Transforming science teaching and learning in Ghana through teacher professional learning : a change laboratory study

Coffie, Isaac Sonful

Transforming science teaching and learning in Ghana through teacher professional learning : a change laboratory study

Coffie, Isaac Sonful

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Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2025

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Coffie, Isaac Sonful
dc.date.accessioned	2025-09-22T01:31:05Z
dc.date.available	2025-09-22T01:31:05Z
dc.date.issued	2025
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/189992
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.description.abstract	The aim of the study was to explore possibilities of aligning the intended curriculum with the implemented curriculum, using a Change Laboratory approach to foster teachers’ professional learning. The study design was a qualitative formative intervention grounded within the theoretical framework of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT). Six Change Laboratory sessions were conducted with six junior high school science teachers in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality of Ghana. The Change Laboratory sessions were complemented by two interviews with each teacher (before and after the Change Laboratory), six focus group with students, and 18 lesson observations over three months. The analysis drew on three key aspects of CHAT: systemic contradictions, double stimulation (specifically, Sannino’s recent framework of transformative agency by double stimulation, or TADS) and Anne Edwards’ concept of common knowledge. Secondary contradictions between components of the science teaching activity system were identified including between the tools and object where perceived lack of resources led teachers to feel it was impossible to foster active students’ engagement in science lessons. Regarding TADS, the key conflict of motives experienced by the teachers was a clash between teaching in a more engaging manner to realise the intended curriculum, and the motive to maintain the status quo of transmissive teaching to ensure curriculum coverage. The main auxiliary motive that enabled the teachers to escape this conflict of motive was to teach in a way that aligned with what matters to students. Three themes were identified to understand what matters to students. These were engagement and interestedness, support and attention, applicability and connectedness. The participating teachers’ understanding of these things that matters to students became common knowledge, serving as a resource for transforming their teaching practice. Together, these processes produced four significant changes in the teachers’ practices. These focused on the use of questioning, assessment, teaching beyond the classroom, and designing a range of activities. The study contributes to knowledge in three key areas; empirical, theoretical and methodological. The key recommendations from this study are as follows. Teachers’ understanding of what matters to students can be powerful in enabling them to tailor their instructional strategies and develop more student-centred pedagogies. Furthermore, teachers need to be provided with effective professional development that offer them the opportunities to collaboratively develop their own solutions to bring transformation in their practice and CHAT provides a relevant theoretical and methodological framework for doing so.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.format	Thesis (PhD)
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US.UTF-8
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/189992/1/thesis.pdf
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	© 2025 Isaac Sonful Coffie
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/cph
dc.title	Transforming science teaching and learning in Ghana through teacher professional learning : a change laboratory study	en_US.UTF-8
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*

Abstract:

The aim of the study was to explore possibilities of aligning the intended curriculum with the implemented curriculum, using a Change Laboratory approach to foster teachers’ professional learning. The study design was a qualitative formative intervention grounded within the theoretical framework of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT). Six Change Laboratory sessions were conducted with six junior high school science teachers in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality of Ghana. The Change Laboratory sessions were complemented by two interviews with each teacher (before and after the Change Laboratory), six focus group with students, and 18 lesson observations over three months. The analysis drew on three key aspects of CHAT: systemic contradictions, double stimulation (specifically, Sannino’s recent framework of transformative agency by double stimulation, or TADS) and Anne Edwards’ concept of common knowledge. Secondary contradictions between components of the science teaching activity system were identified including between the tools and object where perceived lack of resources led teachers to feel it was impossible to foster active students’ engagement in science lessons. Regarding TADS, the key conflict of motives experienced by the teachers was a clash between teaching in a more engaging manner to realise the intended curriculum, and the motive to maintain the status quo of transmissive teaching to ensure curriculum coverage. The main auxiliary motive that enabled the teachers to escape this conflict of motive was to teach in a way that aligned with what matters to students. Three themes were identified to understand what matters to students. These were engagement and interestedness, support and attention, applicability and connectedness. The participating teachers’ understanding of these things that matters to students became common knowledge, serving as a resource for transforming their teaching practice. Together, these processes produced four significant changes in the teachers’ practices. These focused on the use of questioning, assessment, teaching beyond the classroom, and designing a range of activities. The study contributes to knowledge in three key areas; empirical, theoretical and methodological. The key recommendations from this study are as follows. Teachers’ understanding of what matters to students can be powerful in enabling them to tailor their instructional strategies and develop more student-centred pedagogies. Furthermore, teachers need to be provided with effective professional development that offer them the opportunities to collaboratively develop their own solutions to bring transformation in their practice and CHAT provides a relevant theoretical and methodological framework for doing so.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/189992