Research Setting

The research took place in the New Juaben Municipality (NJM). Koforidua is the municipal capital and the centre of most administrative, commercial and political activities. The Municipality has 52 settlements many of which have small population sizes and thus do not merit having essential services such as police stations, hospitals and institutions of higher learning. In this regard, most people in the rural areas, as well as other districts migrate to Koforidua to seek jobs. On the other hand, the proximity of the district to the national capital Accra also attracts a good number of people from the municipality especially the youth to the national capital in search of jobs, which are mostly non-existent. The municipality had a population of 136,768 as at the year 2012 with a growth rate of 2.6 %. Females are the dominant group and constitute 51.5% of the population and males 48.5 % of the population. The geographical location of the research site is next (fig 4.1).

Fig 4.1: Map Showing the Districts of the Eastern Region of Ghana

The research was conducted in teachers’ own classrooms with their usual pupils. This helped them quickly become accustomed to the study and reduced the likelihood of creating a tense atmosphere in the school. The involvement of individuals from different schools, who taught various grade levels, reflects my assumption that differences in mathematical backgrounds notwithstanding, all teachers may be capable of engaging in the process of assessment in the mathematics classroom.

4.6.1 Profile of Schools Visited

The two basic schools selected for the study have been assigned the pseudonyms ‘Obatan’ and ‘Calvary’ respectively. Obatan School is a relatively extensive institution situated in a big compound and surrounded by municipal offices. It accommodates a primary section that comprises five streams (A–E) operating on a shift system (where one school stream closes before the other starts). The school normally runs its timetable from 7.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. All the teaching staff, other than those primary teachers who teach in the shift system, remain on site until the end of the afternoon classes.

I visited Obatan and the Calvary school from the 12th _{May 2011 to 20}th _{September, 2011.} As stated earlier, the B Stream of Obatan School was selected on the recommendation of the headteacher (HT) and confirmed by the Circuit Supervisor of the area. The total population of the B stream was 468. All the classrooms were big with large numbers of pupils. The Primary 4 (P4) class had a population of 67 pupils. They sat on twin desks and the boys sat at the back of the class. There were 52 pupils in the JHS2 class. The teachers arranged their tables either at the back of the classroom or outside on the veranda, where they occasionally sat to mark exercises.

Calvary basic JHS was not a ‘shift’ school. It only operated one stream. It was one of a cluster of schools. The school opened at 8.00 a.m. and closed at 2.30 p.m. There were two classes for each grade in the primary section operating a ‘shift’ system whilst the JHS section had only one class for each grade. The participant profiles and number of pupils in each class have been summarised in tables 4.2 and 4.3 respectively

Table 4.2: Profile of Teachers

Source: author

A total of six (6) participants were selected from the two schools. Made up of two headteachers (1 from each school) and 4 teachers (1 each from P4 and P6 respectively). Two of the participants were females (one of them a headteacher).

The population of the primary section was higher than that of the JHS (see Table 4. 3) p.73. There are 65 pupils in primary 4 and 58 pupils in JHS 2. It is evident that class sizes in the two schools are high with an average of 60 pupils. Females outnumber the males in each class with an average of 31 females against 29 males.

School Headteachers Grade/Form Teachers Grade/ Form Obatan 1 1 JHS2 1 P4 Calvary 1 1 JHS2 1 P4 Total 2 4 6

Table 4.3: Number of Pupils in Each Class

School Class/Form Girls Boys Total

Obatan JHS2 22 30 52 P4 35 32 67 Calvary JHS2 31 27 58 P4 37 28 65 Total 125 117 242 Av 31 29 60.5 Source: author 4.6.2 Knowing Participants

All the participants in this study are professionals with each having at least five years’ teaching experience each. They are familiar with the basic school curriculum, which emphasises formal written examination as the principal means of appraisal, although teachers are supposed to conduct many of other classroom exercises and means of testing such as continuous assessment (CA). It is expected that those who teach mathematics at the JHS level and primary levels will be in a better position to reflect on their mathematics assessment practices. Selecting teachers and their headteachers from two schools for the study is also meant to avoid any contextual peculiarities. Sam, the JHS teacher at ‘Obatan’ School holds a diploma in statistics and has been teaching mathematics for the past eight years. He began his career working as a general teacher (he taught all subjects to a grade) in a nearby village until he was posted to his present school. He taught in the primary section for five years and then obtained a study leave

to continue his education in statistics. Although mathematics was not originally his favourite subject, he developed a passion for it through attending a series of in-service education and training (INSET) programmes organised by the Ghana Mathematics Association.

Ebow is a young P4 teacher at the ‘Obatan’ School and has a diploma in basic education. His preferred subject is literacy and he specialises in the local language “Twi”. He teaches mathematics because he is the only teacher for his class, which means that he has to teach all subjects. Ebow started teaching at the ‘Obatan’ School right after graduating from Teacher Training College (now known as College of Education). He has since attended only one INSET programme.

Tony is the headteacher of ‘Obatan’ School. He is a very experienced teacher who has taught for more than 20 years. He has been a headteacher for 12 years but was posted to ‘Obatan’ four years ago in the same capacity. Tony trained as a teacher after completing his elementary education, having obtained the then Middle School Leaving Certificate (MSLC). After eight years of teaching, he returned to his studies and obtained a Technical Teachers’ Certificate. He taught technical skills at the JHS level for five years until he was appointed headteacher of a village school. By dint of hard work, he rose through the ranks of the GES and he is now an Assistant Director of Education. The story was quite different in the Calvary school where both teachers selected had post-diplomas in basic education. John, the JHS teacher, had a first degree in social studies but taught mathematics out of interest because he was good at it at secondary

and college levels. He had attended three mathematics INSET sessions and was equipped with additional knowledge and teaching skills.

Awo is the P4 teacher at Calvary school. Although she was a very experienced teacher who had taught for ten years’ she confessed a ‘phobia’ and lack of interest in mathematics, and found teaching the subject a considerable challenge. She had taught at two other schools before moving to Calvary, where she has been teaching P4 ever since. Awo started teaching as a four-year Post-Middle School Leaving Certificate holder. She later achieved a diploma in education, and has recently enrolled to pursue a post-diploma programme through distance learning. Despite her lack of interest in mathematics, she has no choice but to teach it since she too is a class teacher who is required to teach all subjects. Mansah is the headteacher of Calvary School. She holds a diploma in Basic Education and she is an experienced teacher who has taught for ten years. She has been a headteacher for only two years at Calvary. Prior to her promotion as headteacher, she had taught in two other basic schools for a total of eight years. Mansah is also an Assistant Director of Education.