Physical Education in the Colonial Gold Coast: From a Civilizing Mission to “Useful Citizens”

Abstract

This paper addresses the transfer of Physical Education to the Gold Coast, focusing on its shifting role in producing ideal subjects and its relationship to the imperial politics of the mid-20th century. It explores the contradictory ways in which, in the Gold Coast (now Ghana), the training of young teachers in higher education institutions allowed for the transfer of British citizenship training codes into a colonial setting during the first half of the 20th century. It is focused on the conversation engaged between the Education Department of the Gold Coast and specialists in higher education institutions. The paper is based on archive material collected in the United Kingdom and Ghana.

Keywords

• Gold Coast
• Ghana
• citizenship
• Physical Education
• sports
• higher education