Human Resource Managers’ contributions and challenges in meeting teacher expectations. A qualitative study at education directorates in the Central Region Of Ghana.

Abstract

The study explored human resource managers’ contributions and challenges in meeting teacher expectations in education directorates in the Central Region of Ghana. This study was qualitative research underpinned by the Maslow’s theory of needs and the administrative management theory. The study employed the phenomenology design. Convenience and purposive sampling techniques were used to select five (5) directorates and ten (10) participants respectively. Data for the study was gathered through interview using two (2) separate unstructured interview guides. The study found, among others, that the human resource managers contribute to meeting teacher expectations by processing for promotion and upgrading, and offering guidance and counseling. The challenges human resource managers face in meeting teacher expectations include centralisation and bureaucracy, inadequate resources and understaffing. According to the study, the human resource managers deal with situations of unmet teacher expectations through offering counseling and seeking external support. The study concluded that the alignment between human resource managers and teacher expectations within the realm of educational administration and management yields a multitude of positive outcomes for both teachers and Ghana Education Service as a whole. Among others, the study recommended that human resource managers in the education directorates in the Central region should provide more efficient and effective avenues and platforms where teachers can clearly communicate their expectations and stay current with trends and best practices. Human resource managers must also be actively involved in teacher recruitment to reduce understaffing.