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Chapter 5African and Ghanaian Perspectives on Children and Childhood

Children begin to learn to help in house and farm at a comparatively early age, from five years onwards, tasks usually being commensurate with their ability and size Their services are in many cases indispensable, for, by carrying out the more monotonous, time-consuming tasks such as bird-scaring, cattle-herding, baby-tending, water-carrying, they give their parents and guardians leisure to pursue their specialist activities; to attend market or just to do more arduous chores.‘ (Oppong, 1973 p51).

The above description of childhood by Christine Oppong, one of the early children and family researchers in Ghana is experienced by many children in Ghana today as corroborated by Twum-Danso (2010).

Boakye-Boaten (2010), writing about the African perspective of childhood, puts forward the claim that childhood within the Ghanaian context is very much a social construction, in that traditionally, children were seen as reincarnations of people who lived and died in previous generations. This spiritual component was central to children showing respect, obedience and love to adults and older people within their communities. The extent to which this obedience, love and respect was demonstrated, differed from culture to culture, with different interpretations of how a reincarnated child is treated, socialised and embraced within the family and wider community.

Twum-Danso (2010) adds to this argument by suggesting that any person who remains dependent on their parents or on other adults, is perceived to be a ‘child’. Her study of children’s participation rights in Ghana revealed, for example, that a 40-year-old person, who continued to rely on their parent was perceived to be a child, the operating factor here being one of dependency. This person would have to be submissive, respectful and loyal for as long as they are being looked after and cared for by their parent. This also means that such a person is unable to express their views or contribute to decision making as ‘they do not have the right to speak, but only to listen’ (p 136).

The conclusion reached by Twum-Danso is that Ghanaian children’s participation is not one that is generally encouraged or supported by their parents; however, there are some indications of shift and progress in this area which she perceives as being a direct result of the implementation of the essence of the UNCRC.

Children are not a homogenous group and are differentiated by gender, ethnicity, disability, age and religion, and language to mention a few. Childhood experiences differ for all children, both within and outside their families of origin. For Ghanaian children in boarding schools, their experiences will be different from their peers who attend day provision only, having to adapt to a new subculture outside their family of origin. Their experiences will also be differentiated by the type of boarding school they are enrolled in. We know, for example, that children attending faith-linked schools have additional requirements linked to the particular faith. A boarding school based on Catholic values, for example, may require the children to attend mass in the morning, pray before meals and at the start of lessons, at intervals during the day and before bed at night. This system will not be the same for children in other boarding schools although it is acknowledged that all schools will have their bespoke operating parameters.

Childhood as a Social Construct

Childhood, as suggested by McKie and Cunningham-Burley (2005, p74), is experienced ‘differentially across social class, localities and time’. This assertion very much lends itself to the social constructionist thinking which is relevant to any discussion about children. Constructs of social class, localities and time will be significant for Ghanaian parents, whose own experiences of childhood and how these experiences have influenced the bringing up of their own children will be a key influence on how they construct their children’s participation in matters affecting them. Social constructionism according to Burr (2003) refers to seeing the world from the point of view of the observer, determined by history and culture. Regarding childhood, a social constructionist view by Ghanaian parents could take into account the family’s’ ethnic origin, settlement, cultural, spiritual, religious and linguistic influences.

Owing to the varied cultures and belief systems in Ghana, children are deemed as belonging to either the father’s lineage or the mother’s lineage for the purposes of funerals and inheritance (Hanson, 2004).

Among the Akan tribal group of Ghana, for example, children are said to belong to their mothers and so this means that children born to Akan families are expected to relate more closely with members from their mother’s side of the family than their fathers side of the family. Children from this tribe inherit financially and materially from their maternal uncles in the event of death (Hanson 2004). This will assist in determining a child’s identity, which side of the family they lean towards and ultimately, the definition of childhood within that context.

Twum-Danso (2010) found that parents who form close bonds with their children are more likely to involve them in family decision-making, and it would be interesting for further research to be conducted about the extent to which children are involved in the decision to attend boarding school.

Qvortrup (1994) however, cautions us not to rely too heavily on the context of childhood; otherwise there is the risk of prioritising what is unique over what could be considered as common. This could also imply the lack of guidelines in identifying any common features of childhood. This caution by Qvortrup, whilst interesting, poses a number of dilemmas for us as authors.

In this 21st century, the nature of childhood has continued to change, influenced by advances in technological know-how and consumerism. Children have and are influenced by modern technology including Televisions, PlayStations, IPods, I-pads, mobile phones, laptop computers and so on. Palmer (2006) refers to this as ‘toxic childhood’, where media plays a role in influencing children to own technology which can impact on their development. It has also been suggested by some commentators that although the use of technology is not necessarily a negative thing, children can become addicted to playing games thus causing them to lead sedentary, inactive and unhealthy lives.

Learning checks

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