The Value of Graphic Design in the Senior High School Visual Art Programme in the Ghanaian Educational System

Abstract

This study examines the looming danger facing Graphic Design which is a component of Visual Arts subjects in Ghana's education as it is underrated as compared to other subjects offered in Senior High Schools. It examines evidence of the capabilities that art education, especially Graphic Design, develops in students and what it prepares them for. The study was purely descriptive, and observation and unstructured interviews were the main instruments adopted to gather information from headmasters of selected Senior High Schools, parents, teachers, and students offering Graphic Design as a course. The study revealed that the Visual Arts, in general, are not given the needed recognition and attention as is given to other subjects such as Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), etc., by the stakeholders of education in Ghana. The study emphasized the importance of Graphic Design and made it clear that Graphic Design increases the students' thinking capacity to the extent that it makes them able to apply their thinking power in solving problems even in other academic areas and in life outside the school. The study's outcome will diffuse people's negative perceptions of graphic design and outline compelling reasons to champion its development in Senior High Schools in Ghana.