A Pragmatic Tradition: The Past in Ghanaian Education

This paper assesses how recently published Ghanaian social studies textbooks portray Ghana’s history and traditions. Unlike many histories written for adults, which urge Ghanaians to overcome the legacy of colonialism by cultivating ancient traditions, the textbooks often criticize indigenous practices and praise colonialism’s consequences. They judge tradition or culture to be useful, inasmuch as they contribute to unity and development, but although this pragmatic approach to education and historical interpretation seems dismissive of Ghanaian tradition, it is in fact deeply rooted in Ghana’s past.