CHALLENGES IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGES IN THE VOLTA REGION OF GHANA IN PROMOTING QUALITY TEACHING AND LEARNING

Quality teaching and learning cannot be underestimated if best learning outcomes are to be derived from any educational engagement. Anytime the academic year is ending all stakeholders get filled with the anxiety of what becomes the end result of educands. This even looks more pronounced with the parents and headmasters / educational leaders of various pre-tertiary beneficiary institutions as a result of the fact that decisions are made for the forward match of educands based on their current educational achievement. Not only are the results of educands used to make decision on their next placement for continuity of their educational lives, but also used as the dependent variable in engagement in any job sector whether casual or permanent and also in determining issues of scholarship for more educational exploits of such educands. Thus, a much public outcry became evident when BECE candidates of 2008 had more than 50% failing the test and the sector got shaken. The teacher training colleges produce majority of the teachers that implement education at the basic level. There was therefore the need for such institutions to locate antidotes to the menace of poor performance in education outcomes. The gap existing related to specific research into locating the teacher training college factor in such abysmal performance of basic school graduates. The best way for such colleges was to examine their system if quality teaching and learning was going on to produce quality and competent teachers that finally implement education at the basic system, hence the need for a research like this. The study conducted in 2008 in four teacher training colleges in the Volta Region, was mixed method. Homogeneous purposive sampling was adopted to select 112 participants who produced data through filling of open and close ended questionnaire. Findings included inadequate laboratory /resource centres, and library facilities coupled with inadequate commitment of some tutors to their lessons. The study recommended that colleges should engage in more IGF ventures to support themselves and supervision of teaching and learning should consistently be engaged in by administrators.