ERIC Number: EJ938962
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 37
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1099-839X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Building New Identities in Teacher Preparation for Inclusive Education in Ghana
Agbenyega, Joseph S.; Deku, Prosper K.
Current Issues in Education, v14 n1 2011
"We want our classrooms to be just and caring, full of various conceptions of the good. We want them to be articulate, with the dialogue involving as many persons as possible, opening to one another, opening to the world" (Greene 1993 as cited in Nieto & Bode, 2008). These words sum up inclusive education as a multifaceted practice that deals with value and belief systems, invites and celebrates diversity and difference arising from family background, social class, gender, language, socio-economic background, cultural origin or ability with human rights and social justice at its core. In this paper we reflect critically on current pedagogical practices in Ghana in relation to inclusive education. Using a critical post-colonial discursive framework the paper takes up the challenge to problematise the existing pedagogical practices, which are intensely oppressive. It examines the impact of colonial and cultural practices (beliefs, values, norms) on teaching and learning, using data obtained from three focus groups with 21 student teachers, a total of 42 hours of non-participant observation of their classroom teaching and existing research commentaries. We found that current pedagogical practices are prescriptive, mechanistic, and do not value student diversity and different learning styles. We conclude with new directions for teacher education programs in Ghana that value and celebrate diversity, and difference.
Descriptors: Caring, Social Justice, Focus Groups, Family Characteristics, Teacher Education Programs, Beliefs, Values, Norms, Culturally Relevant Education, Educational Innovation, Teacher Characteristics, Student Diversity, Educational Policy, Educational Practices, Knowledge Base for Teaching, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Professional Development
Arizona State University, Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education. Deans Office, P.O. Box 870211 Payne 108, Tempe, AZ 85287. Tel: 480-965-3306; Fax: 480-965-6231; e-mail: cie@asu.edu; Web site: http://cie.asu.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ghana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A