Amuzu, Delali
4 Publications in AERD
Author Publications
Export PDFInvoking “re” Towards Potentialities for African Agency in (Re)search
By Amuzu, Delali
This essay is a provocation that seeks to contribute to the (re)naissance of African-centered scholarship through a critical interrogation and engagement of words or concepts that exude criticality yet are frequently used superficially. For Africans (globally), conceived by unfavorable imaginations, critical reflection is vital to enable them to engage in deep, reflective analysis of their thoughts, actions, and experiences. Having been dislocated in many ways, (re)examining assumptions, biases, and beliefs and (re)considering alternative perspectives and ideas must preoccupy African researchers. Through an onto-epistemic prism that centers on both Afrocentric assumptions and decolonial thought, the paper interrogates how the prefix “re” extends beyond simplistic meanings like “again” or “repeat” to offer potentialities for African agency. The paper seeks to contribute toward critical African thought and education as well as supporting the pathways for the African Renaissance. The aim is to explore how the prefix “re” can help to empower Africans to shape their own futures. © The Author(s) 2024.
Inculcating Community Service-Oriented Values in Higher Education in Ghana
By Amuzu, Delali
Universities in Ghana have been accused of being ideologically Eurocentric institutions located on African soil. They were embodied in European realities and constructs and continue to perpetuate them, usurping Indigenous worldviews and dislodging their inherent values. The prevailing dictates thwart beneficiaries of higher education from nurturing community service-oriented values (CSOVs) to apply to society. Through an anticolonial framework and an exploratory qualitative approach, this paper examines how Ghana’s universities can inculcate CSOVs into higher education. Data was collected through interviews with different stakeholders in Ghana’s higher education system. The study finds that the faulty foundations of higher education, disconnection between universities and society, greed and ignorance by the ‘educated’ are factors constraining the attainment of the CSOVs public cause. However, inculcating CSOVs is achievable through localising universities to subscribe to local realities, embracing the African self, rethinking the functions of universities and initiating curriculum changes. The findings suggest an abandonment of the ivory tower mentality to search into Indigenous knowledge systems to discover community-based values for meaningful higher education. © 2024, Addleton Academic Publishers. All rights reserved.
Continuing professional development (CPD) at a distance: Teachers' reflections on enhancing distance education (DE) provision
By Abakah, Ellen
In Ghana, continuing professional development (CPD) initiatives for teachers are fragmented, with limited participation opportunities for all subject teachers, resulting in a high reliance on distance education (DE) programs. This qualitative study investigates teachers' experiences with DE upgrading programs and their thoughts on improving. Data was gathered from 32 participants in the Ekumfi district of Ghana. The findings show that, despite the constraints, teachers in Ghana are taking an agentic stance in using DE for their professional development. However, while DE programs provide reliable paths to updating professional knowledge, they are insufficient as a CPD tool to assist teachers' learning for improvements in classroom practice. Teachers' DE experiences reveal a rigid program structure with content that is unreflective of current educational concerns and the utilization of didactic teaching and learning approaches. These are detrimental to active learning and unlikely to result in effective teacher improvement. To strengthen DE as an effective CPD tool in Ghana, the study recommends regularizing other CPD avenues, revising DE upgrading programs for teachers, and systematising mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating teachers' competencies before and afterDE participation. © 2023 The Author(s)
Lifelong education trajectories and futures in Ghana: issues of policy, ideology and practice
By Tagoe, Michael
This paper examined lifelong education and learning trajectories and issues of policy, ideology and practice that have underpinned the implementation of adult literacy and adult learning education strategies within a lifelong learning perspective in Ghana. Using documentary analysis, the paper noted that although the concept of lifelong education/learning has been used in some national development documents and educational policies, Ghana has no national policy on lifelong learning. The paper found that multilateral and bilateral organisations have influenced the direction and strategies captured in the national development documents and educational policies. The paper found that recommendations from International Conferences on Adult Education have often had very little influence on these national policy texts. For Ghana to be able to provide opportunities for lifelong learning for all there is the need for a vision of lifelong learning that is situated in the present and looks into the future. Ghana must work towards building a culture of lifelong learning. Policymakers need to understand that lifelong learning cannot be achieved when there are no clear-cut policies on adult literacy and adult learning and education, which are all critical components of lifelong learning. The learning needs of the youth and adults have to be given recognition in national development documents and educational policies.
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