Teacher professional development through sandwich programmes and absenteeism in basic schools in Ghana

Abstract

Continuous professional development of teachers plays a crucial role in improving learning outcomes in schools. This study investigated how teaching time is lost when teachers absent themselves to participate in sandwich programmes to upgrade themselves in the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) in Ghana. Using a survey of 475 teachers pursuing sandwich programmes in the University and interviews with pupils and gatekeepers of schools in Effutu Municipality, it emerged that indeed, participation in sandwich programmes at UEW lead to loss of 45 days of classroom instructional time in basic schools. The academic calendars for basic schools and that of the sandwich programme overlap by 9 weeks, implying teachers who enroll in the sandwich programmes lose an average of 264 hours each of classroom instructional time with their pupils in an academic year. Other effects include inability of teachers to participate in religious and social activities such as worship, weddings and funerals. The study concludes that, although sandwich is a good approach for teachers to upgrade themselves, the existing arrangement is not favourable to the teachers and their pupils as time meant for classroom interactions are spent in the University campus on sandwich programmes. Therefore, harmonising the calendar arrangements could reduce the time loss by a minimum of 3 weeks to improve teaching and learning in schools.

Keywords: Teacher Absenteeism, Sandwich, Professional Development, Instructional Time