Effects of Educational Policies on Teacher Education in Ghana: A Historical Study of the Presbyterian College of Education

Abstract

This study aimed at reviewing the Basel Mission educational policy on teacher education in Ghana, and how teacher education has been managed by post-independence governments. It examined how educational policies affected teacher education delivery in Ghana from 1848 to 2013 in the areas of educational structure, curriculum and management. The Presbyterian College of Education was used as a case study. A theoretical framework for the study was provided based on the Basel Mission’s theology of education. This was followed by a review of teacher education in Ghana during the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods. Content analyses of educational policy documents and archival materials as well as interviews were used for the collection of data. The findings revealed that the use of different structural models of teacher education, different curricula and different educational management styles were influenced by the educational policies of the colonial, nationalist, military and democratic governments of the Gold Coast / Ghana from 1848 to 2013. The study commends the Basel Mission for its initiative, and recommends the Ministry of Education to provide in-service training for teachers; governments to be guided by past educational policies; and governments to formulate educational policies that seek to promote national interest, rather than partisan interest, in order to ensure quality teacher education delivery.