Effects of Governments' Educational Policies on Islamic Education in Ghana: A Historical Study

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of Islamic Education in the Gold Coast / Ghana during the pre-colonial period (up to 1850).  It also examines the policies that affected Islamic education during the colonial period (1850-1950). It further examines policies that post-independence governments (1957-2010) put in place to promote Islamic education in Ghana.  A theoretical framework based on Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Management Styles has been used to analyse how the educational conflicts were resolved.  A content analysis of educational policy documents and interviews were used for the collection of data for the study.  The findings of the research revealed that colonial policies that affected the promotion of Islamic education in Ghana included the teaching of Religion in public schools based on Christianity, and the promotion of the study of English Language while preventing the study of Arabic.  However, these policies were changed by post-colonial governments in Ghana. The study recommends that political leaders adopt the Collaborative style of conflict management, which was used by post-colonial governments in Ghana, rather than the Competitive style of conflict management adopted by the colonial government, which negatively affected the promotion of Islamic education in Ghana.