Apart from giving to the converts a new religious faith which they consider is superior to the traditional religions, the Christian missionaries did pioneering work in introducing new crafts, industries, Western education and modern health services. In conclusion, the converts tended to look down upon many things in their ancestral culture. On the opposite side, the coming of the Christian missionaries brought in its wake certain negative developments like disregard for African culture and rebellion against traditional authority. Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000. One reason why the Christian missionaries came to Ghana and the rest of Africa was to convert the people to the Christian faith. One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. The late Eighteenth Century witnessed the rise of Christian groups in Europe that resorted to the evangelization of Africa. Being ignorant of the significance of certain institutions and practices of the people of West Africa, and occasionally being misled by their over-zealous followings into wrongly interpreting the peoples heritage, the missionaries compelled pupils in their schools and docile adult converts to shun their own ancestral practices. Education in Ghana - Wikipedia 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. endstream endobj startxref We shall begin with the positive contribution of the Christian missionaries in Ghana. Apart from the extreme south and the Horn, the interior was hardly touched by Europeans before the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century. *You can also browse our support articles here >. 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. The European Christian missions preached the Gospel, built churches, and seminaries translated the Bible to Ghanaian Languages such as Ewe, Ga, and Twi. In 1845 the C.M.S. The anti-slavery issue and the humanitarian conscience also played a vital role in stimulating European interest in Africa and gave an impetus to mission work. Hope Waddell was later joined by the Rev. Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. One of their scholarships is a drawing for $2,500. All work is written to order. Sign in to view the collection. Indeed, most of our early nationalists were all products of mission schools. Over time and with the dedication of teachers like Father Burke, the school rose to prominence. Success followed the efforts of the pioneer missionaries. Thank you! They include Sierra Leone 1900-1933; Ghana 1903; Cape Verde 1904-1910; and St Vincent 1907-1912. 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. As a member of the Church of England, it interests me to see echoes of Christian educational efforts by organizations such as Compassion Canada in the educational efforts of the missionary branch of the Anglican Church, the Church Missionary Society, or CMS. However, the motivation behind teaching Africans basic literacy and mathematics might not have been a cause for concern if not for the fact that the religious motivation curtailed education. The missionaries believed that in order to stabilize the faith of converts and to assist in character development, it was necessary that they should be able to read the scriptures or other books of religious instruction, translated by the missions. Young Vincent began his studies with the Society of the Divine Word at Divine Word Seminary at Miramar in Massachusetts in 1947. Teaching in the vernacular had an additional use as it further strengthened colonial rule, of which missionaries were often agents, for as the Kikuyu people of Kenya were aware, [the] inability to communicate in English would be a crucial factor in the perpetuation of their subordinate status in the colony (Berman 1974:531). The evangelical societies founded in the Americas included the Baptist Missionary Board and the Nova Scotian Methodists, whose members went to work among the Maroons, who had settled mainly in Liberia. The high temperatures coupled with high rainfall patterns in some parts of the country experienced during the daytime, made the missionaries stay indoors, which slowed down their activities. English grammar English comprehension Private Study This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. Yes! The original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. In the same year as the Basel missionaries settled in Akuapem 1835 the Wesleyan (later Methodist) Church was established at Cape Coast by the Rev. Study for free with our range of university lectures! Series CLS. 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. We shall now turn our attention to the activities of the Christian missionaries in Ghana. 2 (1983): 116-143. Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. A history of Christianity in Ghana. 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. The early Christian missions concentrated their activities not only on religious matters. Not only did mission education strengthen colonial rule, but it also weakened traditional societies and implemented poor standards of Western education. West Africa owes to the Christian missionaries not only a new religious faith which has changed the beliefs and life of millions of people, but also the foundation of western education. Their personal and family choices influenced the expansion speed of missionary education. Support earthquake relief and outreach efforts, biblical foundation for the next generation of believers. Request Permissions. Similar organizations were formed in several other European countries. PDF Religion Education and Development in Ghana - EA Journals Again, the missionaries helped to pacify Africans while their rich natural resources were being plundered by the colonial government. In fact, Jacobus Capitein, a former Ghanaian slave who became a priest in the Dutch Reformed Church in the 18th century was on record to have defended the practice of slavery. The first missionaries to come to Ghana were the Roman Catholic missionaries in the 15th century and the Anglican missionaries. 1 (1971): 103-115. House, 1967. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. Within ten years the C.M.S had opened twelve more schools in what is today Cross Rivers State. Literature Despite their significant contributions to education, local language development, agriculture and the economy as a whole, the missionaries have been criticized severally. self help And yet the Asafo provided most of the services which a community needed: protection against military attacks, communal services, etc. They need YOU. Nevertheless, the first higher institution in Ghana, now the Presbyterian Training College at Akuapem Akropon, was established in 1848, first as a centre for training catechists, and later to train teachers as well as ministers of the Presbyterian Church. The missionaries also greatly improved the health services. Their records from World War One show their distance from the war and yet that it did affect their decisions. There were several reasons for this poor education, some intentional and some not. In the Gambia, the Methodist missionary and first principal of what later became known as the Gambia High School, the Rev. Joseph Dunwell. 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. With the support of the Propagation of the Faith within the Vatican, whose Cardinal Secretary became Pope Gregory XVI, various Roman Catholic missionary societies were founded. That missionaries used the vernacular illustrates the fact that missionaries were principally evangelists, and that they considered their other roles, including their role as educators, as less important. Prominent among the early Christian missionaries to come to the Gold Coast (Ghana) were the Roman Catholic, Methodist, Basel, Bremen and Anglican missions. Mission education left an uneven legacy: an analysis of 26 African I also matched up locations that differed in proximity to the mission stations, but otherwise had similar preconditions for educational development. New missionary societies (the LMS, the CMS, the Holy Ghost Fathers, the White Fathers, etc.) Even if secondary education was provided, it was often reserved for the sons of local chiefs (Oliver 1952:212; Beck 1966: 120), an elite the colonial government could then call upon to help rule the colony, a common practice in colonial Africa. 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 governor had observed the bad moral life of the Europeans in the fort. Even when governments discouraged domestic industries, graduates of vocational schools contributed to the economy of the colonies -and therefore indirectly the mother countrys as well. Reiterating what teacher education must encapsulate, Adegoke (2003) and Benneh (2006) indi-cated that the mission of Ghana's teacher education is to pro- document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. It was not until the nineteenth century, that the new religion was really established in West Africa. With the exception of the first two volumes, marked "West Africa", these items are drawn from the volumes Series CWW. But despite the work of Portuguese missionaries based on the island of Sao Tome and later of Spanish missionaries in Benin, it was not until the nineteenth century that the Christian religion was firmly established in Nigeria. While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. The first Europeans arrived at the West-African Coasts at the end of the fifteenth century. Specifically, it addresses the unique role of Christian missions in. With the arrival of more missions into the country came an explosion in mission schools across southern Ghana. In 1925 the Governor introduced measures which helped the efforts of the missionaries. Rather, it denationalized and facilitated the indignity and loss of cultural identity of the Ghanaian. Then lets begin straightaway. PDF Educational Reforms in Ghana: Past and Present Samuel Adu-Gyamfi1 4; img 109. The original letters from abroad cover West Africa from 1899 to 1933. African prose 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. A tiny act of kindness is remembered by a young man in need. These included the Basel Missionary Society, founded in Switzerland, and the Breman Mission formed in Germany. past questions Soon after the Methodist experiment, the church Missionary Society set up their own school at Badagry. They discovered that the holy book did not clearly prescribe monogamy, and contained several examples of renowned Christian polygamists. It was also terribly hard for a woman to be driven away, and to lose her status in the society where she is respected as a wife and a mother. Already have a license? This is the famous Presbyterian Teacher Training College founded in 1848 at Akropong-Akwapim. The work of the Basel Missionary Society was taken over with the consent of the Basel Mission Home Board by the United Free Church of Scotland whose ecclesiastical organization was Presbyterian. Theres still so much to be learned from the history of education in Africa and its long-term consequences. Contribution of the Methodist Church to education in Ghana The Methodists founded Mfantsipim (1876) for boys and Wesley Girls High School (1884). This company promoted the import and export trade in Ghana. To their minds, Africans were too backward and needed help to become more civilized.

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