and knowledge to
effectively Integrate ICT in their instructional activities
Conclusion (cont’d)
What is missing in order to substantially
improve teaching and learning through
ICTs?
– National minimum ICT standards and benchmarks
– ICT policy at the institutional level
– ICT focused teacher education curriculum (both pre& in- service), which emphasises
• Subject-based software
• multimedia packages using modern instructional
strategies
• interactive tutorials for TPD of teachers
PanAf Phase 2
• General reflections on scientific publication
– The PanAF data on the observatory could used to write refereed papers for
dissémination of findings to the general readership/community
– Postgraduate students should be encouraged to replicate the study in
other schools
• General reflections on potential partnerships
– PaNAf/Sponsors, ERNWACA, UEW, MOE/GES, MOC & ICT Service Providers
could collaborate to address the myriad of challenges in the pedagogical
integration of ICTs
• General reflections on additional research
– Follow-up intervention, using phase 1 participating institutions (Helping
these institutions to address some of the challenges)