Fosterage and Access to Schooling in Savelugu-Nanton, Ghana
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Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity Fosterage and Access to Schooling in Savelugu-Nanton, Ghana Caine Rolleston CREATE PATHWAYS TO ACCESS Research Monograph No. 59 March 2011 The Institute of Education University of London, UK The Consortium for Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE) is a Research Programme Consortium supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). Its purpose is to undertake research designed to improve access to basic education in developing countries. It seeks to achieve this through generating new knowledge and encouraging its application through effective communication and dissemination to national and international development agencies, national governments, education and development professionals, non-government organisations and other interested stakeholders. Access to basic education lies at the heart of development. Lack of educational access, and securely acquired knowledge and skill, is both a part of the definition of poverty, and a means for its diminution. Sustained access to meaningful learning that has value is critical to long term improvements in productivity, the reduction of inter-generational cycles of poverty, demographic transition, preventive health care, the empowerment of women, and reductions in inequality. The CREATE partners CREATE is developing its research collaboratively with partners in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The lead partner of CREATE is the Centre for International Education at the University of Sussex. The partners are: The Centre for International Education, University of Sussex: Professor Keith M Lewin (Director) The Institute of Education and Development, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh: Dr Manzoor Ahmed The National University of Educational Planning and Administration, Delhi, India: Professor R Govinda The Education Policy Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa: Dr Shireen Motala The Universities of Education at Winneba and Cape Coast, Ghana: Professor Jerome Djangmah, Professor Joseph Ghartey Ampiah The Institute of Education, University of London: Professor Angela W Little Disclaimer The research on which this paper is based was commissioned by the Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE http://www.create-rpc.org). CREATE is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries and is coordinated from the Centre for International Education, University of Sussex. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of DFID, the University of Sussex, or the CREATE Team. Authors are responsible for ensuring that any content cited is appropriately referenced and acknowledged, and that copyright laws are respected. CREATE papers are peer reviewed and approved according to academic conventions. Permission will be granted to reproduce research monographs on request to the Director of CREATE providing there is no commercial benefit. Responsibility for the content of the final publication remains with authors and the relevant Partner Institutions. Copyright © CREATE 2011 ISBN: 0-901881-71-6 Address for correspondence: CREATE, Centre for International Education, Department of Education School of Education & Social Work, Essex House, University of Sussex, Falmer BN1 9QQ, United Kingdom Tel: + 44 (0) 1273 877984 Fax: + 44 (0) 1273 877534 Author email: [email protected] Website: http://www.create-rpc.org Email [email protected] Please contact CREATE using the details above if you require a hard copy of this publication. Fosterage and Access to Schooling in Savelugu-Nanton, Ghana Caine Rolleston CREATE PATHWAYS TO ACCESS Research Monograph No. 59 March 2011 ii Contents Preface......................................................................................................................................vii Summary................................................................................................................................ viii 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background: Savelugu-Nanton District ...........................................................................1 1.2 Outline of the Study and Research Questions..................................................................3 2. Literature Review...................................................................................................................4 2.1 Fosterage in Dagbon.........................................................................................................4 2.2 Education in Dagbon: Historical perspective...................................................................8 2.3 Contemporary Education in Savelugu-Nanton District .................................................10 2.4 Fostering and Education.................................................................................................13 2.5 Fosterage and Schooling in Dagbon...............................................................................15 2.6 Fostered Girls and Education in Savelugu-Nanton........................................................17 2.7 Summary ........................................................................................................................20 3. Methodology........................................................................................................................21 4. Results..................................................................................................................................22 4.1 Fosterage in GLSS (Ghana Living Standards Survey) Data..........................................22 4.2 Fosterage in CREATE’s Community and Schools Survey (ComSS) Data ...................27 4.3 Educational Professional Interviews ..............................................................................30 4.3.1 Prevalence, Patterns and Trends in Fosterage .........................................................31 4.3.2 Reasons For and Functions of Fosterage.................................................................32 4.4 Household Interviews.....................................................................................................36 4.4.1 Family Livelihoods and Children’s Work...............................................................37 4.4.2 Education.................................................................................................................38 4.4.3 Family Structure and Fostering ...............................................................................40 4.4.4 Foster Relationships ................................................................................................44 4.4.5 Evolution of Fosterage.............................................................................................45 5. Discussion............................................................................................................................46 5.1 Fosterage and the CREATE ‘zones of exclusion’..........................................................46 5.2 Reasons for Fosterage and Their Impact on Educational Access ..................................46 6. Conclusions and Recommendations ....................................................................................51 References................................................................................................................................53 iii List of Tables Table 1: Adult literacy in Savelugu-Nanton 2001 and 2004 (%) ............................................11 Table 2: Basic Education Enrolment Indicators for Savelugu-Nanton District 2003/4...........11 Table 3: Basic Education Enrolment Indicators for Savelugu-Nanton District 2008/9...........12 Table 4: With Whom Schoolgirls in Five Schools Savelugu-Nanton Lived (%)....................18 Table 5: Summary of Results of Questionnaire of Biological Parents (%) .............................19 Table 6: Summary of Results of Questionnaire of Foster Parents (%)....................................19 Table 7: Summary of Results of Questionnaire to Teachers of Fostered Girls (%) ................20 Table 8: Ever-attendance rates of Children aged 6-18 in the Northern Region of Ghana by Relationship to the Household Head and by Gender...............................................................23 Table 9: Characteristics of fostered/non-fostered children aged 6-18 and foster/non-foster households in the Northern Region of Ghana (2005/6)...........................................................24 Table 10: Probit for ever attendance at school: Marginal effects ............................................26 Table 11: Prevalence of Fosterage in ComSS Data (2007/8) aged 6-17 all household...........27 Table 12: Numbers and Percentages of Fostered Children in ComSS (2007/8) all ages tracked in household data .....................................................................................................................28 Table 13: Children’s Education and Background Indicators by Fosterage Status (ComSS Tracked Sample aged 6-18) .....................................................................................................29 Table 14: Regression results: English test and pre-schooling (school-fixed effects) ..............30 List of Figures Figure 1: Location of Savelugu-Nanton District of Ghana........................................................2