Teachers’ knowledge and differentiated instruction in basic schools in Ghana / Conocimiento docente e instrucción diferenciada en los centros de Educación Básica de Ghana

Abstract

The study analysed teacher knowledge and implementation of Differentiated Instruction in basic schools in the Effutu Municipality. The study adopted the cultural-historical theory by Lev Vygotsky as the theoretical framework. A quantitative research method and a cross-sectional survey were employed as the research design. Sixty teachers were selected via multi-stage sampling which involved purposive and simple random sampling. A close-ended questionnaire was used to collect information about knowledge, awareness and extent of usage or implementation of Differentiated Instruction among the teachers on a four-point Likert scale. The results showed that the teachers had very good knowledge of Differentiated Instruction in the study area but that the proportion of teachers who implemented it in core subjects was not statistically significantly different from the proportion who did not. It was recommended that policymakers and heads of basic schools should enforce the use of Differentiated Instruction due to its significant benefits to learners.