Pre-service teacher preparation for early childhood education in Ghana: A review of literature

As a result of the continued interest in the expansion of early childhood education opportunities in Ghana, questions have arisen about how to prepare teachers for work in this context. This literature review explores the state of pre service teacher preparation for early childhood education in Ghana. Findings from the review show that Ghana faces a lot of challenges including lack of trained teachers, poor infrastructure, and poorly developed teaching and learning. The first formal declaration to address early childhood education in Ghana came in the form of the Gold Coast Colony Education Department schedule of 1930, which included a syllabus for infant classes as part of a primary schedule. The syllabus included instruction based on games, physical exercises, spoken English, singing, and arithmetic (McWilliam, H.O.A., & Kwamena-Po, M. A. (1975). After Ghana gained independence in 1957, the Education Act of 1961 was enacted to designate preschool as the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, and also declared compulsory basic education (Kindergarten- Middle school) as free for all children from age Four (4) to age Fifteen( 15). Four years later, the Nursery and Kindergarten Unit of the Ghana Education Service was created. The purpose of that unit was to develop preschools, nurseries, Kindergartens, as well as assist in the evaluation, control, and registration of these institutions. The idea of employing teaching staff who were trained teachers and professionals, led to the establishment of the National Nursery Teachers’ Training Centre in Accra in 1965 to train early childhood personnel (Morrison, 2002). By the year 1975, the Department of Social Welfare supervised 488 day care centres and the Ghana Education Service supervised 567 nursery schools and Kindergartens which enrolled 56,089 children. In an effort to regulate these early childhood centres and their programmes, the Department of Social Welfare established guidelines, which required centres to apply for permit and therefore register with the Department of Social Welfare. The Children’s Act of 1989 was therefore established and put into effect.