Decentralisation in education, institutional culture and teacher autonomy in Ghana

Abstract

Ghana has seen several recent attempts to devolve control over the curriculum to the local level. The present study focuses on a single reform, the Local Content Curriculum (LCC). Analysis of local responses to this reform provides insights into the state’s influence on the actions and attitudes of Ghanaian teachers not previously detailed in research on educational decentralisation. These insights into the implementation of the LCC expand the understanding of the tangible effects of educational reform on actual learning institutions and pupils as well as inform about the central government’s real ability to effect change in schools. The study also shows how the lethargy of local actors is bound to deeply engrained views about the role of Ghanaian teachers in school and in society.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their appreciation for constructive comments by anonymous reviewers and the editor of this journal.