Teacher Trainees’ Self-Efficacy in Fostering Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Creativity and Innovation, and Digital Literacy as 21st Century Core Skills in Ghana

Abstract

Since the introduction of the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) programme in Colleges of Education in Ghana, it appears studies have not evaluated the self-efficacy of students in the B.Ed programme in delivering the pre-tertiary education curriculum introduced by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA). Guided by the social cognitive theory, this study sought to fill this gap. A descriptive survey design was used, where a total of 458 teacher trainees responded to a Likert scale questionnaire. Data collected from respondents were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings of the study show that teacher trainees have high self-efficacy in fostering Critical Thinking and Problem Solving (CTPS), Creativity and Innovation (CI), and Digital Literacy (DL), with an overall mean self-efficacy given as (M = 3.69, SD = .60). The study also found statistically significant differences in teacher trainees’ self-efficacy in terms of CTPS, t(368.12) = 2.23, p = .026, as well as DL for male and female teacher trainees, t(355.59) = 2.19, p = .029. Finally, the study found no statistically significant differences in the self-efficacy of respondents in fostering CTPS, CI, and DL based on the programme of study. The study concluded that teacher trainees have the required self-efficacy to be able to foster 21st-century skills in learners. Findings of the study offer a preliminary understanding that training of teachers aligns with the expectations of the National Teacher Education Curriculum Framework (NTECF).