Abstract:
The Education Regulatory Bodies Act 2020 (ACT 1023) mandates newly
trained teachers to pass a standardized test to be licensed as professional
teachers in Ghana. The policy on writing the Ghana Teachers’ Licensure
Examinations (GTLE) commenced in 2018. Within the first four years of (2018-
2021), 15,979(23.15%) out of 69,034 newly trained teachers who wrote the
GTLE in the Central Region failed on their first attempt. This necessitated the
study to identify the factors affecting the performance of newly trained teachers
in the GTLE. Convergent Parallel Mixed Method Design was used to collect
data and determine the variables influencing newly trained teachers’
performance. The research included one NTC official and 421 newly trained
teachers. Four hundred and thirteen (413) of the newly trained teachers were
drawn through simple random sampling to respond to questionnaires. 8 of the
newly trained teachers who failed the GTLE and the NTC official were drawn
through purposive sampling for interviewing. Descriptive statistics such as
frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the quantitative data while
the qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The study revealed that the NTC
did not offer any official study guide. Examinees depended on unverified
materials that did not follow the GTLE’s format. Also, examinees were not
tested on their subjects of specialization. Additionally, examinees wrote the
examination long duration after their training. Some respondents also alleged
that examination scripts were not rightly marked. The study recommended that
the NTC should make available related sample licensure materials and past
GTLE papers to examinees. Specific subject areas for subject teachers should
be examined. The NTC should also employ script checking to ensure proper
marking of scripts.
