An examination of the role of education in supporting the rural economy of southern Ghana

[Introduction:] The data used for writing this thesis was gathered mainly from twenty-one small-scale rural industries which fall under six categories Food, Ceramics, Woodwork, Iron Extraction, Textiles and Bricks and Tiles.These industries were located in five administrative regions of Southern Ghana : Greater Accra, Central, Eastern, Volta and Western; and the fieldwork was conducted over the period of June, 1980 to March, 1981. The total distance covered during the fieldwork was approximately 2,300 miles.The aim of this study, is to bring to focus, the role which adopted European education plays in supporting the Ghanaian rural economy, particularly in the creation of certain attitudes of the rural industrial entre-preneurial and working classes.Previous literature surveyed on this area revealed that concern was mainly directed towards large-size urban-oriented industries in the modern sector of the Ghanaian economy. Therefore, such findings could not be used strictly as a basis for this study although some of their themes were drawn upon. Consequently, the thirty-five hypotheses postulated by this study concerning the influence of formal education on the formation of attitudes, self-concept, job satisfaction, educational relevance to rural industries, teacher influence, skill training programmes, modernization and perceptions of rural small-scale workers had to be investigated in their own right.Computer analysis of the collected data suggests that:(i) The adopted European education has created some awareness in certain categories of the elite to venture into, what until recently, has been termed indigenous industries.(ii) Certain categories of attitudes of rural workers have been strongly influenced in their formation by the process of formal schooling.(iii) Certain categories of attitudes of rural workers which,although necessary for industrial development, have not been significantly influenced in their formation by the process of formal education. (iv) Contrary to widespread belief that rural industries employ mainly first-cycle school leavers, significant proportions of second-cycle and tertiary school leavers find employment in this sector.This thesis has been divided into four parts. Part One consists of Chapters One, Two and Three. In Chapter One, frequently recurring terms throughout the thesis have been defined. Literature on the area to be studied was reviewed in Chapter Two and in Chapter Three, the theme, the problem and the hypotheses arising from review of the literature and statement of the problem were formulated.Part Two consists of Chapters Four and Five. In Chapter Four, Ghana's rural small-scale industries were discussed in relation to European or formal education. Chapter Five examines Ghana's rural small-scale industries in a theoretical context.Part Three consists of Chapters Six, Seven and Eight. The methodology adopted in the research was set out in Chapter Six. In Chapters Seven and Eight, the statistical analysis of fieldwork data were presented.Part Four consists of Chapters Nine and Ten. In Chapter Nine, a synopsis of research results was given and in Chapter Ten, conclusions and implications of research results were stated