Challenges facing teaching and learning of Religious and Moral Education in Ghanaian Basic Schools: The case of Krachi-East Municipality
George Kojo Oku & Samuel Yao Xenyo
Abstract
This research examined the difficulties encountered in teaching and learning Religious and Moral Education (RME) in Ghana’s basic schools. A mixed-methodology approach was employed for the study, utilising the Concurrent Triangulation Strategy. The instruments used for data collection, with the help of the key informants, were questionnaires and interviews. The sample size for the study was one hundred and sixteen (116) respondents. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and descriptive methods. The findings of the study established the following challenges: no internet connection in all the schools; non-availability of libraries and reference materials (textbooks) in most of the schools; inadequate number of trained teachers for RME; insufficient teaching and learning resources; use of teacher-centered methods of teaching; and poor attitude of learners towards the subject. The paper recommended that the government should provide adequate teaching and learning resources, internet facilities, well-resourced libraries, and recruit qualified teachers to handle the subject. On the other hand, teachers should use learner-centered teaching methods and improvised teaching and learning resources where necessary. The learners should take their studies seriously, and parents should also strive to support their wards by meeting their educational needs. The study concluded that if the aforementioned recommendations are considered and implemented by the government, parents, policymakers and educationists, among others, it would go a long way to reduce the challenges facing teaching and learning of the subject and improve the performance of the learners in Krachi-East Municipality in Oti Region and Ghana as a whole.
Keywords
challenges, morality, religion, religious and moral education, teaching and learning
Author information & Contribution
George Kojo Oku. Religious and Moral Education (RME) Lecturer at Dambai College of Education in the Oti Region. Email: okukojogeorge@gmail.com
He is a Religious and Moral Education (RME) Lecturer at Dambai College of Education in the Oti Region. He holds a Master of Philosophy (M. Phil) in Religious Studies from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and Philosophy from the University of Cape Coast (UCC). He also holds a certificate in Human Resource Management from the Institute of Commercial Management (I.C.M) in the United Kingdom. He has 22 years of teaching experience: 9 years of teaching Christian Religious Studies (CRS) at Beposo Senior High School; CRS and Government in Fomena T.I. Ahmadiyyah, both schools are in Ashanti Region. He again taught Christian Religious Studies (CRS) and Government at Oti Senior High Technical School in Dambai, Oti Region. He also has 7 years of teaching experience in Religious and Moral Education at Dambai College of Education. He is an Assistant Examiner in RME at the College of Education level.
Samuel Yao Xenyo. Corresponding author. PhD Candidate at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and an exchange programme PhD candidate of RWTH Aachen University in Germany. Email: sxenyo@dace.edu.gh
He is currently a PhD Candidate at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and an exchange programme PhD candidate of RWTH Aachen University in Germany. He holds a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) in Religion and Human Values; MA in Religion and Human Values; and a B. Ed Arts in Religious Studies and History from the University of Cape Coast. He is a Religious and Moral Education (RME) Lecturer at Dambai College of Education in Oti-Region of Ghana. His research focuses on Christian ethics, philosophy of religion, RME, religion and ecology, and para-medical ethics. His current doctoral research looks at Christianity (religion) and environmental sustainability (environmental stewardship).
"The two authors worked as a team. Both of them equally contributed to the conception, design, preparation, data gathering and analysis, and writing of the manuscript. They also read and approved the final manuscript before its submission to this journal."
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding
This work was not supported by any funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
This study was given ethical clearances by The Dambai College of Education.
Data and Materials Availability
The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
AI Declaration
The author declares the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly, Quillbot, in summarizing some key points and in paraphrasing some ideas. The authors take full responsibility in ensuring proper review and editing of contents generated using AI.
Notes
This paper has been presented at the 5th International Conference of Post Graduate Studies at the School of Graduate Studies, University of Cape Coast in March, 2025. However, it has not been submitted to any journal for publication.
Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the support of one Mr. Justice Owusu, who assisted in using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to work on our raw quantitative data for us, but he is not one of the authors of this article. In other words, he did not have a direct contribution to the contents of the paper (i.e., conception, design, preparation, data gathering) and cannot be considered one of the authors.
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Cite this article:
Oku, G.K. & Xenyo, S.Y. (2025). Challenges facing teaching and learning of Religious and Moral Education in Ghanaian Basic Schools: The case of Krachi-East Municipality. International Journal of Educational Management and Development Studies, 6(4), 111-136. https://doi.org/10.53378/ijemds.353283
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