A Review of the Geography One Aspect of the 2010 Geography Syllabus for Senior High Schools in Ghana

Abstract

This is a non-empirical article whose main focus is a review of the 2010 Geography One Teaching syllabus currently being used in Senior High Schools in Ghana. Though the 2010 SHS Geography syllabus has been structured and organized into three sections, the review has however been done on the Physical and Practical Geography aspects which constitute the Geography One domain of the syllabus. Certain principles for evaluating instructional programmes (curricula) have been used to assess the relevance of the syllabus to the Geography student in particular and the Ghanaian context in general. The review focused on a discussion of the relative strengths and weaknesses in the organization and integration of content and learning experiences towards the attainment of instructional objectives. The review holds the view that the new syllabus is a comprehensive document which has used the holistic approach to address issues of interconnections, distribution linkages and patterns of geographic phenomena and processes and above all, has been able to blend all the components of content to a very high degree. In conclusion, the article suggests that the designers of the syllabus should take steps to rectify the shortcomings identified and then pass on the feedback to the classroom geography teacher for implementation. But before this is done, the article recommends the use of the new Geography One Syllabus in all Senior High Schools where geography is taught.

Key Concepts: Teaching syllabus, curriculum principle, geography, evaluation, strengths, weaknesses