reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in · pdf filereconceptualised life skills...
TRANSCRIPT
Reconceptualised life skills in secondary educationin the African context: Lessons learnt from reformsin Ghana
Kwame Akyeampong
Published online: 30 March 2014
� Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2014
Abstract Early notions of life skills in Africa did not take into account the
importance of a flexible and portable set of skills that would enable youth to adapt
to changes in the world of work and lay the foundations for productive well-being
and behaviour. Rather, life skills education in many secondary education curricula
in Africa started with an emphasis on developing specific technical vocational
skills considered essential for employability or self-employment. Using Ghana as
an example, this paper shows how secondary education curriculum reformers
recommended shifts that embraced a new interpretation of life skills focused on
21st-century skills. This gradual move also reflected the difficulty that secondary
education in general has had in networking with the world of work to provide
work experience that would lead to the development of work-related skills and
enhance employability. The author’s main argument is that although the recon-
ceptualisation of life skills in secondary education to reflect 21st-century skills is a
welcome shift in the African context, this needs to be accompanied by reforms in
teacher education. Classroom teaching and learning need to be adapted in a
fundamental way in order to ensure that youth fully benefit from the inclusion of
21st-century life skills in secondary education curricula. Such reforms must
include pedagogical practices which nurture communication, collaboration, crea-
tivity and critical thinking skills.
Keywords Life skills � Youth employability � Technical and vocational skills �Secondary education � Teacher training � Ghana
Resume Reconceptualisation des competences pratiques dans l’enseignement
secondaire en contexte africain : enseignements tires des reformes au Ghana – Les
premieres notions en Afrique des competences necessaires dans la vie courante ne
K. Akyeampong (&)
University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
e-mail: [email protected]
123
Int Rev Educ (2014) 60:217–234
DOI 10.1007/s11159-014-9408-2
tenaient pas compte de l’importance d’un ensemble de competences flexibles et
transferables, qui permettent aux jeunes de s’adapter a de nouvelles situations dans
le monde du travail et de creer les bases pour un bien-etre et un comportement
productifs. L’enseignement des competences pratiques preconise a l’origine dans de
nombreux programmes de l’enseignement secondaire en Afrique mettait l’accent
sur l’acquisition de competences professionnelles techniques specifiques, con-
siderees comme essentielles a l’employabilite et a l’auto-emploi. Prenant le Ghana
en exemple, l’auteur montre que les reformateurs du programme d’enseignement
secondaire ont recommande des modifications nees d’une nouvelle interpretation
des competences pratiques, axee sur les competences requises au XXIe siecle. Cette
evolution progressive reflete aussi la difficulte generale de l’enseignement sec-
ondaire a se connecter au monde du travail, pour organiser des experiences pro-
fessionnelles permettant d’acquerir des competences utiles dans la vie active et
d’ameliorer l’employabilite. L’argument principal de l’auteur est que si la redefi-
nition des competences pratiques dans l’enseignement secondaire en vue de refleter
les competences pour le XXIe siecle est un tournant salutaire dans le contexte
africain, cette demarche doit etre accompagnee par des reformes dans la formation
des enseignants. L’enseignement et l’apprentissage en classe doivent faire l’objet
d’une adaptation fondamentale, pour garantir que les jeunes profitent pleinement de
l’inclusion dans les programmes d’enseignement secondaire des competences pra-
tiques requises au XXIe siecle. Ces reformes doivent englober les pratiques peda-
gogiques qui enrichissent les competences de communication, de collaboration, de
creativite et de pensee critique.
Introduction
The concept of life skills tends to be open to wide interpretation (WHO 1999).
Earlier conceptualisation in the secondary education context in Africa focused on a
narrow interpretation which was linked to skills for employment in pursuit of
economic goals. In this context, the term ‘‘life skills’’ was often used in the sense of
‘‘livelihood skills’’, which was a significant departure from its broader meaning in
skills development literature which saw life skills as ‘‘the abilities for adaptive and
positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and
challenges of everyday life’’ (WHO 1997). Basically, this perspective of life skills
focuses on empowering ‘‘young people to take positive steps to promote health
outcomes, and positive social relationships, and positive contributions to society’’
(Jacobs Foundation 2011, p. 9).
In the secondary education context of many African education systems, life skills
took on a more occupational agenda with a view to employability. Providing young
people with occupational or vocational skills was driven by a search for economic
relevance which has led to a large-scale vocationalisation of the secondary
education curriculum (Lauglo 2005). With time, secondary education curriculum
reformers are including definitions of life skills which reflect the term’s original and
broader meaning as espoused in life skills education literature, namely focusing
more on developing skills which are more generic and adaptive, to meet the
218 K. Akyeampong
123
demands of the 21st-century world of work and ensure that young people can
manage their lives more productively. This widening of the definition is partly due
to the economic relevance argument having weakened as a result of difficulties
encountered by secondary education in providing technical/vocational skills for
employability. Increasingly, secondary school curriculum objectives are emphasis-
ing social, emotional and thinking skills as part of the set of skills young people
need to live productively in the 21st century and contribute to society’s
development.
Below, I discuss the way in which the notion of life skills has been conceptualised
in the narrow sense of developing technical and vocational skills for paid or self-
employment, and has moved to a broader conceptualisation which reflects the
understanding that young people need adaptive and generic skills for the 21st-century
world of work and for their general well-being. This broader conceptualisation is
much closer to the WHO definition (cited above) of life skills education and
coincides with the skills development agenda for 21st-century economies.
Skills development in secondary education in Africa: issues and reforms
Within the last three decades, many African governments have embarked on
reforms to transform secondary education so that it can contribute to the
development of skills for employment. In particular, countries have introduced
technical and vocational education subjects as part of an essential life skills
development agenda to enhance the chances of young people finding paid work or
getting into self-employment after completing their secondary education. However,
the experience of many African countries has not been positive. Reforms to
vocationalise the secondary education curriculum in which life skills were
associated with certain types of skills for employability did not produce the desired
results, partly because of the ill-adapted nature of technical and vocational subjects
and weak links with the labour market (Lauglo and Maclean 2005; World Bank
2005; Adams 2007).
Another problem is that secondary education systems in most African countries
still place a strong emphasis on knowledge and competencies for higher academic
education, even though most school-leavers do not enter tertiary education. Worse
still, as many young people, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, fail to even access
secondary education, with a gross enrolment ratio estimated at 35 per cent (AEO
2014) – reforms to improve skills development are unlikely to benefit the majority
who end up in the labour market before accessing or even completing secondary
education. In Ghana, for example, at least 65 per cent of lower secondary students
do not make it to upper secondary education, with most of them disappearing into
the informal economy. Among those who complete upper secondary education,
about 60 per cent enter the labour market or seek some form of skills training
(MoESS 2008).
Low access to secondary education also limits access to vocational courses, since
countries with low overall secondary school enrolment are also less likely to offer a
vocationalised curriculum for most students (UNESCO 2012). However, the future
Reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in the African context 219
123
outlook is positive, with an estimated 59 per cent of young Africans aged 20–24
expected to access secondary education by 2030 (AEO 2014). The real issue is
whether increased access is accompanied with improved quality and relevance, so
that young people can acquire skills which are valued in the labour market and
which empower them to lead productive and secure lives. A youth survey revealed
that among young Africans who are unemployed due to their lack of skills required
by employers, most had already completed secondary education, raising questions
about the relevance of the secondary education they had received (AEO 2014).
Technical and vocational programmes in secondary education have also faced the
issue of resourcing and training enough teachers to deliver skills to the quality and
depth required. As Jon Lauglo points out: ‘‘for skills training to ease transition to
work a certain threshold of quality and level of skill is likely to be needed’’ (Lauglo
2005, p. 33). However, the overcrowded nature of the curriculum leaves little time
to develop practical skills to the depth required for the world of work. Without
classroom learning closely linked with work experience, the skills acquired are
bound to be superficial and unattractive to employers. The private formal and
informal sector has also lacked sufficient capacity and structures to offer on-the-job
training on a large scale (Adams 2007).
Some have argued that secondary education in Africa should focus its skills
development agenda on what it can do well, i.e. develop a generic set of key
competencies which are regarded as relevant to the demands of the labour market.
According to David Wilson, ‘‘what has been crafted into the case of the key
competencies is a discourse in which vocational education no longer means training
in particular occupational categories, but aiming for a more abstracted, undiffer-
entiated worker-citizen able to bring a set of generic competencies to any vocation’’
(Wilson 2005, p. 84). Wilson argues that ‘‘the twin impact of globalisation and
technological modernisation necessitates the education and training of knowledge
workers, who are able to use logical-abstract thinking to diagnose problems,
research and apply knowledge, propose solutions, and design and implement those
solutions, often as a team member’’ (ibid., p. 84).
The assumption is that because of the rapid changes in technologies and
occupations, which are difficult to predict, secondary education should rather focus
on providing students with easier-to-re-contextualise competencies to meet the
changing demands of the labour market. For example, the African Union (AU), in a
plan for education in Africa, has called for ‘‘key generic competencies, skills and
attitudes that lead to a culture of lifelong learning and entrepreneurship’’ to be
inculcated into the school curriculum to prepare youth for an ever-changing world
of work (AU 2006, p. 11). The AU plan stipulates that ‘‘essential life skills’’ should
be systematically infused into school curricula, emphasising in particular ‘‘inter-
personal skills, critical thinking, communication, entrepreneurship education, self-
directed learning, civic/leadership-skills education, and preventive health education
covering HIV and AIDS, and malaria among others’’ (ibid., p. 12). These reflect a
broad and generic definition of life skills which goes beyond economic goals to a
range of skills which young people will need to lead productive lives. Most of these
are also the kind of skills employers are looking for in young recruits.
220 K. Akyeampong
123
Few would dispute the importance of developing these competencies and skills in
African youth. In fact, most African employers believe that secondary education
should do more to prepare youth to develop a broader range of skills and
competencies which they consider essential prerequisites for on-the-job training
(Burnett and Jayaram 2012). While life skills education, which formerly concerned
the development of occupation-specific skills for paid or self-employment, is giving
way to a reconceptualisation aimed at producing multi-skilled and trainable youth, it
is still largely focused on employment in both the formal and informal sector.
The question is to what extent secondary education in the African context is
capable of delivering on the new life skills development agenda for its growing
youth population, estimated at about 163 million, of which about two-thirds are
aged below 25 (UNESCO 2012). In particular, as access to both lower and upper
secondary education improves following successes in primary enrolment and
completion, what are the chances of ensuring that young Africans acquire critical
life skills which will improve their employability, but also their quality of life?
In the main part of this paper, I take a closer look at the case of Ghana, arguing
that a reconceptualisation of life skills development in secondary education will fail
to deliver the expected outcomes without fundamental changes. We need reforms in
terms of how teaching and learning are organised and in terms of how secondary
education teachers are trained. But even before the implementation of any reforms,
secondary education curricula in the African context need to undergo a fundamental
change in focus – placing more emphasis on a new range of life skills which are
developed across all subjects to maximise youth chances of employability but also
enabling them to manage their lives in the broader social context.
Defining life skills for the 21st-century economy
Life skills education has long been recognised as an important goal for both primary
and secondary education. Two of the Education for All (EFA) goals refer to life
skills education. Goal 3 focuses on ‘‘ensuring that the learning needs of all young
people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate and life skills
programmes’’ (UNESCO 2012, p. 80; emphasis added). Goal 6 concerns the quality
of education and aims to ensure excellence, ‘‘so that recognized and measurable
learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential
life skills’’ (ibid., p. 122; emphasis added).
Under the influence of the Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All
(UNESCO 2000), life skills education in many African contexts aimed at
developing ‘‘psychosocial and interpersonal skills such as assertive communication,
self-esteem, decision-making and negotiation’’ to address the spread of AIDS
(UNESCO 2012, p. 84). The Dakar Framework specifically mentioned HIV/AIDS,
which at the time was ravaging the youth population in Africa, stressing that
‘‘youth-friendly programmes must be made available to provide the information,
skills, counseling and services needed to protect them’’ from the risk of HIV/AIDS,
and that ‘‘curricula based on life skills approaches should include all aspects of HIV/
AIDS care and prevention’’ (UNESCO 2000, pp. 16, 20). The goal of life skills
Reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in the African context 221
123
programmes was to change attitudes, improve decision-making and communication
skills to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS particularly among the youth population.
With a few exceptions (e.g. Botswana), most African life skills programmes were
provided by NGOs in the form of extracurricular activity and not as an integral part
of the secondary education curricula.
EFA Goal 6 uses the term ‘‘essential life skills’’ (UNESCO 2012, p. 122). Whilst
the exact meaning of ‘‘life skills’’ in this context is not clearly defined or explained,
it has been interpreted in many of the EFA Global Monitoring Reports (GMR) (e.g.
UNESCO 2003, 2004, 2012) as encompassing both cognitive and non-cognitive
skills essential for productive work and livelihoods. Thus, basic literacy and
numeracy skills have been considered essential life skills for young people to access
decent jobs and participate fully in society. In the 2012 EFA GMR, which focused
on Youth and Skills: Putting Education to Work, the stated goal of lower secondary
education is to extend and consolidate the basic skills (i.e. literacy and numeracy)
learned in primary school, followed by a deepening of general education and added
technical and vocational skills in upper secondary school (UNESCO 2012). The
term ‘‘life skills’’ is not explicitly mentioned in relation to lower secondary
education, instead the reference to basic skills, technical and vocational skills,
problem-solving and communication and ICT skills implies that these skills are
considered critical for young people to successfully enter the world of work.
With time, the concept of life skills education has evolved into a broader concept
of 21st-century skills, encompassing skills and competencies for employability,
such as: flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-
cultural skills, productivity and accountability, leadership and responsibility; and
learning and innovation skills such as critical thinking, communication, collabo-
ration and creativity (Burnett and Jayaram 2012; Brewer 2013). These are also the
types of skills and competencies which small and large-scale businesses see as
critical for their growth and competitiveness, and which young people generally
need to lead productive lives. It is assumed that for a country to achieve rapid
economic growth, the mix of critical factors should include a workforce with
efficient group-work capabilities, creative and adaptive skills and problem-solving
abilities to tackle, in particular, the increasingly technological environment of
production which emerges as a result of economic growth. Productive human capital
must also be endowed with skills in interpreting, analysing and manipulating
information to handle the challenges of sustaining economic development.
In the context of secondary education in Africa, policy makers have tended to
focus more on technical and vocational skills as ‘‘essential life skills’’ for youth
entering the labour market, and have used this as an economic relevance argument
to support the vocationalisation of the secondary education curriculum. As noted
earlier, there is ample evidence that vocationalisation of the secondary education
curriculum has not translated into easy employability or self-employment gener-
ation for youth, and that secondary education should instead focus on developing a
set of essential life skills which can enhance students’ employability and capacity to
engage in lifelong learning (Obanya 2004; Lauglo and Maclean 2005).
In recent literature, the term ‘‘essential life skills’’ has therefore taken on a much
broader definition in the context of secondary education. It has been extended to
222 K. Akyeampong
123
mean ‘‘capacities which are widely acclaimed as being highly relevant for working
life’’ (Lauglo and Maclean 2005, p. 47), such as literacy, numeracy, creativity,
communication, problem-solving abilities, information retrieval and processing
skills, teamwork and occupational adjustment, to name but a few. These are skills
currently classified as 21st-century skills, which in some contexts have been
grouped under four broad categories: ‘‘ways of thinking, ways of working, tools for
working, and skills for living in the world’’ (Schleicher 2012, p. 34). The
International Labour Organization (ILO) also classifies these as core skills for
employability (see Brewer 2013). The 21st-century list of skills is also often
collected together into various packages of ‘‘life skills’’ which are considered core
work skills (Burnett and Jayaram 2012; Obanya 2004). Thus, the concept of life
skills, particularly for youth, has more or less undergone a reconceptualisation, with
its emphasis shifting to what is nowadays referred to as ‘‘21st-century skills’’ in the
skills development literature, and also in this paper, because these are skills which
are still seen as improving employability and livelihoods for all.
How important are 21st-century life skills to employers in Ghana?
Globalisation and technological modernisation have implications for the skills needs
of young people in a way which two to three decades ago was not as critical. Today,
more than ever before, young people need the ‘‘ability to use a wide range of tools to
interact constructively with the social context’’ (Jacobs Foundation 2011, p. 9), and
develop the capacity to access jobs which require adaptive skills and behaviour
reflecting the changing demands of global economies, and which impact on young
peoples’ livelihoods and well-being. Even in rural Africa, mobile phones and other
forms of technology are becoming essential tools for doing business and for
sustaining livelihoods (UNESCO 2012). The landscape of the world of work in the
African environment is changing so much that a purely technical vocational
occupation-specific skills development agenda for secondary education is no longer
sufficient. Young people entering the labour market are more likely to change
employers and even occupations several times over their working lives. Seen in this
light, preparing for the modern labour market requires a set of easily adaptable skills
which are capable of responding to uncertainty and change. This has made it
imperative to provide young people with both occupation-specific skills and a much
more adaptable range of general skills (Adams 2007).
In the Ghanaian private employment sector, 21st-century life skills are being
identified by employers as crucial. Ghana’s economy has become one of the most
open market economies in the sub-region with a strong focus on the private sector.
The private sector has become the largest employer, accounting for 93 per cent of
the economically active citizens, with the majority (86%) in the private informal
and 7 per cent in the private formal sector (Government of Ghana 2005; Amankrah
and Burggraaff 2012).
In an assessment by employers of barriers to employing youth in Ghana, low
literacy skills, inability to work independently with minimum supervision, and lack
of creativity among the youth were graded as critical. Lack of writing skills,
Reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in the African context 223
123
leadership skills and initiative were considered quite important barriers to
employing youth in the private sector. In addition, analytical/technical skills, IT
skills and loyalty to the employer were also reported as important to employers
when recruiting new entrants into their companies (IYF 2009). In another survey,
employers in the informal labour market rated communication skills, human
relations and interpersonal skills, innovation and organisational skills as absolutely
essential (GSS 2007).
A survey of 376 small and medium-size enterprises in the formal private sector in
Ghana’s two biggest cities, Accra and Kumasi, revealed the employers’ perspective
on what counts as important skills (IYF 2009). The combined workforce in these
surveyed enterprises summed up to 22,336 people, constituting 83 per cent of full-
time employees and 6 per cent and 11 per cent of part-time and other workers
respectively. The enterprises covered industries, health, trade/retail, tourism etc.
About 12,129 new jobs were expected to be created by these enterprises between
2009 and 2013. Besides academic qualification and years of experience, employers
highlighted minimum requirements such as numeracy skills, leadership skills,
interview skills and IT skills as essential entry-level requirements for employment.
According to these employers, the ‘‘inability to work independently with a
minimum amount of supervision, the drive to initiate things by oneself and creative
and original thinking are necessary requirements for employment and are ranked
high as stumbling blocks to the youth who do not possess such skills in almost all
the sectors of economic activity’’ (IYF 2009, p. 28).
Thus, Ghanaian private sector employers place a high premium on 21st-century
life skills as described earlier. Therefore these skills need to be given more attention
in the secondary education curriculum, especially as ‘‘only a small proportion of
[Ghanaian] firms undertake activities themselves which help in promoting youth
employment’’ (ibid., p. 31).
According to Pai Obanya (2004, p. 11), the world of work in Africa is being shaped
by factors which strengthen the case for a 21st-century life skills development agenda
for secondary education. His argument is based on the following observations:
(1) The public services are saturated in terms of personnel, leaving virtually no
openings for additional secondary school leavers.
(2) The organised private sector is struggling to remain afloat in a globalised
economy, and requires the types of skills which the secondary school
curriculum has not been inculcating.
(3) The three tiers of a modern economy (agriculture, manufacturing, services) are
not growing fast in Africa (South Africa may be an exception).
(4) The potential growth area is small-scale economic activities which are
proliferating all over Africa. These might be turned into the largest source of
employment if they were modernised, energised, and more dynamic.
Obanya argues that because of these changes and challenges, a life skills
programme at secondary education level should focus more on the development
of language and communication skills, technical aptitude development instead of
technical specialisation programmes, scientific literacy closely related to life
situations as well as skills for effective management of personal health. These are
224 K. Akyeampong
123
particularly important if youth are to find job opportunities in the strongly emerging
small/medium-scale economic sector and also develop productive and healthy
lifestyles. These skills, in his view, should represent the core curriculum of both
lower and upper secondary education, because African economies are going to
require a 21st-century workforce which is less involved in industrial production and
increasingly concentrated in services, ideas and communication. For African youth,
the challenge is to develop skills which can position them to adapt to the rapidly
changing demands of the world of work and succeed in a globalised world (World
Bank 2005).
As universalisation of lower secondary education becomes one of the important
goals of the post-2015 EFA agenda (UNESCO 2012), the case for a 21st-century life
skills development agenda becomes even more crucial. Ensuring that all Ghanaian
youth with at least a secondary education qualification acquire a core set of life skills
for the 21st-century world of work or for further education and training is a goal which
secondary education in Ghana should aim for. However, the prevailing culture of
teaching in many African classrooms which is driven by an unreformed examination
system might thwart the fulfilment of this goal. If real progress is to be made, then what
students learn and how they learn it should also be changed. The key issue is to
integrate these skills into the general education and technical/vocational subject
curriculum, rather than teaching them as a separate set of ‘‘core skills’’ (Brewer 2013).
Improving the quality and quantity of instructional resources in secondary
schools to promote 21st-century life skills is not enough. Crucially, what matters
most is how teachers are able to use these inputs to transform the learning
experience. Research has shown that simply providing students with rich sources of
information and even an interesting problem to solve is not enough to develop 21st-
century skills. What students also need is the support of a learning environment that
is ‘‘social and often collaborative and that promotes connections across activities
and subjects, both in and out of school’’ (Schleicher 2012, p. 38). This means
introducing a ‘‘strategic curriculum reform that can encourage creative and effective
innovations in learning and teaching, new methods of assessment capable of
capturing valued learning outcomes, and selection of content and thinking skills that
are more relevant for entrants to diverse labour markets and to a much broader range
of learners’’ (World Bank 2008a, p. 66).
In the next section, I discuss reforms in skills development in secondary education
in Ghana to highlight the implications for curriculum delivery and for preparing
secondary school teachers to promote inquiry-based collaborative learning classroom
environments. Before looking at reforms, however, it is instructive to start with a
review of the evolution of life skills education in Ghanaian secondary education and
how it has merged with the notion of 21st-century life skills.
The evolution of life skills education in Ghana: implications for pedagogyand teacher development reforms
In 1987, when Ghanaian education policy makers and reformers embarked on
system-wide education reforms, the concept of life skills education was firmly
Reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in the African context 225
123
rooted in a vision of education whose essential goal was to provide technical and
vocational skills for paid or self-employment (Baiden 1996). Education reformers
interpreted a life skills education for all as a chance to provide skills which would
ensure equity of educational opportunities and lead to a reduction in youth
unemployment whilst also generating interest in manual work and agriculture. At
the lower secondary level of education, developing trade-specific skills for youth
unable to progress beyond that level was given priority. Life skills education
focused particularly on developing skills in handicraft, leatherwork, graphic design,
basketry, metal work, sewing, wood/plastic design and other local manufacturing
techniques. These became known as pre-technical and pre-vocational skills (ibid.).
The notion of life skills took on a slightly different meaning when it came to
upper secondary education. Reformers expected that a diversified upper secondary
education curriculum would be used to engineer interest in self-employment and
entrepreneurship and fulfil a vision of manpower development for economic growth
(MoE 1988). Life skills were seen as providing youth who would be entering the
labour market with technical and vocational skills to ease their transition to the
world of work. Technical and vocational subjects were ‘‘therefore to be presented in
a way which would demonstrate the link between subject content and the world of
work, between what the students learn at school and how they will apply the
knowledge acquired to future work’’ (ibid., p. 3). This was the philosophy behind
the vocationalisation of secondary education. However, it was translated narrowly
into the development of job-specific technical and vocational skills. Technical
subjects (e.g. building construction, technical drawing, carpentry and joinery),
Vocational Studies (e.g. metalwork, home management, clothing and textiles) and
Business Studies (e.g. business methods, commerce and business management) all
gained prominence in the re-configured secondary education curriculum.
There was hardly any reference to the idea of life skills education as developing
problem-solving, critical thinking or interpersonal relationship skills which would
help young people deal constructively with their lives and help them be successful
in dealing with everyday survival challenges. The idea of laying cognitive and
affective foundations geared towards facilitating future skills learning, occupational
adjustment and adaptation to new technologies was also not given as much
emphasis. Very early on in the implementation of the new curricula, however, it
became clear that secondary schools would find it difficult to prepare young people
for the world of work because the best way to learn work-related skills was through
a combination of classroom learning and work experience. For a start, secondary
schools in Ghana faced serious logistical limitations in addition to teacher supply
and teacher training challenges, all of which undermined the quality of technical and
vocational subjects. For example, the training of lower secondary school pre-
vocational and technical teachers did not match the kind of subject specialisation
required for teaching pre-vocational and technical skills (Akyeampong 2005a).
In 1994, an Education Reform Review Committee (ERRC) acknowledged these
weaknesses and called for the teacher training curriculum to place more emphasis
on problem-solving in the teaching and learning of technical and vocational subjects
(MoE 1994). The committee also recommended that secondary school teachers
should be trained to support the development of skills which cut across specific
226 K. Akyeampong
123
subject areas. Practical subjects were also to include objectives which emphasised
generic skills and competencies across a wide range of vocational contexts. As a
result of these recommendations, subjects such as Home Economics included
objectives like
• equipping the individual to develop skills which will enable him/her to improve
the quality of life;
• appreciating the need for healthy living through improved sanitation and
environment;
• developing skills which will equip students for independent living; and
• acquiring knowledge and developing marketable skills which can be used in
later life.
Some of these skills fit in more with the broader conceptualisation of life skills
education as espoused in the skills development literature, particularly skills to
improve quality of life, and the prevention of health problems (see WHO 1999).
Every secondary school subject was to contribute to these broader life skills. For
example, the curriculum expected that students studying textiles as part of their
Home Economics programme should be able to develop self-esteem, pride,
confidence and patriotism through appreciation of the products they made. In
addition, the expectation was that by learning to make different products, students
would develop the capacity for creativity and the ability to solve problems using
indigenous and contemporary techniques (MoESS 2008).
Business Management objectives included development of skills, attitudes and
values for self-employment or paid employment. Two out of seven general
objectives indicated that this programme should
• equip students with problem-solving skills for dealing with business problems in
self-employment as well as paid employment; and
• inculcate in students business-like attitudes, work habits and an appreciation of
efficiency in the use of resources.
Many of these competencies assumed that teachers had appropriate pedagogical
skills and instructional materials to develop them. But the reforms were silent on the
implications for reforming teacher education to deliver the changes. Nor was much
thought given to the implications for changing the structure of teaching and learning
so that it was more inquiry-based. Ghanaian education reformers and policy makers
probably underestimated the implications for deep changes to teacher development
and the necessity of a reorganisation of teaching and learning which would allow
students to develop these new skills and attitudes.
In general, secondary school subjects still maintain a theoretical focus partly
because of the requirements of examinations (MoE 2010). While many of the
objectives of the vocational and technical programmes emphasise the development
and acquisition of practical skills, examinations continue to devote more time to
theory than to practical work assessment. The establishment of secondary school
classroom environments where students assume a more central and active role in
constructing and adapting knowledge to solve problems has been hampered by the
theory-driven assessment system (Akyeampong 2005a). Officials at the curriculum
Reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in the African context 227
123
division of the Ministry of Education in Ghana argue that to equip Ghanaian youth
for the workplace requires more emphasis on practical skills training and less
reliance on examinations as the basis for assessment. However, they also add that to
assess practical skills is expensive and beyond what the Ministry can provide
(Anarfi and Appiah 2012).
It is important to point out that recent curriculum reforms in secondary education
in Africa have made some attempts to modernise teaching methods in the
classroom, away from teacher-dominated lessons to more active forms of learning.
However, studies indicate that the implementation of active learning approaches is
still problematic and far removed from the ideal situation suggested in curriculum
documents. A World Bank study of the state of classroom teaching in many
secondary education classrooms in Africa reached the conclusion that
Classroom reality continues to be described in terms of dominant teachers,
silent students, and chalk and talk. Reasons forwarded as to why this gap
exists include cultural perceptions of what good teaching is, current
inadequate levels of teachers’ knowledge and practices, a general misunder-
standing of the meaning of learner-centred education, and the shifting roles of
teachers, resulting in implementation without the intended learning. Teachers,
on the other hand, often put forward the lack of physical resources, large
classes and an overloaded curriculum as reasons for using teacher dominated
classroom strategies (World Bank 2008b, p. xiv).
A study which explored the views of Ghanaian teacher educators and teachers on
what kinds of teaching competencies secondary school teachers need to support the
development of 21st-century skills revealed an emphasis on teacher-centred didactic
traditional instructional approaches inimical to inquiry-based classroom learning
environments (Akyeampong 2005b). Broadly, the study aimed to develop a
comprehensive understanding of the teaching competencies and skills which should
be incorporated into the curriculum of university teacher training and those which
should be the focus of teachers’ professional development activities. The study
interviewed 13 teacher educators and secondary school teachers in focus groups and
administered a questionnaire to 112 secondary school teachers in a district of the
central region of Ghana. It also included an analysis of secondary school
mathematics and science curriculum documents to determine the kinds of
knowledge and skills prioritised within them (ibid.).
On the question of what would be desired teaching competencies for secondary
school teachers, the teacher educators’ views focused on authoritarian teacher-
centred instructional approaches. This contrasted sharply with what they felt were
desired student competencies which secondary education was expected to promote.
A summary of their views for ‘‘desired teaching competencies’’ included the
following:
Desired teaching competencies
(1) the ability to present lessons logically – this mainly referred to systematic or
sequential presentation of a plan lesson. Most respondents illustrated this in
228 K. Akyeampong
123
the context of writing coherent lesson plans using a behavioural framework of
teaching and learning;
(2) effective questioning techniques – the ability to ask appropriate questions
which enable students to engage in the lesson constructively;
(3) good class management and organisational skills – the ability to keep the class
under control so that both teaching and learning are facilitated unhindered;
(4) good communicative skills – this often meant being able to express oneself
coherently in the English language so that students could grasp what was being
taught;
(5) the ability to guide students in solving problems; and
(6) the ability to instil discipline in students – this was a point emphasised by all
the teacher educators and is also considered by many teachers as a desired
teaching competence. For example, the reference to ‘‘ability to instil
discipline’’ showed the importance attached to authoritarian classroom
environments where teachers keep the class under control by means of strict
disciplinary actions (ibid.).
Desired student competencies
When these same teacher educators and teachers were asked what they considered
to be desired competencies for secondary school students in order to fulfil their
potential, they came up mainly with 21st-century life skills, such as:
(1) developing the skills of critical thinking;
(2) having the ability to investigate issues, to think in scientific terms and
possessing the ability to deal with numbers in practical contexts;
(3) being time-conscious, creative and able to take initiative;
(4) possessing the ability to solve problems which demand critical analysis;
(5) appreciating the sense of responsibility because it is a vital ingredient for
development;
(6) being able to apply what they (the students) learn in everyday living activities;
and
(7) being able to extend knowledge and ideas to workplaces (ibid.).
What accounts for this sharp difference? The study found that teacher educators in
particular were sceptical about the ability of teachers to fully promote these student
competencies because the training did not offer sufficient opportunity to fully
develop teacher competencies to do so. Secondary teacher education programmes
are not properly aligned in terms of philosophy and practice to achieve these
expectations (ibid.).
Unlike the secondary teacher education curriculum, general secondary school
subjects are increasingly calling for the development of 21st-century life skills. For
example the new, integrated science syllabus is clear about what Ghanaian students
should be capable of doing following instruction in the subject. It states that
‘‘students should be able to apply knowledge, develop analytical thinking skills,
synthesise information, and use their knowledge in a variety of ways to deal with
Reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in the African context 229
123
learning problems, and with problems and issues in their lives’’ (MoE 2002, p. viii).
It reflects what, more recently, Ghanaian policy makers have been advocating as
part of the overall objectives of secondary education. To achieve such objectives,
though, would require that teachers ‘‘avoid rote learning and drill-oriented methods
and rather emphasise participatory teaching and learning’’ (ibid., p. viii). It will also
require curricula and assessment practices which encourage students ‘‘to think
creatively and collaborate. It is crucial to design curricula and assessment systems
that emphasize authentic real world problems, engage students in inquiry and
exploration and provide opportunities for students to apply what they know in
meaningful ways’’ (Brewer 2013, p. 16).
Conclusion: charting a way forward
Secondary education curricula in many African education systems are increasingly
stating the need to include 21st-century life skills for preparing youth for the
changing world of work. As discussed above, curriculum documents now place less
emphasis on developing occupation-specific skills which were popular two to three
decades ago. However, the reconceptualisation of life skills from an occupation-
specific focus to a 21st-century life skills conception will not in itself ensure that
these new skills will be developed in the youth of Africa. The pedagogies required
to develop these skills are more complex ‘‘and are highly dependent on the
knowledge and skills of the teachers involved’’ (Schleicher 2012, p. 40). If
technical, vocational and general education teachers in African secondary schools
are to adopt pedagogical practices which nurture communication, collaboration,
creativity and critical thinking skills, then the way in which teachers themselves
learn to teach these subjects must model the same skills. Unless this happens, many
young Africans will miss out on acquiring skills which will enhance their ability to
make informed choices and decisions to improve the quality of their lives, develop
problem-solving and critical thinking skills which will enhance their chances of
finding employment or benefiting from the opportunities for work as African
economies grow, diversify, and increasingly rely on 21st-century life skills.
However, changing secondary education teachers’ practices to reflect the goals of
a 21st-century life skills development agenda will require much more than
curriculum statements calling for teachers to innovate or adopt inquiry-based
instructional practices. Teachers need to have professional learning experiences
which demonstrate how these skills are to be developed. The challenge is to change
teachers’ pedagogical practices to provide powerful images of teaching and learning
exemplifying creativity, critical thinking, effective communication and collabora-
tive learning experiences. This means placing far more emphasis on processes of
learning which reflect the use of these skills in all secondary school subjects. It
would also be important for technical and vocational education subjects to place as
much emphasis on problematising and localising problem-solving and exploratory
learning activity as on the development of job-specific technical and vocational
skills.
230 K. Akyeampong
123
Recent emphasis in Ghanaian education on the use of ICTs to foster problem-
solving skills and skills in learning to learn is an example of the determination to
promote 21st-century life skills especially in secondary school students. But again,
this can only be achieved through a more interactive and dialogic relationship
between teachers and students. Deeply held instructional practices of knowledge
transmission and attitudes are not changed simply by introducing new technology
into classrooms. These technologies have to contend with secondary school
teachers’ professional identities defined and shaped by traditional disciplines
(World Bank 2005). Fundamental changes need to be made to the way in which the
curriculum defines how teaching and learning are to be carried out in classroom
spaces in order to develop critical 21st-century life skills.
Research exploring African teachers’ classroom roles and competencies in
practice point to biographical and teacher education experiences which shape their
pedagogical practices (Lewin and Stuart 2003). Teacher education for secondary
school teachers has to model the development of 21st-century life skills. Identifying
opportunities within teacher education where 21st-century-based pedagogies are
used to promote essential life skills needed for the 21st-century economy is crucial,
and yet hardly given attention in teacher education systems in Africa. Significant
changes to the teacher education curriculum in Ghana and in other African
countries’ education systems are needed to create a much deeper sense of the value
of pedagogies which support the development of essential 21st-century life skills.
In conclusion, secondary education reformers in Africa should aim for four
important strategic steps to improve the situation:
(1) Engage with employers to review and validate essential life skills in the
secondary education curriculum. Employers often have a better understanding
of skills relevant for securing employment. As evidence from Ghana shows,
employers value a broad range of skills which are also relevant for achieving
sustainable livelihoods. It is important that secondary education and teacher
education curriculum reformers engage representatives from formal and
informal employment sectors for their inputs so that there is confidence on
both sides that essential life skills relevant for employability are reflected in
secondary education. The objective should be much more than identifying
specific topics for attention in the curriculum, as it is clear from employers’
perspectives that behavioural and interpersonal skills are as important as other
technical skills.
(2) Develop a curriculum which has a closer alignment between goals and
pedagogical practices to support the development of 21st-century life skills.
There is often a disconnection between the goals of the secondary school
curriculum and the actual content and practices of teaching and learning, as the
Ghana case suggests.
(3) Provide adequate and relevant resources and infrastructure for teachers and
teacher educators to support changes in how they teach. For example,
ensuring that schools and teacher education institutions have access to ICTs is
crucial if teachers and teacher educators are to develop the capacity to be
innovative and creative in fostering the development of 21st-century life skills.
Reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in the African context 231
123
Reforming the school curriculum and developing teachers’ capacity to deliver
a wide range of skills will reap the desired benefits only if they have access to
instructional resources which allow them to provide students with a variety of
learning experiences which nurture a wide range of life skills.
(4) Reform secondary education assessment systems. None of these recommen-
dations will have the desired impact if there is little appetite on the part of
education reformers to tackle the corrupting influence of traditional examin-
ations in African education systems which often work against innovative and
creative learning approaches vital for developing 21st-century life skills. In
many instances, the methods of assessing learning outcomes in vocational
courses are similar to those used in the general arts and science courses. The
examinations mostly employ written formats which assess mainly knowledge
and understanding of subject matter. Practice-based assessments such as
performance and portfolio assessment techniques which document the
development of practical skills over an extended period of time are more
appropriate for technical and vocational subjects, and for developing a wider
range of skills. Their acceptance and use as part of the overall system of
assessing student learning is critical. However, the structure and content of the
secondary school examination system legitimises theoretical knowledge and
didactic instructional practices. Thus, any attempt to change the status quo
faces an uphill struggle. If secondary school teachers are to promote the
development of 21st-century life skills, then assessment reforms will be
critical. Unfortunately, the commitment to diversify the content and structure
of examinations in Africa has so far not been particularly strong.
References
Adams, A. V. (2007). The role of youth skills development in the transition to work: A global review.
Washington, DC: The World Bank.
AEO (African Economic Outlook). (2014). Youth in African labour markets. Too many bad jobs in poor
countries, too few jobs in middle income countries. Accessed 26 February 2014 from http://www.
africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/in-depth/youth_employment/youth-in-african-labour-markets/.
Akyeampong, K. (2005a). Vocationalised secondary education in Ghana. In J. Lauglo & R. Maclean
(Eds.), Vocationalisation of secondary education revisited (pp. 120–148). Dordrecht: Springer.
Akyeampong, K. (2005b). Learning to teach in the knowledge society: The case of Ghana. In J.
L. Moreno (Ed.), Learning to teach in the knowledge society: Final report (pp. 113–157).
Washington, DC: World Bank.
Amankrah, J. & Burggraaff, E. (2012). Learn4Work Mapping Study Ghana: Needs and priorities in
demand-driven vocational training of youth. Amersfoort: Edukans Learn4Work.
Anarfi, J. K. & Appiah, E. N. (2012). Skills defined by curricula: Sub-Saharan Africa. Innovative
Secondary Education for Skills Enhancement (ISESE).: Washington, DC.: Results for Development
Institute (R4D). Accessed 26 February 2014 from http://r4d.org/sites/resultsfordevelopment.org/
files/resources/Skills%20Defined%20by%20Curricula%20in%20Sub-Saharan%20Africa.pdf.
AU (African Union). (2006). Second decade for education for Africa (2006–2015): Plan of Action. Addis
Ababa: African Union.
Baiden, F. A. (1996). Technical and vocational education in Ghana. The development of technical and
vocational education in Africa: Case studies from selected countries (pp. 81–122). UNESCO
Regional Office: Dakar, Senegal.
232 K. Akyeampong
123
Brewer, L. (2013). Enhancing youth employability: What? Why? And how? International Labour
Organization (ILO), Skills and Employability Department: Guide to core work skills. Geneva.
Burnett, N., & Jayaram, S. (2012). Skills for employability in Africa and Asia. Innovative Secondary
Education for Skills Enhancement (ISESE). Washington, DC: Results for Development Institute
(R4D).
Government of Ghana. (2005). National Development Planning Commission, Growth and Poverty
Reduction Strategy (GPRS II): 2006–2009. Accra: Government of Ghana.
GSS (Ghana Statistical Service). (2007). Investing in people, investing in jobs: Keeping the scores. Report
on the Ghana JobTracking Survey. Accra: GSS.
IYF (International Youth Foundation). (2009). Private sector demand for youth labour in Ghana and
Senegal. Ghana and Senegal Study Findings. The International Youth Foundation and The Yourht
Employment Network. Geneva: International Labour Organization (ILO). Accessed 26 February
2014 from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/yen/downloads/psi/psi_study.pdf .
Jacobs Foundation (2011). Monitoring and evaluating life skills for youth development. Volume 1: The
guidelines. Zurich: Jacobs Foundation.
Lauglo, J. (2005). Vocationalised secondary education revisited. In J. Lauglo & R. Maclean (Eds.),
Vocationalisation of secondary education revisited (pp. 3–50). Dordrecht: Springer.
Lauglo, J., & Maclean, R. (Eds.). (2005). Vocatioanalisation of secondary education revisited. UNEVOC
Technical and vocational education and training series. Dordrecht: Springer.
Lewin, K. M. & Stuart, J. (2003). Researching teacher education: New perspectives on practice,
performance and policy. Multisite Teacher Education Research Project (MUSTER). London:
Department for International Development (DFID).
MoE (Ministry of Education). (1988). Report of the Education Commission on Senior Secondary School
Education in Ghana. Accra: MoE.
MoE (Ministry of Education). (1994). Report of the Education Reform Review Committee (ERRC).
Accra: MoE.
MoE (Ministry of Education). (2002). Ghana senior secondary integrated science syllabus. Accra: MoE.
MoE (Ministry of Education). (2010). Education sector performance report, Accra: MoE.
MoESS (Ministry of Education Science and Sports). (2008). Education Sector Performance Report.
Accra: MoESS.
Obanya, P. (2004). Secondary education in Africa: The curriculum triangle. In: Presentation given at the
Second Annual Conference on Secondary Education in Africa (SEIA), Dakar, Senegal, 6–9 June.
Schleicher, A. (Ed.) (2012). Preparing teachers and developing school leaders for the 21st century:
Lessons from around the world. Background Report for the International Summit on the Teaching
Profession. Paris: OECD publishing. Accessed 26 February 2014 from http://www.oecd.org/site/
eduistp2012/49850576.pdf.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). (2000). The Dakar
Framework for Action. Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments. Paris: UNESCO.
Accessed 26 February 2014 from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001211/121147e.pdf.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). (2003). Gender and
Education for All: The leap to equality. Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2003/4. Paris:
UNESCO.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). (2004). Education for All:
The quality imperative. Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2005. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). (2012). Youth and skills:
Putting education to work. Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2002. Paris: UNESCO.
Wilson, D. N. (2005). Promise and performance in vocationalised secondary education: Has the baby
been thrown out with the bath water? In J. Lauglo & R. Maclean (Eds.), Vocationalisation of
secondary education revisited (pp. 71–92). Dordrecht: Springer.
World Bank (2005). Expanding opportunities and building competencies for young people: A new agenda
for secondary education. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
World Bank (2008a). Curricula, examinations, and assessment in secondary education in sub-Saharan
Africa. World Bank Working Paper No. 128: African Human Development Series. Washington, DC:
The World Bank.
World Bank (2008b). Strategies for sustainable financing of secondary education in sub-Saharan Africa.
World Bank Working Paper No. 136: African Human Development Series. Washington, DC: The
World Bank.
Reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in the African context 233
123
WHO (World Health Organization). (1997). Life skills education for children and adolescents in schools.
Introduction and guidelines to facilitate the development and implementation of life skills
programmes. Geneva: WHO. Accessed 26 February 2014 from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/1994/
who_mnh_psf_93.7a_rev.2.pdf.
WHO (World Health Organization). (1999). Partners in life skills education: Conclusions from a United
Nations Inter-Agency Meeting. Geneva: WHO, Department of Mental Health.
The author
Kwame Akyeampong (Ghana) is Professor of International Education and Development at the
University of Sussex. His research interests are in teacher education in development contexts with a
special focus on sub-Saharan Africa; interactions and clashes of pedagogy and assessment; and
institutional structures and cultures which shape teachers’ professional learning in low-income primary
and secondary education classrooms. A central concern of his work has been the theorisation and/or
conceptualisation of teacher education in deficit terms. His research has aimed to offer an alternative
viewpoint based on critical perspectives and experiences of policy makers, school leaders, teachers and
students in African education environments. He has worked on projects with organisations such as
UNESCO, JICA, DFID and the World Bank, and was a visiting Professor in Japan (Hiroshima
University) and a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Georgia State University, USA. From 2011 to 2013, he
served as a senior policy analyst with the Education for All Global Monitoring Report team at UNESCO
in Paris.
234 K. Akyeampong
123