Religious and moral education pre-service teachers' intention to use existential pedagogy to teach: Altering pedagogies to ensure transformative education in Ghana

Eric Mensah; Theophilus Eshun; Seth Asare-Danso

doi:10.51867/AQSSR.3.3.32

Auteurs-es

Eric Mensah University of Cape Coast, Ghana Auteur-e https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2362-8493
Theophilus Eshun Our Lady of Apostles College of Education, Ghana Auteur-e https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2362-8493
Seth Asare-Danso University of Cape Coast, Ghana Auteur-e https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4056-8453

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.51867/AQSSR.3.3.32

Mots-clés :

Attitude, Existential Pedagogy, Intention, Perceived Behavioural Control, Pre-Service Teachers, Religious and Moral Education, Subjective Norms

Résumé

The promotion of learner-centred pedagogies has become central to educational reforms aimed at fostering transformative teaching and learning. Within Religious and Moral Education (RME), existential pedagogy provides opportunities for learners to engage critically with religious and moral issues through reflection, dialogue, and personal meaning-making. Despite its pedagogical value, little empirical evidence exists regarding the factors influencing pre-service teachers' intention to adopt existential pedagogy in Ghana. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), this study examined the influence of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control on RME pre-service teachers' intention to adapt existential pedagogy for classroom instruction. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was employed, involving 183 Level 300 RME pre-service teachers from Colleges of Education affiliated with the University of Cape Coast. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire with acceptable reliability coefficients and analysed using descriptive statistics and simple and multiple regression analyses. The findings revealed that participants exhibited moderate levels of attitude (M = 3.32), subjective norm (M = 3.41), and perceived behavioural control (M = 3.36) towards adapting existential pedagogy, while demonstrating a high intention to use the pedagogy in future teaching (M = 3.74). Regression analyses indicated that attitude (R² = .253), subjective norm (R² = .381), and perceived behavioural control (R² = .388) each significantly and positively predicted intention to adopt existential pedagogy (p < .05). Collectively, the three TPB constructs explained 47.7% of the variance in behavioural intention (R² = .477), confirming the applicability of the TPB in explaining pre-service teachers' pedagogical intentions. The study concludes that strengthening positive attitudes, enhancing institutional and professional support, and improving pre-service teachers' confidence and pedagogical competence are critical for promoting the adoption of existential pedagogy in RME. It is recommended that Colleges of Education provide sustained training, practical experiences, and mentoring opportunities that equip future teachers to implement existential pedagogy effectively, thereby advancing transformative and learner-centred education in Ghana.

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