Formal Education in Gold Coast-Ghana - Part 4 - An Overview of Colonial Policies and Curriculum from 1919 to 1927

Oct 15, 2026

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A historical study examines formal education in Gold Coast-Ghana through British colonial educational policy and curriculum between 1919 and 1927. It argues that educational policy research is tied to human resource development and national growth, and explains why colonial administrative and implementation practices must be evaluated in relation to British models. The paper focuses on the policies that characterized British education, the motives behind their adoption, and the implications for the colonized during the specified period.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Education in Gold Coast before the Arrival of Europeans

Educational Considerations | Volume 47
Number 2 Historical Perspectives | Article 4 | | --- | --- | | November 2021
Formal Education in Gold Coast-Ghana: An Overview of Colonial Policies and Curriculum from 1919 to 1927
Ernestina Wiafe
Kansas State University, Manhattan. KS, [ernestinawiafe@ksu.edu](ernestinawiafe@ksu.edu)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations](https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations)
Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. | | Recommended Citation Wiafe, Ernestina (2021) "Formal Education in Gold Coast-Ghana: An Overview of Colonial Policies and Curriculum from 1919 to 1927," Educational Considerations: Vol. 47: No. 2. [https://doi.org/10.4148/](https://doi.org/10.4148/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.4148/)0146-9282.2252 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Considerations by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, please [contact](contact cads@k-state.edu)[ cads@k-state.edu](contact cads@k-state.edu). Formal Education in Gold Coast-Ghana: An Overview of Colonial Policies and Curriculum from 1919 to 1927 Cover Page Footnote I acknowledge Dr. Kay Ann Taylor for a phenomenal historical research in education class that sparked my curiosity and interest in this field of research. And to all resources persons who came in with their exceptional knowledge to make the Fall 2020 course insightful. This article is available in Educational Considerations: [https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations/vol47/iss2/4](https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations/vol47/iss2/4) Formal Education in Gold Coast-Ghana: An Overview of Colonial Policies and Curriculum from 1919 to 1927 Ernestina Wiafe Introduction The need for research in the area of educational policy, in general, has been suggested by several sources 1 because of its association with human resource and national development. Human resource developed through the educational system depends on the formulated educational policy expanding to maximize the capacity of the educational system to educate the human resource supply for national development. The International Institute for Educational Planning, for example, met during the summer of 1964 to discuss research needs in educational planning for countries with colonial educational experiences.2 One of their recommendations was that studies should be made regarding “administration and implementation”3 and should involve the study of countries with colonial educational planning experience with the goal of examining their procedures and institutional frameworks for the formulation of educational policy. Research in educational policy formulation in Gold Coast-Ghana was also suggested by Gordon C. Ruscoe in Dysfunctionality in Jamaican Education,2 and implied by E. Christian Anderson in The Development of Government Policy for Education in Sierra Leon 1882 to 1961.3 In both of these studies, it is apparent evaluations of or discussions on educational policy in former British colonial territories cannot be completely meaningful without referring to the British colonial education policy or the nature of its formulation and implementation. Further, research has indicated that Great Britain and her colonial empire offer a good case for the formulation of educational policy because they are unique among the nations of the world which pioneered in the field of cross-cultural educational planning.4 Even though Great Britain is not alone among nations for having faced the responsibility of providing education for its colonial people, their response to this responsibility was unique, and in part, the reason for the significance of this study. This paper offers a historical ov

FAQs

Why does the paper focus on educational policy research?

It links educational policy to human resource development and national development by expanding the educational system’s capacity to supply trained personnel.

What time frame does the study cover and why?

It covers 1919 to 1927 because this period saw a surge in Gold Coast education unmatched elsewhere in British West Africa colonies.

How does the paper distinguish “formal” education from earlier educational practice?

It treats “formal” as European-type schooling, contrasting it with traditional or informal education that existed before Europeans’ arrival and taught children socially and practically.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca