Development of a Capacity-Analysis Paradigm for the Senior High School Economics Teacher’s Professional Identity in Ghana

This study developed a set of core professional identity indicators to which professional Economics
teachers and Economics teacher educators in Ghana responded in order to determine their validity as
components of the Economics teachers’ professional identity in relation to their ideal professional
capacity. In specific terms, the study investigated opinions of respondents on the importance attached
to the rubrics of teachers’ professional capacity as well as differences in opinion on the importance
placed on indicators of teachers’ professional knowledge, values, skills and reflective practice. The
study was a descriptive type which employed the survey method. The study sample comprised 751
professional Economics teachers and 125 Economics teacher educators who were selected through
the simple random sampling technique. One self- developed instrument, Questionnaire on Senior
High School Economics Teachers’ Identity (QSHSETI) was used and a reliability index of 0.96 was
obtained. The data were analyzed using mean and the independent sample t-test. There are three
paradigmatic levels for considering teachers’ identity. They are the ideal paradigm as shown in Fig. 1,
the implementable paradigm as obtained by the researcher-developed instrument, and finally the
perceived or realistic paradigm based on the consensus of Economics teacher educators and
Economics teachers. The findings of this study revealed discrepancies in opinion between the
perceived competency and ideal targets of Economics teacher educators and that of Economics
teachers. Curriculum development in Economics teacher education should therefore aim at bridging
the gap between the ideal competency targets and the perceived or core competency targets. The
study concluded that, policy makers on teacher education should support continuous capacity-building
programmes among Economics teachers and Economics teacher educators. This study was carried
out with the intention that insights gained from it would be of assistance to Economics teachers,
curriculum developers, teacher educators, education policy makers and researchers, among others.
As part of the ongoing capacity-building courses for in-service Economics teachers, themes such as
techniques of enquiry in Economics education, teacher emotional well-being and, effectiveness and
skills of designing schemes of work should be incorporated so as to bridge the gaps in the teachers’
professional capacity in terms of knowledge, values and skills.