Wageningen University and Research centre – Department of Social Sciences

MSc Thesis Sociology of Development and Change

Neo-colonialism in educational development aid:

Perceptions of basic education teachers on the implementation of the BEQIP

in the Northern-region of Ghana.

May 2017

Master International Development Studies

Sociology of Development and Change

Author: Wiebe Smit

Supervisors: Dr. Stasja P. Koot Sociology of Development and Change

Ir. Hansje J. Eppink Education and Competence Studies

Thesis Code: SDC-80433

i

Executive summary

Educational development aid is provided on a global scale. In many of such aid programmes,

relations are constructed between Western-based donors and Southern recipients. Through these

relations, features of neo-colonialism can be locally experienced as Western donors often have a

powerful position as opposed to their receiving counterparts. Particular features of neo-colonialism

are Western-centrism, dependency, agency and resistance, which can be experienced by aid

receivers as a result of the implementation of educational aid programmes. The Basic Education

Quality Improvement Programme (BEQIP), a Western-based educational aid programme was

directed towards a change in the daily practice of basic education teachers in the Northern-region of

Ghana. The desired change, here, was directed towards the shift from a teacher-centred education

(TCE) approach towards a learner-centred education (LCE) approach. The active involvement of

learners during the lesson delivery forms a central theme in this teaching ideology. This thesis

analyses if and how the four neo-colonial features are experienced by basic education teachers in the

Northern-region of Ghana as a result of the implementation of the BEQIP. Based on the findings of

this research, it can be stated that neo-colonial features have been experienced by the target group

in the following ways: Western-centrism was experienced by the teachers mainly in terms of the

inexperience with how to implement the desired LCE approach in their daily practice. A sense of

dependency on the Western donor was shown by local actors in terms of academic knowledge and (a

range of) resources necessary for the implementation of the introduced teaching approach.

Regarding their agency, the target group expressed that their involvement in the programme caused

for increased capabilities and a sense of empowerment in their daily practice. Resistance, finally, was

shown in a variety of (mainly non-articulated) forms.

Keywords: educational development aid, learner-centred education, neo-colonialism, Western-

centrism, dependency, agency, resistance, Ghana.

ii

List of acronyms

BEQIP: Basic Education Quality Improvement Programme

CGD: Centre for Global Development

GES: Ghana Education Service

INSECS: In-service trainings

JHS: Junior high school

LCE: Learner-Centred Education

NGO: Non-Governmental Organisation

ODA: Overseas Development Administration

OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PS: Primary school

SHS: Secondary High School

TCE: Teacher-centred education

TLM: Teaching and Learning Material

TTC: Teacher Trainer College

UN: United Nations

UvA: University of Amsterdam

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Acknowledgements

Although a large number of people supported me in various ways throughout my research, there are

a view I would like to thank in particular as these people have had a great influence on my work.

First, I would like to thank Dr. Stasja Koot and Ir. Hansje Eppink for their support, advice and feedback

throughout the long process of this thesis. As supervisors, they both provided helpful insights and

solutions on issues encountered during this process. Where Dr. Koot contributed with his expertise in

sociology, Ir. Eppink supported me with her expertise in education and educational aid. Next to my

supervisors, I would like to thank Mr. Frits Kruiswijk for introducing me to IBIS Ghana and in

particular to Mr. Johnson Naapi. Thereby, I am very grateful for the way in which Mr. Kruiswijk acted

in obtaining the required documents to enter the Republic of Ghana. Finally, I would like to express

my gratitude to Mr. Johnson Naapi. His support has been of vital importance for conducting

fieldwork in the Northern-region of Ghana. Without his guidance, my fieldwork would have been far

more challenging.

May 1st, 2017,

Wiebe Smit.

iv

Table of contents

Executive summary .................................................................................................................................. i

List of acronyms........................................................................................................................................ii

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. iii

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1

Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 6

Self-reflection ...................................................................................................................................... 7

Chapter 2 – Education and the BEQIP in the Northern-region of Ghana ................................................ 8

The Basic Education Quality Improvement Programme ..................................................................... 8

What is education? .......................................................................................................................... 8

The learner-centred education approach ....................................................................................... 8

Active learning ................................................................................................................................. 9

Quality education ............................................................................................................................ 9

Implementation of the BEQIP in the Northern-region of Ghana .................................................. 10

Stakeholder analysis .......................................................................................................................... 12

Edukans ......................................................................................................................................... 12

IBIS Ghana & Savana Signatures .................................................................................................... 12

Basic education teachers ............................................................................................................... 13

Theoretical framework .......................................................................................................................... 14

Neo-colonialism ................................................................................................................................. 14

Western-centrism .......................................................................................................................... 15

Dependency ................................................................................................................................... 16

Agency ........................................................................................................................................... 17

Resistance ...................................................................................................................................... 18

Connecting neo-colonialism and its features .................................................................................... 19

Chapter 4 – Perceptions towards Western-centrism in the BEQIP ....................................................... 21

(Possible) implications of Western-centrism in aid ........................................................................... 21

Western-centrism in resource use and pedagogical concepts ......................................................... 22

Shifting towards ‘Western’ education? ............................................................................................. 23

Perceived Western-centred elements of the BEQIP ......................................................................... 24

Chapter 5 – Experiences of dependency as a result of the BEQIP ........................................................ 26

Applying dependency and power to the implementation of the BEQIP ........................................... 26

Experiences of dependency among stakeholders ............................................................................. 27

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Chapter 6 – Influences on teachers agencies from a local perspective ................................................ 30

Perceived changes in teacher agency ............................................................................................... 30

BEQIP’s influence on the perception of power ................................................................................. 32

Chapter 6 – Responses to the BEQIP: local acts of resistance .............................................................. 34

Lacking implementation .................................................................................................................... 34

Limited distribution ........................................................................................................................... 35

Distrusting the ‘other’ ....................................................................................................................... 35

The reintroduction of undesired practices ........................................................................................ 35

Manoeuvring within the learning centred education approach ....................................................... 36

Persisting traditional relations of force ............................................................................................. 36

Discussion .............................................................................................................................................. 38

Interlinking features of neo-colonialism ........................................................................................... 38

Reviewing the neo-colonial features ................................................................................................. 39

The global debate on educational aid ............................................................................................... 40

Reflection on decisions & recommendations for future research .................................................... 41

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 43

References ............................................................................................................................................. 45

Appendix ................................................................................................................................................ 51

1

Introduction

“Education is one of our last resorts to get us out of poverty”

(Teacher at Yong-Dakpemyili Junior High School, Ghana, interview 18/10/2016)

In Ghana, 24.2% of the country’s population was situated under the national poverty line in 2012

(United Nations, 2013), accounting for a total of over six million (6,156,240) (World Population

Review, 2017) Ghanaians living in poverty. As there is a demographic imbalance in the country, the

rural population was more heavily affected than its urban counterpart; 10,6% of people living in

urban communities was living under the poverty line in 2012, whereas in rural communities 37,9%

was living under those conditions (United Nations, 2013). Many Western-based actors have been

engaged in development aid projects in order to fight poverty in these regions.

In the field of development aid, many initiatives are undertaken in which poverty eradication is one

of the central themes (Stewart, 2013). Within this field, a variety of approaches exists through which

this aim is attempted to be accomplished. Providing aid assistance in the field of education is one of

the approaches commonly applied by practitioners to attain poverty eradication (through an increase

in individual productivity and employability (Tilak, 2002)), and in its extension the development of a

particular (target) region (UNESCO, 1999; Lotz-Sisitka & Lupele, 2017). In the past decade an

increasing trend in expenses on education-related aid by OECD members can be distinguished

towards developing countries (OECD, 2015). The education sectors which are mainly targeted by the

OECD members are primary education, secondary education, higher education, vocational training,

teacher training, imputed student costs, education policy & administrative management, education

facilities & training, advanced technical & managerial training and basic life skills for youth & adults

(OECD, 2015). In Ghana, especially the sectors of primary education, imputed student costs and

higher education receive attention from the OECD members, with primary education claiming 21.80

million US$ in 2014, accounting for 43,6% of the total support that year (OECD, 2015). Although the

amounts of financial aid are impressive, one should not blindly regard these financial flows as

inherently positive.

Although development assistance, by many people, is perceived as a positive practice, questionable

aspects can be identified when relating development (programmes) to neo-colonialist thinking,

which is concerned with ongoing relations between Western and non-Western actors. McEwan

(2008) discusses several ways in which such connections can be identified. She first discusses the

spatiality of development. According to her, development interventions are underpinned by the way

in which the South is perceived and represented in the North. The North, here, is perceived as the

centre of development, whereas the South is seen as the receiver, the peripheral area in which the

policies and ideas originating from the North are implemented (McEwan, 2008). She thereby states

that this creation of two separate entities (the central North and peripheral South) should be

challenged as they have always been interconnected and mutually constituted. Representations, or

imagined geographies (Said, 1978), are the second way through which neo-colonial thinking can be

related to development aid. Here, perceptions, again, play a significant role in the ways in which the

global South is depicted in the minds of development practitioners. Since these images are often

simplified and distorted due to a lack of first-hand experiences, they tend to ignore the diversity,

dynamism and complexity of countries and populations situated in these regions (McEwan, 2008).

2

Although the spatiality of development and imagined geographies are overlapping in the sense that

they are both directed towards a perceptual image of development regions, a distinction can be

made. The spatiality of development describes a geographical difference between the North and

South, whereas imagined geographies illustrate a generalisation of development regions as depicted

by actors in the North. Eurocentrism, or Western-centrism, is a third central element in development

according to McEwan. This way of thinking creates an imagined geography of the world in which

Europe and North America (the West) are perceived as the highest stages of global progress and

civilisation (McEwan, 2008). Once relating development processes in the global South to these

images of what ideal development contains, distorted perceptions on how and what to develop may

arise. Western-centrism, therefore, describes the different values that are allocated to the two

separated entities. A final example of how development and neo-colonialism are interlinked is

through the role of power (McEwan, 2008). Who are in charge of development projects and what are

their aims? Power in development aid implies that involved actors are potentially subjected to forms

of external power and influence and due to the existence of these forms may be lacking the ability to

act freely (Groves & Hinton, 2013). The latter strongly relates to the concepts of agency and

dependency, through which power and influence can be strongly exercised upon aid receivers.

Changes in their agency (and desired behaviour) can lead to perceived experiences of force among

these actors. Thereby, once external involvement accounts for a crucial factor in the development of

aid receivers, a dependency relation may occur between the donor- and receiving actors. With the

existence of a (dependency) relation between a Western donor and Southern recipients, indications

of neo-colonialism can be visible as dependency indicates an unevenly balanced (power) relationship

(Andrews & Okpanachi, 2012). As a result of local perceptions towards the existence of the

aforementioned features of neo-colonialism (Western-centrism, dependency and agency) in

development programmes, forms of resistance may appear among a targeted group of actors. In this

thesis, educational development aid, as part of the overarching field of development aid, is of

specific interest.

In Ghana (figure 1), inequalities between the North and the South are clearly visible in a range of

topics, education being one of them. Initiating discussions on the quality of education in the North

often results in comments on how education in this region contains significantly less quality than in

its Southern counterpart (pers. Interviews). In the early years of educational development the focus

of the Ghanaian government was on the Southern sectors, resulting in an education quality gap

which is currently still evident (Akyeampong et al., 2007). The determination for this focus was based

on population densities in different regions1. The three provinces in the Northern part of the country

(Northern-region, Upper East and Upper West) contained low population densities and therefore

received little focus in terms of education access improvement measures (Akyeampong et al., 2007).

Next to the issue of access, inequalities between the sectors are visible in topics as literacy rates,

junior high school (JHS) enrolment rates and the population percentage that never attend formal

education, although these are significantly worse in rural areas compared to urban ones, even within

the Northern provinces themselves (Akyeampong et al., 2007). Literacy rates in the Northern-region

(rural and urban combined) reveal rather low rates as formal sources indicate that in 2010 only

37.2% (Ghana Statistical Service, 2012) of the population in the Northern-region was considered to

1 Ghana is divided into ten regions: Western, Central, Greater Accra, Volta, Eastern, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo,

Northern, Upper East and Upper West. Source: geohive.com

3

be literate, whilst Mr. Alhassan2 indicates that the current (2016) literacy rate lies around 39%. Due

to the imbalances in Ghana, externally originating

(education-related) NGOs are mainly attracted to

the Northern parts of the country (Mohan, 2002;

Mwakideu, 2016).

Edukans, a Dutch organisation in the field of

development aid, is one of many organisations

involved in educational aid projects in Ghana. The

organisation, in cooperation with education

specialists of the University of Amsterdam (UvA)

initiated a development programme focussed on

the improvement of quality in Ghana’s basic

education, which consists of primary school (PS)

and JHS. The BEQIP was aiming for a shift in

teaching methodology (Edukans, 2013); from

2013 onwards, workshops were provided to a

selected group of actors in the Northern-region of

Ghana aiming at the effectuation of learner-

centred education (LCE) in classrooms.

LCE is an educational approach where students

form the centre of the education delivery practice.

This approach is opposing the more traditional way of teaching, since in this type of education the

teacher for the centre of the education practice. Where teacher-centred education (TCE) emphasizes

on the reproduction of knowledge delivered by the teacher (often in the form of definitions), LCE

focuses on the construction of knowledge by students through the interaction with their

surroundings (De Kock et al., 2004). The shift from passive- to more active ways of learning was

expected by Edukans to result in enhancement of learning outcomes and an increase in transition

rates from primary- to secondary school (Edukans, 2013).

In order to indicate the significance of this research in contemporary developments, the role of

education in the development field should be elaborated on. Clive Harber (2014) discusses the

importance of education by stating that education is a key social institution through which significant

and positive changes can be made in the way societies and individuals behave and develop. The

scope of the BEQIP can make one wonder what effects the result of the programme might have for

involved teachers and learners. In the case of failure, teachers could fall back on prior teaching

approaches, or ‘primitive education’ as one of the teacher respondents indicated the previous

teaching approach to be. The children are positioned in a vulnerable situation by being subjects to an

experimental design for ‘new ways’ of education and they could face disadvantages while continuing

their academic career. On the other hand, however, if the BEQIP appears to be an advantageous

programme stimulating both teachers and pupils to improve the educational practice in the

Northern-region, an improved educational sector in Ghana could be realised.

2 Mr. Alhassan; BEQIP facilitator, Employee at the Ghana Education Service (GES), interview 27.

Figure 1. Provinces of Ghana

4

As a key social institution, education is typically believed to be central to 1) the creation of a

‘modern’ nation state, 2) the development of ‘modern’ workers and families, and 3) a state’s modern

economic growth and international acceptance (Kendall, 2009). In addition, the Centre for Global

Development (CGD) identifies three similar functions of education in development. ‘Improving

health’ is the first role identified by the CGD. Education is perceived to prepare people to prevent

disease and to use health services more effectively. According to the CGD, (young) people who have

completed primary education are less than half as likely to contract HIV as those with little or no

schooling (Centre for Global Development, 2006). A second function identified by the CGD is an

increase in wages and economic growth. The positive relation between education and economic

growth is uncontroversial (Sjöström & Sjöström, 1982) as each additional year of schooling is

determined to increase wages with 10% in many poor countries, eventually contributing to economic

growth on a national level (Centre for Global Development, 2006). Finally, education is perceived to

contribute to democracy and political stability in the developing world, especially though the

familiarisation of people’s rights and the acquisition of the skills and knowledge necessary to exercise

these rights (Centre for Global Development, 2006).

Due to positive encounters with LCE in the Western world, the approach has been a recurrent theme

in education policies in the global South and has had donor support through different kinds of

development projects in this global region (Schweisfurth, 2011). However, issues, or barriers towards

the implementation of this approach in the developing world have been identified. In the practical

sense, issues may arise when the teacher’s capacity is limited, when teachers have not experienced

LCE themselves, when classroom resources are low and when the pupil-teacher ratios are high

(Schweisfurth, 2011). Edukans, drawing upon the literature of Pontefract and Hardman, identifies a

similar issue with LCE in the Northern-region since it states that teachers often tend to fall back to

the ways in which they were educated as a child (which in most cases in the TCE approach). Putting

the theory, learned during the BEQIP, into practice was therefore indicated to be one of several

issues (Edukans, 2013). According to Kendall (2009), a near-hegemonic, bureaucratic model of a

formal, Western-style of education defines and constitutes education for development in present

day development programmes. Especially the notion of the Western-style of education can be

debated; reflecting on the implementation of the BEQIP in the Northern-region could result in local

perceptions that the BEQIP is an attempt to reform education in this region to a Western image.

Thereby, the relation between involved (local, national and international) actors is a relevant topic in

the analysis of such implementations, as relations of dependency may be experienced by local actors.

Aiming for a shift in the behaviour and agency of a target group due to an intervention by Western

practitioners raises questions regarding features of neo-colonialism within the interaction as in these

relations the features of neo-colonialism might be locally experienced. In this thesis, this refers to the

degree to which the targeted actors experience features of neo-colonialism as a result of their

involvement the BEQIP.

By identifying perceptions associated with neo-colonialism among a variety of stakeholders in the

educational aid programme, this ethnographic research aspires to determine to what extent

associations of neo-colonialism are attached to the BEQIP in the Northern-region of Ghana. However,

solely reviewing features of neo-colonialism in this case is insufficient when pursuing to provide a

comprehensive discussion on its perceived impact on the community. A greater understanding of the

contents of the programme as well as the broader context in which the programme is implemented

is crucial for understanding the reasoning of involved actors. It is therefore that, next to an analysis

5

centred on neo-colonialism, a background chapter is provided on the BEQIP and its main theories as

LCE and active learning (a specific teaching methodology of the LCE approach).

This thesis is structured as follows; following this introduction, a background chapter is included in

which the specific context is discussed. Here, a brief understanding of the BEQIP and its main

pedagogical theories is included which can later be related to locally perceived features of neo-

colonialism. Thereby, the stakeholders are introduced which are considered to be relevant for the

acquisition of information in this research. Following the background chapter, a theoretical

framework is provided in which the neo-colonial theory and its four relevant features are explained.

Thereafter, the four features (Western-centrism, dependency, agency and resistance) are discussed

in separate chapters in which the findings during field work are presented. Finally, a general

discussion and conclusion are provided. In the discussion, the ways in which the features can be

perceived as interlinked as well as the place of this research in the global discussion on education aid

are stressed. In the conclusion, a comprehensive answer is provided on the main question, which is

framed below.

The relevance of this research lies in its contribution to existing literature in the domain of

educational development aid. More specifically, it provides an insight in how process of Western-

centrism, dependency, agency and resistance are experienced and expressed by receiving actors in

this domain. As a result, this research provides insights in possible underlying reasons for successes

or failures in the BEQIP, which can be assimilated with existing literature.

In order to acquire a clear image on the experiences of neo-colonial features in the Northern-region

as a result of the BEQIP, the main research question is framed as:

How do neo-colonial features of Western-centrism, dependency, agency and resistance show in the

perceptions and behaviour of local actors as a result of the implementation of the BEQIP in the

Northern-region of Ghana?

The sub questions, formulated to provide an encompassing answer on the main question are

formulated as:

How do these four neo-colonial features relate to the field of educational development aid?

To what extent is Western-centrism experienced in both the contents and implementation

process of the BEQIP?

Has the programme caused for relations of dependency perceived by involved actors?

How do local actors perceive the BEQIP to influence their agency?

What forms of resistance to the BEQIP can be identified among local actors?

How do the four neo-colonial features relate to each other and to the global context of

educational aid?

Relating the concepts of Western-centrism, dependency, agency and resistance to the general

context of educational development aid provides an understanding of how these features are

connected to education, and more particular to educational development. Subsequently discussing

the four features individually, then, allows this research to determine context-based examples in

which these features are perceived by local actors in the BEQIP. Finally, by discussing how the neo-

colonial features are interrelated and connected to the global context of education aid, an

6

understanding is provided on how these features occur in the contemporary field of and how this

type of aid is perceived at a global level. The methodology through which relevant data is gathered

during field work in order to provide answers on the aforementioned questions is presented in the

next paragraph.

Methodology In order to provide an encompassing answer on the main- and sub questions, a variety of methods

has been used to enhance data triangulation in this research. First, a literature study was performed

to include relevant theories and background information on the main topics of this thesis. This study

was facilitated by means of online databases as well as confidential reports of the involved

organisations. Both literature and video material were provided by the Edukans organisation in which

information was accessible on the set-up and aims of the BEQIP. Next to a literature (and video

material) study, (participant) observations have been performed both at participating primary- and

junior high schools in different communities of the Northern-region of Ghana. The observations were

conducted during the education practices of teachers in order to observe to what extent forms of

resistance to the BEQIP could be observed. Next to these observations, a 2-day BEQIP training was

attended in order to gain an understanding of how these trainings were provided and which training

activities were used. Finally, interviews with teachers at PS and JHS were conducted in order to

receive information about their individual perceptions on the BEQIP. The perceptions ranged from

topics of the contents and effects of the programme to the relation between the teachers and

facilitators. The latter topic has been included to identify possible perceptions towards relations of

dependency between the stakeholders as a result of the programme. Next to the BEQIP teachers,

interviews were conducted with teachers who had not been involved in the programme. These

respondents have been included as a control group. This population was believed to provide

information from a different point of view on the involvement of Western actors in educational

assistance, which could contribute to the overall picture on the BEQIP and educational development

programmes in this context. Apart from PS and JHS teachers, interviews were conducted with

programme facilitators of both IBIS Ghana, Savana Signatures (national organisations) and Edukans

(international organisation).

Method Amount

Observations: BEQIP workshop BEQIP teachers active in class Non-BEQIP teachers active in class Total

2

15 1

18

Interviews: BEQIP teachers Non-BEQIP teachers National organisations International organisations Total

15 9 3 2

29

Table 1. Methodology used during fieldwork.

7

These actors are considered as key-respondents as they possess in-depth information about the set-

up of the programme, the underlying ideologies and the general outcomes. The Interviews (Appendix

A) are used as means to find answers on specific elements of the main- and sub questions. By

interviewing both teachers and programme facilitators, a comprehensive view is provided on the

perceptions towards educational aid, and more specifically the BEQIP, from the perspectives of

various stakeholders. Table 1 depicts the methodologies applied during fieldwork.

Self-reflection As this research contains an ethnographic approach, the impact of the researcher on the outcomes

of interviews and observations should not be undermined. Access to the involved actors was

facilitated by IBIS Ghana in the Northern-region and in an indirect manner by the Edukans

organisation as well. Although it was clearly stressed to all respondents that this research was

conducted as an independent research, it is possible that (some of) the respondents still related the

researcher to the previously mentioned organisations. Thereby, being a white, Western researcher

introduced in the region by facilitating organisations of the programme could be considered as

sufficient motives for teachers to believe no (perceived) negative comments should be expressed

during interviews. Even though it is hard to estimate to what extent respondents indeed made this

connection, it should be taken into consideration that certain data is affected with results of

perceived socially desired answers. Social desirability, here, refers to “a tendency to respond to self-

report items in a manner that makes the respondent look good rather than to respond in an accurate

and truthful manner” (Holtgraves, 2004; p.161). Specifically, this entails that, for example, BEQIP

teachers indicate to have no negative connotations towards the programme or struggles with

implementing the programme in their classrooms, although in reality they might have. In Ghana,

respondents often provide answers they think the questioner is looking for (Akyeampong, 1997), and

therefore data triangulation in this research is of importance for achieving reliable data. The

observations of BEQIP teachers, therefore, also serve as reference materials to determine whether

the provided answers of teachers are reflected in their ways of teaching. Even though no hard

evidence can be provided once observations generate conflicting results as related to the interviews,

it is now possible to put the results in perspective.

Although the introduction to the respondents through the facilitating organisations could have

influenced the reliability of the data, it proved to be essential, as otherwise no access was granted to

the involved schools and contact information of involved teachers would have been hard to acquire.

The latter became explicitly clear in the stage of approaching non-BEQIP teachers, where

respondents were approached via contacts outside of IBIS Ghana. Although the schools were not

cooperating with this particular organisation, a letter of support was still requested, which was

carefully read by various head teachers. As the formal introduction was performed by acquaintances

of the head masters or teachers of the school itself, in combination with the letter of IBIS, it was

allowed to conduct interviews at the particular schools. Due to the importance of having the right

contacts, being associated with the involved organisations was a trade-off that had to be made in

order to be able to gain access to relevant actors.

8

Chapter 2 – Education and the BEQIP in the Northern-region of Ghana

In order to provide an understanding of the context in which this thesis is situated, this chapter offers

elaborative information on the BEQIP and stakeholders relevant for this thesis.

The Basic Education Quality Improvement Programme The Basic Education Quality Improvement Program (BEQIP) is one of many development

programmes implemented in a Southern education system. The BEQIP, a 3-year programme with a

bottom-up approach, was introduced in the Northern-region in 2013 and was centred on a LCE

approach, opposing the traditional teacher-centred approach which is often related to the Ghanaian

education system (Chisholm & Leyendecker, 2008; Edukans, 2013). The active involvement of

students was perceived by Edukans to account for improvements in the quality of education in the

region and, as a result of these improvements, higher percentages of students successfully passing

JHS. Before elaborating on the programme itself, first a brief discussion on the term ‘education’ is

provided. Thereby, the reoccurring concepts of LCE, active learning and quality education are

discussed.

What is education?

When analysing a development programme directed towards education, it is of importance to assure

a clear understanding about the theoretical context in which the programme is implemented. As

education entails a manifold of definitions and understandings a first objective is to define what is

understood as education and to indicate the specific type of education relevant for this research.

Education, here, refers to a hierarchically structured, chronologically sorted system in which learners

are educated and running from PS to higher education institutes (Gathumbi et al., 2015). Thereby,

the requirements of education are increasingly expressed in (national) curricula and tests which have

to be successfully completed before being able to continue with a successive form of education.

Since teaching is (one of) the major way(s) in which education is performed, defining what exactly is

understood as teaching is important for clarifying the line of thought of this research. Teaching, here,

is understood as an intense and complex activity, in which teachers attempt to achieve desirable

outcomes within specific contexts (Akyeampong et al., 2006). Contextual variability in teaching

practices, according to Akyeampong et al. (2006), is stressed to be highly important since effective

teaching is dependent on a couple of variables, as for instance students’ socio-economic and

psychological characteristics, grade levels and subject areas. The importance of contextuality, not

only in teaching, but also in education (aid) is stressed by Lauzon (2016), who states that how and

why particular educational strategies work in specific programmes not necessarily cause for

equivalent results in other contexts.

The learner-centred education approach

Two major distinctive approaches to education are identified by Kember (1997), who identifies the

teacher-centred / content orientated approach on the one hand, and on the other the learner-

centred/ learning orientated approach. Although these approaches are presented as two separate

teaching styles, reality shows that a mixture of both styles is often implemented during lesson

delivery. Lea et al. (2003) identify seven main characteristics on which a definition of LCE should be

based. First, education is reliant on active, rather than passive, learning strategies. This entails

strategies through which students are more involved during the education practice than solely

9

listening to a lecturing teacher. A second characteristic is the emphasis on deep learning, and even

more understanding of content. Deep learning, according to Chin and Brown (2000) relates to a

student’s intrinsic motivation and his/her interest in the contents of tasks. Thereby, it focuses on

understanding the meanings of learning materials and the attempts to relate different concepts to

each other (Chin & Brown, 2000). Reproducing knowledge is perceived to be a result of passive

learning, in which ‘gained knowledge’ is often echoed, rather than fully understood by students.

Thirdly, in the LCE approach, there is increased responsibility and accountability on the part of the

student, meaning that the involvement of the student is for a major part reliant on the willingness of

the student to be actively involved during the lesson delivery. The latter introduces the fourth

characteristic, which is framed as developing responsible and autonomous learners. The fifth and

sixth characteristics are slightly overlapping, since these describe the interdependence between

teacher and learner, and mutual respect within the teacher-pupil relationship. Teachers might be

restrained towards the implementation of the LCE approach, as the control (in terms of power or

force) they have over the (students in the) classroom might decrease, as compared to the LCE

approach. The last characteristic identified by Lea et al (2003) is the reflexive approach to the

teaching and learning process of both the teacher and the learner. Reflexivity can be used to

evaluate what was learned, whether predetermined objectives have been completed and whether

the teaching approach was beneficial (Lea et al., 2003).

Active learning

Active learning is the form of learning which is applied to implement the LCE approach in classrooms.

This concepts is defined as “anything that involves students in doing things and thinking about the

things they are doing” (Bonwell & Eison, 1991; p.19). This definition is based on a set of

characteristics with which active learning is generally associated. These characteristics are (1)

students are involved in more learning activities than listening, (2) less emphasis is placed on the

transmission of information and more on the development of students’ skills, (3) students are

engaged in activities as reading, writing and discussing, (4) students are involved in higher-order

thinking (analysis, synthesis and evaluation) rather than lower-order thinking (remembering,

understanding and applying), and (5) a greater emphasis is placed on students’ exploration of their

personal attitudes and values (Bonwell & Eison, 1991). An opposite methodology to active learning is

the passive learning approach. Passive learning, according to Ryan and Martens (1989), takes places

when students are in the role of receptacles of knowledge, which occurs when students do not

actively participate in the learning process. The active learning approach is based on a constructivist

perspective, which indicates that the main goals in the education context are reasoning, problem-

solving and critical-thinking skills; the active and reflective use of knowledge (Edukans, 2013). In this

perspective, the most important learning goal and educational objective is the learning process of

students itself (De Kock et al., 2004).

Quality education

As the improvement of quality education is the main aim of the BEQIP, the term ‘quality education’

should be clarified. UNICEF (2000) provides pieces of a uniform definition of quality education by

stating that it consists of 1) learners that are healthy; well-nourished, ready to participate to learn

and supported in learning by family members, 2) supportive environments, which are healthy, safe

and gender-protective as well as providing adequate resources and facilities, 3) relevant curricula and

materials for the acquisition of basic skills and knowledge, 4) processes in which teaching actors

perform learner-centred teaching approaches in well-managed classrooms and school, and 5)

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outcomes that comprise skills, knowledge and attitudes, and are linked to national goals for

education as well as participation in society (UNICEF, 2000). Although this approach extensively

describes the notion of quality education, a clear cut, universally accepted definition of this term is

non-existent (Tikly, 2010; Lotz-Sisitka & Lupele, 2017).

Although quality education has inconsistent definitions, it is widely agreed upon that the relevance of

education is one of the core requirements for classifying education as qualitative. Where UNICEF

indicates the relevance of the curriculum and materials for acquiring basic skills and knowledge,

Tikley (2010) extends this notion with relevance related to the learning outcomes. In his view, the

learning outcomes should contribute to the well-being of students and to the sustainability of their

livelihoods (Tikly, 2010). Lotz-Sisitka and Lupele (2017) elaborate on this understanding by stating

that, for quality education to be relevant, it should contribute to socio-economic development as

well as other development goals, such as equality, controlling pandemics (as HIV/AIDS), social justice

and democracy.

Implementation of the BEQIP in the Northern-region of Ghana

The intervention programme focussed on educating teachers and teacher-trainers, on how to

introduce and implement active learning methods in the classroom. During (complimentary)

workshops, the components of the BEQIP were introduced and practiced by facilitators and

participating teachers in an education friendly environment. The introduced components of the

BEQIP were 1) concept building, 2) variety of learning activities & learning styles, 3) use of textbooks,

4) use of education material, 5) classroom management, 6) (student) encouragement and 7) time on

task (Edukans, 2013). Concept building entails the introduction of new concepts in the classroom.

The teachers are encouraged to provide real-life connections for the students to make it easier for

the students to understand newly introduced concepts. A variety of learning activities & learning

styles reflects upon the introduction of active learning, as alternative to the traditional way of

teaching. Akyeampong and Stephens (2002), in their research on the backgrounds of student

teachers, however encountered a strong support for the TCE approach as 86% of the student

teachers surveyed during their research indicated that the teaching of facts is the most important

task a teacher has. This belief is based on the tradition of knowledge transmission in Ghana

(Akyeampong & Stephens, 2002), in which the focus is centred on the transmission of abstract

knowledge from teacher to pupil (Tabulawa, 1997). The transfer of abstract knowledge is related to

‘half-learning’ (Lotz-Sisitka & Lupele, 2017), through which children are able to answer questions on

specific contents, although they do not fully understand what they are being asked, often because

these concepts have little connections with their daily lives and personal experiences (Lotz-Sisitka &

Lupele, 2017). In Ghana, such approaches are still commonly used in classrooms (Lotz-Sisitka &

Lupele, 2017). Edukans, however, aimed for a change in these teaching practices. The use of

textbooks relates to the most effective use of the available text books, whereas classroom

management is related to the regulation of (often crowded) classrooms which can be facilitated

through group work. Since active learning advocates for active participation of students, group work

is encouraged in order for all students to be able to be actively involved during lessons.

Encouragement is directed towards assessing student assignments in order to encourage students to

put effort in their school work. Time on task, finally, is directed towards keeping track of the time a

student is actively involved with a task (Edukans, 2013).

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In the BEQIP, knowledge construction is strongly related to the active involvement of learners in the

lesson delivery. According to Edukans (2013), many educators agree that the active participation of

learners is a better form of learning as compared to lecturing methods in which students solely

attend lessons by listening to the teacher (TCE). This theory is based on Dale’s ‘Cone of Experience’,

which provides a (simplistic) visualisation of how learners construct knowledge. According to this

cone, learners generally remember 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they

see, 50% of what they hear and see, 70% of what they say and write and 90% of what they do (Dale,

1969). Implementing practices of group work, discussions and drawing are specific examples of how

Edukans seeks to implement active learning methods in the classroom through the organisation of

the BEQIP. These examples all testify of the conviction that knowledge is constructed through the

actions of learners.

As the BEQIP was implemented to improve the performances of local teachers, the approach of the

programme can be problematized since one could wonder to what extent the local teachers are

willing to adjust their ways of teaching (a practice that by some individuals has been performed for

decades) because of the presence of an external, Western organisation. Not only the origin of the

particular organisation might form an obstacle for participants; the focal points of its facilitators and

the nature of the relation between these facilitators and the participating teachers might also cause

for reasons for participants not to attend the trainings and/or adopt the programme’s approach. It is

therefore of importance for this research to reveal the perceptions towards the improvement of the

quality of education from various stakeholders as well as the process through which this

improvement is attempted to be realised in the Northern-region. An important part of the

programme is its focus on the improvement of the quality of education by improving the quality of

teaching. Salifu and Agbenyega (2013) define quality teaching as “the use of disciplinary knowledge

with positive relationships with students in the classroom that lead to desirable learning outcomes”

(Salifu & Agbenyega, 2013; p.1). The positive relationship with students is reflected in the sense that

LCE discourages the exercise of (negative ways of) force, as for example physical punishments.

Desirable learning outcomes, in the BEQIP, are framed as outcomes that are locally relevant and

beneficial for learners. The use of disciplinary knowledge is not emphasized in the intervention

programme, as the focus is on the manner in which knowledge is transferred in the first place.

A main challenge identified by Edukans for introducing the LCE approach in the classroom is changing

the teacher practice; although the teacher training workshops advocated the implementation of the

LCE approach, they may be unlikely to be practiced or are not well understood, resulting in the

teachers educating their students in the same manner in which they were educated themselves

(Pontefract & Hardman, 2005). Nespor (1987) thereby points out that teachers’ classroom practices

have roots in their own schooling experiences. Particularly the interactions with their former

teachers result in values, perceptions and expectations of how teaching should be performed.

Putting theory into practice, therefore, forms the main challenge related to the quality improvement

of the BEQIP (Edukans, 2013).

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Stakeholder analysis Concerning the BEQIP, stakeholders for the acquisition of relevant data are identified on three

distinctive levels; the (international) donor organisation Edukans, the cooperating (national)

organisations IBIS Ghana and Savana Signatures, and targeted (local) basic education teachers. These

stakeholders were engaged in the programme and are therefore regarded to possess the relevant

information to analyse the BEQIP in a critical and reliable manner. This paragraph briefly introduces

these stakeholders.

Edukans

Edukans is a Dutch organisation and is involved in educational development programmes in order to

realise the development of school-going children in developing countries, as for instance Malawi,

Ethiopia and Rwanda and India (Edukans). It is Edukans’ vision to create a world in which every child

has the possibility to develop and become an adult with capacities to determine its own future

(Edukans). During the BEQIP, Edukans coopered with education specialists of the University of

Amsterdam, amongst them R. Sieswerda, founder of the Basic Education Quality Improvement

Programme. Edukans initiated the desired development of education in the Northern-region by

focussing on specific education methodologies. During the programme, Edukans sought to initiate a

shift in the education practice of local teachers, TTCs and circuit supervisors (government officials

responsible for the evaluation of teachers and used methodologies in education). It also financially

supported the programme and can therefore be recognized as the donor organisation. Around

300.000 Euros were invested in the three-year programme (Edukans, 2013). As donor organisation,

Edukans and its collaborators are likely to have control over the implementation process, as well as

over the contents of the programme. Next to Mrs. Sieswerda, Mr. Kruiswijk was approached as key

respondent as was a facilitator during the 3-year programme.

IBIS Ghana & Savana Signatures

On a national level, IBIS Ghana and Savana Signatures, both collaborating (Ghanaian) organisations of

Edukans, are identified. IBIS Ghana is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation (NGO) originating

from Denmark, although in Ghana currently directed by the country’s headquarters in Accra. In

Ghana, IBIS “is committed to support its partners to scale up advocacy for specific and measurable

change through development of organisational and thematic competencies” (IBIS, ; p.2). It is IBIS’

vision to create a world in which all people have equal access to quality education, influence and

resources (IBIS). IBIS is considered to be the most influential partner organisation of Edukans during

the BEQIP, as this organisation invited Edukans to implement the BEQIP in the Northern-region, and

therefore has been assigned to be responsible for the continuity of the programme in the area.

During fieldwork, Mr. Johnson was considered to be a key respondent from the IBIS organisation as

he was the leading facilitator from IBIS Ghana.

Savana Signatures is a Ghanaian organisation and, like IBIS Ghana, operational in the education

development field. Especially providing materials for ICT lessons and improving conditions for girls in

schools are focal points of this organisation (Savana Signatures). Both IBIS Ghana and Savana

Signatures have been gradually commissioned with carrying the responsibility of the BEQIP. These

organisations, in cooperation with Edukans, have implemented the educational development project

in TTC’s and provided teacher trainings in government buildings. During the teacher trainings,

facilitators of Edukans, IBIS Ghana and Savana Signatures provided workshops on how to use the

implemented methodology, as well as to evaluate the developments of involved teachers.

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Representing Savana Signatures, Mr. Alomey was considered to be a key respondent as he was the

facilitating representative of this organisation.

Basic education teachers

At the local level, teachers of both PS and JHS were the main focus of the BEQIP. These actors form

the most important stakeholders of this research since the programme is directed towards changing

their daily education practice. Whereas Edukans, IBIS Ghana and Savana Signatures have been

facilitating and determining the majority of the programme, the teachers were submissive to most of

its parts. It is, however, presented as a voluntary submissiveness, as (most of) the teachers are free in

participating in the programme. Through their (voluntary) participation, the teachers were

introduced to a different approach to teaching. During fieldwork, participating teachers of eight of

the participating schools were part of the research. Additionally to the teachers, Mr. Alhassan was

approached as he was a facilitating representative of the Ghana Education Service (GES).

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Theoretical framework

In order to provide a clear discussion on the implementation of the BEQIP within a sociological

perspective, the concept of neo-colonialism is adopted to create an analytical frame for this research.

In this chapter, the notion of neo-colonialism is clarified and the decision for including this concept

rather than related concepts is explained. Next to the overall theory of neo-colonialism, the features

of Western-centrism, dependency, agency and resistance are elaborated on as these have been

selected as four central neo-colonial features within the implementation of the intervention

programme. Although negative connotations are often linked to neo-colonialism, this theory and its

features are not regarded as inherently negative in this thesis. Western-centrism agency and

resistance possibly include topics that are positively received by local actors (through

empowerment), while simultaneously contributing to a neo-colonialist experience. In the general

discussion, provided at the end of the thesis, an extensive explanation is provided on how these

processes are interlinked, neo-colonial features.

Neo-colonialism In the aftermath of colonial times, a manifold of interlinked, although (slightly) different concepts

made their entrance in the field of sociology, neo-colonialism being one of these concepts. It was

Kwame Nkrumah (1966), first president of the liberated Republic of Ghana, to introduce the term of

neo-colonialism. He identified this stage of colonisation as the final and most dangerous form of

imperialism, since this type of colonialism meant power without responsibility for the practitioners

and exploitation without redress for the sufferers (Nkrumah, 1966). Neo-colonialism consists of

(politically) independent people of a developing region who are continuously bound to a Western

society though in some occasions voluntary relations and in others through necessity (Thomas &

Postlethwaite, 1984). The concept describes a situation in which formerly colonized countries,

although geographically and politically independent, continue to be culturally and economically

dependent on their former colonizers. The colonial system of domination continues as these former

colonizers endure to economically, culturally, financially, militarily and ideologically dominate these

regions (Wickens & Sandlin, 2007).

Neo-colonialism, rather than related theoretical concepts, forms the central focus of this research. In

order to create an understanding of why this concept is preferred over others, a brief discussion

about neo-colonialism and the theory of post-colonialism is provided. Main difference between the

neo-colonialism and post-colonialism is that the latter is concerned with the aftermath of an

encounter during colonial times, whilst the former is concerned with continuing encounters, even

after official independence of the formerly colonized country. Post-colonialism, here, is a concept

focusing on relations originating from colonial times, whereas neo-colonialism is open for identifying

new types of, or new colonial-like relations which do not necessarily originate from the colonial era.

One example for this statement, related to education, is the focus on a teacher-centred pedagogy

within the post-colonialist theory, which was the main type of pedagogy in Western societies during

colonial times. In contemporary times, however, this type of pedagogy is no longer the dominant

teaching methodology in the West and therefore focusing on this methodology in educational

development refers to the traditional relation between colonizers and colonized in the colonial area

rather than to contemporary forms of colonization. This also entails new types of relations as for

example between countries (or communities) and NGOs.

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Relating neo-colonialism to educational development results in a discussion on how Western actors

in the development field are applying a Western episteme for development. According to Nguyen et

al. (2009), educational neo-colonialism is shown in the ways in which Western paradigms tend to

shape and influence educational systems and the way of thinking in non-Western regions.

Problematizing dominant Western conceptions of quality education remains important in order to

provide space for alternative conceptions to emerge (Tikly, 2010), which may prove to be better

functioning in local contexts. A key question related to neo-colonialism in this research, therefore, is

whether local actors perceive the BEQIP to be hampering the possibilities of the local population to

develop education in a contextual and socio-cultural relevant way.

As neo-colonialism entails a broad range of concepts, four main features are identified through which

the case study of the BEQIP is analysed. As discussed in the introduction Western-centrism,

dependency, agency and resistance are highlighted as relevant neo-colonial features.

Western-centrism

Western-centrism refers to the practice of looking at the world from a Western perspective with a

perception (which can be constructed consciously or subconsciously) of superior Western culture,

knowledge and values at the expense of non-Westerns (Mgonja & Makombe, 2009). Thereby, It

implies a neglect of (geographical) diversity and the imposition of one ethnic group and its standards

over others (Andrews & Okpanachi, 2012). This concept can be related to neo-colonialism in

educational development aid since the perceived superiority of Western culture (whether conscious

or unconscious) is embedded in the ideology of aid programmes in this field, which can be reflected

in their pedagogical focus. Thereby, Western-centrism is perceived to have a colonializing character

as “it legitimizes Western cultural domination by indoctrinating non-Western societies into accepting

the superiority and universality of Western civilization” (In, 2006; p.119). Through those processes of

indoctrination and domination, according to In (2006), non-Western people have internalized that

same perception of Western superiority in worldviews, values and practices. Due to the perception

of Western superiority, non-Western communities are driven to processes of self-marginalization

and self-negation and are therefore not able to construct independent worldviews (In, 2006).

The LCE approach, which is included in educational aid programmes is considered to reflect norms of

a liberal Western subculture (Guthrie, 1990). Furthermore no causal relation was detected between

the implementation of learner centred teaching methodologies and an increase in the quality of

education in development countries (Guthrie, 1980). The specific liberal, Western, norms considered

by Guthrie (1990) are affective, moral and ideological values about a desirable psycho-sociological

set of characteristics for individuals and society as a whole. Simply phrased, Guthrie believed that the

implementation of LCE in the global South was mainly directed towards the spread of the Western

ideology about what society should look like. Although Guthrie does not elaborate on this idea, it

forms an interesting starting point in the discussion on how LCE, and in a broader context

educational development aid, can be perceived as a Westernisation process.

Implications with the implementation of LCE are discussed by O’Neill and McMahon (2005), to be the

resources needed to implement the learner centred methodology, a lack of the familiarity with the

term and the belief systems of the students and the education staff. Not only unfamiliarity with the

term can be considered an implication as confusion about terms used can also arise due to the use of

Western concepts. In the section on specific neo-colonial features in the BEQIP (page 21), the

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implication of the latter is elaborated on. As a specific example, Western-centrism occurs in

educational development aid in the form of textbook use (Anwaruddin, 2014), but next to this rather

clear form of Western influence in education aid, more subtle forms of Western-centrism can be

identified as the use of technical advisors on matters of education policies and a continuity of foreign

(often colonial-time) administrative models and curriculum implementation strategies in schools

(Altbach, 1995). Next to curriculum implementation strategies, the relevance of curricula in

education aid can be strongly Western influenced (Metzler, 2009). In these ways, the Western-

centrist approach towards education development limits the capacity of a country located in the

global South to develop (or implement) its own educational policies and priorities (Anwaruddin,

2014).

Dependency

Dependency entails a wide range of insights and therefore the particular type(s) of dependency

relevant to this thesis should be clarified in order for this concept to be of use for this research. A

first relevant type of dependency is identified as academic dependency. Academic dependency is

defined as “a condition in which the knowledge production of certain … communities is

conditioned by the development and growth of knowledge of other … communities to which the

former is subjected” (Alatas, 2014; p.285). According to Alatas (2014), relations of academic

dependency are constructed when one (developing) community can only develop as a reflection on

the development of another (academic powerful) community. Andrews and Okpanachi (2012) add

that academic dependency is founded in unequal (power) relations and therefore refers to unequal

structures in which knowledge is constructed and circulating in the global system. This rather

abstract explanation of academic dependency can be clarified with a concrete example as academic

dependency can occur when educational development programmes tend to develop communities

through academic approaches originating from ‘their’ developed world. In this sense, the developing

community can only develop by implementing similar pedagogical approaches as used in their

developed counterparts. Andrews and Okpanachi (2012) review this process as epistemic oppression

which, according to them, results in academic dependency in the sense that the individual’s inability

to make knowledge claims leads to the dependency on already established knowledge.

Next to academic dependency, aid dependency is recognized as a relevant form of dependency in

this thesis. Aid dependency, as defined by Bräutigam and Knack (2004), is a situation in which a

government is not able to perform core functions such as the delivery of basic public services,

without foreign aid funding and foreign expertise. A challenge regarding aid dependency, specifically

in the Ghanaian education context is identified by Akyeampong (2004) in terms of sustainability. He

refers specifically to alternative routes of basic education which are often introduced by NGOs or

other donor funds, which are often short-term initiatives and do not connect well to the formal

education system (Devarajan & Reinikka, 2003). Thereby, schools engaged in such initiatives are

often unable to engage in productive collaborations with local authorities regarding the acquisition

of financial means in order for the continuation of the initiative (Akyeampong, 2004). Next to short-

term initiatives, relations of dependency occur in the field of educational development aid when aid-

receivers apply for economic aid (loans). In these occasions, development countries are required to

make concessions with their donors and take action as opted by, or favourable to the interests of the

aid agencies although these actions may be potentially harmful to their own educational

development (Nguyen et al., 2009).

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Kendall (2009) identifies issues regarding the vocabulary and concepts used in the international

development arena as they represent, reflect or even (re)create underlying tensions of authority and

power. If the development practitioners indeed make use of such concepts, their authoritarian

behaviour could result in a dependency relation as they possess the knowledge and power to

determine the contents of development programmes whilst the receivers are subjected to it. It is

therefore, that Rottenburg et al. (2009) state that for an intervention to lead to sustained

development rather than sustained dependency, the receiving actors should contribute to the

intervention process.

Relations of dependency can be applied to the concept of neo-colonialism, as through such relations

strong influence can be exercised upon receiving communities. These influences, then, can be based

on economic, cultural, financial, military or ideological values. As the BEQIP is precisely the type of

(short-term) intervention described by Akyeampong (2004), the concept of (aid) dependency can be

related to the development programme. Thereby, as the BEQIP is a Western-based intervention

programme focussed on educational reform, academic dependency is applicable to this case.

Agency

Agency, according to Giddens (1984):

Refers not to the intentions people have in doing things but to their capability of doing those

things in the first place … Agency concerns events of which an individual is the perpetrator, in

the sense that the individual could, at any phase in a given sequence of conduct, have acted

differently. Whatever happened would not have happened if that individual had not

intervened (p. 9).

Stecklov et al. (2008) elaborate on this definition by conceptualizing agency as the ability of an

individual to act independently and to bring about change. By conceptualizing agency in this way,

they go one step beyond Giddens’ definition as they grant more focus towards the functional (agency

can be used to bring about change) rather than to the descriptive aspect (agency describes the

capabilities of people) of agency. In education, this concept is strongly related to the notion of self-

agency, which refers to a sense of ownership and autonomy people have towards their education

(Kusano et al., 2016). Agency in this thesis is considered to be the capability and power of local

teachers to apply, or not to apply the LCE approach (and more practically active learning techniques)

in their classrooms. The focus on local teachers, here, is based on the target group of the BEQIP and

one of the stakeholders of this research, namely the basic education teachers in the Northern-region

of Ghana. The power of these teachers is included as this strongly relates to the autonomy teachers

perceive to have in their classrooms. The decision whether to adopt the LCE approach or not

resonates with the ability of the teachers to bring about change in their daily lives and is strongly

related to the autonomy teachers experience in their schools. It is not this thesis’ intention to state

that increased abilities or a higher sense of autonomy inevitably results in a higher amount of

teachers adopting the LCE approach. These two outcomes, however, can contribute to the decision

making of teachers whether LCE is beneficial for their education or not.

Lasky (2005), in her article on teacher- identity and agency, stresses the necessity of examining

individual action in a way in which priority is granted to social contexts and cultural tools which

shape the construction of human beliefs, values and ways of acting. Individual beliefs and the ways in

which individuals think and act, she continues, are shaped by social, cultural, and historical

18

structures, which are reflected (specifically in an educational reform context) in policy mandates,

curricula guidelines and state standards (Lasky, 2005). Next to a function in the sustainability of

teaching and learning activities, educational reform is perceived by Lasky as a mediating system that

affects teacher identity, while also creating the conditions for teachers in schools to perform their

educational practice. “Agency is thus affected by reform in part as it comes into interaction with

teacher identity” (Lasky, 2005; p.900). Although teachers are active agents in the reform process,

their actions are influenced by the structural elements of their education setting in terms of available

resources, norms & values of their schools and externally mandated policies (Lasky, 2005).

Since Nguyen et al. (2009) consider educational neo-colonialism to show in the ways in which

Western paradigms tend to influence the ways of thinking in non-Western regions, agency, in this

thesis, is considered to be a feature of neo-colonialism as the intervention of the BEQIP consists of an

ideological shift in the education practice. Within Western paradigms of aid programmes, a focus on

agency is visible once such programmes consist of capability trainings, which tend to focus on the

introduction of capabilities that are deemed essential for a lesson delivery. The ideology behind what

is considered as essential can differ between contexts and therefore the local recognition of how

relevant the included capabilities in externally initiated intervention programmes are plays a

significant role in the determination of how an influence on agency is perceived from a local

perspective (source). Once particular capabilities are locally deemed as irrelevant, however included

in aid programmes, a sense of submission may be experienced among affected actors. The ways in

which submission to ideological reform is experienced by local actors, through a perceived supply of

irrelevant capabilities, forms the specific topic through which agency and neo-colonialism are

connected in this thesis. In educational development programmes, a change in agency is occasionally

the focus of interventions in which such programmes set rules and guidelines for the receivers to

follow in order to achieve this change. Agency, related to the BEQIP focuses on the ways in which

the BEQIP accounts for a perceived change in the capability of participating teachers to implement

teaching methodologies of their choice in their classrooms as well as the power to make their own

decisions while external actors are providing new knowledge and practices. Focusing on the

capability of teachers is of importance, especially related to the implementation of LCE in the

development context, as teacher capability is often the limitation to the successes of such

implementations (Schweisfurth, 2011).

Resistance

Resistance, as a rather general term, entails differing understandings based on the context in which it

is applied. Hollander and Einwohner (2004) identify two core elements of which the use of the term

resistance in most literature exists, which are the elements of action and opposition (Hollander &

Einwohner, 2004). According to Hollander and Einwohner, action indicates that resistance not only is

a quality or a state of being of an actor, but it involves forms of active behaviour, which can be

expressed verbally, physically or cognitively. Opposition indicates that this active behaviour is

directed to something or someone based on disagreement. Placing the concept in a sociological

framework, this research defines resistance as acts or patterns of action within ongoing processes of

negotiation between different agents of resistance, between agents of resistance and agents of

power, and between those two parties and different observers (Johansson & Vinthagen, 2016).

According to Johansson and Vinthagen, researchers who tend to contribute to the creation of truths

about resistance with the use of scientific discourses can be perceived as such observers. Resistance,

in this perspective is not inherently negative as it is perceived as a process of negotiation rather than

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a destructive act. Placing the concept of resistance in a pedagogical framework, the definition of

Kindred (1999) is used:

As a form of acute attention, resistance, despite the negative style of its expression, is a

purposive entry into a dialogic and potentially exploratory process. Although it is an act of

self-preservation in the least, it can also be a move toward empowerment. Most important,

though, it is a developmental act within a process of cognitive and cultural change. Although

resistance is most often considered sign of disengagement, it can in fact be a form, as well as

a signal, of intense involvement and learning. In the simultaneity of negation and expression,

it is an active dialogue between the contested past and the unwritten future, between

practice and possibility (p. 218).

In this definition, a few aspects should be highlighted as they are of particular relevance for this

research. The perception of resistance as an exploratory process is relevant as the individual, in this

case, shows an understanding of the contemporary process as not being definitive as room for

(potential) development is recognized by the individual. This, then, can be related to Kindred’s

comment on resistance as a possible move towards empowerment. The recognition of cognitive and

cultural change is of relevance as change, in this research, is perceived as a potential initiator for

resistance. In development programmes, and in particular the BEQIP, forms of resistance are

perceived to provide visible results of disagreement between aid practitioners and receivers, which

(possibly) testifies of a neo-colonial perception towards the aid programme from a local perspective.

Resistance in aid, however, rarely takes the form of an overtly collective action, even if the receivers

possess the power to do so (Crewe & Harrison, 1998). It is often exercised in hidden or non-

articulated forms of resistance as for instance by creating space for manoeuvre between the policies

and rules determined by the donor (Baaz, 2005). It is therefore of importance to look into subtle

forms of resistance in development programmes rather than to only looking at large collective

demonstrations. Resistance, according to Nguyen et al. (2009), is essential for non-Western cultures

in order to not become re-colonized by Western actors. In the analysis on the BEQIP, sings of

resistance towards the programme are perceived as negative as forms of resistance indicate that

receiving actors are in disagreement with the ways in which the programme (or moreover its

facilitators) attempts to establish quality education in their region. Here, the resistance of actors

themselves (the action) is not perceived as negative, but rather the particular aspects of the

programme which are the cause of their resistance. Resistance has a strong relation with the

previously discussed concepts of neo-colonialism (Western-centrism, dependency and agency) as

these are all possible causes for resistance to occur.

Connecting neo-colonialism and its features Neo-colonialism, in this thesis, is described as a continuous relation between developing regions and

Western societies (Thomas & Postlethwaite, 1984). Within this continuous relation, forms of

dependency can occur as the development of aid receivers is often reliant on this relation. Both

forms of academic- and aid dependency can originate from these interactions. Within these

continuous relations, Wickens and Sandlin (2007) identify various forms of domination to emerge.

Through this domination, forms of Western-centrism can be exercised by Western practitioners. In

such practices, the Western ideologies on (in the case of the BEQIP) education are reflected in

intervention programmes to which aid receivers can be subjected. Although aid receivers are active

agents, they can be subjected as a result of dependency, as previously discussed. In these occasions

20

Western-centred ideologies are often easier accepted by recipients due to their dependency on aid.

In the field of education aid, neo-colonialism is manifested in the implementations of Western

paradigms which tend to influence educational systems (Nguyen et al., 2009). As teacher’s

capabilities are strongly related to the educational systems in which they are active, agency can be

related to the spread of Western paradigms in educational aid. The Western paradigm, then, can

result in changes in teachers’ agency, depending on the ideology’s compatibility within the local

education context as well as on the willingness of local teachers to adopt the Western ideology in

their teaching methods.

As a result of these three features of neo-colonialism, resistance among recipients can arise.

Resistance, in this thesis regarded as an exploratory process through which actors can attempt to

empower themselves and as a developmental act within a process of cognitive and cultural change

(Kindred, 1999), is identified in various ways as responses to the neo-colonial features. Forms of

resistance were examined mainly through interviews with facilitating actors and personal

observations, rather than through interviews with local teachers. Reason for this approach is the

limited amount of data that was provided in most interviews with the local teachers. Possible

explanations for the minimal verbal expression of resistance among the teachers can be related to

the hidden or non-articulated forms in which resistance is often expressed (Baaz, 2005) and

therefore not identified by teachers as a form of resistance. Yet another argument, as discussed by

Akyeampong (1997) in his research on Ghanaian teacher trainings, is that teachers in Ghana often

provide answers they think the questioner is looking for. Therefore, it is possible that respondent

teachers in this research (intentionally) withheld comments related to resistance as they assumed

such comments were not desired by the researcher.

21

Chapter 4 – Perceptions towards Western-centrism in the BEQIP

The BEQIP, centred on the improvement of the quality of education in Northern Ghana, in the

following chapters is analysed not by its result, but by the perceptions of (local) participants about its

contents and implementation process. The determination of how neo-colonial features are visible in

the programme is derived from the analysis on its contents and implementation process as perceived

by the local actors, and as those features can occur in very subtle forms, personally observed

features during fieldwork are added.

The aim of this chapter is to provide an answer on the question to what extent is Western-centrism

experienced by local teachers in the Northern-region regarding both the contents and

implementation process of the BEQIP. In the theoretical framework Western-centrism was defined as

the practice of looking at the world from a Western perspective with a perception of superior

Western culture, knowledge and values at the expense of non-Westerns (Mgonja & Makombe,

2009). Thereby, Western-centrism is regarded to imply a neglect of (geographical) diversity and an

imposition of one ethnic group and its standards over others (Andrews & Okpanachi, 2012). In order

to apply this theoretical explanation to the BEQIP, the degree to which the programme was

perceived by the Ghanaian actors to present Western culture, values and knowledge as dominant is

discussed in this chapter. First, however, implications regarding the inclusion of Western-centrism in

aid programmes are discussed since these implications are probable causes for local actors to

experience Western-centred approaches in aid programmes.

(Possible) implications of Western-centrism in aid Main implications regarding the implementation of specifically LCE in non-Western contexts,

according to O’Neill and McMahon (2005) are the resources needed, a lack of familiarity with the

term and the belief systems of the students and the education staff. Thereby, Metzler (2009) stresses

the relevance of curricula included in educational intervention programme often to be an implication

as well as these not always focus on the contextuality of education. Thereby criticism has been raised

about the inclusion of LCE in aid programmes.

The particular pedagogy, according to Tabaluwa (2003), is an ideological outlook, or worldview, with

the intent to aid the development of a particular (sometimes preferred) kind of society. It is in this

sense, he states, that these developments should be viewed as presenting a process of

Westernisation, which is disguised in ways of quality teaching and learning methods. The

Westernisation process, here, not only refers to the adaptation of the Western style of education,

but also a process of democratisation (adopting the Western political system) is stated to be part of

the introduction of LCE by aid agencies:

Citizens who have been exposed to learning styles which require the questioning of

assumptions, empirical styles of studying and the exploration of alternatives are seen as

likely to have more chance of participating fruitfully in a pluralistic political process than

those who have not (Overseas Development Administration, 1994; p.3).

The pluralistic political process, as discussed by the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) can

be referred to as the stimulation of a liberal democracy, a free-market economy and the promotion

of competitive capitalism (Tabulawa, 2003). In short, LCE is believed to play a major role in the

22

spread of ‘Western’ ideologies, both educationally and politically. As the LCE methodology is the

major focus of the BEQIP, it is of interest to ascertain the perceptions of local teachers towards the

programme, especially their views on the ways in which the programme relates to their life world.

Thereby, cultural issues regarding the perceptions towards the ‘new’ educational approach can be

discussed. It might occur that teachers in a development region, as the Northern-region, are

unwilling to adopt LCE since they might perceive it as a Western way of teaching and not fitting

within their own (Ghanaian) culture (Schweisfurth, 2011).

Although the BEQIP was identified by Ghanaian participants to be an undisputedly Western

programme, little associations with Western superiority were made when discussing the contents of

the programme. In response to questions whether the BEQIP was perceived to implement a Western

style of education, rather than to make improvements to Ghanaian education, the respondents

unanimously replied the BEQIP to be concerned with the latter. Mainly due to the focus on local

(Ghanaian) education materials during workshops, the teachers identified the BEQIP to focus on an

improvement of their prior ways of teaching. In terms of implementation, some participants declared

education in the Western world to be superior over the Ghanaian education system. They however

did not feel dominated or forced by the intervention programme to adopt this style of education.

Western-centrism in resource use and pedagogical concepts During classroom observations and interviews with participating teachers, challenges directed

towards the resources and familiarity of LCE were detected. As the BEQIP was solely directed

towards public (government) schools, resources formed a main struggle. Whereas Mrs. Sieswerda,

founder of the BEQIP, mentioned that TLMs required for the implementation of active learning (as a

practical form of LCE), are available around every school, which with a creative use by teachers

indeed is true, still a shortage of, for example, textbooks is a reality in such environments. As

textbook use is one of the nine main topics of the BEQIP, this can be regarded as a challenge.

Although the focus on textbook use can be regarded as Western centred (since a shortage of such

books is prevalent in the region), the focus on these resources was not considered by participating

teachers to reflect a Western ideology of education. Reason for this perception is the use of

textbooks originating from the participating schools during the BEQIP workshops. Participating

teachers (and schools) were requested to send these resources prior to the onset of the workshops.

By using these textbooks, the workshops were delivered within a local context and with high

relevance for the (national) curriculum. Most of the respondents expressed a positive attitude

towards this approach as they could directly implement the learned methods in their lesson delivery.

Next to textbooks, implications with resources regarding multimedia use in daily lesson delivery were

observed during the BEQIP workshop itself. This workshop was solely organised by Ghanaian actors

and therefore Edukans cannot be charged with being Western-centred around this topic. The

Ghanaian facilitators, however, focused heavily on an education tool which can be regarded to

originate from a Western-centred view of education; the use of laptops during lesson delivery. This is

remarkable, as they are considered to be aware of the scarcity of laptop possession among the

participating teachers. The focus on laptop use in education can be qualified as a Western-centred

focus on education practices due to their scarcity, however in this instance performed by non-

Western actors. Thereby, the focus on (online) multimedia use (through the aid of laptops and

computers) is regarded as Western-centred as most of the participating schools had limited access to

computers in the first place, not to mention their accessibility to internet services. In this case, the

23

provision of workshops on multimedia use for lesson delivery seems a rather Western-centrist

perception to what is relevant in education.

Next to Western-centrism in resource-use during the educational development programme, the neo-

colonial feature is apparent in the terminology use by (especially) the Western facilitators. As a

practical implementation of the learner centred education approach, active learning was introduced

to the Ghanaian participants. This implementation, however, caused for confusion among the

participants, not because of its contents, but because of its name. In Ghana, the teaching

methodology knows as active learning in Western contexts is known under the term participatory

learning. Confusion arose among the participants as most of the contents which were discussed by

the facilitators were familiar to them, however due to the different terminology; they were uncertain

whether the same methodology was implied. It was Mr. Johnson, facilitator from the IBIS Ghana

organisation, who had to clarify that indeed the active- and participatory teaching methodologies

were similar, if not the same. Holding on to the term ‘active-’ rather than ‘participatory’-learning

testifies of a Western-centrist stance of the BEQIP in terms of terminology use.

Shifting towards ‘Western’ education? Above, signs of lacking resources and confusion about the terminology have been identified. In this

section, differences in belief systems of participating teachers and the Western-based facilitator are

investigated. Here, it is of interest to determine whether these actors differ in the way they perceive

the BEQIP to be appropriate for implementation in the local context. The learning by doing theory

suggests that knowledge is constructed through active involvement of a student in deductive

teaching methods, however, do local teachers agree with this approach on knowledge construction?

In traditional Ghanaian education, knowledge was commonly constructed through ‘rote-learning’

(Nudzor et al., 2015; Boso & Gross, 2016) in which the memorization of information through the

repetition of definitions and ‘facts’ was perceived as most efficient way of knowledge construction

(Adekunle et al., 2015). In this approach to knowledge construction, the teacher forms the centre of

the education practice and learners are expected to not question his/her authority (Schweisfurth,

2011). Within this authoritarian relationship, students are left with little opportunity to be actively

engaged in the lesson (Mtika & Gates, 2010). Ampiah (2008) identifies that in Ghana, the

constructivist-based approach to teaching is not very popular among teachers as the learner-centred

approach does not resonate well with the Ghanaian basic school curricula (Ampiah, 2006). On the

other hand, however, colonial education resulted in an imposition of a devalued identity and feelings

of inferiority among colonized societies (Stanton-Salazar, 2001). According to Stanton-Salazar (2001),

these results lead to a continuation of the colonization process, even after official independence of

the colonized state. This aspect of neo-colonialism is regarded to be a possible indicator for Western-

centrism as feelings of inferiority and devaluated identity could form the foundation for the

acceptance of Western-based ideologies among participating teachers. The question, now, is how

the BEQIP teachers perceive the active learning methods, and thereby the curriculum included in the

BEQIP, to fit within their educational environment.

A reoccurring comment from Ghanaian respondents was that the learner centred approach, included

in the BEQIP, was not all that new to them as most of the practical methods of active (participatory)

learning were (in theory) familiar among them as these practices were already included in national

education policies. On the other hand, however, most respondents also indicated that before the

implementation of the programme not many of those methodologies were implemented during their

24

lesson delivery. Within their teacher-centred, lecturing-like lessons only questioning and answering

(Q&A) was applied in order to involve the learners. Explanation for these contradicting comments

was later provided by Ms. Sieswerda, however, are solely provided once these countries (attempt to)

include the learner-centred education approach within their national policies on education. This

causes for a dichotomy in the analysis of Western-centrist perceptions on the BEQIP among

participating teachers, as they do not perceive the programme as Western-centred since its approach

is already included in their national policies. On the other hand, however, the World Bank has been

identified to create policies around a Western liberal framework (Williams & Young, 1994). Since the

World Bank requests development countries to include the LCE approach in their education policies

in order to receive subsidies, can the education approach therefore not be perceived as inherently

Western-centred? The reasoning that the Ghanaian government solely included the LCE approach in

order to receive subsidies could account for a possible explanation for the lacking implementation of

the active learning method in Northern-region classrooms. Here, the determination to adopt the LCE

approach is externally stimulated, rather than a result from intrinsic motivations to change (or

improve) the education system.

Perceived Western-centred elements of the BEQIP Relating Western-centrism to specific components to the curriculum of the BEQIP, the elements of

group work, the provision of- and receiving feedback, time management and the eradication of

physical punishment are analysed. Group work is included in the programme in order to stimulate

students to participate actively as well as an effective classroom management technique (Edukans,

2013). A difference, however, between classrooms in Western societies and those in the Northern-

region is the amount of students. Respondents indicated that not always group work is implemented

as groups would consist of 8 or more students, resulting in inefficient collaboration, as all 8 students

would not be able not participate actively during assignments. As a result, only up to 4 students

would perform the assignment whereas the other 4 would not actively participate, and therefore not

‘learn’ from the assignment. Dividing the students in smaller groups was indicated as not possible as

most classrooms did not provide sufficient space for more groups to work separately. Therefore,

focussing on group work as one of the main topics in the delivery of active learning in classrooms can

be perceived as Western-centred. The dependence to the physical classroom is more restrictive in

countries as Ghana than in most Western regions as the natural environment is often considered by

teachers to be unsuitable for lesson delivery.

Receiving and delivering (constructive) feedback is considered a second Western-related component

of the BEQIP, where especially neutrally receiving feedback and being constructive rather than

destructive were new to most participants. Using video-analysis (video recordings) as a tool for

feedback was new to all participating teachers. Although using video recording by most respondents

was perceived as positive, receiving feedback in general was less appreciated. The latter, however, is

strongly related to the destructive nature of feedback delivery which had been experienced by most

of the teachers. Due to this (negative) characteristic of feedback, many participants were reluctant to

this particular aspect of the programme. However, after workshops on constructive feedback a

number of participants valued the Western style of feedback as highly useful.

Time management during the education practice is considered as a Western feature, as the

perception of time already holds cultural differences between the Western facilitators and local

participants. From personal experience, it is fair to state that most basic education teachers in the

25

Northern-region consider time to be less binding to the education practice than most of their

Western counterparts. However, a large number of respondents indicated that time is their main

struggle in the implementation of active learning methodologies in the classroom. A two-fold

explanation is provided on this issue; first, in most schools, courses are divided in clusters of 35

minutes which is a lower amount of time than in most basic schools in Western societies. Thereby,

inexperience with the implementation of active learning methods occasionally resulted in little topics

of the curricula covered in a particular time-slot. An extreme example of the struggle with efficiently

implementing active learning methods was observed in a class in which a teacher committed 15

minutes to rearrange desks in order for the learners to engage in group work. Attempting to focus

heavily on active learning methods under such conditions (time constraints and unexperienced

teachers) is undermining the quality of education as it is not (yet) compatible with local education

practices.

Finally, the eradication of physical punishing (caning) students reflects a Western-centred ideology

on disciplining students for misbehaving in the classroom. Corporal punishment of learners in

Western societies has been a controversial issue (Gershoff & Bitensky, 2007), whereas in Ghanaian

beliefs and values, this type of disciplining children is considered a normal practice (Agbenyega,

2006). During the BEQIP, the facilitators not only focused on teaching methodologies but also on

classroom management and teacher-pupil relations. The eradication of caning in classrooms has

been one of the themes discussed and encouraged by the facilitators. As a results, a number of

participants indicated that because of the BEQIP they did no longer use the cane in order to discipline

their students, although the non-BEQIP colleagues in their schools not always followed their

example. Including the eradication of corporal punishment as a parameter of the improvement of

education quality was regarded as Western-centred since there is a contradiction between Western-

and local ideology on the position of corporal punishment in the delivery of quality education.

26

Chapter 5 – Experiences of dependency as a result of the BEQIP

As the BEQIP was organised by a variety of non-profit organisations, the organisation of the

programme can be framed as what Guo and Acar (2005) describe as non-profit collaboration. In their

understanding, this type of collaboration is defined as an event in which different non-profit

organisations are involved in order to cope with problems by joint effort, decision making, sharing of

resources and ownership of the final product or service. Through this type of collaboration,

interdependence among involved actors arises, as the BEQIP can only succeed once they all

contribute (Guo & Acar, 2005). These relations can take the form of unequal structures, in which a

certain group of actors are more dependent than others. The main aim of this chapter is to provide

an answer on the question of how the BEQIP has caused for relations of dependency as perceived by

the stakeholders involved in the programme.

Applying dependency and power to the implementation of the BEQIP The presence of a Western organisation in the role of donor and facilitator of the programme allows

for an analysis based upon power and dependency in the relations between the involved actors.

First, the relation between the international actor (Edukans) and the national- and local actors (IBIS,

Savana Signatures and basic school teachers) is discussed. In order to distinguish whether the

relation is based upon power and / or dependency, both these concepts should be defined to later

apply them to the BEQIP. The dependence of an actor A upon actor B (Dab) first, is proportional to

actor A’s ‘motivational’ investment (the determination of A that is it worth to invest in something) in

goals which are mediated by actor B, and second, proportional to the probability of actor A to reach

these goals outside of the relation between actor A and B (Emerson, 1962). The lower the probability

of reaching those goals outside of the described relation, the higher the dependency of actor A upon

actor B in meeting its goals and therefore the higher the power of actor B over actor A (Pba = Dab).

Specifying actors and goals related to the case of the BEQIP, the goal can be specified as ‘increasing

education quality in the Northern-region’. Actor(s) A, in the relation between the facilitators, are IBIS

and Savana Signatures. Actor B, in this case, is identified as Edukans. The dependency of IBIS and

Savana Signatures upon Edukans, then, is proportional to the determination of IBIS and Savana

Signatures that it is beneficial to enter into a relation with Edukans in order to attain an increase in

the quality of education in the Northern-region, as well as to the probability of reaching the same

goal outside of the relation with Edukans.

According to Emerson (1962), the notion of power should be included as a potential influence in the

relation between two actors when the dependence of one of the actors is the basis of the power of

the other. Since Edukans was approached by IBIS in order to reach their goal, it can be stated that, in

the specific case of the BEQIP, the dependency of IBIS on the involvement of Edukans forms the basis

of their relation. The concept of power, which should be included based on the described relation,

can be defined as: the power of actor A over actor B (Pab) is the amount of resistance of actor B

which can (potentially) be overcome by actor A (Emerson, 1962). In this theory, actor A can be

identified as Edukans and actor B as the national organisations. Whereas the previous example

consist of a singular dependence relation (actor A and B), it gets more complex when analysing the

relationship including the local actors (actor C). As the local teachers are dependent on the national

organisations for their involvement in the workshops, which, in their turn, are dependent on the

involvement of the international organisation in order to organise the workshops in the first place, a

27

Edukans - Financial donor - Theoretical & practical knowledge

National Organisations - Infrastructure - Distribution of programme (nationally)

Local teachers - Performance - Distribution of programme (locally)

circular dependence relation exists. In figure 1, this relation is depicted, showing how the involved

actors are connected and which type of power they (can) exercise within this relationship. Although

these relations in reality are more complex, by depicting the relations as is shown in figure 2, the

relations between the actors are clearly depicted as well as their functions through which they can

exercise their power. These functions refer to the ways in which the actors are contributing in

accomplishing the collective goal(s). Edukans, the donor organisation, possesses power as they

provide the financial support to carry out the programme as well as the provision of (scientific)

knowledge. The national organisations provide physical as well as social infrastructures which are

essential in the organisational set-up of the workshops. Physical infrastructure, here, refers to

accommodations for both the participants and workshops whereas social infrastructure refers to

social contacts the organisations possess through which participants can be recruited. Next to

infrastructure, the organisations fulfil an important function in the sustainability of the programme,

as they are expected to sustain the programme in the absence of Edukans. Local teachers have the

function of exercising, or performing, the knowledge provided by Edukans. Thereby, the teachers

have a function in the distribution of the programme on a local scale.

In figure 2, a circular relationship

between the three stakeholders is

depicted, instead of a hierarchical one.

Reason for this depiction is the

interdependency the three stakeholders

have for making the BEQIP a success.

Edukans, for example, is dependent on

the local organisations as these possess

local knowledge about education and the

interaction with local teachers. Thereby,

the national organisations are more

familiar with cultural values present in

local education practises. Furthermore,

both Edukans and the national organisations

are dependent on the involvement of local teachers as these are the actors performing the

pedagogical approach in the local context. Once local teachers decide not to involve LCE in their

classroom practice, the initial goal of the national organisations and Edukans will not be reached.

Experiences of dependency among stakeholders Although the term ‘dependent’ has not been directly mentioned to respondents, several ways in

which mutual dependencies occurred in the programme were clearly indicated. In order to identify

all types of dependency, all one-sided relations are discussed in the following order:

Edukans National organisations

Edukans & National organisations Local teachers

National organisations & local teachers Edukans

Local teachers National organisations

The international facilitator (Edukans) expressed dependency on national organisations mainly in

cultural, infrastructural, and sustainable terms. Since the international facilitator was not first-hand

Figure 2. Dependency between actors and actor functions.

28

familiar with the local education context, the national organisations were able to anticipate on

cultural differences before the programme commenced. In infrastructural terms, Edukans was

dependent on the national organisations for workshop accommodations and transportation. As

these facilities were provided by the national organisations, the international facilitators were

capable of spreading knowledge and delivering workshops in different areas in the Northern-region.

Finally, Edukans is dependent on the national organisations in terms of sustainability. As the

programme continued in the region, Edukans shifted the responsibility to the national organisations.

In this sense, Edukans is dependent on the national organisation for the continuation (sustainability)

of the programme in the Northern-region. Thereby the national organisations are essential in

maintaining the motivation of teachers to not fall back on their prior teaching methods.

In line with the previous dependency relation, Edukans expressed dependence on local teachers in

order to sustain (or extend) the educational approach in the Northern-region. In the end, the local

teachers are responsible for the implementation of the active learning methods in their classrooms

and in this way increase the quality of education. Thereby, the teachers have been requested to

organise in-service trainings (INSECS) in which the participating teachers pass on the knowledge

gained in the BEQIP to colleagues. Through these INSECS, both Edukans and the national

organisations are dependent on the local teachers in terms of the diffusion of active learning in the

Northern-region. As the diffusion of active learning is the single way in which the national

organisations are dependent on local teachers, this dependency relation is merged in this section.

National organisations expressed dependency on Edukans in terms of finance and knowledge.

Financially dependency was caused by the reality that Edukans was the donor organisation in the

BEQIP. Without their financial support, the programme could not have been executed. Next to

financial dependency, the national facilitators expressed dependency on Edukans in terms of

knowledge as the international facilitators had specific knowledge about the concepts introduced

during workshops, and more importantly, knowledge on how to implement these concepts in the

education practice. Knowledge on implementation is crucial as most Ghanaian educators lack this

particular ability. In this respect, dependency of the local teachers on Edukans can be merged in this

section as dependency on finances and knowledge were expressed by these respondents to be the

main forms of dependency. Finances, here, refer to the provision of, for example, TLMs in

participating schools, whereas knowledge, again, refers to the implementation of concepts. Next to

these types of dependency, one additional, personally perceived interesting, perception on their

reliability was indicated by teachers, namely their dependency on modernisation. According to a

number of teachers, the Western type of education is more advanced and could assist them to move

away from the “primitive way of teaching” (interview 3).

Finally, basic education teachers expressed forms of dependency on the national organisation in

similar ways as towards Edukans, as the provision of resources was mentioned to be depending on

the willingness of the national organisations to deliver these to the participating schools. An example

is the construction of ‘computer labs’ at the participating schools, which was performed by Savana

Signatures. These labs are essential for the teachers to deliver ‘relevant’ ICT lessons, which are

included in the national curriculum. Before the programme, ICT lessons were mainly delivered by

drawings on the blackboard and theoretical explanations, rather than with practical experiences.

Next to the provision of resources, the teachers indicated to be dependent on the national

organisations in terms of involvement with the programme. As the programme was showing positive

29

results in participating schools, other schools applied to take part of the programme as well.

However, due to the limited (financial) capacities of the programme, not many other schools could

be included. One of the control schools, however, was allowed to take of the programme.

Dependency was therefore experienced in the relation with the national organisations in order to

take part in the programme in the first place.

The results discussed above can be related to the concepts of academic- and aid dependency as

described in the theoretical framework. Academic dependency, here, can be related to the

knowledge on how to implement teaching methods from the LCE approach. As Edukans possessed

this particular ‘resource’, both the national organisations and basic education teachers were

dependent on this resource in terms of knowledge acquisition. Aid dependency, then, was

experienced by the national organisations and teachers especially in terms of funding. Teachers

indicated to experience resource deficiencies in their schools as they are unable to buy necessary

teaching materials for their lesson delivery. An example of limited accessibility to teaching materials,

observed at one of the participating schools, was an ICT lesson in which the teacher was compelled

to draw a computer mouse on the board in order to show it to the students as there was no ‘real’

example available in the school (figure 3). Thereby, the national organisations are no longer able to

provide workshops for the teachers as the funding of Edukans has ended. This is experienced by the

teachers as a major setback as they deemed the workshops as essential for sustaining and

developing their teaching skills. Next to

academic and aid dependency, which were

mainly experienced by the Ghanaian actors,

dependency in terms of sustainability were

expressed by Edukans. Although a continued

existence of the BEQIP is not necessarily

essential for Edukans itself, it is (logically)

strongly desired that the BEQIP will remain

influential in the Northern-region. In order

for the programme to sustain, Edukans is

reliant of the efforts of the national

organisations and local teachers to maintain

as well as spread the ideology of the

programme.

Implications with dependency, as indicated in the theoretical framework, can be related, amongst

others, to sustainability in the BEQIP. Implications with sustainability, here, are related to the

willingness of local authorities to support the programme in their districts. Although the facilitating

actors of the BEQIP attempted to include government officials in their intervention programme, the

lacking support of the authorities was a reoccurring theme among participating teachers. Explanation

for the lacking support is the frequent shifts of government officials within and between districts.

Due to these shifts, participating schools receive supervision from officials that are unfamiliar with

LCE and do not support this approach. In this sense, the involved actors are not only dependent on

each other’s involvement; they all are reliant on the acceptability of the Ghanaian authorities

towards the introduced teaching approach.

Figure 3. Drawing of a computer mouse and its functions during an ICT lesson.

30

Chapter 6 – Influences on teachers agencies from a local perspective

Agency, as related to the BEQIP, is concerned with the capability and power of local teachers to apply

or not to apply the LCE approach in their classrooms. During field work, questions were raised to

what extent the teachers felt they gained the freedom and knowledge to implement active learning

techniques effectively in their daily practice as a result of their involvement in the BEQIP. Underlying

reason behind these questions was the way in which a possible change in behaviour was perceived

by local teachers. The desired change, as introduced in the BEQIP, was directed from the prior

dominant (lecturing) teaching method to a more learner centred approach. The lecturing method is

the practical implementation of the teacher-centred education approach and in this sense not

corresponding with the aims of the BEQIP. In the programme, Edukans aimed at changing the

teachers’ daily practice through capacity building (Edukans, 2013). Capacity is considered to be ability

of people and the society as a whole to manage their affairs successfully (OECD, 2006). Capacity

building, then, refers to a process in which these abilities are trained (with the aim of improvement),

based on a preconceived design (OECD, 2006). Specific techniques through which capacity building is

pursued in the BEQIP are digital video recordings (of teacher during their education practice),

analysing observation methods, development of education materials and peer to peer support.

Embedded in Edukans’ goals3, traces of neo-colonialism can be identified as the terminology used in

the goal description as ‘changing’ and ‘moving to’ testify of an intervention in the behaviour of the

target group. As this intervention is founded on predominantly western ideologies, neo-colonialism is

an appropriate frame for analysing the (changing) agencies of the targeted individuals. Specifically

the relevance of the capabilities introduced as well as the extent to which force is experienced as a

result of the implementation of the learner-centred education approach are central in the analysis of

agency in the BEQIP. Thereby, the changing role of the teacher in the classroom is discussed as the

teachers are perceived to experience a deprived sense of power in the classroom as not them but the

students are the centre of the education practice.

Perceived changes in teacher agency As teacher capability forms an important aspect in the agency of teachers in the BEQIP, the

perception of local teachers on the relevance of the BEQIP to their agency is discussed. As a starting

point, the capability of teachers to implement active learning methods in their lesson delivery is

analysed. Here, the relevance of the LCE approach as well as the relevance of the concepts discussed

in the BEQIP are of importance. As discussed in the chapter on Western-centrism, according to most

teachers the methodologies discussed in the workshops were not new, as most of these

methodologies were already part of the Ghanaian education policy. The majority of the teachers,

however, indicated that the focus on their capabilities was shifted; from knowledge, to experience.

The shift in focus was perceived as relevant by most teachers as Ghanaian education initially was

centred on the lecturing method, which was indicated to be less efficient than active learning. In

TTCs, student teachers were educated to teach with a learner centred approach, using a

‘participatory’ method, but were mainly taught in a lecturing way; they lack an example of how to

implement the teaching methods. Most of the participating teachers indicated that as a result of the

BEQIP their agency was improved. Not only did their agency improve due to the knowledge on how

3 The approach of the BEQIP is framed as: ‘the project supports teachers to move to a learner-centred

approach, and ‘changing the existing educational practice’.

31

to implement particular teaching methods, but for the untrained participating teachers, their

involvement intrinsically improved their agency as they considered themselves to be trained teachers

due to the certificates handed out to them by Edukans after concluding the programme. The

perception of most participants to possess the capabilities for efficiently implementing the LCE

approach in their lesson delivery is questioned by Mr. Kruiswijk, as he identifies the use of ‘container

concepts4’ in the consideration of teachers’ capabilities. He provides the example in which most

teachers indicated to him to possess the capability of organising group work in their lessons,

although many of them, according to Mr. Kruiswijk, only possess these capabilities to the extent of

their definition, rather than their implementation. However, as this thesis is concerned with the

perceived agency of participating teachers, it can be stated that the participating teachers perceived

an improved agency regarding their capabilities to deliver LCE.

In the Northern-region, BEQIP teachers indicated to have experienced increased capabilities due to

their involvement in the intervention programme. Both in practical and ideological terms the

improvement of capabilities was discussed by these actors. In terms of practical capabilities, a variety

of teaching skills was mentioned to be gained as a result of the BEQIP. Most prominent among these

skills are the inclusion of ICT during the lesson delivery and the (preparation and) use of teaching and

learning materials. The (proper) use of tools as PowerPoint and multimedia are perceived by the

teachers as relevant capabilities and are framed as ICT tools. TLM use, thereby, has accounted for a

capability improvement as these materials are perceived as useful tools for the knowledge

transmission to their pupils. In line with knowledge transmission, the introduction of student

activities as writing, presenting and visualising have been discussed to have improved teacher

capabilities in the classroom. A number of teachers indicated to have experienced more effective

knowledge transmission towards learners while implementing these activities during lessons.

Although the inclusion of energisers was mentioned by only a few teachers, this capability asset was

personally observed to have positive effects on the teacher-pupil relation and, therefore, on

knowledge transmission, as most pupils are more willing to exert more effort into understanding

lessons from teachers with which they have a positive relation (Rimm-Kaufman & Sandilos, 2011).

Due to the inclusion of energising exercises before and during lessons, students were seemingly

more willing to actively participate during the education practice. The teachers that made use of this

asset indicated that it increased their capability as the application of the LCE approach was perceived

to be more effective once students are more willing to get involved. Finally, in terms of practical

capabilities, the inclusion of the local environment is perceived to greatly increase teacher capability

as teaching resources, in all forms, are scarce in the Northern-region. Due to practical examples of

how to involve the local environment in lesson delivery, teachers indicated that their capability of

delivering LCE greatly improved. A practical example of how the local environment is now being

included by teachers in the Northern-region is provided in figure 4, in which a JHS teacher visualizes

water pollution during a lesson on the environment. This teacher added sand to a bowl of water in

order to show the students what water pollution can look like. Due to the inclusion of LCE in the

national education policies, the BEQIP was considered by a number of the participating teachers as a

useful ‘add-on’ to their previously gained knowledge at TTCs5. In this sense the focus on the

4 Translated from the Dutch ‘container begrippen’.

5 The framing of the BEQIP as an ‘add-on’ was only expressed by teachers who were enrolled at a TTC before

becoming a teacher.

32

performance, rather than on the

theories of teaching was considered

as an encompassing improvement of

the teacher’s capabilities.

In terms of ideological capability

improvement, the BEQIP is perceived

by teachers to have improved their

agency as they indicate that LCE is

perceived to have more positive

education outcomes than by using the

TCE approach. These outcomes are

experienced in improved test results

and child involvement during the

lesson delivery. Thereby, a majority of

teachers indicated to have improved

as teachers in general due to their training in the BEQIP. Next to the positive experiences in results

and personal improvement, the conviction to implement the LCE approach arose as teachers

experienced this type of education delivery to be less exhaustive as it takes them less effort to

deliver lessons and at the same time this approach is recognized to be more beneficial for the

students’ learning process. However, not only for the participating teachers the LCE approach was

considered to be beneficial; BEQIP teachers indicated that their colleagues were able improve their

(ideological) capabilities as well which resulted in certain schools to the adaptation of LCE teaching

methods by non-BEQIP teachers.

BEQIP’s influence on the perception of power Next to teacher capability, the power of teachers is strongly related to their agency. “Power depends

on structural position in a field of connections to other agents as well as actor capabilities…” (Kahler,

2015; p.4). The concept of power, here, is considered to play an important role in two ways; first, the

sense of power teachers have for being able to decide whether or not to apply the LCE approach in

their classrooms, and second the sense of power teachers have as related to their students. The

freedom teachers experience to implement the LCE approach in their classrooms can be considered a

form of power as it is in these actions the teachers show their position in the field of connections

with the facilitators of the BEQIP. The degree to which force originating from the national- and

international organisations is experienced by the teachers is therefore involved in the perception of

teacher agency in this paragraph.

In terms of force, generally a little degree of pressure was experienced by the teachers in their daily

practice as they perceived the actions of the facilitating organisation as encouraging and advising,

rather than enforcing. This perception can be explained by the ways in which Edukans operated

during the programme as this facilitator limited the amount of visits to the participating schools to

twice a year. It was because of this approach that the local teachers experienced little force as they

perceived to have the freedom and time to implement the LCE approach in their classrooms. Thereby

teachers expressed to be able to have an influence during the provided workshops which resulted in

a sense of ownership of the programme, which intrinsically reduced the sense of enforcement

among the teachers.

Figure 4. Inclusion of local environment by a JHS teacher.

33

As the power relation between teacher and pupil inevitably changes in the shift from teacher-

centred- to learner-centred education the perceptions of how power can be exercised was discussed

during interviews with involved teachers. The role of the teacher, here, forms an interesting

discussion as this role shifts from the ‘centre of knowledge’ to a more guiding role. Most of the

participating teachers, however, did not experience to be giving up their power, but rather reshape it

to their (and their student’s) advantage as they do not experience to feel less powerful towards the

leaners. This reshaped power is now expressed in the positive relations between teacher and pupil as

opposed to the previous sense of power which was expressed in force and dominance of the

teachers in the classroom.

Based on their perceptions towards their (resource and ideological) capabilities and power, teachers

have experienced, and are still experiencing, an increase in their agency as a result of the BEQIP.

However, as most respondents indicated these positive changes to their agency, it is remarkable that

during participant observations, relatively low (quality) implementation of active learning methods

were detected. Question, now, is what the underlying causes for these developments are. The next

chapter discusses forms of resistance among participating actors of the BEQIP.

34

Chapter 6 – Responses to the BEQIP: local acts of resistance

Although the demand for educational reform originated from actors in the Northern-region of

Ghana, forms of resistance can still occur as a response to the way in which this reform is delivered

to them. This paragraph identifies ways in which both local teachers and national organisations

exercise forms of resistance towards the BEQIP. Resistance as active, oppositional behaviour among

basic education teachers can be strongly related to the statement above regarding the number of

teachers not exercising any active learning methods in their lesson delivery during observations at

basic schools.

Lacking implementation As resistance is a concept which can entail a wide range of actions, different forms of resistance are

discussed in this paragraph. A first way in which resistance is exercised by teachers is by not

implementing the active learning methods during their lessons. This is perceived as resistance as it is

a (conscious) action opposing their desired behaviour, namely the implementation of active learning

methods during the lesson delivery. As this form of resistance has been observed during a number of

visits, underlying reasons have been discussed with involved actors. The three distinctive arguments

for teachers to resist the implementing of the active learning methodology are classified as teacher

motivation, financial issues and a conflicting curriculum. As active learning was introduced to, and

exercised with the participating teachers in a stimulating environment (during workshops),

encountering the tough education environment once returning to their schools caused for a decrease

in the motivation of teachers to actually apply the learned methods. Thereby, these teachers often

do not receive support (in terms of knowledge distribution) from their head masters or supervising

government officials, which motivates them to fall back to their prior, more teacher-centred ways of

teaching. Next to being unsupportive, government officials occasionally also indirectly cause for a

lacking motivation among teachers, as the teachers become “too relaxed” (interview 16) once they

are not being monitored by the officials. Mr. Alhassan, facilitator of the BEQIP from the GES,

reinforces this statement as he indicated that teachers were reluctant to implement active learning

in their school as he did not visit the school to monitor them. A final reason for teachers to reject the

implementation of the LCE approach is because, according to them, it requires much preparation

(time). Not all teachers were motivated to spend much time on lesson preparation and therefore

decided to fall back on teacher-centred education. A second motivation for teachers to give up on

the new teaching method is related to financial issues in acquiring essential materials (TLMs) for the

lesson delivery. Although these actors have been informed on the importance of these materials in

the particular teaching approach, and thereby the positive effects the method can have for education

results, a number of the participants were not willing to invest their own financial means into to

acquisition of these materials. Without these materials, then, teachers decided to fall back on their

prior teaching method. Finally, the Ghanaian national curriculum is conflicting with the possibilities

for teachers to implement active learning during their lessons as the curriculum demands the

teachers to cover a broad range of topics within a relatively short period of time. As teachers

expressed issues regarding the time the implementation of active learning occupies, they moved

away from the teaching method in order to cover the curriculum.

35

Limited distribution Whereas the BEQIP was supposed to gradually expand its impact as a result of INSECS at schools and

the implementation at TTC’s, stagnation in its expansion was observed by involved actors. One

reason for this stagnation, as discussed by participating teachers, is the resistance of non-BEQIP

teachers to attend INSECS. These teachers often do not see the necessity for the learner centred

education approach. Especially teachers of older generations were not accepting the ‘new’ way of

teaching. Resistance, as a concept consisting of action and opposition, is easily applied to this

stagnation process, as non-interested teacher clearly perform actions of opposition against the

distribution of the LCE approach. Whether underlying processes of self-empowerment or self-

preservation, as discussed by Kindred (1999), are at the foundation of these actions cannot be

ascertained. However, among the non-BEQIP teachers (included as control group) a number of

respondents referred towards more ‘traditional’ perceptions towards teaching in terms of their role

in the classroom as well as to teacher-pupil relations. In their understanding, teachers ought to

perform as authoritarian and powerful actor in the classroom in order to keep the learners in line.

This perception is strongly contrasting the education approach as opted in the BEQIP. Therefore, it is

possible that teachers that tend to relate more to the traditional teaching approach are unwilling to

shift their daily practices towards LCE as they do not agree with the changes in their role and relation

with their students.

Distrusting the ‘other’ General distrust in the (Western) facilitators is yet another form of (non-articulated) resistance

among teachers in the BEQIP. The origin of distrust among participating teachers in the BEQIP is

founded on general distrust of ‘the whites’. Especially during the initial stages of the programme

participants were concerned about the motives of the Western practitioners. Distrust, here, was

expressed in a variety of expectations by the participating teachers. As a first example, teachers were

afraid they would be forced to learn methods which would be disadvantageous for them. Others

expressed distrust in in the sense that they were ‘put’ together for the benefit of the facilitators. It

was believed that the facilitating actors received money and were not willing to use these means for

the benefit of the teachers. One of the respondents quoted his peers who stated that “these people

are cheating us, they will get plenty of money for the programme and when we come to the training,

they will give us nothing” (interview 11). However, as the programme progressed, the degree of

distrust decreased as the teachers noticed the motivation and dedication of the facilitators to deliver

the programme to the benefit of the participants. The expression of distrust to peer participants,

here, is perceived as a form of resistance as it is a hidden or non-articulated form of opposing action.

The reintroduction of undesired practices The eradication of corporal punishment (as discussed on page 26) is not only applicable to the

analysis of the BEQIP as a topic of Western-centrism, as it also initiated resistance. In some schools,

the eradication of physical punishment was not sustained. At one of the participating schools, it was

indicated that after a one-month trial without the use of the cane, desertion rates rose with

approximately 30%:

...Here in Africa, we are strong headed. So we don’t correct each other with words. We

correct each other with strong actions. If you say the word, the child won’t change. You have

to add action. So they [facilitators] were always trying to encourage us not to use the whip.

But us, as much as we tried not to use the whip, we see the children not listening to us ... We

36

tried a whole term not to use the cane, but that was when we experienced more students

running to home (Interview 11).

Banning the caning practice from the school apparently gave rise to motivations for children to

prematurely leave the school as other forms of punishment were not as deterrent as caning. After

the failure of the one-month trial, the punishing technique was re-introduced at the school. This is a

form of resistance as this is an action opposing the aims of the Western ideology (the eradication of

corporal punishment). Thereby, the reintroduction is perceived as the creation of a space of

manoeuvre (Baaz, 2005), as the school is willing to participate in the programme, however with the

exception of this particular aspect. Creations of spaces of manoeuvre have been detected, next to

the reintroduction of caning, in the transmission of knowledge and in teacher-pupil relations as well,

as here elements of the TCE approach were clearly observable during teaching practices of

participating teachers.

Manoeuvring within the learning centred education approach In such practices, often characteristics of rote learning were observed as the main approach towards

knowledge transmission from teacher to learner. Since rote learning has been discussed as being

strongly related to the TCE approach (p. 24), the continuing performance of this teaching technique

is considered as a form of resistance, since teachers are displaying an attempt to fit features of TCE

within the desired LCE approach. In this sense, teachers are creating spaces for manoeuvre to display

their personal convictions towards knowledge transmission within a LCE frame. Although it was

stressed before that a mixture in the application of the LCE and TCE approach are often visible in

education practices, this particular observation is perceived as resistance as the creation of this space

in which traces of rote learning are clearly visible, as it is an opposing action towards the desired,

constructive approach towards knowledge transmission (which are displayed in the theories of active

learning and learning by doing). A number of teachers in the Northern-region displayed this type of

resistance by focussing on the repetition and memorization of definitions during their lesson

delivery. During these lessons students were expected to be able to replicate definitions of certain

concepts rather than formulating a personally invented explanation of what those concepts entailed.

Whereas in the BEQIP the application of more active ways of learning have been promoted by its

facilitators, these teachers showed to rather ‘fall back’ on the prior ways of teaching. Although this

form of resistance is strongly related to the agency of local teachers (as they display the power to not

implement particular parts of the BEQIP), it is discussed in this chapter as during interviews teachers

did not express any causes for deciding not to implement more constructive approaches towards

learning. As the previous chapter is concerned with the question of how local teachers perceive the

BEQIP to have influenced their agency, solely displaying this particular form of resistance without

specifically indicated causes for their refusal is regarded to be a form of resistance rather than a

perception towards agency and therefore discussed here.

Persisting traditional relations of force A final form of resistance observed in the daily education delivery of local teachers is concerned with

the teacher-pupil relation. Specifically the ways in which the teachers presented themselves to and

communicated with the learners showed resistance towards the desired relation as argued in the

BEQIP. In the LCE approach, teachers and pupils are considered to be mutually responsible for the

lesson efficiency and in order to optimize this efficiency, mutual respect should be shown in the

teacher-pupil relation. Improving teacher-pupil relations can have positive effects for the learner as

37

positive teacher-pupil relations have shown to contribute to learners social skills and stimulate their

academic performance (Rimm-Kaufman & Sandilos, 2011). Thereby, teachers who implement more

learner-centred practices (for example the inclusion of students in decision-making or showing an

understanding of induvial differences between students) in such positive relations are more likely to

generate a higher motivation in their students than teachers who do not implement such practices

(Daniels & Perry, 2003). During some lessons, however, teachers showed less positive pupil-teacher

relations as they used force as the main driver of their relation with their pupils. Force, here, was

expressed in the use of their voice, the attitude towards the learners and the ways of ‘correcting’

them. Practical examples of displaying force by teachers ranges from subtle expressions by talking

with a deeper voice to more extreme from by openly shaming students in the classroom that do not

perform well. Although the initial intention by the teachers was to stimulate the learners to do better

next time, other, more constructive ways of interaction could have been applied by these teachers.

38

Discussion

Although the neo-colonial features have been discussed as separate phenomena throughout this

thesis, the interconnectedness of them should be discussed as during fieldwork strong connections

between these concepts were detected. After elaborating on the interconnections, a clarification is

provided on how the main features of neo-colonialism are perceived to influence (educational)

development in the region, both from a personal- and a local perspective. Subsequently, various

perceptions in the contemporary discussion on the position of education aid at the global level are

presented, allowing this thesis to place this intervention programme within the broader field of

educational development aid. As a final part of this discussion a brief reflection on the steps taken

during this thesis and recommendations for similar researches is provided.

Interlinking features of neo-colonialism Resistance is the most obvious example in terms of interconnectedness as the features of Western-

centrism, dependency and agency can all account for local motivations to express forms of

resistance. Desired shifts in agency, for example, can lead to forms of resistance especially once a

particular shift is perceived by receiving actors to create ‘negative’ agency (Osborn et al., 1997). As

this shift is perceived to be disadvantageous by the local community, resistance can occur which can

differ in scope and magnitude. As for locally perceived issues related to agency, experiences of

Western-centrism and dependency can account for resistance against educational intervention

programmes. Western-centred connotations towards such programmes, although generally

perceived as positive in the BEQIP, can result in resistance as Western-centred concepts may not in

all instances fit well within the local education system (which can be identified as implication of

Western-centrism). In this thesis, the eradication of physical punishment was mentioned as Western-

centred element causing for resistance among local teachers. Dependency caused for resistance in

the BEQIP in terms of limited implementation of teaching methods related to the LCE approach. Due

to a perceived aid dependency (in terms of finances), a number of teachers selectively applied

learner centred education methods during their lesson delivery as they stated that too little teaching

materials were available to them. Resistance is therefore considered to be a consequence of locally

perceived elements of Western-centrism, dependency and agency in the BEQIP.

The remaining features, however, are mutually connected in different ways. Western-centrism and

dependency are interlinked with regard to academic dependency. Where educational intervention

programmes are often founded on Western-centred ideologies, non-Western regions subjected to

such programmes are highly dependent on the extent to which these ideologies are tailored in a way

that they are applicable in the local education context. Thereby, in situations in which required

knowledge for understanding an intervention programme exceeds the knowledge of receiving actors,

these receivers are highly dependent on the skills and willingness of Western practitioners to

properly transmit their knowledge to them. Regarding aid dependency, Western-centrism is

expressed in terms of the materials that are necessary for implementing Western (LCE inspired)

education programmes.

Western-centrism is linked to shifts in agency as the capabilities that are focused on by Western

practitioners in intervention programmes are often perceived to be beneficial from a Western

perspective. Therefore, such programmes can be perceived from local perspectives to reflect

Western dominance as the focus on capabilities not necessarily resonates with the ideology of

39

receivers. Dominance can be experienced by receivers in terms of power as well in terms of the

freedom they receive from Western practitioners to implement (for example) the LCE approach in

their classrooms. Here, the degree in which facilitating actors monitor the implementation of the

teaching approach plays an important role.

As agency is regarded to be the capabilities and power of teachers to apply the LCE approach in their

classrooms, obtaining relevant capabilities depends on the involvement of facilitators, which often

possess the knowledge to deliver (or train) these capabilities. Next to academic dependency,

dependency in aid can be related to agency as teachers are often financially dependent on acquiring

teaching and learning materials necessary for their lesson delivery. Whereas the acquisition of

capabilities required for the desired shift can be linked to academic dependency, dependency for the

eventual implementation of LCE is related to aid dependency as funding is often essential for

receivers in educational aid to execute the desired shift.

Reviewing the neo-colonial features In order to clarify the position of this thesis in terms of the concepts used, the neo-colonial features

can be regarded as neutral rather than inherently negative. Whereas these concepts often possess

critical connotations, the concepts can occasionally be considered to have positive outcomes (agency

is excluded from this particular discussion as this concept in general holds neutral, rather than critical

connotations to it). Regarding resistance, Johansson and Vinthagen (2016) discuss positive features

as they perceive resistance to be an act of negotiation, through which people are able to negate

about what is most beneficial for their development. Western-centrism is identified as an act of

looking at the world from a Western perspective in which Western values, knowledge and culture are

perceived to be superior to those of non-Western regions (Mgonja & Makombe, 2009). In

educational aid, Western-centrism legitimizes Western dominance by presenting itself to non-

Western regions as universal and superior (In, 2006). In the analysis of the BEQIP, the involvement of

the LCE approach was perceived by teachers to reflect a Western-centred ideology on education.

These stakeholders individually reproduced the image of superior Western education in their

personal understanding of quality education as they referred to learner-centred education methods

in their characterization of what quality education entails. This characterization was predominantly

based on personal experiences with teaching in which a comparison was often made between the

pre-BEQIP and post-BEQIP era. In nearly all cases, the post-BEQIP era was perceived to better reflect

quality education, which, in a way, implies conformity of Western superiority in educational

development among basic education teachers in the Northern-region. Providing a similar discussion

on relations of dependency is mainly led through the inclusion of how these relations are perceived

by aid-receivers. Through interactions with local teachers, an understanding was gained on why such

relations are locally perceived as predominantly beneficial, as in their understanding these relations

are crucial for development as a large amount of necessitated resources emanate from these

interactions. It is therefore that these relations can be related to considerations of empowerment

and development instead of oppression and submissiveness. In this perspective, dependency is thus

perceived to hold positive features in local perspectives. However, as issues with sustainability in

relations of dependency are experienced, these interactions can be better perceived as neutral

rather than positive (or negative).

40

The global debate on educational aid As a response to the 1990 Jomtien conference on Education for All, at which a call was made for

universal primary education, the international donor community endorsed projects around

education in the global South (Riddell, 1999). As a response to this phenomenon, many studies have

been conducted in order to gain insights in the results of these projects. Heneveld and Craig (1996),

Szirmai (2005) and Asiedu (2014) present pro-education aid perspectives, as their researches on the

relation between education aid and economic growth demonstrate a positive causality, especially

when investing in primary education in Sub-Saharan African countries. Next to economic growth,

significant contribution to achieving universal primary education has been identified by Asiedu as a

direct result of education aid. Barnett (2011) elaborates the significance of educational aid in the

primary education sector by stating that these early investments have positive effects on, amongst

others, student cognition, social-emotional development and school progress. Babaci-Wilhite (2016)

perceives a positive role for education development aid, as, according to her, paradigm shifts in

national education policies are essential for African development. These paradigm shifts are

presumably dependent on the implementation of Western ideologies in African education policies

and therefore education aid can play a major role in such implementation processes.

Although this research generally limits its focus on the involvement of Western actors in educational

aid programmes, non-Western led education aid is a (relatively new) development that requires

consideration in this discussion. Yuan (2013) presents Chinese-driven educational aid as different

form Western or Japanese aid styles. Although acknowledging this difference, she states that

Chinese-led aid can equally contribute to education development as long as it builds on the

foundations of mutuality, equal benefits and self-reliant development. Yuan, here, discusses the

positive relation of development aid and education, however, from a Chinese, rather than Western

perspective.

A moderately positive perception to educational aid is presented by Alleki (2013), who states that

although aiming for education for all through educational aid is an honourable goal, it should not

ignore crucial questions as to what kinds of labour markets and what types of societies education is

directed in receiving regions. In this respect, the curricula of educational aid programmes should take

into account such questions and be flexible in the sense that they can be tailored to the interests of

recipient actors in order to be of value for developing regions. In line with this reasoning Packer

(2013) elaborates on externally initiated development programmes, although in a more critical

manner. She states that such aid programmes, no matter how participatory in their implementation

fail to offer development solutions that can be implemented locally. Through this interaction, she

states, continuous relations of dependency exist on external knowledge (framed as academic

dependency in this thesis) of how to execute the particular programme in order to address their local

needs. As a result of the dependency relation, the outcome of aid programmes may not reflect the

particular needs of the local population. She therefore advocates for projects that result from the

innovation and experimentation of a target population as the most advantageous approach for

educational aid.

Strongly opposing educational aid, Geo-JaJa (2013) frames the supremacy of neoliberalism as cause

for education, and educational aid, to turn into a practice of disempowerment. He presents

educational aid (as a process that should be considered a transformational development) as

subordinate to “the corporatization and internationalization of education” (Geo-JaJa, 2013; p.177).

41

According to him, teachers are reduced to deskilled ‘robots’ in these processes, as they do not have

control over what they teach in the classroom.

Above, various perspectives on education aid at the global level are presented in which a variation in

the position towards this topic is clearly visible among academics. Whereas educational aid in one

perspective is considered to have a causal relation with economic growth and increased student

numbers, an opposition perspective considers education aid to be a practice of disempowerment.

Mediating between these positions is the perspective that education aid can have positive effects

once it is implemented with a strong focus on the recipient’s needs. From outside this debate non-

Western academics enter the discussion by reviewing non-Western education aid programmes as

differing, although equally as beneficial as those initiated by Western actors.

Based on this discussion, the BEQIP can be reviewed in order to determine how the programme

relates to the varying perspectives on education aid at the global level. The programme strongly

relates to the Western type of education aid as the programme was initiated by a Western-based

organisation and was founded on ideologies that resonate well with the delivery of education in the

Western world. Based on these ideologies, a paradigm shift (form predominantly TCE to a LCE

approach) was included in order to accomplish the main goal, namely the improvement of education

quality in the Northern-region of Ghana. However, due to experiences with education aid in non-

Western regions, facilitators of the BEQIP indicated that no straightforward correlation exists

between education aid and development. It was therefore advocated by these facilitators that a

focus on the local context was of main importance for the BEQIP to improve the quality of education.

Local teachers shared this vision as they indicated that educational intervention programmes can

only succeed once a strong focus is dedicated to the context in which the education practise is

performed. Although the importance of contextuality was stressed by local teachers, a sense of

internationalization of education in educational aid was recognized by these actors as most of the

programme’s elements were considered to be Western. Internationalization, however, was

considered by most teachers as beneficial as being able to provide education in a Western way (by

including LCE) was strongly related to being a quality teacher. In a way this conviction could be

perceived as a process of becoming a deskilled ‘robot’ as teachers are subjecting themselves to

unfamiliar practices of teaching since the provision of this type of education was not delivered to

them at TTC’s, which creates a form of dependency on the information that is delivered to them

during the programme. During lesson delivery, however, a number of teachers presented localized

ways in which the LCE approach can be implemented in education, show a (possible) form of

resilience to becoming a deskilled actor. Based on this reflection, it can be stated that the BEQIP

possessed elements of most of the perspectives present in the global debate on educational aid.

Based on the strong focus the facilitators directed towards the local context in order for the BEQIP to

succeed, the BEQIP is perceived to primarily relate to the context-based perspective for education

aid to have a positive effect.

Reflection on decisions & recommendations for future research Based on the fieldwork that was conducted in the Northern-region, results have been gathered and

linked to the theoretical concepts determined relevant for this thesis. The decisions made during

various stages of this research have had a significant impact on the acquired results as the

determination of the analytical scope inevitably leads to a certain filter through which the data is

analysed. Thereby, the (sub-) regions in which fieldwork is conducted could have considerable

42

influences on the outcomes of comparable studies. Most of the data used in this thesis originates

from actors operational in urban regions which may have resulted in a certain bias towards particular

aspects of the research. Where Western-centrism forms a central feature in this thesis, actors in

urban areas (in particular Tamale6) might provide different insights in the involvement of Western

actors compared to respondents in rural areas. In order to gain a non-biased picture on the way in

which Western-centrism is experienced by local teachers, more rural-based teachers should have

been included. Thereby, more visits to the participating schools could have been conducted to gain a

more realistic view of how education is delivered in these schools. As most schools were visited for

one or two days, most of the observations can be regarded as snapshots of how education is

delivered at participating schools and therefore it could be beneficial for similar studies to

repetitively observe teachers.

In order to construct a theoretical foundation for this thesis, many literature sources have been

consulted regarding topics as educational aid, neo-colonialism, Western-centrism, dependency,

agency and resistance. During the composition of this foundation, specific topics were more

challenging to cover than others. Indicating the relation between neo-colonialism and educational

aid was particularly challenging as this specific relation is not yet extensively discussed by academics.

Colonial-like relations in educational aid are often associated with the post-colonial theory rather

than with the related neo-colonial alternative. Thereby, the limited provision of literature that does

exist on the relation between education aid and neo-colonialism is predominantly directed towards

regions outside of the African continent. Next to limited availability of literature on the previously

discussed relation, only few academics have been focussing on educational aid and educational

development in Ghana, and more specifically the Northern-region, resulting in a form of dependency

on the interpretations and findings of a limited number of academics in order to retrieve information

about these processes in the region of interest. Even less literature on educational aid programmes

with a main focus on teacher trainings were found during the literature review as most of these

programmes focus on different aspects of educational aid (as for example through the provision of

teaching materials or improvements in infrastructure). As information on the aforementioned topics

have been difficult to acquire during this research, it would be beneficial for the field of educational

aid if more research would be conducted with a similar approach as this thesis. More research

towards these topics, then, could contribute to an improvement in the outcomes of educational aid

interventions in developmental regions.

6 Tamale is the capital of the Northern-region province of Ghana and has is often regarded as the ‘NGO capital’

of Ghana.

43

Conclusion

By analysing perceptions of stakeholders regarding Western-centrism, dependency, agency and

resistance, this research aims to show to what extent features of neo-colonialism are experienced by

local teachers in the Basic Education Improvement Programme in the Northern-region of Ghana. In

this chapter, an answer is provided on the main question, which is framed as:

How do neo-colonial features of Western-centrism, dependency, agency and resistance show

in the perceptions and behaviour of local actors as a result of the implementation of the

BEQIP in the Northern-region of Ghana?

The learner-centred education approach possesses a dominant role in the discussion on perceived

neo-colonialist features among Ghanaian stakeholders as a result of the implementation of the

BEQIP. Based on results acquired during fieldwork it can be stated that Western-centrism is identified

in the perceptions of local actors in terms of unfamiliarity of certain included concepts (concept

building, time-on task and feedback) and in the implementation of the LCE approach in their daily

practice. Thereby, Western-centrism is reflected in the general perception towards (quality)

education among local teachers as they stress the Western type of education to be superior over

traditional Ghanaian teaching approaches.

Academic- and aid dependency is shown in the perceptions of teachers as two major types of

dependency in order to implement LCE in the Northern-region. Academic dependency, here, relates

to the practical knowledge of how to implement the LCE approach (e.g. active learning) in the daily

practice of teachers. Aid dependency is identified by local actors as they stated to be dependent on

resources as finances and materials for being able to continue the BEQIP in the Northern-region.

Local actors show a predominantly positive stance towards the influences of the BEQIP on their

agency. The programme is considered by them to have enhanced their capabilities and power to

decide whether to apply or not to apply the LCE approach in their classrooms.

Resistance is shown in a variety of (often non-articulated) ways among local actors. Lacking

implementation and distribution in the form of INSECS of the LCE approach, general distrust towards

facilitators and the reintroduction of undesired practices and former teaching methods are the main

themes through which resistance has been shown in the behaviour of participating teachers.

Based on the results presented above, it can be stated that the four neo-colonial features have been

experienced and expressed by participating teachers during, or as a response to the BEQIP. Whereas

neo-colonialism can hold negative connotations, in general the presence of neo-colonial features was

expressed to be beneficial by the teachers; the focus on a Western-centred teaching approach was

considered to be more beneficial than a focus on traditional Ghanaian teaching methods, the

(dependency) relations constructed in the BEQIP were perceived to be crucial for the acquisition of

relevant knowledge and resources, and the capabilities included in the programme were recognized

to be contributing to the improvement of education quality in the region. In the theoretical

framework the question was raised whether local actors perceive the BEQIP to be hampering the

possibilities of the local population to develop education in a contextual and socio-cultural relevant

way. The existence of a variety of acts of resistance among teachers, as responses to the BEQIP,

indicates that particular elements of the programme have been considered as hampering their

44

possibilities to optimally develop education In the Northern-region. The acts of resistance can be

considered as acts of negotiation in which teachers seek room for manoeuvre in which they are able

to develop education by tailoring the BEQIP in a contextual and socio-cultural relevant way.

In the introduction the importance of education was stressed by framing it as a key social institution

through which significant changes can be made in the ways individuals and societies behave and

develop (Harber, 2014), and therefore the ways in which education is attempted to be improved with

the support of external actors plays an important role in the discussion on how educational

intervention programmes can support or hamper development. The BEQIP provides an example of

how local actors can experience external programmes to influence education and development in

their local context. In their perspectives the BEQIP supported development through the

improvement of education quality by training local teachers on how to implement the LCE approach

in their classrooms. Although local actors experienced that the external facilitators were operating

from a Western episteme and features of neo-colonialism were related to the programme, the

contextual relevance of the programme was considered to be high. This shows that in educational

development aid Western ideologies can support the development of non-Western regions as long

as these ideologies conform to the interests of local actors. Since neo-colonial features in this

research predominantly arose from the involvement of external (Western) actors, it is imaginable

that similar intervention programmes result in identical neo-colonial experiences among local actors.

Once this causality is acknowledged by practitioners in the field of education aid, a better

understanding can be created on why particular elements of intervention programmes do or do not

result in the desired or expected outcomes. Based on this understanding, then, generally successful

elements can be conserved whereas elements that generally fail can be adapted and improved,

which can eventually support an increase in the successes of educational aid in developing regions.

45

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Appendix

Interviews

Table 2. List of interviews.

Number Description Date

Interview 1 Darul-Hardis Junior High School teacher 21/09/2016

Interview 2 Darul-Hardis Junior High School teacher 22/09/2016

Interview 3 Nyohini Presby Junior High School teacher1 29/09/2016

Interview 4 Nyohini Presby Junior High School teacher2 29/09/2016

Interview 5 Yilonayili Angelican Junior High School teacher 10/10/2016

Interview 6 Yilonayili Angelican Junior High School teacher 11/10/2016

Interview 7 Yong-Dakpemyili Junior High School teacher1 18/10/2016

Interview 8 Yong-Dakpemyili Junior High School teacher2 18/10/2016

Interview 9 Kanvilli Presby Junior High School teacher 20/10/2016

Interview 10 Kanvilli Presby Junior High School teacher 21/10/2016

Interview 11 Yoo R/C Junior High School teacher 27/10/2016

Interview 12 Pong-Tamale M/A Primary School teacher1 08/11/2016

Interview 13 Pong-Tamale M/A Primary School teacher2 08/11/2016

Interview 14 Salaga Presby Junior High School teacher1 18/11/2016

Interview 15 Salaga Presby Junior High School teacher2 * 18/11/2016

Interview 16 Salaga Presby Junior High School teacher3 18/11/2016

Interview 17 Catholic Primary School teacher1* 05/12/2016

Interview 18 Catholic Primary School teacher2* 05/12/2016

Interview 19 Catholic Junior High School teacher* 05/12/2016

Interview 20 Islamic Junior High School teacher* 05/12/2016

Interview 21 Islamic Primary School teacher* 05/12/2016

Interview 22 Wayamba R/C Junior High School teacher1* 06/12/2016

Interview 23 Wayamba R/C Junior High School teacher2* 06/12/2016

Interview 24 Wayamba R/C Primary School teacher* 06/12/2016

Interview 25 Johnson Naapi – programme facilitator IBIS 23/11/2016

Interview 26 Adomey Raphael – programme facilitator Savana Signatures / technical support

29/11/2016

Interview 27 Alhassan Seibu – programme facilitator Ghana Education Service (GES) / ICT trainer

15/12/2016

Interview 28 Frits Kruiswijk – programme facilitator Edukans 26/01/2017

Interview 29 Ries Sieswerda – founder BEQIP & programme facilitator University of Amsterdam

08/02/2017

N.B. At schools on which two interviews were conducted on the same day, the ‘1’ and ‘2’ distinguish

the specific teachers.

*Control group teachers.

52

Table 3. Interview sheet BEQIP teachers.

53

54

Table 4. Interview sheet non-BEQIP teachers

55

Table 5. Interview sheet national organisation facilitators.

56

57

Table 6. Interview sheet international organisation facilitators.

58