Head teacher-teacher relationship and its impact on learners' academic performance in five selected basic schools in the Gomoa-Central District of Ghana

Abstract

Inclusive education is a global educational practice that seeks to provide equitable learning opportunities for all learners, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, or learning needs. In Ghana, efforts to implement inclusive education policies have gained momentum, yet the translation of these policies into effective school-level practices remains a challenge. This study investigated the experiences of basic school headteachers regarding the implementation of inclusive education policy within the Nkwanta North District of the Oti Region. The study adopted the interpretivist research philosophy, and a qualitative research approach and a case study design. The study purposively selected 15 participants comprising 5 headteachers, 5 teachers and 5 students from five selected basic schools in Nkwanta North District and used in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to collect data. The data collected was analysed with the thematic analysis method. The study found out that headteachers have limited understanding of inclusive education policy, resource constraints and poor infrastructure hinder implementation of inclusive education policy, inadequate training and support limit the ability to effectively implement the policy, lack of leadership and institutional support in policy implementation hampered the execution of inclusive practices, weak collaboration from stakeholders, and inadequate government budget for inclusive education also impeded the policy implementation. The study concluded that effective implementation of inclusive education policy requires effective leadership, institutional support and resources. Key recommendations included, enhancement of leadership capacity through targeted training and professional development, improvement in institutional support and monitoring systems, provision of adequate teaching and learning resources for inclusive education, fostering of community sensitization and stakeholder engagement, recruitment and deployment of specialized personnel in schools to support inclusion and increment in government budget allocation for inclusive education.