New Pedagogic Approaches and Administrative Processes in Public Primary Schools of the English-Speaking Sub-System of Education in the Anglophone Cameroon

The study sought to investigate the relationship between the new pedagogic approaches and head teachers’ administrative processes in public primary schools of the English-speaking sub-system of education in Anglophone Cameroon. The study specifically intended: to find out the relationship between hands-on-minds-on approach and head teachers’ administrative processes. The researcher adopted a research question from which a hypothesis was formulated. The mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative approaches with the cross-sectional/correlational survey designs and case study design to make up for the triangulation of data collection. A questionnaire and a semi-structured interview guide were used to gather data. The accessible population was 915 head teachers and 5004 teachers. The multi-stage sampling procedures were used to select a sample size of 300 teachers. The purposive and expert sampling techniques were used to select 10 key informant head teachers for the interview. The instruments were validated with content validity index (CVI) of 0.75 and reliability checks through split-half technique with a Cronbach’s coefficient of 0.805 for the questionnaire. Meanwhile, the interview was trial-tested with two primary school head teachers and verification of the instrument was also sought from experienced researchers like the supervisors, departmental heads among others. Data from questionnaire were analyzed through descriptive statistics of observed frequencies, percentages, sum, mean scores and standard deviations. Data from the interview were interpreted thematically, to corroborate the findings from the questionnaire. Hypotheses were analyzed using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation. The findings revealed that there is a relationship between Hands-On-Minds-On Approach and head teachers’ administrative processes (  = 3.32 ± 0.50). Further testing showed that it is a very weak inverse relationship (rxy = -0.034). Hence, the study recommends that the Ministry of Basic Education, as well as other educational bodies should develop strategic plans on periodic sustainable capacity building workshops/seminars for teachers and head teachers on: The adaptation and innovation in instruction in efforts to stay abreast with new knowledge and trends in the teaching methods and strategies, teaching materials, content and technologies and to accommodate the learners with diverse needs when using Hands-On-Minds-On Approach to teaching and learning.