Inquiry into the pedagogical content knowledge and practice of basic design and TechnologyTteachers in the central Tongu District

Abstract

This study was to investigate the pedagogical content knowledge and practice of Basic Design and Technology (BDT) teachers in some basic schools in the Central Tongu district in the Volta region of Ghana. In the senior high schools, however, the subject is referred to as Visual Arts. The major problem identified with students in one of the Senior High Schools was drawing difficulty. This situation motivated the researcher to: inquire into the pedagogical content knowledge and practice of Basic Design and Technology teachers in some Junior High Schools in the Central Tongu District, examine the professional practice of art teachers in drawing in some these schools and to ascertain the techniques used in assessing students’ learning outcomes. Census sampling technique was adopted in selecting the Form 3 students, their BDT teachers with Case Study as the research design. The total sample size was 100 which were made up of 92 Form 3 students, 4 BDT teachers and 4 headmasters. The research instruments used included opinionnaire, interview, participant observation and focus group discussion. Simple descriptive analysis and bar charts were used to analyse findings. The study revealed that BDT teachers do not demonstrate enough skills and varied pedagogic strategies in their practical activities involving drawing, hence students’ inability to draw appropriately. The study recommends regular in-service training/capacity building seminars for BDT teachers by the education directorate and to provide relevant tools and materials for BDT teachers for effective teaching and learning.