The Principal

Prof. Samuel Awinkene ATINTONO assumed office on November 1, 2018 as the 8th Principal of Accra College of Education, Accra (AcCE). The Principal is the Chief Executive Officer of the College and is therefore, the Academic and Administrative head.

He is a professional teacher and educationist with rich experience in teacher education especially in the academia for close to twenty years before assuming his current position. His teaching and research is focused on the Ghanaian languages, linguistics, literacy, and culture. Dr. Atintono has rich administrative experience in the tertiary education setting. He was the former Head of Department of Gur-Gonja Languages Education for four years (August 2013-July 2017) at the University of Education, Winneba and occasionally acted as the Dean of the Faculty of Ghanaian Languages at the same University. He also served as the Graduate Co-ordinator for two years. He was the local Secretary of the University Teachers Association of Ghana for four years (UTAG-UEW Branch) and National Secretary for two years of the University Teachers’ Association of Ghana. He was elected the Vice President of the same Association until he left the University in November 2017. In terms of educational qualifications, he holds a PhD in Linguistics from The University of Manchester, UK (2013); Postgraduate Diploma and MPhil in Linguistics in 2002 and 2004 respectively from the University of Ghana, Legon; Bachelor of Education in Mathematics and Ghanaian Languages (Gurene option) as well as a Diploma in Ghanaian Languages (Gurene option) and Mathematics from the University of Education, Winneba in 1999 and 1998 respectively. He had his initial training as a professional teacher from Gbewaah Training College, Pusiga in 1991 and secondary education at Bolgatanga Secondary School in 1987. At the international level he is an accomplished scholar and has received two prestigious scholarship awards; the Commonwealth Academic Scholarship award from September 2008-January 2013 for his PhD at The University of Manchester, UK, and the flagship American scholarship, Fulbright Visiting Research Scholar from November 2017-August 2018 at the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA. His research interest cuts across various aspects of linguistics and language which include: Language use in education, language policy, literacy and development, linguistic rights of minority or less studied languages in Ghana and Africa, orthography development, lexicography, and Mabia (Gur) languages spoken in Ghana especially Farefari (Boone, Gurenɛ, Nabt, Nankani, and Taln), descriptive, documentary and theoretical (cognitive) linguistics. His current research interest and project focuses on the writing of the grammar of Gurenɛ. He has authored several articles, book chapters, and books covering various aspects of Gurenɛ linguistics and other genetically related Gur (Mabia) languages in both local and international journals or publishers. He also serves as a reviewer for several journals addressing issues of language or linguistics in both local and international journals. He is a member of several professional bodies within the domain of linguistics including: Association of Linguistic Typology (ALT), Association of Contemporary African Linguistics (ACAL), International Pragmatics Association (IPrA), The Philological Society (Philsoc), and the Linguistics Association of Ghana (LAG). Dr. Atintono has been a consultant for various education and literacy projects implemented in Ghana by Development Partners which include DFID, USAID, World Bank, and World Education, Ghana. He has the capacity to attract grants to the College based on his experience in undertaking research projects as Principal Consultant for various local and international projects. His leadership style is driven by participatory, visionary and strategic leadership.