Cultural congruence and unbalanced power between home and school in rural Ghana and the impact on school children^*

* Address where the work was conducted: University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.

ABSTRACT

This ethnographic inquiry examines the cultural congruence between home and school in rural Ghana, exploring the cultural norms of child-rearing practices within families and the institution of schooling. The data illustrate both the agreement between home and school in regard to discipline practices and instruction in morality, while simultaneously highlighting a power differential between home and school. The authors highlight the power dynamics between home and school, and discuss the burden children bear in managing the home–school relationship in rural Ghana.

KEYWORDS:

• Education
• home–school relationship
• schooling
• power and schooling
• West Africa
• global education
• Ghana

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Amy L. Masko is an associate professor of English Education at Grand Valley State University. Her research agenda examines urban education, race and schooling, and comparative international education. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Lawrence Bosiwah holds an M.Phil in Applied linguistics and B.Ed in Ghanaian Languages (Fante) Education, from the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. Currently, he is a lecturer in the department of Ghanaian Languages and Linguistics, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. His research includes: linguistics of the Akan language of Ghana and education and curriculum issues. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Notes

* Address where the work was conducted: University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Fulbright Fellowship.