Towards an Anti-Colonial Turn in Science and Mathematics Education - Centering Indigenous Ghanaian Knowledge

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda

A critical review of Ghana’s mathematics and science education addresses a persistent learning crisis reflected in national results and international benchmarks such as TIMSS. The article traces weak performance trends over key years and highlights gaps in primary and upper-primary mastery. It examines why policy investments and STEM initiatives have not translated into improved outcomes, linking shortcomings to deficit-framed achievement and Eurocentric schooling that marginalizes Indigenous Ghanaian knowledge, with implications for curriculum and teaching reform.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Learning crisis in Ghana’s mathematics and science

Policy interventions and persistent learning gaps

Eurocentric schooling and the role of Indigenous Ghanaian knowledge

Educational Considerations | Volume 50
Number 3 Exploring African Education,
Innovative Solutions, and Diverse Perspectives
for a Global Competent Citizenry | Article 6 | | --- | --- | | July 2025
Towards an Anti-Colonial Turn in Science and Mathematics Education: Centering Indigenous Ghanaian Knowledge
Kenneth Gyamerah
Ontario Tech University, [kenneth.gyamerah@ontariotechu.ca](kenneth.gyamerah@ontariotechu.ca)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations](https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations)
Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Indigenous Education Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, and the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. | | Recommended Citation Gyamerah, Kenneth (2025) "Towards an Anti-Colonial Turn in Science and Mathematics Education: Centering Indigenous Ghanaian Knowledge," Educational Considerations: Vol. 50: No. 3. [https://doi.org/](https://doi.org/)[ ](https://doi.org/)10.4148/0146-9282.2436 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). Towards an Anti-Colonial Turn in Science and Mathematics Education: Centering Indigenous Ghanaian Knowledge Kenneth Gyamerah Introduction In the past three decades, Ghana’s educational system has faced significant challenges in addressing the learning crisis in mathematics and science (Fletcher, 2018; Mereku, 2013) . Within this period, national data on student success and international assessment benchmarks, such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), reported poor academic performance of Ghanaian students in these core subjects (Mensah & Baidoo-Anu, 2022) . Research has shown that the learning crisis began in 2003 when Ghanaian eighth-grade students ranked 44th among 45 participating countries in TIMSS (Fletcher, 2018; Mensah & Baidoo-Anu, 2022). It is worth highlighting that Ghana’s mathematics and science problems did not improve in subsequent years. For instance, in 2007, Ghana's eighth graders were ranked 47th out of 48 participating countries in TIMSS, once again scoring low in both mathematics and science (Gonzalez et al., 2009) . This downward trend continued until 2011 when Ghana occupied the lowest position in mathematics. Similarly, in the most recent National Standards Examination for primary school students, barely 50% of sixth grade pupils in Ghana achieved the foundational proficiency level in mathematics and science, with just 10.9% reaching the maximum level (Ministry of Education Ghana, 2022) . Also, for both third and sixth grades, approximately 40% of students failed to meet the minimum competency level in these subjects (Ministry of Education Ghana, 2022) . While acknowledging that these types of assessments may be problematic in the ways they evaluate learning, they can, to some extent, provide an important national and international baseline to understand the academic performance of students. These learning opportunity gaps in mathematics and science education in Ghana, especially in primary and high school levels, demonstrate the pressing need for transformational approaches to mathematics and science education in Ghanaian schools. Although in recent times, there have been significant policy interventions, such as the introduction of universally free education from primary to high school (Asante, 2024; Chanimbe & Dankwah, 2021), the Capitation Grant (including free meals for schoolchildren in low-income communities in Ghana), substantial investments in Science, Technology, Engineering, an

FAQs

What problem does the article focus on in Ghana’s education system?

It focuses on the sustained learning crisis in mathematics and science, evidenced by low student performance in national examinations and international assessments like TIMSS.

What evidence does the article cite to describe Ghana’s declining or persistently low performance?

It cites TIMSS rankings for Ghanaian eighth graders across multiple years and national standards examination results for primary-level pupils, including low mastery rates and high proportions failing minimum competency.

Why does the article argue current reforms may not be improving outcomes?

It argues that despite interventions such as free education, STEM investment, and infrastructure expansion, improvements remain unrealized due to factors like deficit perspectives and Eurocentric teaching and assessment that neglect Indigenous Ghanaian knowledge.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda