Fosterage and Educational Access Among the Dagomba of Savelugu-Nanton, Ghana

Abstract

A significant minority of children in Ghana, in common with other countries in West Africa, are cared for primarily by guardians other than their biological parents under arrangements of fosterage. While in some cases these arrangements provide for better educational opportunities than would be available in the biological home, in many others fostered children are at a notable disadvantage where educational access is concerned. This policy brief explores the implications of fosterage for educational access in the case of one deprived rural district in Ghana where traditions of fosterage are strong and where levels of access to education are comparatively low. It is based on the CREATE Pathways to Access Research Monograph, Fosterage and Access to Schooling in Savelugu-Nanton, Ghana (Rolleston, forthcoming).

Citation

CREATE Ghana Policy Brief 4, 4 pp.

Fosterage and Educational Access Among the Dagomba of Savelugu-Nanton, Ghana

Published 1 January 2010