Peer-reviewed article
Early Childhood Education Policy and Practice in Ghana
Francis R. Ackah‐Jnr, John Kodwo Appiah, Kwaku Addo-Kissiedu, Alex Kwao ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper examines how early childhood education (ECE) policy is implemented in Ghana, using a framework to analyse the policy instruments used. The study finds that while Ghana's ECE system has improved in terms of equity and access, significant challenges remain in teacher training quality and parental involvement. The authors identify factors that help and hinder ECE effectiveness and recommend ongoing professional development for ECE teachers and program evaluation.
Key points
- Ghana's ECE has shifted from traditional to formalised and modernised care and education services
- ECE policy has somewhat addressed equity and access issues for young children
- Key concerns exist regarding quality teacher training and parent involvement
- Implementation factors are critical to promoting effective ECE programs
- Professional development and capacity-building for ECE implementers are needed
Limitations
The document is a policy analysis rather than an empirical study, so it does not present data on outcomes for children or rigorous evaluation of specific interventions. It does not quantify the extent of equity gains or specify which implementation factors most strongly affect child outcomes.
Abstract
Early childhood education (ECE) in Ghana has grown from a traditional approach to a more formalised and modernised system of care and education services for young children. As a valued practice, ECE reflects a distributive, regulatory or redistributive policy. The paper analyses Ghana’s ECE policy implementation using McDonnell and Elmore’s framework of five elemental instruments. We supported the analysis with ECE policy documents and research evidence in ECE. Enabling and inhibiting factors affecting ECE were identified and ways were devised to enhance the latter. We established that while ECE has somewhat addressed equity and access issues, concerns exist regarding implementation factors such as quality teacher training and parent involvement for promoting effective programs. The paper recommends the need to evaluate ECE and provide planned and ongoing opportunities to advance the professional development, capacity, and motivation of ECE implementers, especially early childhood teachers.