History education in Ghana: a pragmatic tradition of change and continuity

Abstract

History education in Ghana has been situated within the pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial trajectories and debates. Whereas there is a conscious effort by history teacher associations, academics and other interest groups to advance and develop the teaching of the subject at different levels of the educational system in Ghana, little attention has been paid to how the textbooks have conceptualised the cultural, ethnic and indigenous histories with their attendant differences and how they have affected or complicated narratives in the postcolonial setting of Ghana. Essentially, this contribution highlights how historical themes on empire, colonisation, decolonisation and the Commonwealth, and associated events, are explored in historiography and in the curricula of Ghana. This involves an examination of the dynamic relationship between political traditions, curriculum, historiography, and scholarship at university level. Overall, the paper highlights the political contexts that have shaped the various stages and manifestations of the history curriculum as it concerns British influence, decolonisation, independence and postcolonialism in Ghana before, during and after the development of the Nkrumahist and Danquah-Busia traditions.