ALIGNING THE WORKING NEEDS OF TEACHERS TO CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES IN THE NANUMBA NORTH DISTRICT OF GHANA: INTERROGATION WITHIN THE AMBIENCE OF POLICY AND PRACTICE

Abstract

Professionals all over the world including teachers need to update their knowledge and skills often through diverse Continuous Professional Development Programmes (CPDP’s). Using the Descriptive Survey Design and Mixed Method Approach, this paper assesses the policy requirements and the potency of these training programmes in relation to the working needs of teachers within the Nanumba North District of the Northern Region of Ghana. The study sampled 100 teachers and 20 administrators in various Basic Schools in the district. Mainly, questionnaires and in-person interviews were used in soliciting data. Data management and analysis in this study was done using the SPSS version (23). Even though the study did not entirely dismiss the fact that the Ghana Education Service appreciates the importance of CPDP’s, the findings strongly revealed that CPDP’s in the district do not align with the working needs of participating teachers. Organizers choose areas they deem important without conducting needs assessment for training engagements. It is recommended that CPDP’s must be incorporated into the teacher training curriculum and backed by law and thus support and address the operational needs of the Ghanaian teacher.