The policy relevance of indigenous languages for higher education in Africa

A Ghanaian perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID21728073
AuthorsElvis ResCue (0000-0001-7414-9287, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), Bert Van Pinxteren (0000-0002-3387-923X, Leiden University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume21
Issue8
Pages900-915
Publication date2023-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolicy Futures in Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1478-2103 • E-ISSN: 1478-2103
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14782103221111953
OpenAlexW4284688480
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited11

Now that the goal of universal primary education has been achieved in Ghana, the nation’s aim is to expand higher education as a key to development. We argue that this expansion will necessitate the gradual addition of Ghanaian languages as a medium of instruction. We innovatively explain why this is so by comparing the achievements of the Ghanaian education system with one of the best education systems in the world. We use the conceptual distinction between ‘discerned’ and ‘designed’ languages to discuss the problem of which languages to choose. We propose five scientific principles that could guide the introduction of Ghanaian languages and suggest concrete steps that could be taken over the coming years to make the transition practically possible. As such, we present a way of looking at using indigenous languages as a medium of instruction that has relevance for other African countries as well

Bilingual education · Economic growth · Engineering ethics · Indigenous · Languages of Africa · Linguistics · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · Computer Science · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching · Artificial Intelligence

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