Nature of the Classroom Environment and Teaching and Learning

The school has a total number of sixteen teachers including the head teacher and the deputy head-teacher. Additionally, the school has twelve unfurnished classrooms and lacks other essential facilities such as washrooms, canteen, and modern playing facilities for children as well as playing field. Regarding the school’s academic performance, the monthly assessment tests indicate that majority of the students are below average, and this implies that learning has not been given priority in this school (McWilliam & Kwamena-Poh, 2013). The school participates in local school-based sports, and they have managed to produce good athletes in the country who have excelled above the national level. Organizational Structure of Papao Community Basic School Papao Community Basic School is headed by a head teacher who is usually appointed by the Ghanaian Ministry of Education and assisted by a deputy head-teacher who is elected from amongst the teachers and his name forwarded to the ministry of education for official recognition by the ministry.

Additionally, children should be provided with an enabling learning environment for them to acquire the required skills which will help them respond to the challenges that face their community. A Learning Environment A learning environment encompasses several factors which contribute towards a student’s learning, and such factors include means of learning, technology, resources, modes of learning, and connections to the society as well as the global context (OECD, 2009). Additionally, a learning environment comprises human behavioral and cultural dimensions which include the critical role of emotions in learning. In this case, Cheryan, Ziegler, Plaut & Meltzoff (2014) says that it is essential for the concerned parties to rethink the positions of teachers and students towards creating an enabling learning environment. Frimpong (2011) says that as much as an ecology comprises both the living and the physical environment, then, a learning environment is also a composite of material systems and human practices.

Additionally (…) posits that when classroom conditions are pleasant and appealing, students get comfortable and thus, they concentrate on their learning. Other researchers such as Cheryan, Ziegler, Plaut & Meltzoff (2014) have also affirmed that classroom conditions such as lighting, temperature, and ventilation are important factors that influence learning of the students as well as teachers’ teaching in schools. In this light, Cheryan, Ziegler, Plaut & Meltzoff (2014) say that if students have to feel pleasant and comfortable with their learning, the school administration should ensure that such factors are provided. Another challenging condition observed at Papao Community Basic School is that there are no classroom displays to supplement the teacher’s efforts. Learning takes place through several methods and seeing, touching, experiencing, and feeling are among them.

Another challenge with the physical learning environment at Papao Community Basic School is that the school does not have washrooms both for the teachers and students. This condition implies that the hygiene conditions of the school are in question and this makes the school’s latrines to be congested throughout the day and also endangering the students’ lives because of lack of water for use. Collectively, these conditions make the learning environment at Papao School difficult and unpleasant to the students. Student-teacher relationship Research shows that teachers play an essential role in a student’s learning trajectory (Sakyi, 2014). Although most researchers say that teacher-student relationship is significant for elementary students, other studies affirm that teacher-student relationship is vital in each transition levels because teachers have the opportunity to support and nature the students’ social and moral development (Ball & Cohen (2013).

In a squeezed classroom setting like the ones in Papao School makes it difficult for the teachers to monitor students. Additionally, because of the lack of walls and fences that regulate movement in and out of the school, students enter and leave the school without restrictions. Another difficulty at Papao School is that the inadequacy of learning aids such as pictures, computers, and classrooms make teacher-student learning difficult. A positive teacher-student relationship is a condition of closeness, warmth, and positivity between teachers and students. Ball & Cohen (2013) say that such circumstances boost teacher-student bonds and classroom becomes supportive spaces in which learners can engage with their fellow students and teachers to produce positive social and academic outcomes. Another challenge observed in this institution is that teachers don’t care about the other students who come to school without writing materials because they will have to sit in class until the end of the lesson without participating in any classwork.

Lessons Learned Based on my observations, I have learned that the education system at Papao Community Basic School faces several challenges that originate from the top management. By taking this institution as a representative of the other schools in the region, it then implies that the education system is at risk. Among the lessons I have learned from this study is that school head teachers do not create time to share with the staff about the issues that affect learning and the development of the school. Additionally, all concerned stakeholders including teachers, parents, and the school’s management do not give priority to educational matters but concentrate on private development whereas the students’ educational matters are not put into consideration. II.

The school management should be systematic, well-planned and prepare a master plan for developing the school to meet the needs of the students at Papao community. III. Based on the underlying conditions in Papao Community Basic School, the government should intervene and allocated significant budgets to assist the school fence its compound, buy enough desks and other learning materials such as colors, charts, textbooks, and writing materials. IV.  Teaching as the learning profession: Handbook of policy and practice, 1, 3-22. Cheryan, S. , Ziegler, S. A. , Plaut, V. Kevin, W. Too Little Access, Not Enough Learning: Africa’s Twin Deficit in Education: This is Africa Special Report Access. Towards Post –MDG Development Agenda on Education. Available at www. Brookings. , & Kwamena-Poh, M. A.  The development of education in Ghana: An outline.