Reimagining Education Policy in Ghana: Uncovering Deficit Discourses and Political Spectacle in the Free Senior High School Policy

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 7:45 am - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Opening Doors or Shifting Barriers? Policy Implementation and Futures of Educational Access

Abstract

This proposal examines the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy in Ghana via the dual lenses of deficit thinking and political spectacle. The paper seeks to analyze how policy rhetorics shape public comprehension, social stratification, and the future of education in the country. Launched in 2017 as a landmark initiative by the Ghanaian government, the FSHS policy was largely heralded for augmenting access to senior high education. However, a deeper analysis divulges how policy narratives frame economically underprivileged families and students as sedentary recipients rather than dynamic agents, perpetuating deficit presumptions about their financial abilities being the problem. Also, political actors have persistently exploited the policy for their gain.

Author

• Mohammed Ibrahim, Arizona State University