Towards the Teaching of Computer Programming in Rural Ghana: Teacher Motivation, Tools and Policy. A Case of Senior High Schools in Northern Ghana.

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of Senior High School teachers in rural Ghana in the teaching of computer programming while considering the difficulties that policies and tools for teacher motivation present. Extant studies on the teaching of computer programming have largely focused on developed nations. Similarly to this, a close examination of the literature reveals that the majority of the experiences of computer programming in schools occur in western countries also referred to as Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) nations. Additionally, many extant studies on computer programming have called for studies on the teaching of programming in rural developing economies like Ghana to help broaden the scope of the impact of the implementation of the subject in the Ghana Education Service (GES) since 2007. This study adapts the Fit-Viability theory, the quantitative methodology, and the survey approach to examine how computer programming is taught in rural Senior High Schools in the northern part of Ghana and the factors that negatively affect or influence teachers in these rural areas of the country. The target population for this study was teachers in the five regions of the north namely: Northern, North East, Savannah, Upper West, and Upper East who are into the teaching of computer programming. After two and half months of data collection, one hundred and fifty (150) questionnaires were valid for statistical analyses. To test the hypothesis, the Partial Least Squares Structural Model (SmartPLS-SEM) approach was used. The findings indicate that the task characteristics of teachers teaching computer programming in rural Senior High Schools in northern Ghana have a significant impact on teacher performance in the subject (CP). The studies also found that IT infrastructure is crucial in the delivery of lessons by teachers. Furthermore, the findings indicate that teacher motivation has a considerable impact on teachers' lesson delivery and performance. Additionally, the study concluded that favorable educational policies for rural Senior High Schools can result in optimal CP teacher performance. Similarly, economic conditions benefit teachers who teach computer programming in rural SHSs in northern Ghana. The current study contradicted the theory in terms of organizational support. This implies that, if the other factors mentioned above are improved, organizational support alone cannot affect the performance of teachers teaching programming in rural SHSs. Moreover, some implication of the study is that the Ministry of Education (MoE), Ghana Education Service (GES), and other stakeholders or agencies involved in the education sector need to invest enough funds into computer programming education in rural areas of the country. Lastly, the study recommends that future research studies on the teaching of computer programming should consider using a qualitative technique to extract interpretations and experiences to contrast with the results of this current study.