Ghana language-in-education policy: The survival of two South Guan minority dialects

Ansah, Mercy Akrofi; Agyeman, Nana Ama

doi:10.5785/31-1-592

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…a highly Sanskritised versions of Hindi), which means that considerable effort is required in learning this variety (D'Souza, 2006: 162;Dyer, 2008). Similar examples can be found in research about Ghana, when the mother tongue of students is not one of the 11 languages supported by the government (Ansah and Agyeman, 2015).…”

Section: Research Exploring Policy Implementationmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…Further difficulties in implementing mother tongue policies were found in Ghana, where there is a lack of resources in all government-sponsored languages (Ankohmah et al, 2012;Ansah and Agyeman, 2015;IEQ, 2000;Opoku-Amankwa et al, 2015). Both the teaching syllabuses and teaching materials for primary schools, apart from text books on Ghanaian languages as subjects, are in English.…”

Section: Research Exploring Policy Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…were in absolute violation of the policy, such as prohibiting the use of local languages in classrooms and in the school compound, even during play or break time (Ansah and Agyeman, 2015); instituting various forms of punishment to students for not speaking English (Edu-Buandoh and Otchere, 2012); or holding back students in early years due to low levels of English (IEQ, 2000).…”

Section: Studies Of Practices In Ghana Also Uncovered Examples Of Schmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Secondary and tertiary education in Ghana has always been in English, with regional Ghanaian majority languages studied as a subject (Rosekrans et al, 2012). Since 2007, English has been the official MOI beyond primary grade four, with 11 of the 79 recognised Ghanaian languages stipulated for use in primary grades 1-3 (namely, Akan (Fante and Twi), Nzema, Ga, GaAdangbe, Ewe, Gonja, Kasem, Dagbani and Dagaare) -languages which have a literary tradition (Ansah and Agyeman, 2015). The policy, which is at the time of writing under review, stipulates that the majority of instructional time is spent in the mother tongue (80% in primary grade 1) while time for English gradually increases to 50% by primary grade 3 (MOE Ghana, 2003).…”

Section: Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reasons identified for this include teachers and students not sharing a language (Ansah, 2014;Ansah and Agyeman, 2015;IEQ, 2000 for Ghana; D'Souza, 2006 for India); school communities being diverse and students not sharing a language, particularly in urban contexts (Mfum-Mensah, 2005 for Ghana; Jhingran, 2009 for India); or there being a mismatch between the state language which serves as the MOI in government primary schools and the languages that many children use at home (for India, see Mohanty, 2010;Singh and Bengay, 2014;Woodhead et al, 2013; also Mackenzie and Walker, 2013). Other studies found that even when the language of the school is the child's mother tongue, it may be a very different form of that language (e.g.…”

Section: Research Exploring Policy Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Medium of instruction policies in Ghanaian and Indian primary schools: an overview of key issues and recommendations

Erling

Adinolfi

Hultgren

et al. 2016

Comparative Education

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While the MDGs and SDGs seek to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, they rarely address the issue of Medium of Instruction (MOI). Increasing attention is being paid to appropriate and feasible language-in-education policies in LMICs and evidence which demonstrates the benefits and challenges of various policy options. Research in this field, though, tends to be diversified, with a range of small-scale empirical studies scattered among a number of disciplinary contexts. There is therefore a need to consolidate and systematically identify the extent to which this diverse body of literature has evaluated the various languagein-education policy options. To this end, this paper reports on a rigorous literature review of MOI-related research on Ghana and India, whose language-in-education policies represent two contrasting models of use of local languages and the development of competence in English. The paper begins by briefly overviewing the language-in-education policy in these two countries and sets out the methodological approach underpinning this review. It then turns to the initial findings, which are discussed in two parts: The first categorises the three areas of research explored in the empirical studies reviewed, namely the effectiveness of language-in-education policies, problems hindering the implementation of these policies, and attitudes to these policies. The second provides an overview of the recommendations for how, given the obstacles in implementing the current policies, to better ensure the effectiveness of language-in-education policies in Ghana and India. Together these findings show that similar 2 issues arise that contribute to challenges of providing equitable, quality education, and similar recommendations have been put forward as a result. This paper thus provides a valuable overview of key issues in the role of language-in-education policies in improving equity and quality in education in LMICs. [283 words]

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Section: Research Exploring Policy Implementationmentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Research Exploring Policy Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Studies Of Practices In Ghana Also Uncovered Examples Of Schmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%