In 2013 the Ghana National Functional Literacy Programme (GNFLP) changed its approach to adult literacy. Instead of local language literacy learning facilitated by volunteers it now deploys Programme Assistants who previously administered the system as Adult Literacy Officers (ALOs) to facilitate literacy learning in English. This study explores what is happening in the GNFLP classrooms especially in view of the recent policy changes and other contextual challenges. The aim is to contribute to knowledge on the facilitation of adult literacy specifically in Ghana and how it is impacted by programme management issues and other contextual factors. A qualitative case study design was employed to explore the key question of how adult literacy facilitation in English is being accomplished in the Ghana NFLP and four sub-questions as follows: 1. How is literacy facilitation understood by the ALOs? 2. How does the understanding of literacy facilitation held by ALOs translate into the facilitation of the new policy of NFLP in English? 3. What difficulties do ALOs face in enacting facilitation? 4. What are the perspectives of the ALOs on their new role in the NFLP? Data collection comprised observation of six adult literacy classes, selected purposefully from a district in a southern region of Ghana. These were followed by semi-structured interviews with the six ALOs whose classes were observed. After initial analysis of the data, four telephone follow-up interviews were conducted to fill up gaps in data. In addition, documents including research reports on literacy, facilitation and second language teaching, as well as instructional materials were analyzed. All data sets were analyzed using thematic analysis framework because it is a flexible and useful research tool that gave me a means of providing a rich and detailed account of the data on facilitation. Secondly, it is not ‘wed to any pre-existing theoretical frameworks' so it made it easy for me to interrogate the data in this study adopting a constructionist epistemological position (Braun and Clarke, 2006: 9). The study was guided by Knowles' notion of andragogy which provides guidelines on how adults learn and Rogers' Facilitation Theory. The study revealed that although ALOs are expected to use andragogic methods in facilitating English literacy learning to adults, especially those with limited and no literacy, programme related factors make this difficult. Inadequate class inputs, ALO-related issues such as facilitator's own English linguistic competency and some level of difficulty with communicating with the learners whilst facilitating their English literacy limit learner participation and encourage a transmission approach. Although comprehension was facilitated through translation for participants, their English language production was very limited. However, participants benefitted more in public speaking even in their own language and a sense of solidarity from participation. The study concludes that second language literacy facilitation for adult learners requires linguistic as well as andragogic competence. Adequate resourcing and management of contextual issues are also factors that impact on facilitation of English literacy learning by adults. Better standards for deploying, building the capacities of the ALOs and managing the programme are therefore recommended if proficiency in literacy levels is to be attained by participants. The study sheds light on what pertains in an adult functional English literacy class in the GNFLP and has offered implications for policy and practice.

It has been nearly fifty-four years since Ghana nursed the dream of rapid social and economic development through science, technology and innovation. Ghana is yet to experience technological transformation to the level of other countries with which she was at par at the time of her independence. Gaps in understanding still remain in the Ghanaian experience in the development of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy. As such, a radical reform of the systems to help in the restructuring and transforming the economy is still lacking. In 2010 the government of Ghana developed an STI policy. The aim of this policy is to address all sectors of the economy in order to achieve growth and economic transformation. Analytically, the thesis takes a critical perspective to situate Ghana's socio-economic and political history in the discourses of the dependency theory framework and to examine how the STI policy at the higher education level in Ghana was formulated and how this had privileged different interests and what the implications are for the country. Mindful of the gaps and historic policy flows, the study took advantage of the researcher's insider position as an education expert and experience as the government policy developer. With this position and experience, the researcher orientation from the perspectives of policy-makers in Ghana was qualitative research methodology that focused on a case study approach, documentary analysis linked to a critical discourse analysis, observations, semi-structured and informal interviews and the use of a research diary to collect field data. The field data collected for the empirical analysis were documentary data, interview transcripts, interview notes, observation data and field notes. In a constructivist analysis, the interpretive paradigm approach, the notion of triangulation and reflexivity helped not only to privilege the multiple perspectives but to also illuminate the complexity and differences among the participants and other data sources to improve the quality of the data analysis. The research found that in Ghana's trajectory to modernity through education, the country was marginalised in technology by the advanced capitalist nations to produce low-skilled personnel to be exploited by corporations. Further, the government subcontracted the World Bank and UNCTAD to produce the 2010 STI policy to the neglect of its established institutions. This makes it difficult for the country to pursue an independent reflationary STI policy. Moreover, the documentary analysis of the policy revealed that the government of Ghana had focused mostly on basic education to the detriment of higher education and STI policy to further marginalise the country in technology to produce a low-skilled Ghana to be exploited by corporations. The implication is Ghana to restructure the content of education to build a solid foundation for the development of the STI policy in the country. The study, therefore, provides a solid critique of the country's economic policy and international commitments that perpetuate a dependent model of development to the neglect of STI policy in Ghana. In the wake of the new STI policy development paradigms, the study suggests the need for a shift in paradigm from poor interactive learning space to rich interactive learning space, an interactionist model approach underpinned by a rich interactive learning space as an analytical tool and a guide for STI policy formation in Ghana.

This study seeks to critically investigate the contribution of the School for Life (SfL) model of complementary education programme (CEP) in providing access to quality basic education in the Northern Region of Ghana. In so doing, it aims to examine the linkage between the SfL curriculum and pedagogy, and that of the Ghanaian lower primary school. This will enable a better understanding of the knowledge and skills that CEP graduates attain to enable them to integrate into formal education. The study is set against the background of the call for a replication of the SfL model as a mechanism for providing basic education to all marginalized communities. It is conducted using qualitative and quantitative approaches that fully capture the perspectives, experiences and learning achievements of pupils and other actors associated with both the complementary and formal education sectors in the Northern Region. The study examines the planned, implemented and received curricula of the two systems analysing them within a social constructivist framework. Implicit in this analysis is a comparison of the two curricula. This thesis shows that SfL‘s CEP is not formally structured to meet the requirements of the formal school curriculum. The curriculum materials and training offered to the facilitators do not make mention of the formal school curriculum. SfL has a restrictive focus on literacy and numeracy instruction delivered solely through the mother tongue of the pupils utilising learner centred approaches. Meanwhile the formal school curriculum lacks a clear focus and is embedded within an ambiguous language policy that allows teachers to code switch at their discretion. While the two curricula share similar characteristics of locally relevant themes or topics, the SfL curriculum is functionally relevant as it is designed to meet the social economic lives of the learners and their communities. The study also shows SfL graduates in formal school performing at almost the same level as pupils who enrolled in formal school through the regular route. Thus while SfL graduates miss the first three years of primary schooling, once they enrol in grade 4, there is no significant difference between the performances of the two sets of students.

A major vehicle for the decentralized implementation of education policies in Ghana is the district education office, the head of which is the district director of education. This study offers an understanding of the position of district directors of education (DDEs) and demonstrates the complex dynamics inherent in their work. It critically analyses the directors' rank and role as policy actors and their power to act. It also provides an informed view of how DDEs negotiate the challenges associated with the contexts within which they work. This study further examines the mechanisms for the DDE's identity construction and capacity to provide appropriate leadership and management. Adopting a social constructivist philosophical stance this research is framed in terms of narrative and case study. The data set comprises interviews with six DDEs studied as a single holistic case and a participant observation of a conference of directors. Additionally my personal experience as a district director provided deep insight complemented by a reflective research journal which documented my own biases, feelings and thoughts. The findings of the study suggest that policy formulation and implementation in Ghana does not seem to promote devolution of power from national policy actors to local-level actors in a manner that enables influence from DDEs. It illustrates that specific socio-cultural and organizational contexts have enormous influence on the professional identity formation of DDEs. The study concludes that an understanding of the complex contexts of the district director is critical for developing appropriate leadership and management practices. This study is pertinent to my own professional identity as an education administrator and a researcher. Fundamentally, this research has changed my perspectives on what it takes to be a district director and has enhanced my understanding of the research process. Its contribution to scholarship is the systematic re-examination of the district director position enabling a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. It is particularly relevant not only to my colleague directors, but also to senior education administrators in the GES and policy makers in the Ministry of Education.

In the last two decades, the global community and government of several countries have made heartening investments in promoting access to education in developing countries. It is estimated that since the reaffirmation by world leaders and development community to achieve education for all by 2015 in Dakar, Senegal, governments and donors have invested about US $15 billion annually in education. Despite the huge financial investments, empirical evidence shows that education outcomes remain low among school children in developing countries and key stakeholders in the education sector identified weak and ineffective supervision as one of the major factors responsible for the low educational outcomes. This study therefore examines the professional skills of school supervisors in ensuring effective teaching and learning in Ghanaian basic schools. Using the Ga South Municipality as a study area, I specifically explored the professional backgrounds of school supervisors, examining their recruitment and training processes, field experiences, and how they apply their professional knowledge to the school supervision process. Employing a purely qualitative case study approach under pinned by the concept of social constructivism, I engaged 7 school supervisors, 5 teachers/headteachers, 2 directors of education and 2 PTA/SMC members. I used in-depth interviews, observations and documentary reviews as the methods of data collection. The study made the following findings: With regard to the professional background and qualification, the supervisors who participated in the study are well qualified and experienced in the field of education. They are all trained professional teachers with over 10 years of classroom teaching experience. They also held Bachelor's Degrees; however, not all of them have pursued degree programmes in the field of education. Majority of them specialised in fields such as political science, sociology, human resources management, psychology, and history – and none had received any formal training in education administration or supervision. The supervisor recruitment process is characterised by the phenomenon of neo-patrimonialism where political and traditional authorities use their influence and power to mount pressure on education officials to select their preferred candidates (mainly party faithfuls) as supervisors. Any resistance from an education director is interpreted as seeking the downfall of the political head and his or her administration. In terms of skills training, there is no formal pre-service and in-service training (INSET) programme designed to enhance the professional development of supervisors in the skills of supervision. Supervisors were reliant on peer training and support (both skills development and material) from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to build their professional capacity. Training provided by NGOs were governed by their philosophies or that of their donor partners rather than the sector policies of the Ministry of Education and GES. The study also revealed that even though supervisors have the knowledge in the field of education, they are deficient in the ‘technical' and ‘interpersonal skills' necessary for effective supervision in schools. There is also a general lack of material resources necessary for efficient supervision of schools. Based on these findings as a whole, the study recommended an intervention in the form of a comprehensive policy to govern basic education supervision; the initiation of education supervision training programmes in pro-education specialisation tertiary institutions such as the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and the University of Education Winneba (UEW); and a clear framework to control and coordinate the activities of NGOs working in the field of education management and supervision in Ghana.

This qualitative case study explores how policy is developed and implemented in public universities in Ghana, using the case of the University of Education, Winneba. It draws on a theoretical rationale in which inclusion and inclusiveness are seen as paramount (Lewin, 1951; Schein, 1995; Robins, 2003) to specifically question the influence of different stakeholder groups in the development and implementation of policies in the University. The study utilized data from two sources: the analysis of policy documents, and semi-structured one-on-one interviews with fifteen senior non-teaching and teaching staff in three of the four University of Education campuses. The findings discussed in the two analysis chapters – Chapter Four and Chapter Five - indicate that not all stakeholders of the university community are involved in policy reforms. The discussion in Chapter Four suggests that some policy reforms are handled by the Governing Council and/or the Academic Board without much consultation with stakeholders. Junior level staff are the most excluded from the policymaking process with the effect that in some cases University management decisions become policies. Chapter Five discusses stakeholder participation and finds that efforts are made to disseminate policies although there are gaps in the dissemination methods and implementation. The main policy implementation gaps are the lack of proper evaluation and follow-up mechanisms for investigating the magnitude of collegiate participation and the impacts of such participation. Given that all the stakeholders are required to support new policies irrespective of their gender and/or position, the study contends that collegial participation in the policy development and implementation processes is very important. Overall, it may be argued that stakeholder perspectives on policy development practices within UEW contradicts Muller's (2007) concerns that academic institutions are nurtured through the adoption of sound policies through wide faculty consultation. Due to the small number (fifteen) of participants and considering that this was a case study, it is recommended that future studies are scaled up to include a fuller range of views (junior and senior members) from both public and private universities.

This thesis examines the factors that make the low-fee private school (LFPS) accessible to the poor. While the provision of education in developing countries has traditionally been regarded as the responsibility of the state, recent evidence on the growth of the LFPS in such contexts appears to challenge the government's role as the most viable option. The main argument of the thesis is that the poor have no real choice. The thesis also argues that fee-free public education only provides a partial solution to the financial barrier to access since there are factors other than direct costs that influence the way poor households respond to principles of supply and demand for education. The state's role in the provision of education is supported by the argument that it is a public good, and it must therefore remain the responsibility of the government to protect the poor and other vulnerable groups from denial of access. Nevertheless, private education provision is a growth enterprise in rural areas, one key reason for which is the perception that it provides a better quality of education than the state can offer. Given such expansion in an era of fee-free public education, some commentators have questioned whether those that send their children to an LFPS can really be described as poor, since school choice is clearly dependant on the ability to meet the costs. In order to understand how the cost and quality of education interact with school choice decisions, 536 households in three poor rural communities of Mfantseman District, Central Region, Ghana were surveyed. The data were used to examine the difference in cost between public and private provision, and to explore those factors associated with school choice and the related expenditure. In addition, to gain further insight into the implications of the survey's statistical outcomes, a number of participants with interests in both public and private schools were interviewed – including 38 household heads in the lowest income quintile, 6 head teachers, 14 teachers, 8 parents, 7 Parent Teacher Association (PTA) executives and 3 School Management Committee (SMC) executives with children in both school types. The findings reject the hypothesis that school choice in the communities under study was not affected by socio-economic factors, since the majority of households had no real option. In particular, the prohibitive cost of food at both types of school, but compulsoriness at LFPSs, had adverse consequences on the willingness of children to attend. However, a minority of poor households that did access LFPSs were able to do so due to school practices such as flexible fee schemes, teacher discipline and better interaction with parents, as well as through assistance obtained via social networks. In addition, the study also finds that private schools had a better track record in BECE examination than public schools in the communities under study. What is clear is that, this better BECE track record by LFPSs coupled with higher aspirations that some poor households have for their children fuelled interest in private schooling. The study concludes that the claim that the rural poor access LFPS in numbers has been exaggerated. This is because it is the relatively better-off households that enrol their children in private school, while a minority of the poor that access LFPSs are able to do so because of manipulative school practices and the nature of its interaction with parents. As a result, the study suggests that it would be in the interests of the poor if rural public schools were improved – including the provision of free school meals – given that greater state support to the private education sector would only benefit the relatively better off. Finally, fee-free public schooling facilitated by the capitation grant should ensure that schools are more accountable to the communities they serve – schools should be made to show how the grant was used to improve access and quality and together with the community set targets for improvement. Improving academic quality and teacher discipline would enable them to restore their image in rural communities and hence encourage demand for public education.

In Ghana, two government commissioned committee reports and a major research study raised concerns about the quality of the country's teacher education programme. The quality deficiency was attributed to a disjuncture between the theory and practice of teaching. To bridge this theory-practice gap, the University of Education, Winneba, adopted a one-year school-based student internship as an innovative component of its 4-year teacher education programme for upgrading in-service teachers to replace the traditional 4-6 weeks teaching practice, with classroom teachers serving as mentors for student teachers. Since the heart of mentoring is the mentor-mentee relationship, this study explored in depth the mentor-mentee relationships of a Cooperative-Reflective model of mentoring adopted by the University of Education, Winneba, (UEW), Ghana, for its student teachers in an attempt to understand the nature of these professional relationships and how they facilitate teacher professional learning, growth and development. A qualitative ethnographic case study approach was used to study five cases of mentor-mentee relationships from the lived experiences of mentors and mentees involved in the University's student internship programme. The data were collected from interviews, observations, and document analysis. Trustworthiness of the research was ensured through the multiple sources of data, peer review, member checks, as well as the description of themes in the participants' own words. The study revealed that although the involvement of classroom teachers in the professional training of student teachers is a novelty in teacher education in Ghana, and a great departure from the old teaching practice, the programme has some conceptual and implementation challenges. First, the old conception of a hierarchical relationship between student teachers and their supervisors still persists contrary to the collegial, collaborative, reciprocal and critical reflective conceptions that underpin the UEW mentoring model. This is attributable to the lack of sensitivity to the socio-cultural and professional contexts in which the model is being implemented. The Ghanaian society is hierarchical; age is, therefore, equated with experience, respect, authority, and reverence. Fostering collegial relationships among mentors and mentees in this cultural context becomes problematic. Again, even in the Ghanaian teaching profession, inherent in the professional ethics is the respect for rank and social distance. It is, therefore, difficult for teachers of lower ranks to forge collegial relationships with those of higher ranks. Second, there is a dearth of direction and guidance on the selection of mentors and the matching of mentors and mentees. This results in the mentors and mentees going through the mechanics of the relationship without there being any substantive professional learning from their interactions. The current practice where the responsibility for the selection of mentors and the matching of mentors and mentees is vested in the heads of partnership schools/colleges results in instances of mismatch in terms of age, gender, experience, and personal chemistry. Third, the programme targeted the wrong type of student teachers; hence the superficial nature of the professional learning that occurred in the relationships. Since they were not novice teachers, but had teaching experiences ranging from five to twenty-seven years, they did not find the professional learning experience challenging enough. Finally, the programme did not envision that the collegial, collaborative and participatory learning strategies that are supposed to characterise the mentoring relationship are to have their parallels in the teaching and learning contexts of the mentoring dyad in schools and colleges in terms of a shift in pedagogy. The findings suggest that theoretical positions alone cannot provide sufficient basis or framework for the development of a mentoring programme. It must be based on the socio-cultural as well as the professional factors within the context of implementation since it is the interaction between particular mentors and particular mentees in their particular contexts that determines the type of relationship to be established and the type of professional learning that will result.

Assessment is considered a powerful tool for improving learning outcomes and education quality. However, limited empirical research on classroom assessment exists in many developing countries including Ghana. This study explores the issues of mathematics classroom assessment in Ghana. Specifically, it investigates and analyses mathematics teachers' views and practices of assessment with specific reference to the implication for learning. Although the main focus of this study is on teachers' assessment practices, an examination of their conceptions of the nature of mathematics is undertaken to facilitate an in-depth understanding of teachers' views and practices. The research is mainly qualitative by design and employs both interpretative and exploratory strategies. Classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and document reviews are used as instruments for data collection through a non-participant observation method. A purposive sampling method is used to select six participants: four teachers and two headteachers for the study. This research study explores key factors affecting assessment practices in mathematics classrooms. In particular, it provides an analysis firstly of teachers' views about assessment emphasising improvement and accountability and secondly of the different types of knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of the mathematics teachers, and their relationship with practice. Attention is directed to the teacher's practical knowledge of teaching, of mathematics and how assessment comes into play. Also notable is the importance attached to the teachers' beliefs concerning the nature of mathematics. Findings from this study show that teachers use both formal and informal assessments in mathematics classrooms although formal assessment dominates practice. Teachers' views about assessment and their conceptions of the nature of mathematics are related to their classroom practices. Beyond these two factors, this exploratory study illustrates how teachers' assessment practices are affected by a number of contextual factors which are related to institutional policies, professional development and classroom conditions. There are implications of this research for the implementation of assessment for learning in Ghana. It is evident that in the current context, the widespread implementation of assessment for learning is ambitious and would demand well-defined and context-specific approaches to classroom practices. The introduction of these innovative assessment practices marks a significant departure from traditional practice and as such may require regular professional support and a coordinated and collaborative effort from policy makers, schools and teachers.

School improvement in public schools remains a challenge in many developing countries, including Ghana. Many researchers have highlighted the need for strong headteacher leadership and the active participation of the community, including parents, in the efforts to improve public schools. Research in developed countries‟ education systems have brought to the surface some of the factors underpinning successful public schools, however in developing countries there has been a lack of research surrounding how headteacher leadership and community engagement with schools affect schooling outcomes. This lack of research has resulted in the use of recommendations tendered by global research regarding school effectiveness and school improvement to inform developing country policies on how to improve public education. In many cases, private schools have been used as the model for failing public schools, yet from national basic education certificate examinations (WAEC, 2012) it is evident that some public schools, even in disadvantaged areas, are managing to provide quality education. The key questions that this thesis explores are: What conditions prevail in high performing public schools serving disadvantaged communities? What has been the role of headteacher leadership and community participation in securing improvement of these schools? Thus, this study has sought to investigate the conditions prevailing in high performing public schools and what role school headteachers leadership and community engagement played in creating the environment conducive to effective teaching and learning. Using a qualitative case study research design data was collected through interviews, observations and documentary reviews to explore the views and experiences of headteachers, teachers and parents regarding the improvements in the schools. Results show that conditions, such as the existence of safe and protective classroom infrastructures, critical engagement of parents and community members in all aspects of the school‟s development, adoption of diverse proactive teaching and learning approaches; and the strong visionary and transformational leadership exhibited by the headteachers appear to have been driving forces in these successful schools. The thesis concludes with key recommendations for policy makers in developing countries on strategies that might be taken to turn failing public schools into more functioning schools. These recommendations include: • Targeting the beneficiaries of capitation grant to needy students or increasing the grant • Providing school infrastructure to take the burden from schools • Encouraging community participation in school improvement strategies • Enhancing competencies of headteacher leadership to influence school improvement strategies.