Dr. Ernest Opoku, Lecturer - University of Cape Coast

Ghana

May 27

Rethinking Teacher Education Through Identity and Purpose

In this edition of LEARN’s Get to Know a Scholar series, we feature Dr. Ernest Opoku, a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, whose work invites us to look beyond curriculum and pedagogy to the people at the heart of teaching: teachers! Drawing on his experiences as a classroom teacher, teacher educator, and researcher, Dr. Opoku explores how teachers’ professional identities, values, beliefs, and sense of self, shape the learning environments they create and the kinds of learners their students become. In the conversation that follows, he reflects on the moments that sparked his interest in teacher education, the questions driving his research, and his vision for cultivating reflective, critically minded, and socially responsible teachers in Ghana and beyond.

Q1. To start us off, can you tell us a little about who you are and what you do in your current role?

I’m Dr. Ernest Opoku. I am a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. I spend most of my time teaching, about 60 percent, and the rest of my work is focused on research. Teaching keeps me closely connected to students and classrooms, and my research gives me the space to think more deeply about teachers, in particular teacher identity and mindsets — how it shapes not just teaching and pedagogy of the classrooms but student learning, their appropriate cognitive and emotional development, which is the foundation for a successful future.

Q2. That is so inspiring! How did you become interested in teacher education, and what led you to focus on teachers’ identity in particular?

My interest in teacher education really began when I started teaching after completing Senior High School in Ghana. I taught students who were clearly smart and curious, but many of them disengaged because they felt some subjects were too abstract and disconnected from their everyday lives. I still remember one student asking me, “Sir, how does this subject help us in real life?” That question stayed with me and made me reflect deeply on what it actually means to be an effective teacher.

Over time, I realized that being a good teacher goes beyond knowing the subject matter. It is about helping students find meaning in what they learn, building their confidence, and supporting their values and sense of purpose. That realization shaped how I began to think about teaching itself. Then one day, it all just became clear to me. During a focus group with pre-service teachers, we were discussing what it means to “become a teacher,” and one participant paused, smiled, and said, “I’m realizing that teaching is not what I do, it’s who I am becoming.” That simple statement captured everything I had been trying to articulate about teacher identity formation. This led me to think more seriously about teachers’ professional identities. Teachers' beliefs, values, and sense of agency shape the learning environments and subsequently students’ lives. So, gradually, my focus shifted from improving classroom instruction to understanding how teacher identity influences teaching practices and students’ overall development. This is the focus of my research now.

Q3. I am curious to know more about your research. When you talk about teacher identity, can you tell us what does it really mean, and what problem is it trying to address, especially in the Ghanaian context. I guess, what I am also trying to get at is what does it look like when you put your research and ideas into action?

When I talk about teacher identity, I’m referring to how teachers see themselves, both professionally and personally. I’m also interested in how that sense of self shapes the way they teach, relate to students, and create learning environments. In my research, teacher identity includes teachers’ values, beliefs, confidence, and sense of agency. These elements strongly influence not just instructional practices, but also the emotional and relational climate of the classroom, which plays a key role in students’ development.

In Ghana, and probably in many other LMIC contexts, teacher education tends to focus heavily on subject knowledge and teaching techniques. What often gets left out is space for teachers to reflect on who they are becoming through teaching. When teacher identity is overlooked, important aspects of education can suffer, including nurturing students’ confidence, empathy, critical thinking, and sense of responsibility. It raises a difficult question: how can teachers support these broader skills in students if they have not had opportunities to reflect on their own mindset, values, and role in the classroom? This gap is especially concerning at a time when education systems are being asked to respond to learners’ social and emotional needs alongside academic ones.

My research is about turning these ideas into action. I work with teacher education institutions and schools to design professional learning approaches that intentionally support teachers’ identity development. This includes integrating guided reflection, mentorship, and real classroom experiences into both pre-service and in-service training. Together with teacher training colleges and secondary schools, I co-develop professional learning modules that invite teachers to examine their beliefs, teaching philosophies, and everyday practices.

In practical terms, this looks like using reflective journals, inquiry-based lesson design, and peer feedback circles. These tools help teachers build confidence, strengthen their sense of purpose, and shift from seeing themselves as transmitters of content to facilitators of learning. When that shift happens, teaching becomes more reflective and student-centered, and classrooms become spaces that support higher-order thinking and more holistic student development.

Q4. This sounds very exciting! Are there any recent papers you have written which you would like to share with us? It would be great to read about some of this amazing work you’ve mentioned.

Yes, I have a recent publication that would be a good place to start. It examines digital citizenship among economics students in Ghana, focusing on how four dimensions, technical skills, critical perspective, networking agency, and internet political activism, interact to shape students’ digital citizenship. One key finding is that technical skills alone are not enough. While they support the development of critical perspectives and networking agencies, they do not automatically lead to meaningful online political engagement. In particular, critical perspective partially mediates the relationship between technical skills, networking agency, and activism. In other words, having digital skills is not sufficient; how students interpret and evaluate digital content matters for meaningful participation.

At first glance, this work may seem different from my research on teacher identity, but it connects closely to a broader theme in my scholarship: skills alone are insufficient without reflection, values, and agency. Just as students need critical awareness to engage responsibly in digital spaces, teachers need a strong professional identity to guide how they support students’ thinking, agency, and participation. In the Ghanaian context, where digital access is expanding rapidly, this research underscores the importance of preparing both teachers and students with not only technical knowledge, but also the reflective and critical capacities needed to use that knowledge effectively.

Q5. The parallels you draw are relevant and insightful. So, what’s next? What kind of change do you hope this work will create? We would love it if you could talk about current or upcoming projects, or people or organizations you would like to collaborate with to advance your work?

Looking ahead, I hope this work helps reframe teacher education as more than the development of technical teaching skills. Teacher preparation should also cultivate professional identity, reflective practice, and socio-emotional awareness as core competencies. I would like to see teachers increasingly recognized as transformative agents who nurture students’ critical thinking, empathy, and civic responsibility, rather than simply delivering curriculum content. Ultimately, this work aims to support classrooms where students grow academically, emotionally, and socially.

In terms of collaboration, I am eager to work with teacher educators, teacher training colleges, schools, districts, and education policy organizations committed to strengthening teacher professional identity and 21st-century learning competencies. These partnerships could involve piloting reflective professional learning frameworks that integrate identity development, higher-order thinking, and digital citizenship into both pre-service and in-service teacher education. Collaboration with policymakers and curriculum developers will also be important for embedding identity-focused professional learning within national teacher education systems. Over time, I hope this contributes to a stronger teacher education culture in Ghana and beyond, one that recognizes teachers as central to meaningful and lasting educational change.

Important Links