Resuscitating ‘Clio’ for the Development of Twenty-First-Century Ghana and Beyond: Arguments in Defence of the Government’s Decision to Reintroduce National History as a Separate Subject in the Pre-tertiary School Curriculum

In the colonial days, history occupied an enviable position in the school curriculum. At this time, the colonial authorities exploited the discipline to achieve their imperial objectives. After independence, President Nkrumah also retained history in the school curriculum mainly because of his appreciation of the contributions of history to national development. History continued to be studied in pre-tertiary schools up to the 1980s. From 1987, however, the study of history started experiencing a substantial degree of marginalisation in the educational curriculum when the educational reforms of that year placed history under social studies. Over time, the study of history in the primary and junior secondary/high school levels was discontinued altogether, while at the senior high school level, it was made an elective subject, with little patronage by students. As a result, history is currently in a state of disrepute; the welfare of history, as a branch of human knowledge, is certainly exposed to more serious dangers, with academic historians struggling to justify the place of history in the school curriculum. Fortunately, after realising the need for the teaching and learning of the history of Ghana at the pre-tertiary level of education, the new government, the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party administration, has decided to reintroduce history as a separate subject in the pre-tertiary school curriculum. This move raises the question, “For what reasons should history be reintroduced into the pre-tertiary school curriculum?” Using both secondary and primary data, and employing the qualitative research approach, this study seeks to defend or justify the decision of the government through a critical appraisal of the contributions the study of history makes to the development of society. The study concludes that in view of the enormous value of history for the survival of our societies, the government should go ahead and reintroduce national history as a separate and a compulsory subject in the pre-tertiary school curriculum. Finally, the paper urges the government to institute measures that would ensure the early, effective and efficient implementation of the decision. Keywords: development, discipline, history, justification (justify, justifying), reintroduce, the study of history, uses of history, values of histor

Economic, Social and Political Developments in Ghana: A Relook at the Guggisburg Era in the Gold Coast (1919-1927)

In Africa and most countries of the developing world, infrastructural projects are mostly carried out with the goal of eradicating poverty, misery, diseases and deprivation, as well as to ensure equity in the sharing of national cake. Therefore, right after colonization of Africa, the colonial authorities set in motion the process of providing one infrastructural project or the other in their colonies. Typical examples were construction of roads and railways, harbours, pipe borne water, electricity, construction of school buildings, hospitals or dispensaries, sinking of wells and the like. Though, these projects were seen to be woefully inadequate by some African Historians, who have been critical of the colonial administrations’ provision of the so called infrastructural projects as tools for exploitation of the resources of the colonies for the benefit of their home country, to the neglect of the improvement of the circumstances of the colonial subjects or territories. This paper using primary and secondary data examines the developments that occurred in Ghana in the economic, social and political spheres focusing on the era of Guggisberg as the Governor of Colonial Ghana (the Gold Coast) from 1919 to 1927 and discusses its implication for the current political gimmick. Keywords: Development, Transport, Education, Hospital, Constitutio

Education for Nation Building: The Vision of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah for University Education in the Early Stages of Self-Government and Independence in Ghana

The Gold Coast was renamed Ghana by the political leadership on the attainment of Independence. But before 1957, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah had become Prime Minister of the Gold Coast in 1952, and by this arrangement ruled alongside the British Colonial Governor. Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah set out to rebuild the new nation, and by doing so, Education, especially University Education, became a significant tool for the realization of such an objective. He, and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Government saw education as “the keystone of people’s life and happiness.’’1 Thus, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah wanted the University Colleges in the Gold Coast to train intellectuals capable of combining both theory and practice as well as use their energies to assist in the task of national reconstruction.2 This explains why Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah clearly spelt out the visions of University Education in Ghana. This paper, which is multi-sourced, uses archival documents, newspapers, interviews and scholarly secondary works such as articles, book chapters and books to examine the visions of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah for University Education in the early stages of self-government and independence in Ghana. The paper particularly focuses on measures adopted by the first Prime Minister of Ghana such as establishment of an International Commission on University Education (ICUE), making the existing University Colleges independent, the rationale for setting up the University College of Cape Coast (UCCC), the Africanization of the University staff, establishment of the Institute of African Studies and the formation of the National Council for Higher Education to transform the University Colleges to reflect the needs and aspirations of Ghanaians.   _________________________________________ 1 H. O. A. McWilliam, & M. A. Kwamena-Poh, The Development of Education in Ghana. (London: Longman Group Ltd., 1975), 83. 2 Samuel Obeng, Selected Speeches of Kwame Nkrumah, Vol. 1 (Accra: Aframs Publication Ltd., 1997), 74

The Asante world

The Asante World provides fresh perspectives on the Asante, the largest Akan group in Southern Ghana, and what new scholars are thinking and writing about the "world the Asante made." By employing a thematic approach, the volume interrogates several dimensions of Asante history including state formation, Asante-Ahafo and Bassari-Dagomba relations in the context of Asante northward expansion, and the expansion to the south. It examines the role of Islam which, although extremely intense for just a short time, had important ramifications. Together the essays excavate key aspects of Asante political economy and culture, exemplified in kola nut production, the kente/adinkra cloth types and their associated symbols, proverbs, and drum language. The Asante World explores the Asante origins of Jamaican maroons, Asante secular government, contemporary politics of progress, governance through the institution of Ahemaa or Queenmothers, epidemiology and disease, and education in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Featuring innovative and insightful contributions from leading historians of the Asante world, this volume is essential reading for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars concerned with African Studies, African diaspora history, the history of Ghana and the Gold Coast, the history of Islam in Africa, and Asante history

Chieftaincy, Development and the Ghanaian State: A Historical Overview of the 19th and 20th Centuries

This multi-sourced paper explores the relationship between the chieftaincy institution and the Ghanaian state in the 19th and 20th centuries. It specifically looks at how the relationship between the two has evolved in the overlapping political and economic spheres and how the metamorphosing conceptualization of development on both sides fits into it. Using mainly Asante references,1 this paper argues that the relationship between the state (colonial and post-colonial) and chieftaincy in both spheres has been determined by the policies of the former to either court or curtail the power of the latter when it suits its politics. Chiefs on the other hand, recognizing the nature of this relationship, have skilfully played a “survival politics” strategy in order to remain relevant in the economic and political spheres. This strategy in recent years includes (re)identifying itself with prevailing concepts such as development and either utilising, or readjusting local ideologies where necessary, in order to ensure their own institutional survival.   _________________________________________ 1 The examples utilised in this paper focus on the experience of chieftaincy in southern Ghana, particularly Asante and Akan in general. This is not because happenings in chieftaincy in northern Ghana are not significant. Rather it is because the study is based on the southern experience, particularly, that of the Asante. While the Asante chieftaincy institution does not always mirror the nature of chieftaincy in the entire southern Ghana, its scope and reach presents an important case study to measure the extent of changes that occurred during the 19th and 20th centuries

Adaptation of the Wound Healing Questionnaire universal-reporter outcome measure for use in global surgery trials (TALON-1 study): mixed-methods study and Rasch analysis

BackgroundThe Bluebelle Wound Healing Questionnaire (WHQ) is a universal-reporter outcome measure developed in the UK for remote detection of surgical-site infection after abdominal surgery. This study aimed to explore cross-cultural equivalence, acceptability, and content validity of the WHQ for use across low- and middle-income countries, and to make recommendations for its adaptation.MethodsThis was a mixed-methods study within a trial (SWAT) embedded in an international randomized trial, conducted according to best practice guidelines, and co-produced with community and patient partners (TALON-1). Structured interviews and focus groups were used to gather data regarding cross-cultural, cross-contextual equivalence of the individual items and scale, and conduct a translatability assessment. Translation was completed into five languages in accordance with Mapi recommendations. Next, data from a prospective cohort (SWAT) were interpreted using Rasch analysis to explore scaling and measurement properties of the WHQ. Finally, qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated using a modified, exploratory, instrumental design model.ResultsIn the qualitative phase, 10 structured interviews and six focus groups took place with a total of 47 investigators across six countries. Themes related to comprehension, response mapping, retrieval, and judgement were identified with rich cross-cultural insights. In the quantitative phase, an exploratory Rasch model was fitted to data from 537 patients (369 excluding extremes). Owing to the number of extreme (floor) values, the overall level of power was low. The single WHQ scale satisfied tests of unidimensionality, indicating validity of the ordinal total WHQ score. There was significant overall model misfit of five items (5, 9, 14, 15, 16) and local dependency in 11 item pairs. The person separation index was estimated as 0.48 suggesting weak discrimination between classes, whereas Cronbach's α was high at 0.86. Triangulation of qualitative data with the Rasch analysis supported recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ items 1 (redness), 3 (clear fluid), 7 (deep wound opening), 10 (pain), 11 (fever), 15 (antibiotics), 16 (debridement), 18 (drainage), and 19 (reoperation). Changes to three item response categories (1, not at all; 2, a little; 3, a lot) were adopted for symptom items 1 to 10, and two categories (0, no; 1, yes) for item 11 (fever).ConclusionThis study made recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ for use in global surgical research and practice, using co-produced mixed-methods data from three continents. Translations are now available for implementation into remote wound assessment pathways