Purpose: Emotions are an important aspect of work performance but are often overlooked, especially amongst preschool teachers whose work environment is laden with emotional job demands. The present study aims to examine the mediating role of emotional exhaustion in the relationship between emotional labour and contextual performance.…

Changing teachers' practice is difficult, especially in low- and middle-income contexts (LMIC). Recently, with attention turning to improving early mathematics in addition to reading outcomes, donors, governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are grappling with the design of mathematics interventions and supportive policies. However,…

Ghana's efforts to end all forms of discrimination against women and ensure gender equity in school leadership appointments require a change in peoples' mindsets, habits and cultural beliefs. It is envisaged that evidence on the performance of the few women who have been appointed into leadership positions against their male counterparts would be…

This study examines how asymmetric job conditions deplete the psychological resources of the ECE workforce in a lower-middle-income country (LMIC). Specifically, this preliminary study, using data from preschool teaching staff, examined the influence of (a) job demands (emotional demand, workload, role conflict and work-family conflict) on…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are becoming increasingly popular, in a recognition that teachers' knowledge is situated in teachers' daily experiences and best acquired through ongoing practice and reflection. This study examines the relationship between participation in PLCs and teaching practices and tests specific aspects of a PLC…

Early childhood education (ECE) programs are expanding across sub-Saharan Africa. But the quality of these programs, and their effectiveness when implemented at scale, remains unclear. Defining quality is not simple, as learning environments are shaped by cultural values and societal sociodemographics. Framed within sociocultural theory, this…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental condition, has become a major concern for both developed and underdeveloped countries since the condition is associated with significant caregiver, family, and financial burdens. Approaches to educating these children, especially in their preschool years, are burdensome and demanding for both…

The purpose of this study was to examine Ghanaian stakeholders' beliefs about the role and importance of play in early years (3 to 5 years) children's learning, referred to as play-learning beliefs. A survey design was adopted in order to gather data necessary to examine the differences among stakeholders' play-learning beliefs. A total of 292…

This study explored the prevalence of the null curriculum in the Ghanaian basic school education system. It also sought to identify the main reasons behind teachers' omission of specific topics or experiences from the basic school curriculum. Three hundred seventy-five basic school teachers from kindergarten, primary, and junior high schools…

Background/Context: School readiness refers to the foundational skills and behaviors children leverage as they begin kindergarten, including a combination of early academics, executive function (EF), and social-emotional competencies. In both high-income and low- and middle-income countries, these early skills collectively enable children to…

Early childhood education (ECE) in Ghana has grown from a traditional approach to a more formalised and modernised system of care and education services for young children. As a valued practice, ECE reflects a distributive, regulatory or redistributive policy. The paper analyses Ghana's ECE policy implementation using McDonnell and Elmore's…

An individual is born with millions of neurons and the quality of the experiences he/she will have at the early years can potentially determine the future life of that person. This makes quality early childhood education pivotal. However, the perception people have about this influence how they prepare themselves to provide that quality early…

The study investigated the perception of early childhood educators on the use of play as a teaching technique in the Afadjato South District. The study was a cross-sectional descriptive design using concurrent triangulation mixed method approach. A sample of 120 participants was used comprising100 kindergarten teachers, 10 basic school heads and…

This study was designed to explore the professional development needs of both general and special education teachers in Ghana regarding students with disabilities in an inclusive environment. Unlike the traditional top-down approach, where professional development for teachers is designed from the top and thrust upon them, this study sought to do…

In this article we report on the development and implementation of a professional development programme for teachers of the kindergarten curriculum (4-5 year olds) in Ghana. Kindergarten teachers in Ghana have little experience and meagre training in implementing a play-based pedagogy as recommended in the national curriculum. An indigenous…