Implementation of the Standards-Based Curriculum in Ghanaian Senior High Schools: Professional Learning Communities and Teachers’ Self-Efficacy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51867/scimundi.6.2.19Keywords:
Teacher Self-efficacy, Curriculum Implementation, Standards-Based Curriculum, Curriculum ImplementationAbstract
This study examined the influence of professional learning community (PLC) engagement on teachers’ self-efficacy in implementing the Standards-Based Curriculum (SBC) in Ghanaian Senior High Schools. The study was anchored in the integration of social cognitive theory and sociocultural theory. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted within a quantitative research approach. The study population comprised all 480 teachers from twelve public Senior High Schools in the Central Region of Ghana. A census method was used, involving all 480 teachers, of whom 468 successfully completed and returned the questionnaire, representing a response rate of 97.50%. Data were collected using a structured closed-ended questionnaire adapted from validated instruments. The collected data were coded, entered, and cleaned using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages were used to analyse the demographic characteristics. Following data screening and preparation, the hypothesised model was analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS version 4.1.1.4. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant positive influence of PLCs on teachers’ self-efficacy in implementing the SBC. Senior High Schools teachers’ engagement in professional learning communities is essential for enhancing their self-efficacy and improving the effective implementation of the SBC in Ghanaian Senior High Schools. The study concluded that effective professional learning communities strengthen teachers’ self-efficacy by providing collaborative learning opportunities, supportive professional relationships, and organisational conditions that enhance teachers’ capacity to implement the SBC successfully. It is therefore recommended that the Ghana Education Service, Regional and District Education Directorates, and Senior High School administrators should strengthen professional learning communities by promoting collaborative professional learning, meaningful teacher participation in instructional decision-making, supportive professional cultures, and organisational structures that facilitate continuous teacher development.
Downloads
References
Aboagye, G. K., Anhwere, D. K., Quayson, E., Owusu-Akyeampong, G., & Adjei, E. (2026). Professional learning communities and classroom management practices: Evidence from the implementation of the standards-based curriculum. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 14(2), 230-243.
https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v14i2.8355
Aithal, A., & Aithal, P. S. (2020). Development and validation of survey questionnaire and experimental data: A systematical review-based statistical approach. International Journal of Management, Technology, and Social Sciences, 5(2), 233-251.
https://doi.org/10.47992/IJMTS.2581.6012.0116
Alordiah, C. O., & Ossai, J. N. (2023). Enhancing questionnaire design: Theoretical perspectives on capturing attitudes and beliefs in social studies research. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 8(10), 603-614.
Anderson, S. G., & Olivier, D. F. (2022). A quantitative study of schools as learning organizations: An examination of professional learning communities, teacher self-efficacy, and collective efficacy. Research Issues in Contemporary Education, 7(1), 26-51.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Macmillan.
Battersby, S. L., & Verdi, B. (2015). The culture of professional learning communities and connections to improve teacher efficacy and support student learning. Arts Education Policy Review, 116(1), 22-29.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2015.970096
Burns, M. K., Naughton, M. R., Preast, J. L., Wang, Z., Gordon, R. L., Robb, V., & Smith, M. L. (2018). Factors of professional learning community implementation and effect on student achievement. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 28(4), 394-412.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10474412.2017.1385396
Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Steca, P., & Malone, P. S. (2006). Teachers' self-efficacy beliefs as determinants of job satisfaction and students' academic achievement: A study at the school level. Journal of School Psychology, 44(6), 473-490.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2006.09.001
Chen, P., & Wang, T. (2015). Exploring the evolution of a teacher professional learning community: A longitudinal case study at a Taiwanese high school. Teacher Development, 19(4), 427-444.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2015.1050527
Chen, P., Lee, C. D., Lin, H., & Zhang, C. X. (2018). Factors that develop effective professional learning communities in Taiwan. In Global perspectives on developing professional learning communities (pp. 56-73). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351206198-5
Davis, D. E. (2021). Calculations used in census methods. In CRC handbook of census methods for terrestrial vertebrates (pp. 344-369). CRC Press.
https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003210320-168
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2018). Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Portfolio budget statements highlights 2018-2019. EFIC, ACIAR, ASIS, and Tourism Australia.
French, K. J. (2017). Identification of superintendent leadership strategies to sustain effective professional learning communities [Doctoral dissertation, Lamar University].
Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change. Teachers College Press.
Fuller, C. M., Simmering, M. J., Atinc, G., Atinc, Y., & Babin, B. J. (2016). Common methods variance detection in business research. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 3192-3198.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.12.008
Ghanad, A. (2023). An overview of quantitative research methods. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Analysis, 6(8), 3794-3803.
https://doi.org/10.47191/ijmra/v6-i8-52
Goddard, Y., & Kim, M. (2018). Examining connections between teacher perceptions of collaboration, differentiated instruction, and teacher efficacy. Teachers College Record, 120(1), 1-24.
https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811812000102
Hair, J. F., Howard, M. C., & Nitzl, C. (2020). Assessing measurement model quality in PLS-SEM using confirmatory composite analysis. Journal of Business Research, 109, 101-110.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.11.069
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2021). Evaluation of formative measurement models. In Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using R: A workbook (pp. 91-113). Springer International Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80519-7_5
Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 19(2), 139-152.
https://doi.org/10.2753/MTP1069-6679190202
Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Pieper, T. M., & Ringle, C. M. (2012). The use of partial least squares structural equation modeling in strategic management research: A review of past practices and recommendations for future applications. Long Range Planning, 45(5-6), 320-340.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2012.09.008
Hairon, S., & Dimmock, C. (2012). Singapore schools and professional learning communities: Teacher professional development and school leadership in an Asian hierarchical system. Educational Review, 64(4), 405-424.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2011.625111
Hallinger, P., & Walker, A. (2017). Leading learning in Asia: Emerging empirical insights from five societies. Journal of Educational Administration, 55(2), 130-146.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-02-2017-0015
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2012). Using partial least squares path modeling in advertising research: Basic concepts and recent issues. In Handbook of research on international advertising. Edward Elgar Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.4337/9781781001042.00023
Hine, G., Blackley, S., & Cooke, A. (2019). Mathematics education research: Impacting practice. In Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (pp. 652-659). MERGA.
Hood, N. (2018). Personalising and localising knowledge: How teachers reconstruct resources and knowledge shared online in their teaching practice. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 27(5), 589-605.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2018.1535448
Hord, S. M. (1997). Professional learning communities: Communities of continuous inquiry and improvement. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
Hord, S. M. (2009). Professional learning communities. The Learning Professional, 30(1), 40-43.
Humble, S. (2020). Quantitative analysis of questionnaires: Techniques to explore structures and relationships. Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429400469
Hunkins, F. P., & Ornstein, A. C. (2013). Curriculum development. Pearson.
Hunziker, S., & Blankenagel, M. (2021). Cross-sectional research design. In Research design in business and management: A practical guide for students and researchers (pp. 187-199). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-34357-6_10
Jacobs, M., Vakalisa, N. C. G., & Gawe, N. (2011). Teaching-learning dynamics (4th ed.). Pearson.
Jiang, J. J. (2014). The study of organizing, operating and affecting of teachers' professional learning communities in suburban elementary school. School Administrators, 89, 142-163.
John-Steiner, V., & Mahn, H. (1996). Sociocultural approaches to learning and development: A Vygotskian framework. Educational Psychologist, 31(3-4), 191-206.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.1996.9653266
Khan, U. S., & Jain, P. R. (2025). Research designs and methodologies. In Introduction to public health and research: Essential concepts. Springer Nature.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-5154-2_2
Klassen, R. M., & Chiu, M. M. (2010). Effects on teachers' self-efficacy and job satisfaction: Teacher gender, years of experience, and job stress. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 741-756.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019237
Kock, N., & Mayfield, M. (2015). PLS-based SEM algorithms: The good neighbor assumption, collinearity, and nonlinearity. Information Management and Business Review, 7(2), 113-130.
https://doi.org/10.22610/imbr.v7i2.1146
Lantolf, J. P. (Ed.). (2000). Sociocultural theory and second language learning. Oxford University Press.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803932
Lee, J. C. K., Zhang, Z., & Yin, H. (2011). A multilevel analysis of the impact of a professional learning community, faculty trust in colleagues and collective efficacy on teacher commitment to students. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(5), 820-830.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2011.01.006
Liang, W., Song, H., & Sun, R. (2022). Can a professional learning community facilitate teacher well-being in China? The mediating role of teaching self-efficacy. Educational Studies, 48(3), 358-377.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2020.1755953
Lightsey, R. (1999). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 13(2), 158-166.
https://doi.org/10.1891/0889-8391.13.2.158
Liou, Y. H., & Canrinus, E. T. (2020). A capital framework for professional learning and practice. International Journal of Educational Research, 100, 101527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.101527
Lortie, D. C. (2020). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. University of Chicago Press.
Ministry of Education. (2019). National pre-tertiary education curriculum framework for developing subject curricula. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. https://ghanaeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/National-Pre-Tertiary-Learning-Assessment-Framework_-24062020.pdf
Nie, Y., Tan, G. H., Liau, A. K., Lau, S., & Chua, B. L. (2013). The roles of teacher efficacy in instructional innovation: Its predictive relations to constructivist and didactic instruction. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 12(1), 67-77.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-012-9128-y
Oddone, K., Hughes, H., & Lupton, M. (2019). Teachers as connected professionals: A model to support professional learning through personal learning networks. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 20(3), 1-12.
https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v20i4.4082
Pang, N. S. K., & Wang, T. (2016). Professional learning communities: Research and practices across six educational systems in the Asia-Pacific region. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36(2), 193-201.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2016.1148848
Peterson, C., Park, N., & Sweeney, P. J. (2008). Group well-being: Morale from a positive psychology perspective. Applied Psychology, 57, 19-36.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00352.x
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879-903.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
Prenger, R., Poortman, C. L., & Handelzalts, A. (2019). The effects of networked professional learning communities. Journal of Teacher Education, 70(5), 441-452.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487117753574
Quennerstedt, M., & Maivorsdotter, N. (2016). The role of learning theory in learning to teach. In Routledge handbook of physical education pedagogies (pp. 417-427). Routledge.
Runhaar, P., & Sanders, K. (2016). Promoting teachers' knowledge sharing: The fostering roles of occupational self-efficacy and human resources management. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 44(5), 794-813.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143214564773
Singh, N., & Loh, S. C. (2026). Professional learning communities and trust in colleagues as determinants of collective teacher efficacy in Malaysian primary schools: An SEM analysis. Education 3-13, 54(2), 301-316.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2024.2305867
Skinner, C. (2018). Issues and challenges in census taking. Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application, 5, 49-63.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-statistics-041715-033713
Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2006). Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221-258.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-006-0001-8
Suprayogi, M. N., Valcke, M., & Godwin, R. (2017). Teachers and their implementation of differentiated instruction in the classroom. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 291-301.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.06.020
Thien, L. M., & Hallinger, P. (2026). Linear and nonlinear dynamics between principal instructional leadership, teacher professional learning and teacher self-efficacy: A complexity theory approach. Journal of Educational Administration, 64(1), 31-46.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-06-2025-0248
Tichenor, M., & Tichenor, J. (2018). The many sides of teacher collaboration. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 54(3), 139-142.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00228958.2018.1481663
Timperley, H. (2008). Teacher professional learning and development. International Academy of Education & International Bureau of Education.
Ting, Y. K. (2014). A study on the relationship of principals' coaching-based leadership and teachers' professional learning community. Educational Policy Forum, 17(3), 117-151.
Tschannen-Moran, M., & Barr, M. (2004). Fostering student learning: The relationship of collective teacher efficacy and student achievement. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 3(3), 189-209.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15700760490503706
Tschannen-Moran, M., & Hoy, A. W. (2001). Teacher efficacy: Capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(7), 783-805.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00036-1
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2019). World inequality database on education. Taylor & Francis.
Van den Akker. (2018). Developing curriculum frameworks: A comparative analysis. NCCA.
Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80-91.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004
Vygotsky, L. S., & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Wang, X., & Cheng, Z. (2020). Cross-sectional studies: Strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations. Chest, 158(1), S65-S71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2020.03.012
Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803932
Zee, M., & Koomen, H. M. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy and its effects on classroom processes, student academic adjustment, and teacher well-being: A synthesis of 40 years of research. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 981-1015. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315626801
Zhang, J., & Pang, N. S. K. (2018). Investigating the development of professional learning communities: Compare schools in Shanghai and Southwest China. In Global perspectives on developing professional learning communities (pp. 25-38). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351206198-3
Zhang, J., Yin, H., & Wang, T. (2023). Exploring the effects of professional learning communities on teachers' self-efficacy and job satisfaction in Shanghai, China. Educational Studies, 49(1), 17-34.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2020.1834357
Zheng, X., Yin, H., & Li, Z. (2019). Exploring the relationships among instructional leadership, professional learning communities and teacher self-efficacy in China. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 47(6), 843-859. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143218764176
Zheng, X., Yin, H., & Liu, Y. (2021). Are professional learning communities beneficial for teachers? A multilevel analysis of teacher self-efficacy and commitment in China. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 32(2), 197-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2020.1808484
Zonoubi, R., Rasekh, A. E., & Tavakoli, M. (2017). EFL teacher self-efficacy development in professional learning communities. System, 66, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.03.003
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Gabriel Kwasi Aboagye, Daniel Kweku Anhwere, Emmanuel Quayson, Akua Tiwaa Buabeng-Boateng, Rejoice Apagyiwa Inkoom, Benjamin Asiedu-Boamah, Nancy Albertha Ocrah, Hawa Adams
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
