Abstract:
The continuous development of all teachers is seen as the cornerstone for school
improvement and successful implementation of educational reforms. Unfortunately, it
appears some teachers do not see the need to develop themselves professionally.
Therefore, the study sought to examine the perception of tutors in colleges of
education about the need for professional development. It was conducted among
tutors in the Central Region of Ghana. A descriptive survey design was employed to
carry out the study. The target population comprised 156 tutors in the three colleges
of education. A census survey was used to collect data from the 156 college tutors in
the study area. A 48-item self- developed questionnaire with reliability co-efficient of
.87 was personally hand delivered to collect data from the respondents. Data collected
were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, mean
standard deviations). The study revealed that tutors perceived the need for
professional development and that attending professional development activities are
not time consuming activities since they increase teacher knowledge and expertise,
and hence, help to improve the quality of college tutors. Also, it has been found that
professional development opportunities are less available. However, it was found that
professional development is challenged by factors like workload, inadequate time and
funds, securing study leave with pay, domestic issues, lack of relevant reading
materials among others. It was recommended that the Ministry of Education should
make available opportunities for scholarships, exchange/international programmes,
workshops, conferences, seminars and various forms of in-service training activities
for tutors.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Social Studies,
Faculty of Social Sciences, Submitted to the School of
Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Social Studies)
in the University of Education, Winneba
JUNE, 2020