Of the ten largest congregations for men, the Society of the Divine Word is the fastest growing over the past 50 years. If a government fails to regulate schools at all, they have no right to complain that the education in their colony is poor. A History of West Africa, Cambridge University Press, 1969, Fynn , J. K and R. Addo-Fening History for Senior Secondary schools. We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.co.uk. The contribution of the missionaries to the development of Setswana as Contribution of the Methodist Church to education in Ghana ]v#5%{,%Y{iKsZ|Cm7NismGmg_zxKYh?>bQ?ni8G.wx:qAm$
eb!^Kr$,.9Qq^|1. Christianity in northern Nigeria. Soon after secondary schools were opened in other parts of southern Nigeria, including Bonny High School, which was taken over by government in 1904. opened was the Christian Institute, established in 1814 for the training of teachers, catechists and priests. student life These Christian converts considered themselves to be holier than their traditional rulers and elders. They provided missionaries a way to spread Eurocentric norms and attract new converts. Young Vincent began his studies with the Society of the Divine Word at Divine Word Seminary at Miramar in Massachusetts in 1947. In 2006, Father Burke was appointed lecturer at the newly founded Catholic University College of Ghana in Sunyani. I have used my expertise to design and implement strategies for major projects including new programme development, global proposals, book launches, international talks, lectures, and executive . English grammar Teacher training colleges in Ghana did not expand as fast as the secondary schools. In 1876 the college became associated with Durham University in England, which awarded degrees to students of the college. Renewed evangelisation started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). Operational Christianity started 267 Years ago. CUP Archive, 1979. This was the work of the great missionary, Thomas Birch Freeman, who placed two missionaries, Mr and Mrs. de Graft, in charge of the school. For instance, in Nigeria in 2006, approximately only 51.2% of primary school teachers of either gender were trained as teachers, and the enrolment rate in primary education for both genders in 2000 stood at about 62.7%, compared to 99.5% in Canada (UN Data 2010). endstream
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This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. Series CLR. It is much easier to interact on an equal basis or even challenge the authority of another group when one is able to communicate in that groups language, instead of having to rely on an interpreter or non-verbal gestures, which undermine ones ability to show authority or express ones beliefs. Who is Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen? Amidst much honest missionary activity in the country for two centuries, prosperity gospel teachers have also gained influence, and numerous indigenous cults have arisen with distinct appeal and just enough truth to create confusion and syncretism. Given their priorities, it should thus come as little surprise that missions often provided poor education to the African pupils. In 1858 ten years after the founding of the first college, the Presbyterians opened a sister college at Aburi for the training of women teachers. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. Included on the website is information about the charitys programs, such as their Leadership Development Program in which participants earn a degree in their chosen field of study, and participate in Christian leadership training, enabling them to become a fully developed agent of change in their nation (Compassion Canada 2011). The missionaries seemed to have concentrated much of their effort on the production of export crops. Although there were many disagreements between European missionaries and African populations, antagonising polygamy is probably the best-documented norm conflict. The tropical climatic condition in the country was not favourable to the early missionaries who came to the shores of West Africa. Kalu, Ogbu. But the funds and other needed materials even when available could not reach their station in time. 2: Trans-Saharan Trade. This box contains: the correspondence of Bishop See thematic groupings of our digital collections, See all of our digital collections in one place, Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951, Copies of letters received, 1890-1927; West Africa, vol. Soon after the start of elementary schools, the missionaries started opening higher institutions also. Full article: Inequality of education in colonial Ghana: European The expansion of the missionary movement into Africa was part of the growing conception of Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. It happens that some people convert at the end of their life in order to be buried in the prestigious Presbyterian cemetery. Shaw, Mark. faceless characters A notable example, in Ghana, was the Methodist experimental farm near Cape Coast whose crops included cotton, coffee, black pepper, mango, ginger, cinnamon and olive trees. His work, however, did not extend much beyond Cape Coast and the neighbouring area. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. %%EOF
The kingdom of God in Africa: A short history of African Christianity. Missionaries continued to be the main providers of education even after colonial powers established control during the so-called Scramble for Africa which occurred between 1884-1914. In such situations, the message sometimes appealed to the local people depending on the efficiency of the interpreter. More women than men attend church, and the more strict churchgoers tend to be wealthier and of higher social status than less churchgoers or non-Presbyterians. Call: +233558280780, Your email address will not be published. A short history of education in British West Africa. He was followed, three years afterwards, by the Rev. For several years they paid attention to slave trade rather than evangelization and Christianization of the people of West-Africa. An Alumnus of the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, a Journalist, Author and a Philanthropist. Copyright 2003 - 2023 - UKEssays is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. I also matched up locations that differed in proximity to the mission stations, but otherwise had similar preconditions for educational development. Contribution of the Methodist Church to education in Ghana Unsurprisingly, the level of education increased as one moved closer to the missionaries. In short, it was a very successful mission in making us little black Anglo-Saxon Protestants. Yes! Despite the skills and opportunities mission schooling afforded, many Africans were not willing to pay the price. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! The Basel missionaries arrived on the shores of the Gold Coast in 1828 and It was not until 1909 that the government opened a teacher training college and a technical school in Accra. J. G. Christaller produced a Twi Grammar and Dictionary. Please click this link to download the chapter. However, by the turn of the Nineteenth Century there was systematic efforts by churches of Christian Europe, namely: Anglicans, Methodists, and Baptists who were active in Sierra Leone and, with Presbyterians, in Nigeria, while Methodists also set up missions in Ghana, Gambia, and Dahomey. Request Permissions. Prior to the advent of western education, Ghana's traditional social structures had inbuilt opportunities for mobility. The first Europeans arrived at the West-African Coasts at the end of the fifteenth century. Longman Publishing Group, 1980. For instance, in Nigeria, one of the first groups of missionaries to introduce organised medical services were the Roman Catholics. Christian Missionaries. Longman Nigeria Plc., 1994, Boahen, A.A. et al Tropics in West Africa History. Some progressive Europeans, like the first principal of Achimota College, Rev. In short, the impact of teaching in the vernacular was more negative than positive, as it reinforced colonial rule and no doubt did very little to preserve native cultural identities, seeing as missionaries promoted European languages as superior and only used the vernacular because conversion and religious instruction were such high priorities. The original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000. In addition to promoting a monogamous lifestyle in their schools, missionaries often insisted on divorces before polygamists or their children could even enrol. past questions For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions In the case of Ghana, like other nations, the impact . Andrew Jackson Foster (1925-1987) was an American pioneer of deaf education in several countries in Africa. Although the aim of the traders was to practice commerce In many instances, they made their converts rebel against traditional rulers and other spiritual leaders. A notable example was the Asafo Company, a purely military and social organisation of the peoples of Ghana, which was condemned by the early missionaries because of its presumed connection with fetish practices. They often attributed natural ailments to supernatural causes and resorted to mystic cults to appease the unknown spirit, before applying medicine to the sick person. This chapter traces the origins and long-term development of African mass education in colonial sub-Saharan Africa. EVANGELICAL MOVEMENTS AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES IN THE ENGLISH COLONIES. The activities of the early Christian missionaries negatively affected the development of African traditional political institutions. Father Burke spent more than half of his lifealmost 50 yearsin Ghana on the West Coast of Africa, said Father Edward Tetteh SVD, pastor of Blessed Sacrament-Our Lady of Divine Shepherd in Trenton, N.J. During his many years in Ghana, since he worked mostly in educational institutions, he produced excellent professionals: teachers, priests, ministers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, pharmacists, journalists and many others who work in different parts of the world.. It is one of the oldest continuously published periodicals by and about Black people. Other missionaries opened mission stations in the country. In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. Europe in those days looked upon Africa as the Dark Continent with very primitive civilizations, and most Europeans refused to adapt their religion to suit the local situation. Reiterating what teacher education must encapsulate, Adegoke (2003) and Benneh (2006) indi-cated that the mission of Ghana's teacher education is to pro- The original letters from abroad cover West Africa from 1899 to 1933. The Christian Connector Scholarship. New team members can be part of establishing a biblical foundation for the next generation of believers, the growth of nationally-led churches, and church planting in Ghana. West Africa and Christianity. PDF Educational Reforms in Ghana: Past and Present Samuel Adu-Gyamfi1 503 0 obj
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But with colonial conquest and antimalarial drugs, they moved further into the continent. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropong on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. Mission schools were popular because of the new skills and opportunities they offered. Prior to advent of the Christian missionaries and indeed well into the pre-independence period, most sick people depended for cure upon concoction herbs and roots and barks of trees. Their economic activities went beyond the development of agriculture. Longman Group Ltd. London and Basingstoke, 1986, Fage, J.D. English comprehension They impressed it upon their converts not to have anything to do with these traditional practices. Through academic lessons and lessons on Western etiquette and hygiene, mission students were isolated from their traditional cultures, a traumatic experience that would continue to trouble many students for the rest of their lives. History books tended to exaggerate in achievements of Europeans, making no reference to Africans own great past. As churches of the Volta Region begin reproducing, ABWE wants to reach out to Ghanas unreached people groups in its eight other regions. Containing 9,566 pages belonging to 77 documents housed in 6 volumes As outlined in the short history entitled. Until almost the end of the colonial period education was still largely in the hands of the churches. senior high school government Ghana - Statistics and Church Facts | Total Church Membership John G. Christaller (described as the Father of Twi Literature) produced a Twi grammar and dictionary, a collection of Twi proverbs, a Twi translation of the Bible as well as prayers and hymns. Called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. First, missions saw education foremost as a means of conversion (Ayandele 1966: 286; Bassey 1991: 36; Berman 1974:527; Foster 1965:85; Sheffield 1973:11). Hugh Goldie and William Anderson. They preferred to hold onto polygamy, even at the cost of illiteracy. By focusing on the African demand for education, I showed that Africans were not just passive recipients of mission schooling. Indeed, most of our early nationalists were all products of mission schools. The weakening of traditional societies was not simply a consequence of the efforts of missionaries but one of their main objectives, stemming from their belief in the civilizing mission. Supporters of the civilizing mission believed that European colonial enterprises were justified as the Europeans were imparting their superior Western culture and ideas to the ignorant heathens of Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. The constant tensions between traditionalists and Christian converts often erupted into all-out conflicts. Evans Brothers, Ltd. London. A.G. Frazer, did much to encourage the promotion of indigenous culture, but by and large the colonial authorities contributed to dwindling a good deal of our cultural heritage. . Babalola, E. O. Christianity in West Africa. These missions significantly influenced the systematic educational development in the Gold Coast. Johannes Zimmermann wrote a grammar of the Ga language and translated the entire Bible and a Bible history into Ga. Then in 1874, the Rev. The study examines the historical foundations of Western education in Meru and factors that influenced its development. English Their personal and family choices influenced the expansion speed of missionary education. The lead was followed by other missionaries, notably the Roman Catholic, whose first higher institution was St Edwards Secondary School in Freetown. The colonial Eritrean government ensured that native Eritreans received poor education by permitting them to only attend school up to the fourth grade (Miran 2002:127). In Ghana, missions strategically weighted costs and benefits when choosing where to establish their churches and schools. In my study, I explored how colonial era conflicts and disagreements over marriage norms lastingly affected educational development. The quest for an all-inclusive development model of Ghana and other developing nations, therefore, calls for an insight into the role and responsibilities of religion toward education. Another contribution of missionaries to the development of Ghana was their pioneering role in writing many local languages. For example, they made our people view polygamy and puberty rites as pagan practices. Predominantly Muslim territory, the North received western education later than the South. Then lets begin straightaway. We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. The common response among traditionally polygamous people is well illustrated by a passage in Jomo Kenyattas famous book on the Gikuyu in colonial Kenya: This [the insistence on monogamy] caused a great confusion, for the African could not understand how he could drive away his wives and children, especially in a community where motherhood is looked upon as a religious duty; the children are regarded as part and parcel, not only of the father, but of the whole clan (mbari), and without them the mbari is lost. Thomas Thompson, arrived in Cape Coast in 1752. The Methodists, known as the Wesleyan Missionaries (after their founder), arrived in Freetown in 1811. With the exception of the first two volumes, marked "West Africa", these items are drawn from the volumes Series CWW. All the three secondary schools in Cape Coast were mission institutions. As happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the gospel alone. Baker Pub Group, 1996. The missionaries also greatly improved the health services. 6: Christian Missionary Activities in West Africa ABWE first began work in Ghana with a goal to reach unchurched Ghanaians in the Volta Region with the gospel and then to expand evangelism efforts to other parts of the country. 2006 - 2023 Microform Academic Publishers | Microform Academic Publishers is a division of Microform Imaging Limited (Company registered in England no. 2023 Society of the Divine Word. DISCLOSURE. Debrunner, Hans Werner. We must not lose sight of the fact that the colonial government in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa relied on the activities of the missionaries to help them achieve the objectives of colonial rule. education was an important means for mission evangelization. In 1925 the Governor introduced measures which helped the efforts of the missionaries. Soon after the Methodist experiment, the church Missionary Society set up their own school at Badagry. The first school in Nigeria was started by the Methodist missionaries at Badagry in 1842. Their arrival in South Africa was aimed particularly at spreading the Word of God. The blessings which Christianity has brought to West Africa are many. Another important missionary doctor was J. R. Stephen who for many years headed a missionary hospital at Ilesha. The third, St Nicholas Grammar School (now Adisadel College), was founded by the Anglican Church in 1910. While the Evangelical Presbyterian missionaries were the First to develop literature in Ewe, the Roman Catholics were responsible for Nzima literature. C.M.S. Similar organizations were formed in several other European countries. Indeed, the quality of the education could be so poor that the colonial governments complained, as in the case of the Nigerian government, which complained that the secondary school graduates provided by the missions were illiterate and ignorant and therefore poorly suited to fill the lower levels of the administration (Ayandele 1966:294-5). government questions Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries came to the Gold Coast from the 15th century. The European Christian missions preached the Gospel, built churches, and seminaries translated the Bible to Ghanaian Languages such as Ewe, Ga, and Twi. Henry Townsend who went from Sierra Leone to Badagry in 1842 in his company was the Rev Ajayi Crowther. The Missionary Factor in Ghana's Development, pp.11 &135 categorically asserted that economic and social changes were brought about by the total effect of the various projects initiated by the. First, I looked at how educational outcomes depended on the distance to historical missions. After World War I was declared in 1914, the German missionaries were restricted in their movements by the British in the British colonies. Vol. 517 0 obj
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In spite of all this, with the advent of the First World War in 1914 in the Kwaku District there were 21 congregations with a total of over 2500 members. The Rev. Indeed, once the souls had been saved and since the students must have been considered clever enough, European languages were almost universally the languages of instruction in the later primary years and in secondary schools (Beck 1966: 120; Foster 1965: 159; Miran 2002:127). Also, Christian missionaries in Ghana were as zealous as their counterparts in Nigeria in pioneering medical services. The foreign exchange earnings helped to develop Ghanas infrastructure. Senior High School Literature He told me that that amount of money could pay for school fees for five students in secondary school in Ghana.. Required fields are marked *. As negative as all these impacts of the missionaries undoubtedly were for the African pupils, the long-term consequences are arguably as serious. Other difficulties the early Christians faced were the problems of the many languages and dialects and their ignorance of the true meaning of the various cultures, beliefs, values and ways of life of the people whom they set out to convert to Christianity. Educational Reforms in Ghana: Past and Present - ResearchGate He also blogs at BloggingtotheMax.com. In this essay on the impact of Christian missionary activities on Ghanaian society, we shall examine the role of the missionaries in the development of Ghana and the rest of Africa.