(introduction...)

It is very difficult to attribute any one factor to explain why some teachers report and some do not, but it is interesting and revealing to examine how newly trained teachers explain why they accepted their posting. Almost all the teachers, who had been posted to rural areas, spoke of their disappointment at first; most had chosen the more popular regions and had hoped for a more urban setting to teach in. The following is fairly typical:

Initially I was very very annoyed [at being posted to a rural area]. I didn't like it at all. People were giving me comfort saying I should come friends, pastor, relatives etc...my uncle is a teacher, he encouraged me. [Male teacher in a rural primary school]

This teacher acknowledges that the influence of having family members who are teachers was a factor in encouraging him to accept a difficult posting and he seems to have felt social pressure to behave responsibly, but bearing in mind the findings of the UNICEF/GES study on motivation cited earlier, this may not be the strongest influence on teachers who are genuinely reluctant to be teachers. However, the social pressure, and the moral ethic of teaching it emphasises, offers a framework for more committed teachers to consider their own work and judge other colleagues whose standards fall short through: not reporting, drunkenness and other misdemeanours. The following quotations represent views expressed to me by about half of my sample and, it should be noted, might well be expressed alongside more pragmatic views of the profession and their careers within it, an example of what Jessop and Penny called "differing professional outlooks" (1998) that teachers might use to make sense of their work and their roles:

My father is a teacher [...] the way my father brought us up I actually admired him so when I was young I dreamed of being a teacher to bring up children and train them [...] Teaching is the best. Even Jesus was a great teacher. It is the greatest thing to be a teacher and train children to be responsible in the community. Give your best, even if the government isn't rewarding them, God will reward them. [Female teacher in a rural primary school]

[...] this is the first time coming here. I've always been in the city so it's a change of environment. It's my first time to be in village. I like it, I want to experience life well and help the children too. [...] I wanted to know other areas so that when you are at the top you know how the downtrodden are living, you don't see these things in the city. [Male teacher in a rural primary school]

The job is seen, either in religious terms, almost a vocation, or in developmental terms as a contribution to society, or more commonly, as a mixture of both, with some spirit of adventure thrown in. Once the job had been framed in that way, it allowed some of them to speak forcefully about punishing teachers who had not reported to their post, or had transferred from rural areas without completing the bond period, though the latter tended to be viewed more sympathetically. Teachers seemed to be trying to negotiate the contradictions of traditional high status notions of being community-oriented teachers, and modern individualistic conceptions of self-advancement and self-reliance. There was considerable resentment among the majority of rural teachers towards their less responsible colleagues, but also a keen awareness of the failures of the system that might lead to certain kinds of behaviour. There was also fairly strong support for the reintroduction of the bond and its enforcement; some took a hard line view, given that they themselves had accepted difficult postings, while others were more equivocal, noting the poor conditions and continued lack of incentives in many areas.

Almost all the teachers expressed some understanding for the reasons that teachers did not accept difficult postings. It was also noted that the district offices sometimes didn't help teachers in getting to the more remote schools and seemed to know very little about them, sometimes actively discouraging teachers from going:

[If someone doesn't report] ...you need to know about the situation. Maybe they have nowhere to stay, no money, the reason they are moving must be established. [Male teacher in a rural JSS]

[Do you have problems of teachers not reporting here?] Especially lady teachers. One was posted here as one of four, but at the district office they laughed at her for thinking of going to the remote area so she transferred. [Head teacher of a rural primary school]

There was general support among the teachers I interviewed for the development of stronger ties between schools and communities; in the past many schools had been seen by isolated rural communities as "alien"⁸ institutions, as one district director put it. Although it is too early to fully evaluate its impact, the recently introduced policy of School Performance Appraisal Meetings (SPAMs) seems to have rebuilt a sense of collective responsibility among teachers and communities and may well be the start of a culture of co-operation and accountability that should benefit teachers and pupils. All the teachers interviewed who had experienced SPAMs recognised their value and some had seen positive outcomes in terms of provision of food and subsidised housing as a direct consequence.

⁸ This point was put to me by one of the District Directors in Central Region

Alongside the moral/ethical pressure that teachers may be under to accept a posting and behave responsibly when they take it up, there may be more pragmatic reasons for accepting a posting. One of the most important is the opportunity for study leave, which was available until recently after two years of teaching. This is a defining aspect of the professional culture of teaching currently existing in Ghana and is considered in the section below. Another pragmatic way of dealing with a difficult posting was to see it as a challenge and an opportunity for personal independence, highlighting the increasing prevalence of modern individualistic motivations among newly trained teachers. This view was shared by male and female teachers and was quite common:

Central Region was my first choice...to be on my own away from my parents and see whether I can. [Female teacher in a rural primary school]

I just liked it [Central Region] and wanted a change of environment and wanted to be on my own and away from the family (my Dad and Step Mum are in Accra and Mum and Step Dad are in Kumasi). [Male teacher in an urban JSS school]

Another pragmatic way that newly posted teachers come to terms with their posting in rural areas is by farming, in contradiction of the GES professional code; a fact also noted by Pryor in his 1998 study. The majority of the teachers in rural areas had begun to farm and the following is typical of this perspective:

[Is farming an incentive to stay in the village?] Yes and it can also help you, providing food etc. I spend free time on the farm, yes. When I go away, I have somebody to look after the farm...during vacation. [Male teacher in a rural primary school]

Another source of encouragement for teachers to accept difficult postings is the GES policy, whenever possible, to post two or more teachers, often from the same college, to the more remote schools and it seems to be an important way of encouraging teachers to accept their posting. All teachers who had been posted to rural areas with other teachers recognised the value of it, as the two examples below demonstrate:

A. is a mate even from school. I was happy to be posted here with her. I was relieved. [How would you have coped on your own?] I would have tried...with the help of the head it was OK [...] There is one other newly trained teacher from O. training college. I'm glad to have started with other women. [Female teacher in a rural primary school]

I was happy to be posted with a friend to J. He was re-posted, but he's still nearby [...] Being posted together made it easier...knowing you were being posted with a colleague motivated you to come. [Male teacher in a rural JSS school]

It seems that it is much easier to come to terms with a situation if you know you are not alone in facing it. However, in general there is widespread disillusion at promised, but limited and thinly spread nature of incentives for rural teachers (such as bicycles) and many seek early transfers as a consequence.

As was noted at the start of this section, having family members in teaching may well encourage pragmatism about the job and a clearer view of its attractions, particularly for people from poorer backgrounds:

I originally wanted to be a journalist but when I finished secondary school in form three, my father died so there were no available funds so my mother advised me to take up teaching...she teaches primary. [Male teacher in a rural primary school]

For this teacher, and many others I interviewed, it emerged that teaching, with the allowance, food and lodging during training and opportunities for paid study leave at university after two years of teaching offered an alternative route into higher education and a limited degree of financial independence. This was attractive to people from all social backgrounds; perhaps teaching was not particularly attractive as a career, but there were many incentives in the first years of training and teaching. The high priority given to study leave in newly trained teachers' views of their motivation to stay in the profession was universal among the teachers I interviewed and this provides an illuminating example of a system not employing its incentives in an efficient or long term way. In general study leave is not seen as an opportunity to develop one's skills as a primary teacher, but a way to leave the sector altogether.

5.1 Self-advancement and study leave: teaching as a ''stepping stone''.

[Why do teachers get such a bad press in Ghana?] One of the reasons is that certain people using it as a stepping stone [...] they do anything they like and spoil the name of teaching, but those who like to be teachers are proud [...] you are a role model. [Male teacher in a rural JSS]

[Do you have doubts about being a teacher?] Yes. I thought it's just a stepping stone so I'm not having the joy that needs to be gotten from a real career. [Female teacher in a rural JSS]

Time and again during this research, I heard the phrase "stepping stone" used to describe teachers' motivation by people inside and outside the system and by teachers themselves. During a workshop that I arranged at the Institute of Education at Cape Coast University, to which all the newly trained teachers I had interviewed were invited, it became clear that study leave was very important to all of them. Study leave is the system by which teachers, after two years of teaching (recently increased to three years) are able to attend university on full pay to do courses in education if they pass the university entrance exams. Many said it was the main reason for becoming a teacher and accepting difficult postings, suggesting that it should perhaps be linked to appraisal or given, in the first instance, to teachers who have worked in remote areas. Most expected to get it and district officers confirmed that most who wanted it got it by their fourth year of teaching.

Study leave provides people with a second chance to go to university, albeit it to study within the education field and each year there are approximately 4000⁹ teachers on study leave. This figure can be put in perspective by comparing it to the approximately 6000 graduating from the training colleges each year. Teachers I interviewed saw it in terms of personal advancement as much as professional development. Although there has been little research done in this area, it seems that most teachers who complete study leave, if they stay in the profession, will become secondary school teachers, work in other parts of the education sector or take up bureaucratic positions within GES. Most of the teachers I interviewed for this study saw their career moving in that direction and none were interested in becoming heads of primary schools. The following is typical:

[Do you see teaching as a "stepping stone"?] Some think that way, but once you are starting teaching, you must be prepared well so you teach well and don't mislead them. [Would you like to be a head?] Not in primary. I would like to teach in secondary, but my ultimate aim is to be a lecturer. [Male teacher in a rural primary school]

⁹ These estimates were given to me by people within GES and confirmed by individuals working for NGOs involved in education in Ghana

Many of the teachers I interviewed were already engaged in self-study, or other self-improvement activities, to increase their opportunities both within the profession and possibly outside of it by taking the university entrance exam or until recently improving their school leaving exam results. The first quotation is fairly typical of those who see a career in teaching and the second, though not typical, gives an insight into the perspectives of those who plan to leave:

I'm having studies with a new teacher in the JSS. I'm studying to rewrite secondary school exams. We plan to teach at a higher level, maybe secondary level or training college. [Male teacher in a rural primary school]

Some of my friends can't believe I'm a teacher because of the way I can drive and work in my brother's store and the way I behave. I like working hard [...] I know other things - driving, electronics, selling 2^nd hand goods so they will see me moving with such groups. Even right now, I've tried to build a store - I have a cassette store of my own. I go to C. [a nearby town] every day to monitor and employ somebody. The headmistress knows, but doesn't mind because it doesn't affect classes. GES should be more flexible about these things. Since I have started, I have not been absent for a day. I always try to come [...] I will further my education and change it. I will do a business course. [But you won't be able to get study leave...] I know I have to serve 3 years when the time is approaching I will decide whether to have study leave or not. I will come back if I get study leave, but only for some time. I don't want to be a teacher. [Male teacher in an urban primary school]

When the second teacher says, "my friends can't believe I'm a teacher because...of the way I behave", he reveals a perception among some people in Ghana that teachers' work is less demanding than other work. Given the culture of GES it is an attitude that is hardly surprising though it is less than true if on considers the hard work and commitment of many teachers. When this is considered alongside the widespread evidence of a lack of enthusiasm for primary teaching as a long-term career, there is perhaps a need for a fundamental rethink of the structure of education management, training and the professional culture of teaching in Ghana, including the provision of study leave. For instance, recent changes to the three year fully funded pre-service teacher training programme have sought to emphasise primary methodology, but if careers in primary schools are likely to be much shorter than might be assumed after three years of training, one has to ask whether this is the best way of preparing committed teachers for primary schools.

The recent drive for greater accountability and interaction with the community, embodied by the establishment of SMCs (School Management Committees) and SPAMs, seems to have introduced a new dynamic into school/community relations and many people feel that sponsorship by districts will encourage greater responsibility, motivation and commitment among newly trained teachers, though questions remain about how it will be administered. Also, donor-supported programmes like Whole School Development seem to be re-emphasising training in the school context in a way that is having an impact on induction and teacher deployment and retention. For instance in this study there was evidence of newly trained teachers in WSD schools giving peer support and advice to colleagues and friends in non WSD schools.

Many people, including the head of Teacher Education Division in GES recognise the need for primary teaching to become something more than a transitory career that you pass through on the way to other things, but given the low status of primary education in Ghana (and the hard work it involves), and the difficulties posting women to rural areas, this is easier said than done.