Challenges in the usage of instructional materials in lesson delivery at junior high schools in the Kumbungu district of the Northern region

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate challenges in the usage of instructional materials in lesson delivery at Junior High Schools in the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region of Ghana. The objectives of the study were to find out the kind of instructional materials available, establish challenges in the usage of instructional materials in lesson delivery and to determine strategies that could be adopted to address the challenges in the usage of instructional material in lesson delivery. Descriptive survey design using the quantitative approach was adopted for the study. The target population for the study was teachers in public Junior High Schools. The accessible population was 107 teachers in the seven public Junior High Schools in the Kumbungu Circuit. Simple random sampling was used to select 84 respondents for the study. Questionnaire was used for the study. The data were processed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software package version 16.0. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study found that text books, charts, library books, pictures, computers and posters were available. Also, lack of finance to acquire or improvise needed instructional materials and insufficient time allocation to accommodate effective instructional materials utilization were some of the challenges while provision of adequate funds to acquire or improvise needed instructional materials and provision of back-up generator to augment electricity power to be used for instructional materials that uses electrical power were some strategies to address the challenges. It is recommended that the District Directorate of Education should ensure that schools are adequately resourced financially to enable schools to improvise instructional materials that are not available or damaged, to improve lesson delivery.