Teacher identity, positionality and (mis) representation of religion in the Ghanaian school contexts: Insider/outsider case study perspectives

Studies on teacher religious identity have been premised on the assumption that public schools arereligiously neutral and if teachers’ religious identities are acknowledged and properlyaccommodated, teaching will be better enacted. I conducted a qualitative case study of teachersin religiously affiliated public schools in Ghana to get a nuanced understanding of how theynavigate tensions arising from complexities generated by their own religious identities, theirschools’ and that of their students. Using data from interviews, observations, and focus groups,my findings challenge existing notions of religious neutrality of public schools. In the Ghanaiancontext where the lines between secular and religious schools are blurry, teachers are(un)knowingly positioned as in(out)siders and their consequent pedagogical (in)actions are highlyinfluenced by such (un)natural religious tensions in their schools. It is such issues emanating fromteacher positionalities that I seek to highlight as ripe for qualitative inquiry.