Document Type
Article
Abstract
Analyzing the position and rigor of Ghana's history in the social studies curricula is essential in ascertaining robustness in fostering historical thinking and yielding a possible restructuring of the curricula to meet students’ social, academic, and global needs. The social studies taught at the middle and high schools in Ghana incorporate a superficial historical account of Ghana, eroding Ghana’s history in the curricula without careful consideration. This paper examined the quantity and quality of Ghana’s historical contents in the middle and high schools’ social studies curricula. Primary data collection was in-depth semi-structured interviews. Document analyses of syllabus, textbooks, and trade books served as a complementary data collection and yielded significant results. I purposefully sampled nineteen (19) social studies teachers from 18 middle and high schools in one district. The findings include a minimal concentration of historical facts in the curricula. The content and scaffolds promote minimal historical thinking. The resultant implications include misconceptions students and parents have about social studies and a dearth of historical content in the curricula. This paper contributes to the longstanding advocacy to restructure the social studies curricula to meet the academic needs of students considering the global trends in education.
Recommended Citation
Dwomoh, Razak
(2022)
"Social studies in non-western contexts: The development, appraisal, and implications of Ghana's social studies curricula,"
The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies: Vol. 83:
No.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/the_councilor/vol83/iss1/2