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The State of Inclusive Education in Ghana, West AfricaBetsy Heard Botts a & Nana Akua Owusu ba University of West Florida , Pensacola , FL , USAb Korle Bu Teaching Hospital , Accra , GhanaPublished online: 02 Jul 2013.

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The State of Inclusive Education in Ghana, West Africa

BETSY HEARD BOTTS1 and NANA AKUA OWUSU2

1University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL, USA2Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana

In the past, disability in Ghana has been narrowly defined; little attention has been given to the general discriminatory practicesand experiences that persons with disability encounter. This study aimed to gather baseline information for use in developingrecommendations to influence national policy and impact the lives of persons with intellectual disability. The authors collected datathrough interviews with 122 participants including parents, their children with disabilities, and community leaders. The authorssubmit evidence that persons with intellectual disability, children and parents, face numerous life challenges including stigmatization,discrimination, and exclusion in overt and covert aspects of life. There is a need for more awareness and effective governmentalresponse to improve the quality of life of persons with intellectual disability.

Keywords: disabilities, Ghana, inclusion, special education

The republic of Ghana, West Africa, formerly known as theGold Coast, has emerged as a model of democracy in sub-Saharan Africa. Ghana was the first British colony on theAfrican continent to gain independence. Independence wasgranted in 1957 and Ghana has recently (2007) celebrated50 years of independent and autonomous rule.

The government of Ghana is a constitutional democracyheaded by an elected president. Parliament members areelected to 4 year terms. There are 230 seats in Parliamentrepresenting 10 regions and 116 districts.

The population of Ghana is estimated at 24,223,431 by the2010 census (TV3 News, n.d.). Statistics on the number of in-dividuals with disabilities is difficult to estimate in developingnations, but is estimated to be between 3% and 10% of thepopulation according to Coleridge (1993) and Rioux (1998).The United Nations calculates the portion of a populationwith disabilities at 10%, whereas the Development Programof the United Nations uses a more conservative rate of 5%.The World Health Organization suggests the rate is between7% and 10%. Using these various percentages to calculatethe number of persons with disabilities in Ghana places theprojected number to be between 1.5 million to 2.3 millionindividuals (Anthony, 2009).

This article was commissioned by the Education for All GlobalMonitoring Report as background information to assist in draft-ing the 2010 report. It has not been edited by the team. The viewsand opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors andshould not be attributed to the EFA Global Monitoring Reportor to UNESCO. The article can be cited with the following ref-erence: “Paper commissioned for the EFA Global MonitoringReport 2010, Reaching the marginalized.”

Address correspondence to Betsy H. Botts, 11000 UniversityParkway, Pensacola, FL 32514, USA. E-mail: bbotts@uwf.edu

Ghana has a young population; more than 37% of the pop-ulation is younger than the age of 14 years, life expectancy isonly 57, and 18 of 1,000 children die before reaching 5 years ofage. The largest population concentrations are centered alongthe coast, around the coastal capital city of Accra and thecity of Kumasi in the Kumasi region (Odoom & van Weelen,2011).

The gross domestic product per capita of Ghana, derived bytaking the total production of the country and dividing by thepopulation, is $1,100. However, 40% of the population liveson less that $2 USD per day. Although English is the officiallanguage of Ghana, but there are more than 50 languages anddialects spoken throughout the country. English is not usedby many of the poorest and most illiterate groups (Odoom &van Weelen, 2011).

Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education, mandatedin Article 39 of the Ghana Constitution, consists of 6 yearsat the primary level, 3 years at the junior secondary level,and 3 years at the senior secondary level. Free CompulsoryUniversal Basic Education has the following objectives: (a) toexpand access to basic education, (b) to reduce the numbersof student expulsions, (c) to promote efficient teaching andlearning, (d) to ensure adequate and timely supply of materialsto schools, and (e) to improve community relations (GhanaEducation, 2003).

Inadequate school supplies and an inability to pay school-related fees are barriers to attendance. Schools in locationsidentified as being high-poverty areas do not charge fees. Otherschools set their own fees to cover uniforms, academic materi-als and feeding programs. Primary level school fees average $4USD per term, with increasing secondary fees increasing upto $10 USD per term. A 1992–1993 study by the World Bank(RESULTS Educational Fund, n.d.) found supply fees to bea deterrent to school attendance as such fees could representup to a month’s wages for an agricultural or village family.

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Barriers to students with special needs school attendancenoted by the government of Ghana to include (a) publicprejudicial perception of persons with special needs, (b) ar-chitectural barriers, (c) inadequate assessment facilities, (d)inaccessible curriculum, (e) curriculum inflexibility, and (f)ineffective or inadequate pre or post planning in special edu-cation needs for regular teachers (Republic of Ghana, 2004).

The Special Education Department is the main divisionwithin the Ghana Education Service that has primary re-sponsibility for meeting the education needs of the country’spersons with disabilities (PWD) educational needs. The di-vision, under the Ghana Education Service, is overseen bythe Ministry of Education. Since 1963, the Special EducationDepartment’s core mandate has been to develop and admin-ister policies that would ensure the social inclusion of and aquality education for children with special needs and disabil-ities.

Ghana’s policy on inclusive education has been influencedby a number of international laws, treaties, policies, and con-ventions. The Government of Ghana has signed and ratifiedmany of the international conventions related to disability.The primary target for most of these conventions has beento raise the life standards of persons with disability (PWD)by promoting their rights to various services necessary toensure full and equal citizenship (Basic Education Division,Ghana Education Service, 2004; Ghansah, 2011; Thurman,2003).

One of the most powerful instruments and a leading prin-ciple in advocating for inclusive education for PWDs was theSalamanca Statement that emerged from the World Confer-ence on Special Education in June, 1994. The statement pro-moted access to regular schools and a child-centered environ-ment capable of meeting and accommodating children withspecial needs and disabilities. It further supported inclusiveeducation practices as the most effective way of fighting dis-criminatory attitudes; providing an effective education to themajority of children; and improving the entire educationalsystem’s efficiency and cost effectiveness.

The Government of Ghana objective is to provide “equi-table educational opportunities for all children with nonseverespecial needs by integrating them in regular schools by 2015”(Government of Ghana, 2003).

The purpose of this article is to review and summarize themost recent findings in the area of special education in Ghana.Previous articles have focused on the inclusion of the deaf andhard of hearing, the blind or visually handicapped and oth-ers with orthopedic impairments. A scarcity of professionalliterature on the plight of individuals with intellectual disabil-ity in Ghana was the impetus for a recent Inclusion Ghanainvestigation.

Inclusion Ghana is a member of Inclusion International, anetwork organization founded in 2009; its purpose is to reducestigmatization and increase the opportunities for the inclusionof all persons with intellectual disabilities. In Ghana, InclusionGhana’s stated mission is “to reduce stigmatization and ensurefull inclusion of all persons with intellectual disability and theirfamilies by advocating for their rights and needs” (InclusionGhana, 2012, p. i); envisioning a future that provides equalopportunities through the inclusion of all Ghana’s “personswith intellectual disability.”

Research Question and Objectives

This article summarizes the findings of Inclusion Ghana asthe team of researchers investigated the following two-partresearch question:

What are the attitudes of people in the Greater Accra, Volta,Upper East, and Brong Ahafo regions in Ghana toward per-sons with intellectual disabilities (PWID) and their families,and what can be done to increase positive attitudes towardPWID and their families?

Five research objectives were formed to answer the ques-tion:

1. To gather baseline information on the cultural and religiousbeliefs about PWID and their families.

2. To gain insight into how negative attitudes toward PWIDresult in social exclusion of them and their families.

3. To gather baseline information about inclusion of PWIDand their families from the perspective of parents and thatof independent representatives (priests, professionals, tra-ditional healers).

4. To gather baseline information about the level of implemen-tation of the national and international law and policies onthe rights of PWID in Ghana.

5. To examine which factors can contribute to forming posi-tive attitudes toward PWID and their families.

Method

Research sites included four regions: Brong Ahafo Region,Upper East Region, Volta Region, and the Greater AccraRegion.

The Brong Ahafo Region is Ghana’s second largest geo-graphic region and the fourth most urbanized area; its capitalis Sunyani. Christians make up 70.8% of the population, fol-lowed by Islam (16.1%), and 7.8% claim no religious affilia-tion. The reported illiteracy rate is 48.5%.

The Upper East Region in bordered to the north by the na-tion of Burkina Faso. The capital is Bolgatanga. In the UpperEast region, those expressing traditional beliefs account for46.4% of the population, followed by 28.3% Christians and22.6% Muslims. There is a lack of education and access to ed-ucation in the region because of widespread general poverty,traditional cultural practices, and the fairly recent introduc-tion of educational opportunities.

The Volta Region’s capital city is Ho, and the region is bor-dered by Togo. In the Volta Region, there are 8 ethnic groups,62 subgroups, and 56 spoken dialects. The majority (78.7%)of the regions’ 1,635,421 population are rural residents: 67.2%list their religion as Christian, followed by 21.8% practicingtraditional religion, and 5.1% professing Islam. The GreaterAccra Region is the most densely populated region. Again,Christianity is the predominant religious group (82.9%), fol-lowed by Islam (10.2%).

Sample Size

The sample size was drawn from the four regions identified ear-lier and was composed of 69 independent leaders or specialistsand 53 parents and caretakers of a person with a disability. The

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State of Inclusive Education in Ghana 137

Fig. 1. Causes of Intellectual Disability as assigned by Leadersand Parents (color figure available online).

sample group of independent leaders and specialists consistedof the groups depicted in Figure 1. Detailed information onsampling procedures and response rate was not provided.

Research Design

We used the following data collection methods: (a) 66 semi-structured interviews with independent leaders and specialistsfor governmental institutions, special school, churches, and soforth; three group discussions with the collective group mem-bers were conducted; (b) 50 semi-structured interviews withPWID parents or caregivers as well as 3 group discussionswith the collective group members; (c) the analysis and subse-quent inclusion of secondary data; and (d) recorded anecdotalnonparticipant observations.

Demographics of Participants

Of the parents interviewed, 42% reported there was no formaldiagnosis of their child’s disability; 32% reported a diagnosisof autism, 17% reported a Down’s syndrome diagnosis; and6% indicated their child had epilepsy. All interviewed parentsfrom the Greater Accra region and the Volta region indicatedtheir child’s disability diagnosis had been provided by a pri-vate school or the Korle Bu teaching hospital in Accra. Byway of comparison, only 50% of the children’s parents in theUpper East region with a formal diagnosis while none of thechildren’s parents from Brong Ahafo region reported receivingany formal diagnosis.

Of the participating parents, 85% stated that impaired com-munication was their first sign of possible disability, and 55%indicated the disability became apparent when the child wasbetween the ages of 5 and 7 years. Of the interviewed parents,67% were married, 21% were separated or divorced, 10% weresingle or had never married, and 2% were widowed.

Results

Results are discussed in two parts; initial information con-cerning the five research objectives will be presented, followedby the related research question findings. The first researchobjective was to gather baseline information on the culturaland religious beliefs about PWID and their families.

Most respondents (n = 66) reported a belief that medicallyrelated issues or diseases are the cause of intellectual disability;another 25 respondents listed accidents as the causal factor.The interviews offered insight into individual beliefs regardingof medical error and spiritual influences causing a disability.

“The nurse in the hospital delayed to attend to me in thesecond stage of my labour. I was really suffering then andlater I had to go through a cesarean section before mydaughter was born. Thus why she has a brain damage.”“My pregnancy was eleven months. Therefore my daughterhas this problem.”“My wife left me for another man during her pregnancy.She was punished by the gods by giving birth to my autisticson. She brought me the son and left.”“People who hate you or are jealous of you can ‘juju’ you.They can consult a shrine to see if something good canhappen to you in the future for you and your children andwhen they get to know it, they can cause for example adisability on your child. Thus what happened to our child.”

In further evidence of the belief in a spiritual cause ofdisability, Brong Ahafo independent leaders that were inter-viewed reported the belief that if a family of a child with adisability was prosperous financially, people believe their in-come was generated by the use of their disabled children inceremonies or temple rites (juju).

The “other” category included improper care during preg-nancy, the use of alcohol and drugs during pregnancy, con-vulsions, and failed abortions.

Concerning the treatment and care of PWID a parentstated, “God works in a mysterious way. We have been pray-ing and my son gets better slowly. One day he will be cured.”This attitude has been documented during previous interviewresearch in the Volta Region by Botts and Evans (2010). Inthe case of a child with Down syndrome, the parent indicatedthat God gave the disability and that God would take it away.A mother of a young man with autism indicated that Godcaused the disability and there was no need to question it.When asked the reason for her daughter’s disability, the thirdmother interviewed simply stated, “It is of God.”

Figure 2 graphically depicts the answers of the parents andthe independent leaders to the question “Do you think intel-lectual disabilities can be cured?” Of the parents, 69% believed

Fig. 2. Treatment or Cure of ID (color figure available online).

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Fig. 3. Side view of NARC (color figure available online).

that intellectual disability can be cured, as compared with 43%of the independent leaders. When asked the possible sourcesof a cure, responses included God as the source of a cure, oper-ations in western countries, participation in spiritual, prayer,or miracle camps and by priests’ traditional treatment meth-ods. All of the surveyed parents who had used these methodsadmitted their children were not healed by these methods.Among the independent leaders, 54% stated that intellectualdisability can only be managed, not cured.

The second research objective was to gain insight into hownegative attitudes toward PWID affect families. Questions in-cluded the difficulty of a PWID (a) to get an education (dis-played in Figure 4), (b) to gain health care access, (c) to re-ceive a proper assessment, (d) to overcome hiring difficultiesand secure a job, and (e) to ameliorate the general societaldiscrimination.

Fig. 4. How difficult is it to get a good education for CWID inGhana? (color figure available online).

Education

The concept of inclusive education has been present in Ghana-ian policies since the 1950’s beginning with education re-form documents created under the administration of Ghana’sfirst president, Kwame Nkrumah. The Education Act of1961 decreed free compulsory education for all children 5to 16 years of age and aimed to alleviate the differences be-tween rural and urban populations and those in diverse geo-graphic regions. Subsequent leaders have moved the agendaof education-for-all forward through constitutional revisions(Article 25[a] of the 1992 constitution), special acts (Chil-dren’s Act of 1998), disability law (Act 715 of 2006), and theEducation Act (778) of 2007. The Education Strategic Plan,designed in 2010 and intended to be fully implemented by2020 pushes for the majority of children with special needs

Fig. 5. Level of awareness of legislation for PWIDs (color figureavailable online).

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State of Inclusive Education in Ghana 139

to be served in mainstream schools by 2015 (GFD/NCPD,2010).

Despite these legislative initiatives, it is estimated thatnot more than 1% of Ghana’s PWID currently receivegovernment-supported education system services. In 2011, theGhana Education Service data indicated that approximately1,860 children with intellectual disability received services ingovernment schools. Data were not available on children withintellectual disabilities receiving private school services. TheGhana Education Service has a goal of opening 20 new unitsa year; however, it is already anticipated that the allocatedfunds are not sufficient to accommodate the reportedly longwaiting lists (Odoom & van Weelen, 2011).

In Ghana’s university system, the courses for training teach-ers in the instructional methods and nature of, and needs ofchildren with special needs were not introduced or integratedinto the curriculum until 2007. As a result, 90% to 95% of thecurrent classroom teachers have not had coursework or profes-sional preparation to teach children with disabilities (Odoom& van Weelen, 2011).

It is encouraging to note that all of the respondents—parents and independent leaders—mentioned that PWID ed-ucational access is needed. However, there was a divergence ofopinions as to the nature of the needed educational services:44% of the interviewed independent leaders and 64% of theinterviewed parents indicated a preference for special schoolsor institutions as the PWID education provider source.

During the interviews with parents, it was reported thatgovernment school teachers were frequently advising againstenrolling children with disabilities in school, suggesting suchchildren could not learn. Parents also reported that teachersdid not indicate awareness of any government schools thatcould serve their children with intellectual disabilities. Inter-viewed teachers commented that interest in education waslow among low-income families and that available money forschool fees was typically used for the more able learners, notthose with a disability.

Health Care

The National Health Insurance Scheme was initiated in 2001;it was intended to deliver affordable and quality health careto all citizens. The National Health Insurance Scheme calledfor registration of persons with disabilities and to providetheir free health care. It is unfortunate that this provision islargely unknown; the burden is on the families of those withdisabilities to register, travel to a clinic or hospital, and thenadvocate, with personnel at those locations largely unaware ofthe provision, on behalf of their child to obtain the neededservices.

The report notes the following:

As a result of a lack of knowledge regarding intellectualdisability issues, most families or relatives take their to men-tal hospitals for diagnosis and treatment. Even though themental hospitals offer some help, there is a lack of intellec-tual disability specialization among the staff. More oftenthan not, wrong, incorrect, or invalid interventions are im-plemented. Further, mishandling by unqualified supportstaff, torture, physical, sexual, psychological, and verbal

abuse are the order of the day in the mental health hos-pitals. Isolation of such persons from society renders themcompletely invisible and generally forgotten by all includingpolicy makers. (Odoom & van Weelen, 2011, p. 15)

Few doctors in Ghana have more than a basic knowledgeabout intellectual disability. The most frequent diagnosis madeby a rural doctor is low IQ. The majority of parents in ruralareas are not able to travel to the main population centers ofKumasi or Accra for further information. Beyond the generaland pervasive lack of intellectual disability knowledge, theavailable number of therapists who are trained and prepared toprovide appropriate services is low. For example, Nana AkuaOwusu, a speech therapist at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital inAccra, reports there are only five active speech and languagetherapists in all of Ghana, and they practice in the GreaterAccra region.

Assessment

In 1975, the National Assessment and Resource Center wasestablished with the mission to “. . . enhance the educationalopportunities of children with disabilities and special edu-cational needs, through the provisions of avenues for earlyidentification and detection, for the promotion of appropriatemedical interventions and educational and vocational place-ments” (Odoom & van Weelen, 2011, p. 16).

The Accra Center for National Assessment and ResourceCenter is the only PWID assessment site, making it inacces-sible for families living outside the Greater Accra region, pic-tured in Figure 3. In 2010, 96 children with intellectual dis-ability were assessed; in the first quarter of 2011, there were31 such assessments performed.

One parent observed, “After a lot of effort, the first thingmy husband did to support me in my quest about my son’sdisability was going to the National Assessment and ResourceCentre. He was back at the house soon. The state of the [Na-tional Assessment and Resource Centre] was another confir-mation for him that people don’t take the children like thatseriously.”

Employment

“It is hard to find jobs for everyone in Ghana, so it’s im-possible for people with a disadvantage.”

“I don’t know, I just pray that my daughter’s situationwill improve and she will be able to find a job when she getsolder.”

“It is hard work to find employers who are willing to puteffort in guiding PWID in their workplaces.”

The previous quotes from parents capture and reflect someof the difficulties PWID experience when seeking employmentin Ghana: 71% of respondents agree that it is very difficult inGhana for PWID to find employment opportunities. Fami-lies are the main PWID support system. Taking care of theirfamily member with intellectual disability means that one par-ent must restrict or terminate their own employment limitingthe family’s income potential and perpetuating the cycle ofpoverty.

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General Discrimination

It is common knowledge in Ghana PWID suffer greater levelsof discrimination than individuals with other disabilities(Inclusion Ghana Report, 2011). The report states that a likelyexplanation for the discriminatory treatment includes the gen-eral misinformation on the causes of intellectual disability andthe popular beliefs that disabilities are caused by witchcraft, acurse of “juju.” There are numerous insulting terms for PWIDamong the different tribal languages, such as asotowa (“idiot”or “fool” in Ewe), bullos (“reduced mental ability” in Ga),nea wanyin agua n’adwne ho (“feeble minded” in Akan).Persons with Down’s syndrome are called nsuoba, meaning“children of the water who are given by the water gods.”These children are often returned to the water by drowning. Inthe northern regions, the belief in spirit children is prevalent.Spirit children are sent to bring harm and are not meant tobe in this world. It is not surprising, therefore, that 82% of theinterviewed respondents agreed that PWID are discriminatedagainst.

The third research objective was to gather informationabout the inclusion of PWID from the viewpoint of thePWID parents and priests, professionals and traditional heal-ers regarding PWID inclusion practices and current status.It is hopeful to note that none of the respondents expressedthe opinion that PWID educational opportunities were notneeded; they only disagreed on the type of educational place-ment. Of the interviewed leaders, 44% thought PWID educa-tional services should occur in special schools or institutions;64% of parents agreed.

When asked to express their feelings and attitudes towardPWID, the majority of the reactions were evenly distributedamong pity (25%), compassion (25%), and sadness (24%).Other feelings expressed include fear, avoidance, and the ef-fects of frequent insulting comments. With regard to participa-tion in mosque or church services, most respondents reportedthat it was somewhat difficult or very difficult to participatein religious activities; some parents reported that they had togo to several churches before finding one that would accepttheir child. In their responses to the matter of community par-ticipation, 73% of the independent leaders indicated that theythought it was difficult or very difficult for PWID to have asatisfying social life, whereas 35% of the parents indicated thatit was not difficult for their children to have a satisfying sociallife. Children with Down’s syndrome were perceived as moresociable than children with autism.

The fourth research objective was to collect informationconcerning the level of implementation of the national and in-ternational law and policies on the rights of PWID in Ghana.The following four legislative instruments provide a brief andcurrent history of legislation concerning special needs educa-tion:

1992—Article 25(a) of the 1992 constitution decrees that allcitizens shall have access to education and that it shall befree and compulsory. PWD are protected from exploitationand discrimination. The constitution provides for incentivesto businesses owned by PWDs and business that employPWDs.

1998—The Children’s Act (560) addresses the physical,mental and social well-being of every child. Under the rightto education and well being, the ACT clearly states that “Noperson shall deprive a child access to education, immuniza-tion, adequate diet, clothing, shelter, medical attention, orany other thing required for his development” (The Chil-dren’s Act, 1998, Section 3).2006—The Disability Law (Act 715) provides for specialeducation schools to be established, barriers to admissionremoved and children enrolled according to the level oftheir disability. There are 12 main objectives:

1. To educate Ghanaians on the rights, potentials, andresponsibilities of society and PWDs.

2. To generate and disseminate relevant information ondisability.

3. To create an enabling environment for the full partici-pation of PWDs in national development.

4. To ensure access of PWDs to education and training atall levels.

5. To facilitate the employment of PWDs in all sectors ofthe economy.

6. To promote disability friendly roads, transport, andhousing facilities.

7. To ensure access of PWDs to effective health care andadequate medical rehabilitation services.

8. To insure that women with disabilities enjoy the samerights and privileges as their male counterparts.

9. To ensure that law enforcement personnel in cases ofarrest, detention, trial, and confinement of PWDs takeinto account the nature of their disabilities.

10. To encourage full participation of PWDs in culturalactivities.

11. To ensure access of PWDs to the same opportunitiesin recreational activities and sports as other citizens.

12. To promote community-based rehabilitation programsas a means of empowering and ensuring the full par-ticipation of PWDs in society.

2007—The Education Act of 2007 mandates inclusive edu-cation in all districts and levels and adds 2 years of kinder-garten as part of the basic education system.

In addition to these four national legislative acts, the SpecialEducation Division of the Ministry of Education has craftedan objective intended to increase the training opportunitiesof youth and children with disabilities to help prepare suchchildren and youth to become employable and independent.The Educational Strategic Plan, formulated in 2003, has asits objective to ensure all children with nonsevere educationalneeds will be “mainstreamed” within the schools by 2015.

Respondents were questioned concerning their disabilitylegislation awareness. As displayed in Figure 5, the majorityof the respondents (including PWID parents and communityleaders) were unaware of legislation benefitting those withdisabilities and those that were aware of the Disability Law of2006 could not name any provisions of the law.

The final research objective was designed to gather infor-mation intended to identify the factors that can contribute tothe development of positive attitudes toward PWID and theirfamilies. Answers to survey questions and comments fell into

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Fig. 6. Improving inclusion from a parental perspective (colorfigure available online).

three categories: government, media, and home. Respondentsnoted that the government does not pay adequate attention tospecial education. A parent is quoted as saying, “The big menin the country give priority to things that are for their own ben-efit. They often don’t even know about the problems PWIDface.” A teacher respondent reported, “There is no incentive tobecome a teacher in a special school although we have a morechallenging job that our colleagues in the regular schools.”

Data from questions pertaining to the responsibilities ofthe government indicate the government should improve edu-cation of PWID, implement the laws already passed, educatethe general population concerning PWID and better prepareteachers.

The media in Ghana enjoy considerable freedom regard-ing programming and freedom to criticize government policy.Suggestions for the media, from parents and leaders, includedmore frequent program presentations that provide accurateinformation and the employment of professionals in the fieldsto educate the public.

The parents’ role in improving the lives of their childrenwith intellectual disability was recognized by the respondents.Figure 6 reflects respondents’ comments regarding parentalresponsibilities toward children with intellectual disability.

Also noted under the final research objective concern-ing what can be done to create positive attitudes towardPWID was the personal responsibility of those persons withintellectual disabilities. As much as possible, PWID shouldbe self advocates seeking out and engaging in socializationactivities.

Nongovernmental organizations often take the initiative inimproving the quality of life for PWIDs, advocating for therights of PWIDs as well as filling in or providing assistance toovercome or offset the governmental PWID service gaps.

Limitations

There are some inherent risks when using a self-selection sam-pling technique as opposed to a random selection samplingtechnique; this study acknowledges those weaknesses. For ex-ample, self-selection of participants may result in the infor-mation generated not being truly representative of the target

population, or participant answers may be influenced by a “so-cial desirability bias” (as was noted by researchers). Further,by limiting study participation to only four of Ghana’s tenregions, the results cannot be generalized as a representativenational sample. Last, although two districts per region wereincluded, tribal groupings vary from district to district as wellas region to region, the results therefore, can only be appliedto the sampled population.

Discussion: Special and Inclusive Education in Practice

Despite the lack of a coherent policy on special and inclusiveeducation, Ghana’s initiatives over the past few years havedemonstrated a commitment to providing reasonable oppor-tunities for PWDs. A number of proposed strategies have sug-gested various activities intended to address the issue of equi-table opportunity. These include the passing of the PWD Act715 wherein which education, among other areas for PWDs,are addressed. The government’s plans to provide equal edu-cational opportunities, integrating all children with nonseverespecial needs through mainstreaming by 2015 (as indicated inthe ESP document 2003–2015, irrespective of any shortcom-ings), demonstrates a commitment to change.

Also, the Special Education Department has developed ini-tiatives that seek to actively include children with disabili-ties in mainstream education program placements. Deaf andblind students are currently being transitioned into main-stream schools with support at the junior high and seniorhigh levels, by means of special tuition provisions. More thana hundred children with hearing impairment (who would havebeen in special schools) have benefited from a pilot programthat fitted with each student hearing aids and provided eachstudent with classroom support by designated or assigned byresources teachers. The Special Education Department is cur-rently working toward the development of a national policydocument that, when implemented, will ensure the use of bestpractices in the classrooms; a common understanding of theissues and provide direction for the country’s special and inclu-sive educational programs. The need to adapt the curriculumto address diverse ways of learning as well as to increase sub-ject choices for disabled children in mainstream educationalsettings are crucial policy document issues.

A national policy document is long overdue, especially forchildren with intellectual disability, many of whom are not eas-ily categorized or currently identified. The absence of clarityin the Special Education Department’s current informationon disability and special education requires attention as animportant element in the efforts to address issues of equal-ity in children with intellectual disabilities. The majority ofsuch children continue to receive their education in segregatedresidential environments with limited access to the outside so-cial world; limiting their contact with their nondisabled peersand family to school holidays. Many of these children facereal exclusion from their communities and societies throughstigmatization, cultural beliefs, practices, and ignorance.

Parents of children with intellectual disabilities who canafford private interventions often fight to keep their children

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142 Botts and Owusu

in private mainstream settings; paying extra to maintain theirchild’s school attendance continuation and the necessary re-lated support. The government’s collaboration with this morefinancially capable sector is grossly underrated, permitting thepractices perpetuation.

Implications for Classroom Practice

Any attempt to promote collaborative efforts between theUnited States and Ghana—whether it involves cooperativework experiences, training, cross-cultural student exchanges,or acceptance and enrollment of immigrant students fromGhana—must recognize and accommodate several crucial un-derlying factors: Factors that have a much deeper effect thatthe obvious superficial characteristics of dress, language, orfood preferences. They are imbedded in the value systems thatdrive cultures. These issues include locus of control issues, risk-taking parameters, attitudes toward authority, and conceptsof time and individuality. The latter two, time and individuality,may have the greatest potential to impact aspects such as thecross-cultural exchanges, training modules, and acceptance ofGhanaian immigrants into American school systems.

First, time may viewed as monochromatic or polychro-matic. In the monochromatic schema, familiar in the UnitedStates, time is organized in a linear fashion: It is a commoditythat can be “used,” “spent,” or “wasted” and punctuality isperceived as a virtue. In the polychromatic schema accepted inGhana, time is event oriented and viewed as a relational con-struct. Time is a function of relationships; schedules and plansare guidelines. Specific task completion may be less importantthan the process of forming and growing relationships. Thismeans that in the Ghanaian society, specific task completionoften tends to be secondary to the type of team-building pro-cess that promotes the forming of at least a minimal personalrelationship as a prelude to conducting business. This is in di-rect contrast to meetings in the United States that begin with aprinted agenda, proceed directly according to the agenda, andconsider a meeting as unsuccessful unless all the agented itemshave been covered and resolved (Beyaraza, 2000; Sorti, 1999).

Second, cultures have differing views and understandingof individuality and community. Inherent in the concept ofindividuality is the extent to which one is unwilling to divestoneself of individual identity and relinquish individuality togroup identity. In American culture, individual success and in-dividual achievement are celebrated and valued. The intrinsicvalue and unique characteristics of each individual are posi-tively emphasized. On the opposite end of the continuum arethe collectivist cultures, such as Ghana. In collectivist cultures,the group or community overshadows the individual; groupsuccess and willingness to support the goals and needs of thegroup outweigh individual goals or needs (Sorti, 1999).

Acknowledgement of these factors dictates culturally re-sponsive practice in those classrooms where African immi-grant children are present. According to the 2010 U.S. Censusthere are 1.6 million African immigrants living in the UnitedStates (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Although this representsonly 3% of all U.S. immigrants, the numbers are sufficiently

large to warrant educational recognition that African immi-grant children should not be confused with African Americanstudents as their backgrounds and educational needs are notthe same.

We concur with the list of generally accepted principlesof cultural sensitive teaching practices and other classroomconsiderations presented by Ghong and colleagues (2007). Thefollowing is an abbreviated collection of those list elements thathave been modified to apply directly to Ghana.

• Appreciate and celebrate diversity beyond cultural aware-ness days.

• Realize customs in Ghana may vary from other parts ofAfrica. Africa is a continent, not a country.

• Avoid cultural stereotypes that ascribe one set of culturesand values to treat African continent.

• Value the multilingualism of Ghanaian students. Studentswill be competent in English as well as various tribal lan-guages. As they have demonstrated the ability to learn mul-tiple languages, adequate time should be provided to masterAmerican English.

• Realize and enable fellow students to accept that differencesin accent or pronunciation are not deficits.

• Cultivate a parent–teacher relationship. Acknowledge thatparents in Ghana generally trust teachers to make decisionson behalf of their children. Parental involvement in theeducational process may be a new concept.

• State classroom expectations clearly. Allow time for thestudent to become acculturated to differing time demands.

• Provide opportunities to explore balance between individ-uality and group membership.

Conclusion

In Ghana, children with intellectual disabilities and their fam-ilies continue to face significant discrimination throughoutmany areas of their lives. Joint team efforts involving Inclu-sion Ghana and other private organizations have advocatedfor the rights of the children with intellectual disabilities andsupported activities that promote social inclusion within thegreater society. This is good news for children with intellec-tual disabilities and their families, offering an effective coun-terpoint to the significant misinformation currently existingwhile also challenging the prevailing prejudicial attempts tomaintain exclusion practices against children with intellectualdisabilities. These cooperative efforts on behalf of childrenwith intellectual disabilities and their parents increase the like-lihood that current levels of discrimination can be reduced ifnot extinguished completely.

Above all, the lack of a coherent policy on disability andinclusive education, lack of commitment to allocate realisticresources, and the current poor coordination between depart-ments’ and agencies’ efforts to address the issues cited col-lectively pose serious threats to any real progress promotingeffective inclusive education opportunities or outcomes forchildren with intellectual disabilities.

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State of Inclusive Education in Ghana 143

Author notes

Betsy H. Botts is a faculty associate the University of WestFlorida. Her current research interests include stereotypicalbehavior in autism spectrum disorders, autism, and familyrelationships and spirituality as they connect to disability.

Nana Akua Owusu is a speech and language therapist in affili-ation with Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana. Sheworks in education and advocacy throughout West Africa.

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