Education System in Ghana

The official language is English so yes, my students and teachers will be speaking English. 

Ghana operates on a 6-3-4-4 System:

            Primary School                         --    6 years         
            Junior High School                    --    3 years
            Senior High School                   --    4 years
            University Bachelor's Degree   --   4  years

http://ghana.usembassy.gov/education-of-ghana.html

Ghana has:

• 12,130 primary schools
• 5,450 junior secondary schools
• 503 senior secondary schools
• 21 training colleges
• 18 technical institutions
• two diploma-awarding institutions
• 5 universities serving a population of 17 million

This means that most Ghanians have easy access to good education.

Basic education

Primary- and middle-school education is tuition-free and will be mandatory when enough teachers and facilities are available to accommodate all the students. Students begin their 6-year primary education at age six. Under educational reforms implemented in 1987, they pass into a new junior secondary school system for 3 years of academic training combined with technical and vocational training.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/education/

Here is a website to look at for Acts in Ghana to help improve the education system.

http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=163:ghanas-education-system&catid=72:education&Itemid=222

Preprimary Education: Historically, formal education at the preschool level was not common on the Gold Coast. The inclusion of kindergarten facilities at the Prince of Wales School (Achimota) in the late 1920s as part of the formal education system was therefore innovative. While educators see advantages in kindergarten education for children, there is no formal mandate for the provision of preschool prior to beginning the first grade of primary education. However, some public facilities are available, as well as private nurseries and day care centers, but they have not spread to the rural communities, where close to 70 percent of the nation's population resides. According to The Education for All Year: 2000 Assessment for UNESCO, there was a rapid increase in establishing Early Childhood Education establishments in the form of nursery schools and day care centers since 1993. In 1996, there were 5,441 public kindergartens and 3,742 registered private preschool establishments. In 1997, more than 427,000 preschool children were enrolled in public kindergartens, while about 156,000 pupils attended the private preschools. It is important to note that since kindergarten and day care attendance has not been absorbed into the basic education system, it is therefore neither free nor compulsory.

http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/532/Ghana-PREPRIMARY-PRIMARY-EDUCATION.html

Africa's Future, Africa's Challenge

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15739244/Africas-Future-Africas-Challenge-Early-Childhood-Care-and-Development-in-SubSaharan-Africa

Ghana Facts

                                                     
                                               
Pictures used from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html

Capital: Accra

Population: ~25 million people

                   0-14 years: 36.5%
                   15-64 years: 60%
                   65 years and over: 3.6%          
      
                   Median Age: 21.4    

Currency: Cedis (GHC)
                 The current exchange rate is 1.57.
                 They use coins in denominations of 50, 100, 200, and 500
                       and banknotes in denominations of 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, and 20,000.

Airports: Accra, Kumasi, Navrongo, Wa, Sekondi-Takoradi, Sunyani, Tamale, Yendi
               One source said there were 11 airports with only 7 paved runways, 1 for customs.

People and Culture:

• Always greet people first when you enter a room.
• Always greet people right to left, even if you enter the room on the left.
• Four types of music: Contemporary, Traditional, Gospel and Imported
• Use your right hand when eating or giving people something.
• Ghana is a tolerant Nation so never make derogatory remarks about other religions, politics, etc.
• Be respectful of elders
• Always share
• Do not be wasteful.  It's ok to offer something you might have extra of to someone else
• Direct conversation is considered rude.
• Starting times are not always accurate
• Keep dress proper

Weather: Humid along the coast (which Accra is)
               During the months of December through February  there is the Harmattan that sweeps through
               Ghana.  This is a dry, dusty, Sahara wind.  It is stronger in the northern part of Ghana.

Language: Other, which includes English is the official language (36.1%)
                  Asante (14.8%)
                  Ewe (12.7%)
                  Fante (9.9%)
                  Boron (4.6%)
                  Dagomba (4.3%)
                  Dangme (4.3%)
                  Dagarte (3.7%)
                  Akyem (3.4%)
                  Ga (3.4%)
                  Akuapem (2.9%)
    
Diversity of Country: Nationality: Ghanian
                 Akan 45.3%
                 Mole-Dagbon 15.2%
                 Ewe 11.7%
                 Ga-Dangme 7.3%
                 Guan 4%
                 Gurma 3.6%
                 Grusi 2.6%
                 Mande-Busanga 1%
                 other tribes 1.4%
                 Other 7.8%

Political Conditions: Constitutional Democracy President Professor John Evans Atta Mills
                                 3 Branches of Government: Executive, Legislative, Judicial
                                 Universal Suffrage: 18
                                 Formerly known as the Gold Coast
                                 Independence from UK on March 6th 1957
                                 National Anthem: God Bless Our Homeland Ghana

Religion: Christian 68.8% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 24.1%, Protestand 18.6%, Catholic 15.1%, other 11%)
                Muslim 15.9%
                Traditional 8.5%
                Other 0.7%
                None 6.1%      

Differences in Terminology:

Thank you	Me da se
Please	Me pow chow
Excuse me	Me pow chow

White person	Obruni
Black person	Obibini

How are you?	E te sen?
I am fine	Me ho ye
How are you?	Wo ho te sen?
I am fine	Me ho ye
Goodbye	Bye bye

More  words and videos of the Twi (Ch-ee) Language: http://www.easytrackghana.com/cultural_overview_ghana/language-videos-ghana.html


Communication Styles:
                   Handshake: Shake hands and then snap middle finger against other person's hand.


Information used from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html and http://www.easytrackghana.com/

Why Ghana?

Many people who don't know me well have asked me why I chose to go abroad for one of my student teaching placements and why Ghana of all places.  Most of the people that ask me this question are students who want to stay in the Green Bay area after graduation so they see the importance in making connections in this area.  I do not plan on staying here after graduation.  I don't need to make those same connections.

I wanted to study abroad while in college but because of all of my education classes I needed, it made it difficult to study abroad.  When I found out I could student teach abroad, I knew I wanted to go.  I also wanted to go somewhere where most students don't go.  This eliminated New Zealand and the UK.  I know there are positive reasons why preservice teachers go there but I wanted to do something different.  I also knew that I want to teach in a low income area in the United States.  I wanted a school with as minimal resources as possible to prepare myself for the worst.  Then, after visiting Zambia a year ago, I fell in love with Africa and my decision to go to Ghana made perfect sense.

I hope to gain much experience with little resources.  I want to learn how to be creative outside of using oodles and oodles of materials.  I am curious to learn what my teaching style will be like and how it will differ when I get back to the United States.  I am interested in learning how the schools in Ghana deal with classroom management.  I feel comfortable in my classroom management skills in Green Bay but I am looking forward to my Ancillary School Classroom Management skills.  I hope to have a pen pal relationship with any of the teachers I have worked with in Green Bay. I think that would be an interesting way to connect my students in Ghana to the United States and students in Green Bay, Wisconsin to students in a country outside of the U.S.  I want to experience many Ghanian cultural activities and traditions.  I am looking forward to the Ghanian Independence Day. I am interested to learn how they study this holiday and how it is similar or differs from the United States Independence Day.