Ghana’s New Physical Education Curriculum for Primary Schools: An Analysis and Future Directions

Abstract

Ghana launched a new physical education curriculum for primary schools in 2019 as part of its educational reforms at the pre-tertiary level. We analyzed the new curriculum in terms of its philosophy and curriculum organization. The strengths of the new curriculum included its comprehensive nature, alignment with the national content standards, and its interdisciplinary learning approach. Two main challenges facing the new curriculum are a lack of teacher support and teacher education. Inservice classroom teachers lacked technical support, teaching-learning resources, and training to implement the curriculum. Teacher education programs at the universities lacked programs or courses that focused on early childhood or primary physical education content and methodologies. In addition to senior high school content, universities need to offer programs and/or courses that focus on early childhood and/or primary physical education. Also, colleges of education should offer specialism physical education programs for kindergarten, primary, and junior high schools to ensure efficient use of manpower and resources.