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The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vo l 10 , No 4 (00! "

[Print Version]

#epte$%er & 00!

'n val)ative #t)d* of a Distance Teacher d)cation+rogra$ in a niversit* in -hana

Kwasi Addo Sampong

Central University College, Ghana

'%stract

The study used an adaptation of Provus discrepancy evaluation model to evaluate a distance

teacher education program in the University of Cape Coast, the premier teacher education institutionin Ghana. The study involved comparing performance data of the program as perceived y students

and faculty!administrators to standards prepared from the programs design. Performance data "asotained y administering t"o survey instruments to a random sample of students and

faculty!administrators. #iscrepancies et"een performance and standards "ere reported. The studyconcluded that although there "ere some discrepancies et"een program standards and performance

the program is fulfilling its purpose of upgrading the professional and academic performance of a largenumer of teachers in the pulic $%& schools in Ghana.

Distance Teacher d)cation at the niversit* of .ape .oast, -hana

#istance education '#() as a complementary mode of delivery "as initiated as an effort to overcome

the challenges of access, e*uity, cost%effectiveness, and *uality for higher education '+ssociation

for the #evelopment of (ducation in +frica [+#(+], -- Perraton, ---). The suitaility of #( forteacher preparation in particular is a topic of interest in many countries 'Perraton, Creed, / 0oinson,

-- 1hachar / 2eumann, --3).

Ghana, li4e other industriali5ed and developing countries, relies on #( to augment traditional face%to%face methods of teacher education 'Perraton, 0oinson, / Creed, --6). Teacher preparation is "ell

estalished in the country "ith 7- Colleges of (ducation that offer three%year postsecondarycertificate 8+9 diplomas for teachers of asic education. Total annual matriculation of teachers from

these institutions has een et"een :,:-- and ;,--- since

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Program evaluation is the systematic investigation of the "orth of an ongoing or continuing activity.

There are as many different models of or approaches to evaluation as there are philosophicalunderpinnings of definitions of evaluation. The needs of each particular program determine the

evaluation model suitale for use '1imonson, igure

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Program Narrative

The University of Cape Coast "as estalished in irst,descriptive statistics "ere calculated in the fre*uency count and percentage of responses for each

item. These gave the numer of respondents and the fre*uency of respondents "ho mar4ed 1trongly+gree, +gree, 2o pinion, #isagree, and 1trongly #isagree.

+ second level of analysis of the data "as done y collapsing the categories of responses to present

the composite counts and fre*uencies of those "ho had either agreed or disagreed.

Stage One Evaluation

The first stage of the evaluation included deriving the design of the program from the documentsprovided y the university. The standards of the program "ere derived from the program design, from

intervie"ing an official of the university, and from a revie" of the literature. >inally, the curriculum

"as assessed y t"o people, one "ith a Ph.#. in (ducation and the other "ith an (d.#., oth of

"hom have done eAtensive "or4 in the area of curriculum. This phase of evaluation "as crucial for itenaled the researcher to formulate the statements on the survey *uestionnaires to elicit the

perceptions of the student ody as "ell as the faculty!administrator group. Et "as determined that it"as possile for CC(UCC to implement a viale program and that eApert revie"s found the curriculum

appropriate for teacher education.

Stage Two Evaluation

The second stage of the evaluation measured installation of the program. +n analysis of responses

indicated that some issues needed to e dealt "ith in order to close the gap et"een the design andthe installation of the program. The students and faculty!administrators positive responses "ere

;3.67K and :&.

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ended section that classroom supervision 8needs improvement.9 @o"ever they failed to indicate the

4ind of improvement in supervision that "as needed '"hich could e either the fre*uency ofsupervision, or the *uality of supervision, or oth). 2evertheless the students response "as

confirmed y the faculty!administrator group "ho also gave a lo" rating '&.

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manuals "ere not properly edited, revised, and distriuted, and that sometimes students did not

receive their materials at the eginning of the semester.

En spite of these prolems, the 6eedac4 aout course materials from students, tutors, and study center coordinators mustecome a part of the materials revision process. This "ould help to ma4e the course materials

learner%centered, clear to the students, and self%eAplanatory. >urthermore, it is crucial to ensureefficient distriution of materials to students at the eginning of the semester in order to avoid

"ast ing t ime.

1tudents need to e encouraged to e independent learners. The more independent studentslearning ecomes, the more competent they "ill feel and operate. This "ould decrease their need for

access to their tutors 'Gro",

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than students in traditional classrooms to complete course oIect ives. +llen et al. '--) conducted

a meta%analysis using 3 studies and concluded that "hile the difference in levels of academicachievement et"een students involved in oth traditional and distance education is insignificant,

oth groups tended to prefer traditional education over #(.

Teaching has een considered to e a matter of s4ill rather than a matter of ac*uiring information.

+ccording to 1hulman '--7), teaching re*uires asic communication s4ills, content 4no"ledge, andpedagogical s4ills. Net oth the students and the faculty confirm that a #( program has enhanced

the professional capaility of teachers. Perraton et al. '--) affirm that teacher preparation mostlycomprises a alance et"een four elementsH improving general educational ac4ground, increasing

4no"ledge and understanding of the content area, enhancing pedagogy and the understanding ofchildren and their learning, and developing practical s4ills and competencies. Perraton et al.

suggested that the underlying purpose of a particular teacher education program determines the

proportion and miA of these elements, and "here the emphasis has een to raise teachersac4ground education or "here the program is designed to help eAperienced teachers learn aout a

ne" suIect, classroom activities have not een given much emphasis.

En the case of practical s4ills ac*uisition in a distance teacher education program, the component of

practicum has een considered to e very important. Perraton et al. '--) have itemi5ed differenteAamples of distance teacher education programs, "hich sho" different levels of practicum

compositionsH '

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of student achievement re*uire ade*uate investment in resources and planning.

(ducational systems facing a shortage of professionally trained teachers should strongly consider #(.Et has een proven to e very effective if it is "ell planned and implemented. The literature sho"s

that it has "or4ed effectively in training teachers all over the "orld, developed and developing,

including +frica, Fra5il, Fritain, China, Columia, Endia, Endonesia, and the 1outh Pacific. #( is suitale

for oth initial teacher educat ion and continuing professional development. Et has the addedadvantage of 4eeping teachers at post so they do not have to leave their Ios "hile receiving further

professional development. #( has helped to ring education to the doorsteps of students "ho areunale to meet their educational needs in conventional institutions.

References

+4yeampong, $. '--urlong, #., / ?e"in, $. . '---). Costs and financing of teacher education inGhana.Multi-Site Teacher Education Research Project (MUSTER) iscussion Paper 1!. (ast 1usseA,

U$H University of 1usseA, Center for Enternational (ducation.

+ggor, 0., $inyanIui, P. (., Pecu, 2. $., / Nerury, B. C. '

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University of $entuc4y, ?eAington, U1+.

adaus, G. >., / $ellaghan, T. '---). odels, metaphors, and definitions in evaluation. En #. ?.#tuffleeam, G. >. adaus, / T. $ellaghan '(ds.), E"aluation 'odels . Collected c onerence papers. Camridge, U$.

Perraton, @. 'ranciscoH Bossey%Fass.

1hachar, ., / 2eumann, N. '--3). #ifferences et"een traditional and distance educationacademic performancesH + meta%analytic approach. The 5nternational Re"ie o Research in 8pen

and istance 2earnin+ %'). 0etrieved 1eptemer ranciscoH Bossey%Fasss.

Mhao, N., ?ei, B., ?ai, F. N. C., / Tan, @. 1., '+ugust, --:). Dhat ma4es the differenceJ + practicalanalysis of research in the effectiveness of distance education. Teachers Colle+e Record, 1=@'&),

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complete. #isagree +gree

3. The admission personnel "ere helpful. 1trongly

#isagree

#isagree +gree 1trongly

+gree

7. The Continuing (ducation catalog presented

information "hich "as easy to understand.

1trongly

#isagree

#isagree +gree 1trongly

+gree

:. The orientation seminar "as eneficial. 1trongly

#isagree

#isagree +gree 1trongly

+gree

;. E received course materials in time at the eginning

of the semester

1trongly

#isagree

#isagree +gree 1trongly

+gree

6. The course manuals contained course oIectives so

E had a gene ral idea of the structure and direction

at the eginning of the course

1trongly

#isagree

#isagree +gree 1trongly

+gree

&. The manuals "ere easy to read and understand 1trongly

#isagree

#isagree +gree 1trongly

+gree

=. The graphics in the manuals "ere clear and self%

eAplanatory

1trongly

#isagree

#isagree +gree 1trongly

+gree

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3;. @o" many years "ere you teaching efore enrolling in the Center for Continuing (ducat ion

programJ

36. Dhat "as your initial *ualification efore enrolling in this correspondence programJR

3&. @o" many hours per "ee4 do you devote to the courseJ

3=. >eel free to "rite elo" any other information you "ould li4e to add the enhance my

understanding of your feeling to"ards the program

'ppendi

>aculty!+dministrators 1urvey Enstrument

$indly indicate your ans"er t the follo"ing items ased on your eAperience as a faculty memer or

administrator.Circle the position that est represents your opinion.

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practice

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3