J. Res. Sustainable Development Goals and sustainability teaching at universities: Falling behind or getting ahead of the pack? In this paper, we use the social model of disability and anchored on the Sustainable Development Goals, to examine the preparedness of student teachers in meeting the needs of learners with diverse learning needs. Therefore, it is very important to assess how student teachers at the Colleges of Education in Ghana are integrating inclusive education consistent with SDG 4. In other words, Vocational and Technical Education and Training . That the student teacher reflection is aimed at increasing their disability sensitivity and inclusion is fallacious. World Health Organization. Data analysis was done by first transcribing the audiotaped interview into word format, then both inductive and deductive approaches were used for coding, pattern development, matching and building themes and subthemes. J. Soc. Curriculum in 2018 was written to reform education and the school curriculum. doi: 10.36251/josi.149, Nakua, E., Yarfi, C., and Ashigbi, E. (2017). 10 Tips and Truths of Living with a Teacher, A Chance to Build Meaningful Relationships with Students, Engaging Students during the Long Winter Months, 5 REALISTIC Ways for Teachers to Get Healthier This Year. Yin emphasized that a single-case design could be selected because of its criticalness, extremeness, typicalness, revelatory power, or longitudinal possibility (Yin, 1994). New York: World Rehabilitation Fund. This study investigated the use of concept cartoons to diagnose and remedy pupils' misconceptions in selected science concepts. Assoc. J. Disabil. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Here are 10 misconceptions about teachers and teaching that emerged from readers (responses edited for brevity): The one misconception I would like to clarify is around the phrase, Those who can cannot do, teach. While many educators are active contributors to the particular area in which they have domain expertise (i.e. The metaverse is a tool that blends experiences typically associated with either the virtual or physical worlds. Her work has appeared in The Huffington Post, The Guardian, Scholastic, Inc., the College Board, the Center for Teaching Quality, and Education Week. One of the profound characteristics of the SDGS is the fact that all the goals are interconnected. Available at: http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Ghana/Ghana%20Education%20Strategic%20Plan.pdf (Accessed July 28, 2022). We employed a single-case exploratory study design to deepen our understanding of the preparedness of Ghanaian student teachers to implement inclusive education in one of the Colleges of Education in Ghana. The Impact of School Infrastructure on Learning: A Synthesis of the Evidence, Washington, DC: World Bank Publications. The GCM is a global tool for education and a global multi-stakeholder mechanism for education in the 2030 Agenda, with the governance mechanism for the GCM, being the High-Level Steering Committee (HLSC) that is mandated to take strategic decisions and action for education (20222023 members). Examples of how anthropomorphism is misleading. Calles, C. (2020). See response below: Whatever course that they take, we have components of misconceptions. The best way to answer this question is by sharing a few stories of your own. (2013). The aim of the study is to develop an understanding of the kinds and sources errors and misconceptions that characterise students' learning of school algebra. For example, Did the teacher ask learners with disabilities questions, and how did the teacher react to their responses? This will help identify the teachers perceptions, including biases and prejudices against learners with disabilities. There were storey buildings with no elevators, most of the entrances to the buildings were inhibited with steps and not ramps. For years, governments and other national and international stakeholders have focused their attention on making sure that all children can attend school, and they have backed up that commitment with funding. In their observation checklist, it is important that the students also identify whether what they identify are accessible to all learners particularly, persons with disabilities. GhanaS free senior high school policy: evidence and insight from data. Awareness of oneself is vital to bracketing biases and prejudices against vulnerable populations, including persons with disabilities. The curriculum of the Colleges of Education in Ghana emphasis on the need for student teachers to reflect on their own beliefs and biases to enhance acceptance and conscientious efforts toward accommodating learners with disabilities to increase their inclusion. Government of Ghana. Figure 1 gives a pictorial illustration of how a particular health condition/disorder could affect the body functioning, activity and participation. Given that persons with disabilities have been marginalized in all spheres of life, including their families and caregivers (Naami, 2019), conscientious efforts must be made to ensure that persons with disabilities/organizations of persons with disabilities or individuals/organizations that have the capacity to represent them are at the decision-making table to ensure that their needs are adequately addressed (Agyire-Tettey et al., 2019). Dev. The critical question is what to teach. United Nations Educational, Scientific and cultural organization [UNESCO]. 1. G. Scambler and S. Scambler (London: Palgrave Macmillan), 5776. doi: 10.1016/S0031-9406(10)62916-1. I can't attend a single event without one or two of these comments popping up. She was also awarded the 2011 Massachusetts Commonwealth Award in Creative Leadership, and in 2007 was named a member of the 2007 USA Today All-Teacher Team. I wrote an entire paragraph to which my former classmate responded: "We can agree to disagree." (2013). For example, in week five the learning activity for student teachers requires Observation of how socio-economic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds influence the way learners (a boy and a girl) learn. The statement above does not recognize disability as one of the backgrounds that influences learning. Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Teacher Education in Ghana: Policies and Practices. Initially, myths were largely on causes and vulnerability. The policy sets an agenda of child friendly schools, which implies schools in Ghana ought to look out for children; that is child-seeking and again they should focus attention on children; that is, schools should be child-centered. (2012). London: University World News, The Global Window on Higher Education. The SDG 4 aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (United Nations [UN], 2015). Other building facilities were ramped, but the ramps were not accessible. Teachers Standards for Ghana: Guidelines. Stud. 171, 434445. Mundial, Grupo Banco, and UNICEF. The GCM is built on the back of the 2015 Incheon Declaration and Education 2030 Framework for Action, which envisages a cooperation, monitoring and evaluation mechanism which has the Global Education Meeting (GEM) as the pivot of action (Mundial, Grupo Banco, and UNICEF, 2016). Agbenyega, J. S., Deppeler, J., and Harvey, D. (2005). Unlike gender which was given much attention and detailed reflection in the Colleges of Education curriculum. In year two, the student teachers are required by the curriculum to imbibe knowledge on values and attitudes that has the potential of impacting learning. The policy further envisions professional development of teachers in pedagogical skills that meets the needs of children with special needs using child-centered approaches. But how prepared are student teachers at Colleges of Education using the curriculum to promote inclusive education? The SDGs target 4.8 outlines the need to build and upgrade educational facilities that are disability sensitive. The Global Education Meeting therefore involves joint platforms and initiatives developed by those global education actors in pursuit of SDG 4. Int. It is important that persons with disabilities are explicitly mentioned in targets and indicators to ensure that their needs are adequately addressed. It's easy to describe a smart speaker's functionality in anthropomorphic terms such as "it listens" or "it understands". J. Disabil. Attitudinal barriers are cited as major barriers to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all spheres of life in Ghana (Kassah et al., 2012; Adjei et al., 2013; Dugbartey and Barimah, 2013; Naami, 2014). London: UPIAS. READ MORE Welcome to the Ministry of Education The Government of Ghana initiated some key education reforms to transform teaching and learning and improve educational outcomes under the Education Strategic Plan (ESP 2018-2030) which was approved by cabinet in November 2018. The inclusive policy of Ghana envisions the curriculum to be functional and consider the childs cultural background, family/community resources, values, interests, aspirations, future goals, and opportunities. One of the key roles of the HLSC is to ensure the systematic alignment of approaches for education-related targets within the wider United Nations SDG structure. See Appendix A for details of the interview guide. The multiple data collection sources allowed data triangulations, increased rigor, and credibility of the study as well as a deeper and holistic understanding of the phenomenon (Yin, 2009). In Ghana the role and importance of technical and vocational education and training ( TVET) are not clearly understood by the citizenry. I explained that tenure is a right to due process, so a teacher can't be fired without the administration presenting evidence that the teacher was incompetent or unprofessional. 2nd Edn. National Teachers Standards Guidelines for Ghana: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. As our own founding fathers knew, we need checks and balances in our schools. These outcomes were: Year one: awareness of self and learners as unique individuals, Year two: teachers values and attitudes impacting on pupils learning, how diversity impacts on learning, Year three: being a team member, co-teaching, and co-planning, planning for individualized instruction, Year four: teaching all learners; learners, school, and community. Although the various studies by Dodor et . (2018b). World report on disability online. It can deliver greater immersive learning for students while also creating some new and exciting teaching opportunities. "Teachers Have a Cushy Schedule", "Teachers have an easy schedule" is a frequently heard misconception, often followed by, "you're home by 3 p.m., and you've got weekends off." Post-2015 Education MDGs. This has the potential of influencing the learning experience of such students in the classroom. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Want to share a great resource? Many attend mandatory professional development, and some work to get their master's degree. In addition, the curriculum requires student teachers to find out if there are other learning resources apart from computer(s). by Nancy Barile, Award-Winning Teacher, M.A.Ed. Available at: www.t-tel.org/hub.html. According to the Colleges of Education Act of 2012, Act 847, the process of preparing teachers in Ghana to teach at the basic school level takes place at the College of Education (CoE). Edulearn19 Proc. (2017). There are two major case study designs: single-case study designs and multiple-case study designs. doi: 10.5430/jct.v9n1p86. There is nothing like hearing a former student tell you about the positive change you've made in their life. It's never wise to centralize power in one person, whether that's a superintendent or a mayor. The proponents of the Social Model of Disability acknowledge that impairment could pose a limit to the functioning of persons with disabilities. The Togo slippery frog was thought to be extinct. curriculum tasks student teachers to Identify school and student characteristics that act as barriers to learning. However, this statement is problematic as it is a wrong premise to understand barriers to learning for learners with disabilities. Kassah, A. K., Kassah, L. L., and Agbota, T. K. (2012). It further does not recognize learners with disabilities as a targeted category for student reflection. Incl. Front. Student teachers according to the Ministry of Education National (2018b) are individuals admitted to the Colleges of Education professionally trained and prepared to impart knowledge at the basic education levels. The Social Model of Disability was proposed by advocates of the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS) in 1976 (Shakespeare and Watson, 2010) which was later given credence to the works of scholars such as Oliver (1990), Oliver and Barnes (1998), Finkelstein (1980, 1988), Barnes (1991), and Shakespeare and Watson (2010). To these little ones, reading must be fun. But now, the University for Development Studies (UDS) and the University of Ghana, and other private universities have programs in teacher education (Newman, 2013; Ministry of Education, 2018a). Perhaps it would be a different matter if the conceptions of teaching were like those of NASA engineers: smart, genius! It was widely speculated that black people had some immunity against COVID-19. Adjei, P., Akpalu, A., Laryea, R., Nkromah, K., Sottie, C., Ohene, S., et al. The main body of the module focuses on a comparison between two contrasting countries in Africa: Sudan and Ghana. The National Teacher Education Curriculum Framework (NTECF) sets out the four pillars and cross-cutting issues for the initial training of all teachers at the pre-tertiary level (Ministry of Education National, 2017). The site observation was taken to audit the accessibility of the physical environment. Prod. Policies, targets, and strategies Education Strategic Plan 20032015 May. Teaching is the profession that makes all others possible, and what it lacks in salary, it makes up for in job satisfaction. The first 9years constitute basic education and are free and compulsory. Leal Filho, W., Shiel, C., Pao, A., Mifsud, M., vila, L. V., Brandli, L. L., et al. World Health Organization. 9, 8695. Visit our Privacy Policyfor more information. Socioeconomic factors hindering access to healthcare by persons with disabilities in the Ahanta west municipality, Ghana. Disability and Health. (2019). How to Respond to the 6 Biggest Misconceptions About Teaching by Nancy Barile, Award-Winning Teacher, M.A.Ed. The student teacher is required to reflect on seven questions listed under this theme but none of them captures disability. Curriculum in 2018, was written to reform education and the school curriculum. Thus, there are questions regarding participation on the student teacher checklist which states that: Did the teacher encourage students to actively participate in the lesson? Ministry of Education. Accra: Sakoa Press Ltd, Accra, Ghana. The components of the learning outcomes we analyzed in the light of the SDGs Goal 4 targets 4.5, 4.6, and 4.8 and the social model of disability (See Supplementary Tables S1S3). The SDGs Goal 4.5 explicitly mentions persons with disabilities. Available at: www.t-tel.org/hub.html (Accessed June 30, 2022). Available at: https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/204336.pdf (Accessed May 10, 2022). 27, 689701. (2021). Howard, H. A., and Rhule, A. 23, 15. Students' ages can range from 12 to 23 years old. Teach. Kokutse, F. (2018). (2011). Clean. The 5 million figure collaborates with the World Health Organizations estimates that disability affects 1520% of every countrys population (World Health Organization, 2018). Daily Monday-Friday. Confronting them is difficult for the student and the teacher. For most parts of the country, life is better than the outside world is made to believe. In response to the challenges confronting the education of students with disabilities in Ghana, stakeholders have made concerted efforts in the education sector to embrace the ideals of inclusive education. Feel free to quote Diane Ravitch, one of the most respected voices in education, who notes that unions protect teachers' rights, support professionalism, and check administrative power.

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