Revisiting global development frameworks and research on universal basic education in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of evidence and gaps for future research

Resource type
Journal Article
Authors/contributors
Title
Revisiting global development frameworks and research on universal basic education in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of evidence and gaps for future research
Abstract
The emergence of global development frameworks such as Education for All, Millennium Development Goals, and Sustainable Development Goals have expanded opportunities for Universal Basic Education (UBE) in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In the three decades of their implementation, these frameworks have also stimulated a culture of research based on measuring development and educational outcomes through established indicator-based approaches. Subsequently, research on UBE in Ghana and SSA remains largely dominated by quantitative indicators which concentrate on enrolment and completion numbers in measuring a country’s progress. Yet, emerging literature shows that the expansion in enrolment is accompanied by high rates of drop-outs, non completion, and low learning outcomes even for those able to complete basic education. Using structured and unstructured procedures to identify both academic and grey literature, this review explores the state of educational expansion and research on UBE in Ghana and SSA. We argue that the current reliance on dominant quantitative, indicator-based approaches to assessing UBE reveals little about the differential experiences of children, particularly those in rural and marginalised communities, who receive poor quality education. The lack of information about children’s experiences of access reinforces inequalities in education, employment, and upward mobility in later life. Future research should seek to unpack micro-level experiences which characterise access, as well as the pathways through which factors such as poverty and location create unequal experiences in schooling access, to inform context-specific policies for UBE.
Publication
Review of Education
Volume
8
Issue
3
Pages
733-764
Date
2020
Language
en
ISSN
2049-6613
Short Title
Revisiting global development frameworks and research on universal basic education in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa
Accessed
18/04/2022, 11:21
Library Catalogue
Wiley Online Library
Citation
Nkrumah, R. B., & Sinha, V. (2020). Revisiting global development frameworks and research on universal basic education in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of evidence and gaps for future research. Review of Education, 8(3), 733–764. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3205