Demographic influences on pre-service teachers' adaptability and psychological consciousness for transdisciplinary teaching in Ghana

The transition towards transdisciplinary teaching approaches, which emphasise the integration of multiple disciplines and perspectives in the learning process, has gained considerable attention in educational systems, but little is known about how pre-service teachers’ demographics influence their adaptability and psychological readiness in Ghana. Social Cognitive Theory was a strong defender of this study. The study aimed to investigate the influence of demographic features on the adaptability and psychological awareness of pre-service teachers concerning transdisciplinary teaching in Ghana. The objectives included the extent to which pre-service teachers are adaptable in teaching, pre-service teachers' psychological consciousness of teaching, differences in pre-service teachers’ adaptability based on their sex, and differences in pre-service teachers' psychological consciousness based on demographic characteristics. The cross-sectional survey design was adopted. A sample of 285 student-teachers was sampled from all students at the College of Education Studies at the University of Cape Coast. They were selected using proportionate simple random sampling. An adapted questionnaire was used. Data collected from the questionnaire were analysed quantitatively. Data on hypotheses were analysed using an independent sample test and factorial ANOVA. It was found that student teachers, to a high extent, are adaptable even though some teachers see no need to be versatile to tap into and evolve because they lack the ability. The student-teachers are highly conscious of their psychological well-being, although they see no need to be versatile to tap into and explore other areas of interest and evolve due to the fact that they cannot yield strong psychological tools and be adaptable to the changing world. A statistically significant effect of pre-service teachers’ sex, age, and programme of study on their psychological consciousness F (18, 3) = 2.294, p = .002, partial ƞ2 = .134 was found. It was recommended that the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) should ensure that universities training teachers implement professional development programmes that emphasise the importance of versatility in teaching. Universities in charge of teacher education, in collaboration with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), should integrate psychological training into teacher education curricula, focusing on building strong psychological tools such as stress management, emotional regulation, and adaptive coping strategies. The institutions training teachers should maintain and promote gender-neutral policies and practices in professional development and adaptability training. It can be deduced that the pre-service teachers demonstrate considerable flexibility in their practice as a result of their demographics.