Ghanaian Rural District Embraces Cultural Renaissance to Decolonise Education

ASUNAFO NORTH, GHANA – A quiet but significant educational revolution is underway in the Asunafo North Municipal district, a rural local government area in Ghana. A recent PhD case study by the author focusing on school actors in the district reveals a determined move towards culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) as a strategy to decolonise education and enhance its relevance for marginalized rural communities.

The study, which utilised qualitative data from community meetings, interviews, observations, and document analysis, found a "renaissance towards decolonising education" in the district. There is increased momentum among stakeholders to leverage local cultural assets and better align schooling with immediate community needs and sustainability. This shift is particularly timely, coinciding with Ghana's ongoing national pre-tertiary educational reforms aimed at improving educational relevance and transforming schools into "generative learning spaces".

Colonial Echoes Persist
Despite this progress, the study highlights that the legacy of colonialism continues to exert a powerful influence. The author identified several persistent obstacles:

• Western Values and Rigidity: Remnants of Western individualised values, rigid instruction-based learning, and stringent testing regimes still dominate the educational landscape.
• The "English-Only" Barrier: Private schools in the district, often perceived as "elitist," actively prohibit students from speaking local languages, a practice that deepens the school-home cultural divide and perpetuates a colonial focus on English proficiency. While English is crucial globally, this practice disadvantages rural children deeply connected to their home languages.
• Narrow Definition of Success: School success is still narrowly defined by English grammar proficiency and the pursuit of white-collar employment, with competencies in locally valued skills often ignored or inadequately assessed in national exit tests. This fosters "teaching-to-the-test" and rote memorisation over critical thinking.

A New Path Forward: Redefining Relevance

The district is now focused on adopting CRP to restore African heritage, knowledge, skills, and practices, while judiciously integrating beneficial elements of Western approaches.

To achieve this, the author proposes several key strategies:

1. Broadening Assessment: A critical recommendation is the need to redefine educational success by developing alternative assessment tools that measure learners' home cultural competencies and traditionally valued skills—such as collectivism, participation, and hands-on artistic skills—alongside academic metrics.
2. Community and Inclusion: Decolonisation is viewed as a promotion of diversity and inclusion. This involves building the capacity of community members to participate actively in educational processes and strengthening school-community collaboration.
3. Teacher Development: Teachers require targeted training to improve their cultural competencies and professional knowledge, ensuring they can respond effectively to the district's cultural diversity and multilingual context.

In conclusion, the Asunafo North case demonstrates that CRP in the Ghanaian context is not just about inclusion, but fundamentally about "overhauling the unhelpful remnants of colonial education systems." It is a strategic effort to ensure schooling genuinely contributes to community sustainability and provides a skilled labour force for rural development.

By:
Moses Ackah Anlimachie (PhD)
Centre for the Advancement of Rural Education and Inclusive Education Research

Department of Education
Sol Plaatje University, Kimberley, Soutth Africa

PB X5008, 8301, Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa

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