The impact of British Colonisation on the development of education and Physical Education in Ghana.

This cross-cultural study examines the process of transplanting a system of education into a society other than the one from which it had evolved; focusing upon the influence of British Colonial administration and policy on the development of education and most specifically, Physical Education in Ghana. The study revealed that Ghanaian traditional methods, before European contact, and British patterns of education varied considerably, as did the purposes and philosophies they were intended to serve. In the pre-colonial era, a traditional form of education and physical culture had developed to meet the needs of the Ghanaian people. The system was substituted in its entirety during colonial rule, by a form that had evolved in Britain. Following the achievement of Independence in 1957, new incentives were taken to establish an educational system based on traditional lines and aspirations. The reforms introduced were peripheral and unsystematic and therefore gained inadequate support. Eventually, a system was achieved that integrated the relative merits of the two previous systems. Certain issues are raised, relating to the special nature of Physical Education as an aspect of the school curriculum. In conclusion, the study emphasizes the various social, political, economic and geographical variance that must be taken into consideration in establishing a system of education in a given society.