ABSTRACT
Teachers play a significant role in the lives of children, especially when they are in the formative stage. Ghanaian teachers play significant roles in the literacy development of children. Parents look up to the teacher to teach their children how to speak, read, and write English, and they are often blamed if children do not succeed in this task. This chapter is therefore about teachers’ voice, their beliefs, values, and views on the language and literacy policies in lower grades classrooms since independence in 1957. To begin with, general background information is given based on the professional life histories they shared during the interviews. The chapter also includes a vignette which is an edited transcript of the combined interviews of each teacher and highlighting each person’s views on a wide range of subjects.
The chapter starts with background information of Hubert and Frank, who were both retired at the time of the study; Mary and Dorothy, who are now headteachers in two basic schools; Grace and Jessica, currently teaching in junior high school; and Judith, who is now a language teacher in a primary school. The vignettes provide more in-depth information on individual teacher and justification for some of their decisions concerning the language policy in the lower grades.
