MONITORING TEACHER EDUCATORS’ CONCERNS: IMPLICATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE BACHELOR OF EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN GHANA

Abstract

There is the general impression that once innovation is adequately and explicitly described, and training and support activities are provided, implementation will occur, without recourse to the maturational level of implementors as they use the innovation. Abundant evidence, however, suggests that implementors’ worries and fears, which are not usually addressed, frustrate implementation efforts. The main purpose of the study was thus to examine the concerns tutors have about the implementation of the new 4-year Bachelor of Education curriculum in colleges of education in Ghana. All 230 tutors in five colleges of education were involved in the study. Out of this, data were gathered from 191 tutors constituting 83%. The Stages of Concerns (SoC) instrument with a reliability index of .894 was adapted for data collection. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages, and percentile means. It came to light that tutors implementing the curriculum had very high self-concerns and impact concerns suggesting that their knowledge about some aspects of the curriculum was inadequate and therefore needed more information. They were however, willing to collaborate and try other alternatives that would work to ensure successful implementation. Also, tutors had a favourable perception of the curriculum but indicated inadequate logistics and resources as potential inhibitors to the implementation of the curriculum. It was recommended that the colleges liaise with mentoring universities and regulatory bodies to explore creative ways of addressing these concerns.