Children, language and access to schools in the global South: The case of migrants in Ghana

Research on migrant children and young people has often focused on the global North and less on South–South migration. This article discusses language and its effect on how young migrants access Ghanaian schools. Through interviews with 68 pupils, 21 parents and 40 teachers and principals from 30 sc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inChildren & society Vol. 36; no. 3; pp. 321 - 335
Main Authors Kyereko, Daniel Owusu, Faas, Daniel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.04.2022
Subjects
Access
Children
Developing countries
Francophones
Ghana
Global South
Head teachers
language
LDCs
migrant children
Migrants
Migration
Postcolonialism
Principals
Schools
Students
Teachers
Youth
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Summary:Research on migrant children and young people has often focused on the global North and less on South–South migration. This article discusses language and its effect on how young migrants access Ghanaian schools. Through interviews with 68 pupils, 21 parents and 40 teachers and principals from 30 schools across Accra, we found that children and young people from francophone countries were placed in lower than age‐appropriate grades due to their lower command of English. Our study highlights the complex linguistic barriers facing migrant youth in an anglocentric educational system. The article discusses the relevance of our results in other postcolonial multilingual nations in the global South.
ISSN:0951-0605
1099-0860
DOI:10.1111/chso.12454