The importance of posting and interaction with the education bureaucracy in becoming a teacher in Ghana

This paper addresses some of the issues surrounding the posting of newly trained teachers in Ghana. It specifically investigates the assertion that the posting system is ‘ineffective’ from the perspective of newly trained teachers who have been through the process. It emerged from analysis of the qualitative data that newly trained teachers’ experiences and perceptions of the posting process had a significant impact on their occupational culture. The research draws upon documents, interviews with members of the education bureaucracy, and interviews with 23 newly trained teachers posted to basic schools in rural areas in Central Region. The paper illuminates some of the problems involved in posting newly trained teachers to rural schools and looks for explanations as to why some teachers take up their postings and others do not.