Ghana

=Ghana by Laura Olson =



OVERVIEW:  The Republic of Ghana is named after the medieval Ghana Empire which was located about 500 miles north of present-day Ghana. The leaders of the nation changed often throughout history due largely in part to the wealth of resources found along the coast and the temptation that provided. John Evans Atta Mills is the current president of Ghana, and the capital is Accra. The official language is English and they gained independence on March 6th, 1957 after being colonized by the British for over one hundred years. Ghana is abundant in gold and ivory, which have helped achieve its place as part of the famous Ivory Coast. Ghana is currently home to more than 23 million people and the major religion is Christianity. The national average life expectancy is only about 60 years and 260,000 people are currently living with HIV/AIDS. 60% of the population is literate with 66% male literacy and 50% female literacy.



ARTS EDUCATION AND CULTURE:  After a modern approach to education was introduced in Ghana, art has been thought of as a non-academic subject which students incapable of any highly intellectual academic exercise should participate in. This idea is one which is carried on throughout school from pre-primary until secondary levels.  The main ethnic group in Ghana is the Akan which is made up of the Ashanti and the Fanti. The Ashanti are the largest group and are unique in that they are a matrilineal society. Their Kente cloth is very famous because of its bright colors and intricate designs. This provides a great source of income for the nation and is unique to the native people. The cloth is made of cotton, only woven outdoors and only made by men. The Ashanti are especially noted for their craft works such as ceramics, weaving, wood work and metal making.  Arts and crafts are taught early at the preprimary level in Ghana because craft makers are needed in the economy. The students are taught the traditional ceramic making and weaving. However, Senior Secondary Schools as well as universities are extremely competitive, with only the very ambitious making it to a such a level. Because of this, the subject matter taught at these levels is very high-level career oriented and does not leave room for the arts. It seems that arts education is valued but only until a need for vocational knowledge takes priority. If students are going into the craft making trade however, as many do, they are very well set up for it.

MUSTAPHA TETTEY ADDY:   Mustapha was born in 1942 in Accra, Ghana into a family of well known Obonu drummers. When his father passed away, Mustapha was appointed the next Dadefoiakye, or master drummer. He was employed by the University of Ghana as a dummer and dancer and he began to gain experience through TV appearances and touring. He trained under a renowned Ewe drummer, who is said to have greatly influenced his work. He has recorded several LPs and toured Europe, the U.S. as well as several countries in Africa. Addy has studied as an anthropologist as well as a researcher of drumming and dance.  Addy also considers himself a farmer and he dabbles in natural healing, since his father was a medicine man. However, he always receives pressure to return to performing when he strays to this type of quiet life. “My research has shown that the cultural heritage honed and developed over the centuries by our ancestors provides more material than I could use in a lifetime. I therefore have no need to compose - only to interpret in my own fashion. Also I feel a pressing need to assure that this extraordinary body of work is preserved for posterity,” stated Addy in an interview (WeltWunder, 2010). One album called "Les Percussions du Ghana" featuring Mustapha Tettey Addy:

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KINGY MENSAH PERCUSSIONS:  Kingy Mensah Percussions is based in Accra, Ghana and works to preserve the traditions of generations through exploring music. They offer individual lessons as well as workshops and visit schools personally to impart the beauty of Ghanaian drumming to the children. The organization was created by Emmanuel Yaw Mensah who had a vision for the organization he wanted to create. His dream began with the desire to overcome poverty and life’s hardships through music. His first drumming workshop took place in 2007 and has been growing since. He went on to build drums and they are now played in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Mensah offers lessons to anyone who is interested and focuses on children by offering workshops at the local schools. He reaches out to the people of Accra through community performances and instructional demonstrations. He is able to share his professional knowledge with the general public and helps transform the way new generations perceive old traditions. His private lessons are available not only in his shop but also he enjoys meeting on the beach or wherever the student likes, in order to best accommodate them. He provides the instruments to encourage students to try new things. Emmanuel Mensah is truly dedicated to reaching the community through arts education.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">TEACHER TRAINING: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> The majority of teachers in Ghana are now certified, however this is a vast improvement compared to the 1970s and before when the only the minority were certified. More female teachers than males are certified, however only about 34% of teachers in Ghana are female. As late as 1966, roughly 63% of teachers were uncertified. Rules about teacher training and certification are becoming more stringent and in the 1960s teacher training programs began to become much more abundant. The programs vary from region to region but all must pass standardized testing in order to become certified. Teachers of secondary schools and universities are trained at Ghana’s universities. Arts are not specifically included in this training or promoted as important to a teacher’s repertoire of knowledge.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> FUNDING: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Funding in Ghanaian education has always been a problem since the European colonization. The idea that government should support modern education is touchy now because the majority of the country is facing economic difficulties and cost sharing is not realistic for most people. However, modern education costs correlates to the largest slice of the government's budget, and they are still trying to perfect the balance today. The government takes full responsibility for the cost of teacher training and they allot the highest portion of the budget for education. However, they do not incorporate teacher training of the arts into this or provide separate funding for artists, supplies or workshops.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> CONCLUSION: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> The arts education in Ghana is completely different from the experience I had growing up. I had specific classes just for art since I began school and they have been available to me ever since. The teachers were specifically trained in the arts, and especially in higher levels of school, they were trained in one specific skill set. This provided me with the best resources to foster my creativity and try any type of artistic endeavor that I wanted. I was surprised that Ghana focuses so little on arts in education because of their rich cultural ties to art. They are well known for their percussion, vocal music and craft making. I was certain this would be included in their education, but it seems to be more traditionally handed down throughout families or communities.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> SOURCES:

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> OVERVIEW: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">[| http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/] <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">[] <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">[|http://www.library.yale.edu/~fboateng/fbhp.htm]

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">ARTS EDUCATION: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">[] [] <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> ARTIST PROFILE: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">[] <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">ART ORGANIZATION PROFILE: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">[] <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> TEACHER TRAINING: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">[] <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">FUNDING <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/538/Ghana-SUMMARY.html