Teacher Capacity for Play-Based Learning in Ghana and Sierra Leone: Needs and Challenges of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
Play-based involves increasing children’s engagement with learning content via play-based methods such as songs and games.
“I use story sharing. I use more of the rhymes and songs, especially when teaching numbers. I use number songs so that they are able to learn the numbers through the songs.”
— Teacher, Akuapem South District, Ghana
Play-based learning (PBL) plays a crucial role in early childhood development. In recognition of this fact, Ghana and Sierra Leone have recently incorporated PBL into their early education curricula.
The GPE KIX project Teacher Capacity Building for Play-Based Early Learning in Ghana and Sierra Leone, implemented from 2022 to 2024, explored play-based pedagogy and the potential for scaling early childhood education (ECE) in the two project countries. This blog reflects on the challenges teachers report as they aim to implement play-based learning in their classrooms and potential solutions.
Importance of training and professional development for the implementation of PBL
In September 2019, Ghana launched its new standards-based curriculum — marking the first update to the early childhood curriculum in almost two decades. Full implementation of the curriculum began in 2020, and teachers were given two weeks of training on it by the Ghana Education Service (GES). The training was in the form of a cascade model — master trainers provided training to a group of designated trainers who went on to train teachers. However, many teachers perceived the initial training they received as inadequate.
Now, in both Ghana and Sierra Leone, PBL professional development can take many forms, including workshops, seminars, continuing education courses and collaborative learning communities. These training programs offered by education innovators (NGOs) and providers (organizations and individuals) certified by the National Teaching Councils, help teachers stay up to date with the latest educational practices, learn new teaching techniques and gain insights into different strategies and approaches from experts and peers. NGO-led initiatives such as the Fast-Track Transformational Teacher Training program (FTTT) by Sabre Education, the Partners for Play programme by Right to Play and the Teaching as Collective Leadership (TACL) model by Teach for Sierra Leone develop the capacity of teachers to incorporate play through structured activities and group work, fostering creativity and critical thinking in the classroom.
“With play-based approaches I now serve more as a facilitator of learning while the children are actively engaging with the play materials. It has helped improve their understanding of concepts and consequently improved learning outcomes.”
— Volunteer Fellow, Makeni, Sierra Leone.
While teachers from the study confirmed that play-based methodologies enhance their ability to impart knowledge to the children, challenges to PBL remain.
What are the challenges to developing teachers’ capacity?
There are several challenges to developing teachers’ capacity for PBL in Ghana and Sierra Leone.
Pre-service training inadequacies: Trainee teachers in colleges of education in Ghana expressed concerns about inadequate training and practice in play-based methods of teaching. Some tutors perceive play-based methods as ineffective and so do not incorporate them into their teaching. Students complained about receiving little to no training from tutors on play-based methods, and tutors often failed to demonstrate play-based methods in class. This lack of exposure leaves trainee teachers with little to no practical knowledge of play-based methods and significantly impairs their ability to implement them in their own teaching. Additionally, even when trainee teachers received some training, the limited lesson time restricted their opportunities for hands-on practice. In Sierra Leone, 59% of our survey respondents strongly agreed or agreed that there was a disconnect between what was taught in the colleges of education and the reality on the ground.
We have been taught only the theory aspect, and we didn’t even go into details about how to make good use of [teaching and learning materials] in play-based learning in our classrooms.”
—Student Teacher, Tamale College of Education
Teaching and learning resource challenges: Related to the challenge of inadequate training is the inadequate provision and maintenance of teaching and learning materials. In Sierra Leone, the government plays a dominant role in supplying teaching and learning materials, and education innovators, individual schools and community stakeholders are responsible for maintaining them. In Ghana, while some education NGOs or innovators such as Sabre Education and Right to Play contribute to the provision of teaching and learning materials, in general, head teachers draw from the government’s capitation grant — which many describe as insufficient — to provide the majority of them. Teachers and head teachers frequently take on the additional burden of creating teaching and learning materials themselves, especially after receiving training on how to develop low-cost materials.
“I sometimes need to use my own money for some of the things we use in the school such as teaching and learning materials.”
— Head Teacher, Akuapem South District, Ghana.
In play-based teaching, formative assessment is primarily focused on observing the children’s activities and interactions with each other. Tools used include anecdotal records, portfolios and child folders (dossiers) to track the development of the child over time. However, the study revealed significant gaps in the availability of these tools. In Sierra Leone, only 39% of the surveyed schools had access to the official kindergarten curriculum, compared to 92% in Ghana. Additionally, 44% of schools in Sierra Leone reported having portfolios, compared to 40.5% in Ghana, and only 38% of schools in Sierra Leone and 35% in Ghana used child folders.
Limited access to professional development: In Ghana, teachers receive an annual allowance for continuous professional development (CPD). However, the amount they receive is often inadequate — 91% of teachers surveyed indicated that they paid of pocket for CPD. In Sierra Leone, teacher professional development is the sole responsibility of the government, so teachers do not pay for it. However, government resources are limited, and few teachers have access to professional development.
Size of classrooms: To successfully implement PBL, teachers must also be able to manage their classrooms effectively, engage all students and vary their teaching strategies to accommodate and assess all types of student learning. A large class size can compromise a teacher's ability to do so. In Ghana, the recommended number of students in preschool and primary classrooms is a maximum of 30 and 35, respectively. Our study found that the average number of students in both preschool and primary classrooms was approximately 40. Ninety per cent of our respondents rated their classroom management as low or moderate, which clearly indicates a need for improvement. In Sierra Leone, the average class size for primary years 1–3 was 76 students — much higher than the 2022 national average of 63 — which indicates an issue with overcrowding and a potential challenge when implementing PBL.
Gender bias: This challenge affects kindergarten ECE specifically. Male trainee teachers who graduate as ECE teachers tend not to work in ECE because they perceive it as a female domain, and attrition rates are high. Our findings revealed that male graduates frequently opt for careers outside of ECE or prefer roles other than classroom teaching within ECE. Additionally, high-performing female kindergarten teachers are frequently reassigned to teaching roles in the primary sector. In Sierra Leone, enrolment in teacher training colleges for ECE is low, with students preferring courses that focus on other teaching sectors primarily because of stereotyping of ECE teachers.
Recommendations for strengthening capacity of teachers in play-based learning and teaching
Overall, our findings illustrate the need to raise awareness — particularly among in-service teachers and aspiring teachers entering the colleges of education — of the value of both embracing PBL in the classroom and solidifying teachers’ skills in this area.
We find that that although both Ghana and Sierra Leone are achieving positive outcomes with the PBL curriculum, such as improvements in literacy and numeracy, not all teachers have the required capacity to effectively implement it. This gap must be addressed.
To do so, we recommend preparing pre-service teachers by integrating play-based learning pedagogy into the teacher training curriculum and using a combination of in-person and online teacher professional development training approaches.
We also recommend scaling up current ECE innovations for play-based teacher training and integrating them into teacher professional development portals in Ghana and Sierra Leone. If these trainings are integrated with professional development portals, the National Teaching Council of Ghana and Teaching Service Commission of Sierra Leone can reach a wider audience of teachers, equipping them with the relevant skills and resources to implement effective PBL.
Our work further suggests that providing incentives such as scholarships and public recognition or awards for trained teachers at the ECE level could help counteract the negative stereotypes they face and potentially encourage more pre-service teachers to choose ECE as their field of study in college.
Learn more:
Advancing play-based learning through improved continuous professional development | GPEKIX
Teacher beliefs, attitudes and practices in play-based teaching and learning in Ghana | GPEKIX
The impact of play-based learning pedagogy on learners | GPEKIX
