contribution of missionaries to education in ghana

After a time the idea becomes ingrained -it is heathen and unchristian to be an African culturally (Awori cited in Berman 1974:536). Among other things the regulations required that all teachers should be registered, and a minimum salary was fixed. Another important Catholic missionary in this area was the Irishman, Bishop Shanahan. Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000. The third, St Nicholas Grammar School (now Adisadel College), was founded by the Anglican Church in 1910. Church history, history of Christianity, religious history: some reflections on British missionary enterprise since the late eighteenth century. Church History 71, no. I will earn a commission if you follow a link to purchase a product. Christian converts were indoctrinated to frown upon the use of indigenous first names in favour of Christian ones. Rev. Their educational activities helped spread literacy and vocational skills training among Ghanaians. And yet the Asafo provided most of the services which a community needed: protection against military attacks, communal services, etc. During the first half of the 19th century they targeted healthier places, with relatively lower malaria-risk, where European missionaries could survive and train local African missionaries and teachers (Jedwab et al. This box contains: the correspondence of Bishop See thematic groupings of our digital collections, See all of our digital collections in one place, Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951, Copies of letters received, 1890-1927; West Africa, vol. Furthermore, missionaries, believing in the civilizing mission, attempted to disintegrate traditional society through education by choosing academic subjects, such as the histories of the Western colonial powers, that illustrated the superiority of the Western culture, as well as by teaching about the superiority of the West in non-academic matters such as hygiene. With the arrival of more missions into the country came an explosion in mission schools across southern Ghana. House, 1967. 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. Up to Guggisbergs time, the church schools did not receive grants from the government. 1 (1971): 103-115. Alignment is the degree of congruence between your teaching philosophy and your institution's mission. They did a lot to impact the social and economic lives of Africans. Following agitation by the people in 1934, the government opened the old Yaba Higher College and Medical School, which awarded diplomas acceptable only locally. As one Eritrean student remarks, Our sisters [the Italian Sisters] would have undoubtedly taught better and more, but the Italian government in the colony did not permit Eritreans to get good instruction (T.T. With the exception of the first two volumes, marked "West Africa", these items are drawn from the volumes Series CWW. In Fanteland, the Methodists and Roman Catholics pioneered similar works. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropong on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. %PDF-1.7 % Perhaps the greatest service of the missionaries was the promotion of western education and the development of vernacular literature. However hypocritical, government support for the schools should not be surprising, considering the benefits the colonial governments stood to gain. This post may contain affiliate links. "Big things have small beginnings"; so is The Presbyterian Church of Ghana. At the end of the eighteenth century, the Evangelical Revival began to bring to Africa an influx of missionaries whose laoburs would produce the first fruits of an enduring Christian presence in Sub-Sahara Africa. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. Although most people are Presbyterians, they can also go to spirit and other cults, mostly Christian and Pentecostal movements, to find cures for disease and lack of success in this world. For the next decade, the Church grew in Ghana at an accelerated pace. The Christian religion teaches the doctrine of one supreme God and is opposed to the worship of any other forms of deity. He worked zealously as an evangelist and schoolmaster in the Castle School until his death in 1816. The contents of this tutorial will serve as a guide for a suitable essay on the below WAEC/WASSCE History past question. Next, branches of the C.M.S. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. As happened in parts of Yorubaland in the last century, some of the Christian missionaries often engaged in local politics and took an active part in helping the colonial authorities in their wars of territorial expansion. In the days of Portuguese contacts with Nigeria, Catholic priests had established missionary stations in Benin and the neighbourhood. Another missionary whose memory is revered in Nigeria was Mary Slessor, she arrived in the country in 1876, and for many years worked assiduously as a missionary nurse. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. Included on the website is information about the charitys programs, such as their Leadership Development Program in which participants earn a degree in their chosen field of study, and participate in Christian leadership training, enabling them to become a fully developed agent of change in their nation (Compassion Canada 2011). This is the famous Presbyterian Teacher Training College founded in 1848 at Akropong-Akwapim. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. However, by the turn of the Nineteenth Century there was systematic efforts by churches of Christian Europe, namely: Anglicans, Methodists, and Baptists who were active in Sierra Leone and, with Presbyterians, in Nigeria, while Methodists also set up missions in Ghana, Gambia, and Dahomey. 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. Required fields are marked *. Cookies are small, safe and secure text files that sit on your computer which we use to give you a better experience on our site and help us improve the service that we provide to you. Johann Christaller produced a similar work in Twi. Hastings, Adrian. He introduced the Methodist Church in Asante in 1839, and won the support of the Asante king. 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. Thus as early as 1823, the Roman Catholic Sisters started a clinic for the sick and for children in Banjul. 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His viewing and wake service took place on Sept. 26 at the chapel in the Divine Word Residence at Techny. churches were firmly established in several important towns, such as Abeokuta (1846), Lagos (1851), Ibadan (1853), and Oyo (1856). I well remember when he came to live with me in Trenton. The positive contribution of Christian missionaries in Ghana can be felt in such areas as education, local language development, stoppage of outmoded cultural practices, agriculture and commerce. CONTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO WEST AFRICA. While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. hb```,,g@( B(Pi xD r[e}v'$ImK *e()dP#jjTNl=VtN(%!30p0040tt0B GGc2m2@M``a$]x2\YkvIaB1b`h6f` (eAKPU d Missionaries were no doubt also aware that Africans came to associate European technological achievement with Western education (Bassey 1991:45) and therefore offered Western education as a means to attract Africans of this belief and then convert them. His funeral Mass was Sept. 27, followed by burial at St. Mary Cemetery at Techny. self help 4>Ofv}TMdQ! Ramseyer had at first not intended a missionary sojourn in Ashanti. Another difficulty that the early missionaries faced in the spread of Christianity was insufficient Christian literature at that time. By focusing on the African demand for education, I showed that Africans were not just passive recipients of mission schooling. Study for free with our range of university lectures! These contradictions are surprisingly absent from contemporary research. Their activities had both positive and negative effects on Ghanaian society. These included the Basel Missionary Society, founded in Switzerland, and the Breman Mission formed in Germany. The Basel Mission. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. The achievement of the purpose of these Christian Missions came with some costs. 2236624), The beginning of Africanisation : the dawn of the missionary motive in Gold Coast education, Early colonial and missionary records from West Africa, West Indies material in the archives of the USPG, 1710-1950. Many missionaries died because of the climate and tropical disease. In 1827 it grew into Fourah Bay College. First, alignment can help you communicate your . mock tests He was very simple in dress and in the use of modern technology, Father Tetteh said. One method of discouraging traditional practices was to give students a fully Western education. The American Episcopal Evangelical (A.M.E.) Zion Church owes its foundation in Ghana to Bishop J. Bryan Small, who started work first at Keta in 1898. Christian Religious Studies Mission Statement Father Burke was preceded in death by his parents and his brother John. Andrew Jackson Foster (1925-1987) was an American pioneer of deaf education in several countries in Africa. By February 2, 1918, all Basel missionaries had been deported from the Gold Coast. The most momentous discovery in western Africa came in 1471, when Portuguese captains first reached the coast of modern Ghana between the mouths of the Ankobra and Volta rivers. History Initially, their activities focused on coastal areas. One reason why the Christian missionaries came to Ghana and the rest of Africa was to convert the people to the Christian faith. Daystar Press, 1978. 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. university courses The missionaries also greatly improved the health services. The education and skill development of the people is the highest, most potent agent of national development that the Church imparts to its output of students, scholars, and professionals who perform various precious roles in the various sectors of the national economy for national development,' he stated. Because of rivalry, instead of building one common, multi-denominational school in a village that really only needed the one school, missionaries each built a school for their particular denomination and competed for students (Berman 1974:533). The Missionary Factor in Ghana's Development, pp.11 &135 categorically asserted that economic and social changes were brought about by the total effect of the various projects initiated by the. Further, the missionaries introduced improved methods of farming together with modern farm implements. 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. Another contribution of missionaries to the development of Ghana was their pioneering role in writing many local languages. In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into . It happens that some people convert at the end of their life in order to be buried in the prestigious Presbyterian cemetery. Private Study Already have a license? John G. Christaller (described as the Father of Twi Literature) produced a Twi grammar and dictionary, a collection of Twi proverbs, a Twi translation of the Bible as well as prayers and hymns. 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. In addition to contributing to fluctuating educational standards across the colony, inter-denominational rivalry caused a disparity in access to education. The home page of Compassion Canada is that of a stereotypical Northern charity: showing pictures of suffering children alternating with those of post-intervention, happy children. The weakening of traditional societies was not simply a consequence of the efforts of missionaries but one of their main objectives, stemming from their belief in the civilizing mission. Supporters of the civilizing mission believed that European colonial enterprises were justified as the Europeans were imparting their superior Western culture and ideas to the ignorant heathens of Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Although it can be said that Christian missionaries benefitted Africans by bringing in the more advanced Western education to the European colonies in Africa, it is believed that the mission schools in fact had a negative impact on the native peoples. Renewed evangelisation started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). As long as the Africans could read the Bible, the missionaries were satisfied that they had had enough academic education. non-slave trade), Christianity, Civilization and Colonization. PROBLEMS FACED BY THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES. THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES AND VERNACULAR LITERATURE; Another valuable contribution of the Christian missionaries in West Africa was the development of literature in the local vernaculars, this included the translation of the Bible into some of the important local languages. And yet this was what earlier missionaries in pagan Europe had done when, for example, they had changed the Sabbath to suit the pagan Sun Day (hence Sunday), and had also adopted the dates of the pagan festivals to celebrate Christmas Day and the Easter festival. The early Christian missions concentrated their activities not only on religious matters. Longman Group Ltd. London and Basingstoke, 1986, Fage, J.D. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! 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. Who is Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen? The tropical climatic condition in the country was not favourable to the early missionaries who came to the shores of West Africa. A.G. Frazer, did much to encourage the promotion of indigenous culture, but by and large the colonial authorities contributed to dwindling a good deal of our cultural heritage. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba. The Rev. They were at the forefront during the fight for self-rule in Ghana. Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000. J. G. Christaller produced a Twi Grammar and Dictionary. Among the early Protestant evangelical societies founded in Great Britain were the Baptist Missionary Society, the Church Missionary Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Wesleyan Missionary Society and what became known as the Presbyterian Missionary Society of the Church of Scotland. senior high school English Their converts increased steadily in numbers until 1821 when a section broke away to form the first independent African, Christian church in West Africa, called the West Africa Methodist Church. An Alumnus of the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, a Journalist, Author and a Philanthropist. Hope Waddell started pioneering work, in 1846, in Calabar. For instance, in Ghana, it was in 1858 that Rev. He worked zealously as an evangelist and schoolmaster in the Castle School until his death in 1816. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. Father Tetteh also took note of Father Burkes humility and devotion to his students. past questions For instance, in Nigeria in 2006, approximately only 51.2% of primary school teachers of either gender were trained as teachers, and the enrolment rate in primary education for both genders in 2000 stood at about 62.7%, compared to 99.5% in Canada (UN Data 2010). The restrictions intensified until in the second week of 1917, when all German missionaries were rounded up, brought to Accra and deportations began on December 16. The activities of the early Christian missionaries negatively affected the development of African traditional political institutions. First, missions saw education foremost as a means of conversion (Ayandele 1966: 286; Bassey 1991: 36; Berman 1974:527; Foster 1965:85; Sheffield 1973:11). Thus missionaries, by imparting education that promoted dependence on colonial rule, arguably contributed to the political instability that continues in the present day in many former African colonies, such as Kenya and Eritrea. The government gave grants according to the strength of the staff and the efficiency of the school judged by inspection reports and the results of public examinations. The agricultural schools the missions ran would have been even more advantageous to the colonial governments considering the discouragement of local industries that might have competed with the motherland. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba, called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. Johannes Zimmermann wrote a grammar of the Ga language and translated the entire Bible and a Bible history into Ga. Then in 1874, the Rev. In 1892, the Church Missionary Society opened the Iyi Enu Hospital in Onitsha which is today a leading hospital in Anambra state. Economics grammatical name Missionary, educator contributed to building independent Ghana. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in the name of Father Burke can be made for the care of elderly and infirm missionaries and sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, P.O. Young Vincent began his studies with the Society of the Divine Word at Divine Word Seminary at Miramar in Massachusetts in 1947. Was this information useful? As founder and director at CEGAST, he has successfully coached thousands of students in English, Literature, and related subjects for major international examinations. The country has diverse geography, people groups, and languageswith English as the common language, and more than 11 others with state recognition. Also, the traditional doctors more often than not could not diagnose illness accurately. 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. Looking for a flexible role? What would have happened if missionaries had not insisted on monogamy? All rights reserved. The early missionaries set up craft centres as part of their educational programmes. Notably among these missionaries are the Wesleyan, Basel, and Bremen. It is one of the oldest continuously published periodicals by and about Black people. As Sir Henry Johnston, a key figure in the Scramble for Africa says, they [the mission stations] strengthen our hold over the country, they spread the use of the English language, they induct natives into the best kind of civilization, and in fact, each mission station is an essay in colonization (Johnston cited in Sheffield 1973:10). However, with time, they brought some crops, which they cultivated and which sustained them. In 1989-90, the government banned the activities of several religious organizations, including the Church. bible knowledge Hildebrandt, Jonathan. However, as Jonathan Miran (2002) argues in his work on the roles of missionaries and the Italian state in Eritrean education, missionaries should not be held solely accountable for the poor standards of education. From 1835 to the middle of the nineteenth century the Church was in opposition to traditional religion. One Liberian student recalls that we were taught to dress properly, to eat properly, to speak properly. Among the Christian missionaries that came to the Gold Coast (Ghana) were the following. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. 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. 2018). Kalu, Ogbu. The training college later became part of Achimota College. The Basel and Methodist Missions, for example, introduced scientific agriculture in Ghana. I found that while educational outcomes are generally better in places that were exposed to Christian missions in the colonial era, traditionally polygamous societies benefited less. The Journal of Negro Education, 2019 This Western education imparted to the Ameru by the Church of Scotland Missionaries, Consolata . Often drumming and the harmless songs and dances of the people were condemned. crs questions and anwers He had a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Website design and development by Americaneagle.com, Inc, Society of the Divine Word- Western Province, Society of the Divine Word- Southern Province. We were expected to accept the European language as the superior one, and this was reinforced throughout my school career (Abu cited in Berman 1974:536). It was not until the nineteenth century, that the new religion was really established in West Africa. In addition, the contributions of celebrity missionaries, such as Christian Schwartz, William Carey, Alexander Duff, and James . The Basel missionaries, in particular, established experimental farms and plantations in places like Akropong. For more than a year, Ghanaian Saints continued to practice their faith in their homes. They worked to write the bible, dictionaries and textbooks in such Ghanaian Languages as Ewe, Fanti, Ga and Twi. In 1910, a prominent report of the World Missionary Conference concluded: [T]here can be no question of polygamy. The missionary and colonial education aimed at character training and civilization resulted in cultural annihilation and religious, and linguistic hegemony. ]v#5%{,%Y{iKsZ|Cm7NismGmg_zxKYh?>bQ?ni8G.wx:qAm$ eb!^Kr$,.9Qq^|1. In fact, the Christian missionaries encouraged Ghanaians to reject African names and choose Christian names instead. One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. 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. We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. Preventive medicine was hardly known; the result was that epidemics of different kinds were frequent. Mission schools provided a steady stream of educated Africans capable of filling the lower levels of the colonial administration and operated vocational and agricultural schools (Ayandele 1966: 295; Foster 1965: 90-91; Sheffield 1973: 10-11). The South African War is not covered in this grouping of letters. In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. There were several reasons for this poor education, some intentional and some not. Prior to the advent of western education, Ghana's traditional social structures had inbuilt opportunities for mobility. government questions Missionaries travelled through dense evergreen forests, crossed rivers and climbed mountains to bring the Gospel to as many Ghanaians as they could. In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into writing. Their luggage and other necessities had to be carried on heads and took a long time before reaching the missionaries. Another negative impact of mission education was that it weakened traditional societies, which in many ways further served the colonial cause. Mission schools were popular because of the new skills and opportunities they offered. Soon after the Methodist experiment, the church Missionary Society set up their own school at Badagry. student life In fact, most of the norms opposed by missionaries concerned gender relationships. 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. There were only bush paths, and no roads in the early times. He was followed, three years afterwards, by the Rev. This chapter traces the origins and long-term development of African mass education in colonial sub-Saharan Africa. This was because all the ships that came to the coast at that time were owned by trading firms and companies whose interest were basically on trade. Thus missionaries, by imparting education that promoted dependence on colonial rule, arguably contributed to the political instability that continues in the present day in many former African colonies, such as Kenya and Eritrea. We shall begin with the positive contribution of the Christian missionaries in Ghana. Soon after the start of elementary schools, the missionaries started opening higher institutions also. Unsurprisingly, the level of education increased as one moved closer to the missionaries. The American Episcopal Evangelical (A.M.E.) Zion Church owes its foundation in Ghana to Bishop J. Bryan Small, who started work first at Keta in 1898.

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