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Using critical discourse analysis and a dataset of 175 documents, the study shows both parties employ positive self-presentation and negative other-presentation. The analysis details contrasting frames and highlights risks of politicization.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/politicization-of-education-policies-the-case-of-ghanas-free-senior-high-school-policy-602266/602266/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/politicization-of-education-policies-the-case-of-ghanas-free-senior-high-school-policy-602266/602266.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"dawugda","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-28","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":30},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What is the main research gap addressed by the paper?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"The paper targets limited scholarly attention to the strategies politicians use to politicize education policy discourses.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"Which policy and political actors are analyzed?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"The study analyzes Ghana’s Free Senior High School Policy (FSHSP) through officials from the NPP and the NDC.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What analytical approach and dataset are used?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The paper applies critical discourse analysis to a dataset of 175 documents, including news stories, press releases, party manifestos, and government publications.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},602266,1792381778,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":30,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},3985747870947,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","| education policy analysis archives\u003Cbr>A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal | |\n| --- | --- |\n| Arizona State University |  |\n| Volume 32 Number 69 November 5 , 2024 ISSN 1068-2341 |  |\n\nPoliticization of Education Policies: The Case of Ghana’s Free Senior High School Policy  \nHilarius Kofi Kofinti  \nYork University  \nCanada  \nCitation: Kofinti, H. K. (2024) . Politicization of education policies: The case of Ghana’s Free Senior High School Policy. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 32(69). [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.8486](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.8486)  \n[Abstract:](Abstract: While many scholars recognize and criticize the politicization of education policies)[ While many scholars recognize and criticize the politicization of education policies](Abstract: While many scholars recognize and criticize the politicization of education policies), scholarly attention to the strategies politicians utilize to politicize educational policy discourses remains limited. Focusing on the officials of Ghana’s two major political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), as policy actors, this paper investigates how officials of these two parties operationalized discussions regarding Ghana’s Free Senior High School Policy (FSHSP) to garner support for their parties while stoking resentment for their political opponents. The study employs a critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework anda dataset of 175 documents, including news stories, press releases, party manifestos, and government publications. The analysis reveals that both parties resorted to strategies of positive self-presentation and negative other presentation. The NPP contrasted its regime with the NDC’s tenure and framed the NDC as a threat to FSHSP and the education of the poor and vulnerable. The NDC problematized and highlighted implementation bottlenecks while framing the NPP and FSHSP as threats to quality education. I argue that through these strategies, NPP officials aimed to maintain incumbency while NDC officials advocated a regime change. The paper concludes by emphasizing the potential risks associated with politicizing education policies.  \nKeywords: politicization of education; Free Senior High School Policy; critical discourse analysis; Ghana  \nPolitización de las políticas educativas: El caso de la Política de Enseñanza Secundaria Gratuita de Ghana  \nResumen: Aunque muchos académicos reconocen y critican la politización de las políticaseducativas, la atención académica a las estrategias que los políticos utilizan para politizar los discursos de políticas educativas sigue siendo limitada. Centrándose en los funcionarios de los dos principales partidos políticos de Ghana, el Nuevo Partido Patriótico (NPP) y el Congreso Nacional Democrático (NDC), como actores políticos, este artículo investiga cómo los funcionarios de estos dos partidos operativizaron las discusiones sobre la Políticade Escuela Secundaria Gratuita (FSHSP, por sus siglas en inglés) de Ghana para obtenerapoyo para sus partidos mientras fomentaban el resentimiento hacia sus oponentes políticos. El estudio emplea un marco de análisis crítico del discurso (CDA) y un conjunto de datos de 175 documentos, incluidos artículos de noticias, comunicados de prensa, manifiestos de partidos y publicaciones gubernamentales. El análisis revela que ambos partidos recurrieron a estrategias de auto-presentación positiva y presentación negativa delotro. El NPP contrastó su régimen con el mandato del NDC y enmarcó al NDC como una amenaza para la FSHSP y la educación de los pobres y vulnerables. El NDC problematizó y destacó los obstáculos en la implementación mientras presentaba al NPP y la FSHSP como una amenaza para la calidad de la educación. Sostengo que a través de estas estrategias, los funcionarios del NPP apuntaron a mantener la incumbencia mientras que los del NDC abogaban por un cambio de régimen. El artículo concluye subrayando ","cbCairhpgJjaCYIJ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairhpgJjaCYIJ","pdf",448722,25,"English","# Abstract\n## Research focus and gap\n## Case selection and data\n## Method and findings\n## Conclusion: risks of politicization","[{\"question\":\"What is the main research gap addressed by the paper?\",\"answer\":\"The paper targets limited scholarly attention to the strategies politicians use to politicize education policy discourses.\"},{\"question\":\"Which policy and political actors are analyzed?\",\"answer\":\"The study analyzes Ghana’s Free Senior High School Policy (FSHSP) through officials from the NPP and the NDC.\"},{\"question\":\"What analytical approach and dataset are used?\",\"answer\":\"The paper applies critical discourse analysis to a dataset of 175 documents, including news stories, press releases, party manifestos, and government publications.\"}]","Politicization of Education Policies - The Case of Ghana’s Free Senior High School Policy | PDF",1792094364,63]