Author: Charles
Hutchison was born in Ghana, where he earned his B.S. at University of Cape
Coast and taught General Science and Biology. He then studied Immuno-Genetics
in Hungary, worked at Georgetown University, and then got an M.A. at Oklahoma
Christian University of Science and Arts. He taught Science (7-12) in Atlanta
for nine years, and earned his Ph.D. at Georgia State University in Atlanta,
Georgia. He is currently professor of education at the University of North
Carolina Charlotte. He is author of Teaching in America (Springer), and the forthcoming books, Teaching Diverse Learners with Basic Principles (Allyn and
Bacon), and When Students Experience the Minority Effect (Rowman and
Littlefield)
Ghana
is a West African nation with a population of about 18 million, a gross
domestic product (GDP) of about $462.8 (1993), and a landmass comparable to the
state of Oregon (238,537 sq. km. or 92,000 sq. miles). It lies just north of
the equator, and on the Greenwich meridian. It was colonized by the British,
and had its independence in 1957.
Science education has
always been a part of the Ghanaian (and Sub-Saharan) culture. Prior to the
advent of modern education in Ghana, there were both “formal” and “informal”
forms of education. Both forms generally took after the apprenticeship model,
although direct instruction was prevalent in specific situations. “Informal
education” involved working with a close relative to learn a family trade, in a
relatively casual climate. In “formal education,” a child would generally be
sent to learn a trade from a master craftsman, with some type of specific
arrangement. This arrangement would then be formalized with some form of
symbolic seal, such as a drink. On completing the apprenticeship, there were
formal graduation rites and celebrations.
Modern education in
Ghana came with the advent of European missionary and mercantile enterprises,
and has largely become the vehicle for social upward mobility. Education in
general, and science education, for that matter, are serious issues for all
Ghanaians.
Educational Administration in
Ghana
Education in Ghana is centrally administered under the purview of the Ministry of Education, which is responsible for the formulation of the national educational objectives. This ministry oversees the Ghana Education Service (GES), which is responsible for pre-tertiary levels of education, and the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), which is obviously responsible for tertiary education.
The GES organizes its
constituencies into a 6:3:3 format: Six years of primary education, three years
of junior secondary school (JSS), and three years of senior secondary school
(SSS). All children in Ghana are compulsorily expected to enroll in school at
the age of six, for a free, nine-year basic education (primary and JSS). Those
who enter the SSS generally pursue their education with their economic future
in mind.
The Science Curriculum and
Delivery
The Ghanaian science
curriculum follows the “spiral approach,” treating the same themes at different
times and in greater depths within each educational level. At the primary and JSS levels are environmental studies and integrated science. The curriculum is
the modern replacement of what used to be called “nature study.” This is a
generalist, survey course, which exposes the child to the universe. At this
level, the students would get the basic exposure to scientific ideas, and learn
about the history of science. They also learn the basic scientific vocabulary
at this level.
At the SSS level, the
science curriculum comprises integrated science. At this level, the students
are exposed to the rudiments of physics, chemistry, and biology. Following the
“Ghana Science Series” for three years, the students spiral through the
following topics:
A.
The nature of
things around us: Some properties of matter; measurement; the nature of matter
B.
Some effects
of energy: Energy; some effects of heat on matter; movements of living and
non-living things; making work easy (machines)
C.
Life
activities: New life from old life; seeding in plants and animals; uses of food
in living things; getting rid of waste materials from the body
D.
Humans and
their environment: Crop production; raising animals; food processing; a
balanced diet; hygiene and health.
At this stage, students
are prepared for one of five programs at the SSS level, endorsed by the GES.
Science education is held in the highest regard in Ghana, and only the best
students are admitted into the SSS program with the science concentration
option.
At the SSS, all students
take, at minimum, integrated science (comprising general science, agriculture
and environmental studies). For those who qualify to enter the SSS science
option, their science curriculum includes the individual disciplines of
physics, chemistry, biology, and physical education. The agricultural science
option’s curriculum includes general agriculture, crop husbandry, animal
husbandry, physics, and chemistry. The SSS integrated science curriculum guide
employs the “SSS Science,” authored to seamlessly follow the JSS science book
series. The curriculum outline is as follows:
Year
One: Introducing Science:
Diversity of living and
non-living things; the cell; matter and energy (I); air and water; matter and
energy (II); acids, bases, and salts
Year Two:
Interactions in Nature:
Life activities in man;
matter and energy (III); change and equilibrium
Year Three Variation:
Inheritance and
evolution; matter and energy (IV); some elements and their compounds; compounds
of carbon; science and society; science and technology.
At the university level,
students enter the science departments corresponding to their SSS program. The
science curriculum is further delineated into zoology, botany, physics, and
mathematics. The agricultural option is also delineated into animal and crop
sciences, agricultural economics and extension, agricultural engineering, and soil
science. Students have the option to major (concentrate) in any of the more
specific areas toward the final year of their program.
The Art of Pedagogy in Ghana:
How and Why
Ghana, despite her
colonial past, still cherishes her cultural heritage. A part of this cultural
heritage is respect for the elderly—naturally including teachers. For this
reason, the cultural tradition strongly influences the classroom environment.
In this tradition, the elders are deemed as the custodians of knowledge. Consequently,
the teacher embodies the proverbial “sage on stage.” The result is that, children generally are less apt to ask
questions in class, and the teacher is the final authority of knowledge. The
concomitant method of instruction for the majority of teachers is the lecture
approach; delivering knowledge, as it were, into “empty, but willing vessels.”
This teaching method, although a somewhat expected spillover of the general
cultural climate, shares a European heritage: Since the modern Ghanaian
educational system began with the missionaries, there was a basic
evangelic-ecclesiastical orientation. Obedience, memorization of material, and
the “direct delivery” approach were all a part of the ecclesiastical
scholasticism Ghana inherited in the early missionary days of education—and
such went to buttress the cultural tendency to do the same.
It must be mentioned,
however, that science teaching and learning inherently resist the all-lecture
approach, and readily lends itself to practical work. For this reason, it is
common practice to find the Ghanaian science teacher doing demonstrations or
lab work, where facilities are available, and employ the guided-discovery
approach in instruction. One would readily find the science teacher taking the
students to the school farm to learn agriculture by practice, or going to the
nearby stream to collect live specimen for dissection.
Granted the relatively
lecture-heavy method of science instruction in Ghana, it must be noted that a
good instructor could masterfully execute a science lesson, by incorporating
analogies, anecdotes, and personal narratives, by employing the inherently
rich, colorful language forms of Africa. As opposed to a cultural environment
where students may be less apt to sit and listen for longer time periods, the
typical Ghanaian student would listen longer—because they are motivated. In the
Ghanaian cultural milieu, the science teacher has the additional cherished
facility: the student’s “cognitive presence,” for longer period of time—and he
or she takes advantage of it.
Educational Reforms and Science
Teaching in Ghana