ABSTRACT
School authorities use monitoring to improve teaching and learning by providing practicing teachers with on-going support and guidance after their initial teacher training programs. Public opinion and research studies have questioned the effectiveness of monitoring in Ghanaian primary schools, however. The main purpose of this study is to better understand the practice of monitoring at the basic school level by examining teachers’ and Headteachers’ perspectives as well as the GES position through the head of monitoring and evaluation about how they experienced and conceptualize monitoring. A mixed method approach was employed to collect data from multiple sources including questionnaires, interviews, and documents on supervision of instruction. Item from the questionnaires and interviews were drawn from review of related literature on the concept. The questionnaire was both open and close ended. From the Kumasi metropolis a total of five basic schools were selected for study. In all 130 teachers and head teachers were selected and surveyed whereas some selected Headteachers and officials of the GES were conveniently selected for interview purposes. The study found that among the monitoring strategies outlined preparation of weekly forecasts and lesson notes remains the most widely used monitory tool in the metropolis. Also, the teachers and Headteachers of the basic school in the metropolis need some form of training. And that Headteachers at the basic schools are working to ensure the effectiveness of their schools. It was therefore recommended that, there should be periodic supervision to monitor teaching and learning activities and teacher-task–on-task in the schools and the use of
modern technique such as time clock can put teachers on task.
