Evaluating the Level of Reflective Practice Among Pre-Service Teachers in Tumu College of Education, Ghana

Abstract

A report from the National Teaching Council of Ghana (NTC) shows that the performance of prospective teachers in General Professional Knowledge is dwindling. This calls for the need to assess the performance of final year pre-service teachers on key indicators like reflective practice, which is a cross-cutting issue in the standards set for teacher education in Ghana. This study sought to assess the levels of reflective practice of pre-service teachers in the Tumu College of Education, as well as differences in their reflective practices based on sex and programme of study. The descriptive survey design was used, where a total of 115 respondents who were conveniently sampled responded to a questionnaire. Data were analysed using means, standard deviations, and t-test. Findings of the study show that pre-service teachers reported a moderate level of reflective practice (M=3.27, SD= .75). However, the study found no differences in reflective practice among pre-service teachers based on sex t(113) = .90, p = .373, and programme of study t(113) = -1.07, p = .289. The study recommends that lecturers in Colleges of Education and mentors in partner schools incorporate reflective teaching in the training and mentorship of pre-service teachers through peer reflections during teaching, action research, and journaling, among others.