A1 Journal article (refereed)
Teacher Educators’ and Teacher Trainees’ Perspective on Teacher Training for Sustainable Development (2020)

Nketsia, W., Opoku, M. P., Saloviita, T., & Tracey, D. (2020). Teacher Educators’ and Teacher Trainees’ Perspective on Teacher Training for Sustainable Development. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 22(1), 49-65. https://doi.org/10.2478/jtes-2020-0005

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Nketsia, William; Opoku, Maxwell Peprah; Saloviita, Timo; Tracey, Danielle

Journal or series: Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability

ISSN: 1691-4147

eISSN: 1691-5534

Publication year: 2020

Volume: 22

Issue number: 1

Pages range: 49-65

Publisher: Sciendo

Publication country: Latvia

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jtes-2020-0005

Persistent website address: https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/jtes/22/1/article-p49.xml

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/71268

Abstract

In accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), countries across the globe are striving to ensure equitable access to inclusive, quality and lifelong educational opportunities for all children, youth and adults by 2030. Teacher education has been identified as one of the key factors in the achievement of the SDG 4 targets. As part of the effort to ensure sustainable teacher education for the achievement of SDG 4 in Ghana, this study applied the four key concepts in the SDG 4: quality, equity, inclusion and lifelong learning, to determine the progress with regards to SDG 4 in the context of teacher education in Ghana. The specific objectives of this study were to determine the inclusive pedagogical practices, values, and knowledge that trainees acquire from the Diploma in Basic Education’s Special Education Needs (SEN) course, the adequacy of the course for preparing teachers to create inclusive classrooms and the challenges associated with the delivery of the SEN course. In this study, 167 final-year trainees and 13 teacher educators from Diploma in Basic Education Program in three colleges of education in Ghana were surveyed about their views on the SEN teacher preparation course. The study found out that the SEN course placed much emphasis on medical model view of SEN and only a minority of trainees acquired the requisite inclusive knowledge, values and pedagogical practices. The paper discusses key barriers to the development of inclusive knowledge, pedagogical practices and values among trainees as well as factors that can promote the effective training of inclusive teachers.

Keywords: teacher training; special education (upbringing); practical training as a teacher; educational methods; inclusion; social inclusion

Free keywords: teacher educators; traineeís teachers; special education course; inclusive education; teacher education for sustainability; Ghana

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2020

JUFO rating: 1