Training and Development Programmes versus Lecturers’ Performance in Teaching: The Perception of Lecturers in the Sunyani Polytechnic, Ghana

Abstract

This paper investigates the contributions of human resources development programmes to the quality of teaching and learning with emphasis on the Sunyani Polytechnic in Ghana. The paper reviews relevant literature on the importance of continuous training programmes for lecturers in the Polytechnic. The paper juxtaposes relevant literature with what pertains in the Sunyani Polytechnic in Ghana, with regards to the urgent need for continuous and regular training for polytechnic lecturers. The study reveals evidence that lecturers need continuous improvement programmes to upgrade their skills to meet the ever changing needs of polytechnic education and stakeholders, especially students. The study again reveals that the rapid changes in the curriculum of polytechnic education institutions call for continuous improvement in the skillsets of lecturers. The paper recommends that training methodologies organised for staff of the Polytechnic should be practical, interactive and participatory and offered on regular intervals to bring lecturers up to date on current trends in teaching and learning in polytechnic education. This would be very useful to prevent career Plateauing and skill obsolescence among the lecturers of the Polytechnic.

Keywords: Ghana, teaching, learning, training, human resources, Sunyani Polytechnic