EFFECTIVE USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL TIME BY THE TEACHERS OF BUSINESS SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL: AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADD VALUE TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS.

Abstract

This study investigated teachers’ total utilization of instructional time and its’ effects on students learning in Business Senior High School, Tamale. The main objective of the study was to assess teachers’ utilization of instructional in the school setting. The specific objectives of the study were to identify factors responsible for teachers ineffective utilization of instructional time; examine effective strategies to improve the utilization of instructional time; and assess Ghana Education Service enforcement of teachers’ utilization of instructional time. The study employed a case study research design which was qualitative in approach and used interview guide to collect primary data. Purposive sampling was used to select fifty-two (52) respondents comprising twenty-five (25) teachers, two (2) assistant headmasters and twenty-five (25) students of the school. Thematic and content analysis were used to analyse the pattern of responses. The study found that factors that impede total utilisation of instructional time in the school include teacher absenteeism (including maternity and study leave) without alternative arrangement, inadequate preparation, poor teacher-student relationship, teacher involvement in social activities (including social ceremonies) instead of attending to the allotted instructional time, delays at school’s events (including Headmaster’s assembly), and teachers’ attendance to school wide activities (including sporting activities, committee and board meetings). The study also found that effective strategies to improve total utilisation of instructional time include monitoring and supervision of teaching and learning, the use of sanctions, time recording devices, loud speakers and providing accommodation on campus for teachers. The study further revealed that enforcing rules on total instructional time utilisation by the Ghana Education Service (circuit supervisors) is weak as a result of inadequate logistics. The study therefore recommends effective planning process that accommodates teacher replacement in times of leave, ill-health and other natural phenomenon, intensifying monitoring and supervision, applying appropriate sanctions, payment of teachers based on instructional time utilization and providing adequate logistics for monitoring.