Judging Mathematics Teacher Quality under School Performance Contract Accountability: Experiences of Senior High School Teachers in Ghana

Source abstract

Background: Mathematics teacher quality encompasses pedagogical competence, professional practice and students’ learning outcomes. In Ghanaian senior high schools, School Performance Contracts (SPCs) emphasise accountability and measurable performance targets, potentially creating tensions between examination-based evaluations and broader professional standards. However, mathematics teachers’ experiences of these accountability expectations and their implications for judging teacher quality remain underexplored. This study explored how SPC accountability shapes mathematics teachers’ understandings and experiences of teacher quality, professional practice, and student performance in Ghanaian senior high schools. A qualitative descriptive design was used. Five mathematics teachers with approximately three to fifteen years of teaching experience participated in individual semi-structured interviews conducted in September 2026. Interviews were audio-recorded with verbal consent, transcribed, anonymised, and analysed thematically using an approach informed by Braun and Clarke. Five interrelated themes were developed: accountability through monitoring and answerability; student results as a powerful but contested measure of a good mathematics teacher; pedagogical adaptation and professional learning; a motivation–pressure paradox; and accountability without equal ownership of performance. Participants described examination results as prominent in judgements of teacher effectiveness, while also defining good mathematics teaching through learner-centred instruction, problem solving, practical application, and professional collaboration. SPC expectations were perceived as encouraging instructional adaptation and effort while also increasing workload and pressure. Participants further questioned attributing student outcomes primarily to teachers when performance is jointly shaped by students, parents, school leadership, and contextual conditions. The study argues that SPCs function not only as accountability mechanisms but also as evaluative environments that shape which dimensions of mathematics-teacher quality become most visible.