Rural and Urban Kindergarten Teachers’ Self-Efficacy: Implications for the Implementation of the Standard-Based Curriculum in Ghana

Abstract

The study examined rural and urban kindergarten teachers’ teaching efficacy and
its implications for the implementation of the standard-based curriculum in Ghana.
It also examined whether kindergarten teachers’ teaching efficacy differs in terms
of teaching experience. It also sought to determine the influence of gender,
academic and professional qualification, job satisfaction, and teaching and
learning resources on teaching efficacy. The Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale
(TSES) was used to collect online data from 375 kindergarten teachers drawn from
rural and urban school settings. Findings from the study showed that kindergarten
teachers in rural school settings reported higher levels of teaching efficacy in the
area of instruction and pupil engagement than their urban counterparts. Again,
rural and urban kindergarten teachers’ teaching efficacy differs across the different
categories of teaching experience in areas of instruction and engagement but not
for classroom management. The findings further showed that job satisfaction did
not influence kindergarten teachers’ teaching efficacy. It is concluded that the
Ghana Education Service should organize continuing professional development
programmes to boost and sustain kindergarten teachers’ self-efficacy in areas of
instruction, classroom management, and engagement. Implications of the study’s
findings to research and practice are also discussed.