Comparative Assessment of Competency of Sewing and Food and Nutrition Teachers in Junior High Schools in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

Abstract

In Ghana, Home Economics Teachers prefer to Food and Nutrition than Sewing at the Junior High Schools level. This has made many stakeholders to question the competency of the teachers. In view of this, this study assessed the competency of Home Economics Teachers for Sewing and food and Nutrition. The study gathered data from 377 Home Economics Teachers from selected Junior High Schools that offer Home Economics in the Ashanti Region, Ghana. The study used Mean, Standard Deviation and Independence Samples t Test for the analysis. The study adapted Shulman's (1987) Pedagogical Content Knowledge to assess the competency of the teachers.  The respondents had higher mean scores for all the competency constructs for Food and Nutrition than Sewing. The respondents had moderate competency in Sewing but high competency in Food and Nutrition. Teachers should be given periodic in-service training on the practical aspect of sewing to enable them improve upon their instructional presentation and strategies during Sewing lessons. The Teachers should be encouraged to develop the interest in reading the syllabus and the current textbooks for sewing to improve their content knowledge in the subject.