contribution of missionaries to education in ghana

The work of the missionaries also had little success initially. The greatest problem faced by the early European Christian missionaries was, the tropical climate and health Hazards. Indeed, in some situations the converts were taught to feel that they were absolved from obeying their own traditional rulers and certain laws of the state. In addition to teaching, he served as national spiritual director of the Ghana Sacred Heart Enthronement Centre and spiritual director of the Accra Diocesan Sacred Heart Centre. 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. Teacher training colleges in Ghana did not expand as fast as the secondary schools. History of the church in Africa: a survey. In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. After completing that assignment, Father Burkes superiors asked him to teach English as a second language (ESL) to Divine Word missionaries who did not know the language. 503 0 obj <> endobj To put it differently, the motive was to gain acceptance in the sight of God so that after death they would be judged kindly by the heavenly father. It is possible to hear the tune of this missionary hymn. Besides, the missionaries had to travel longer distances to inland towns from their southern stations. Lastly, the missionaries were not used to eating our local foods. CONTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO WEST AFRICA. bible knowledge Literature His funeral Mass was Sept. 27, followed by burial at St. Mary Cemetery at Techny. Hugh Goldie and William Anderson. 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. For the next decade, the Church grew in Ghana at an accelerated pace. 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. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! . senior high school government which were for females (Graham, 1971). Father Jean Marie Coquard, operating in and from Abeokuta for forty years, was renowned among the Egba as a priest and surgeon in the second half of the nineteenth century. churches were firmly established in several important towns, such as Abeokuta (1846), Lagos (1851), Ibadan (1853), and Oyo (1856). This post may contain affiliate links. In fact, the Christian missionaries encouraged Ghanaians to reject African names and choose Christian names instead. Find below a list of mission schools that still exist in Ghana today. Daystar Press, 1978. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. 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). One method of discouraging traditional practices was to give students a fully Western education. Soon after secondary schools were opened in other parts of southern Nigeria, including Bonny High School, which was taken over by government in 1904. 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. Technical and vocational education had been emphasized in the education system in Ghana since the colonial era. As founder and director at CEGAST, he has successfully coached thousands of students in English, Literature, and related subjects for major international examinations. station in 1858, it was not until 1889 that the missionaries entered Hausaland, which was predominantly Muslim. Textbooks were heavily biased towards western ideas and values. There were several reasons for this poor education, some intentional and some not. Again, the missionaries persuaded Africans to abandon the practice of tribal marks. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Thus, because of the motive of proselytization, unqualified teachers, and inter-denominational rivalry, missions frequently provided poor education. The impact of Christianity on West African society has persisted to this day. 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). However, attending mission schools also meant exposure to colonial indoctrination. The Rev. This allowed me to estimate the impact of mission schooling directly. The missionary and colonial education aimed at character training and civilization resulted in cultural annihilation and religious, and linguistic hegemony. His work, however, did not extend much beyond Cape Coast and the neighbouring area. People all around the world are searching for hope, but many dont have someone to tell them about the hope found in Jesus. 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. Copyright 2003 - 2023 - UKEssays is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. In an ironic twist, the more Africans became versed in the Bible, the more they began to challenge missionaries. Then lets begin straightaway. To supplement these missionary efforts in the field of higher education, the government opened its own secondary school in Lagos in 1909, this was Kings College. And thats why I decided to look deeply into this issue. A large percentage of Ghanas 30 million people are nominally Christian (more than 70% as of the last census), and 28% consider themselves evangelical believers. As negative as all these impacts of the missionaries undoubtedly were for the African pupils, the long-term consequences are arguably as serious. For instance, the Basel Mission established Basel Mission Trading Company (UTC) in 1859. Learn how your comment data is processed. In 1925 the Governor introduced measures which helped the efforts of the missionaries. Hope Waddell of the Church of Scotland had opened a school at Duke Town, Calabar. Christian Missionaries. A special memorial Mass was celebrated at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 9. Born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1933, Vincent Burke was the third of Walter and Eleanor (nee McGoff) Burkes four sons. Within ten years the C.M.S had opened twelve more schools in what is today Cross Rivers State. 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. *You can also browse our support articles here >. They need YOU. Other missionaries opened mission stations in the country. 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. This involved learning to read in the vernacular (Hadfield cited in Bone 1969:7). Baker Pub Group, 1996. Volunteers and donors to organizations such as Compassion Canada believe that they are being humanitarian when they build schools in Africa, volunteer as teachers or help in other ways to improve the quality of education in African nations, yet missionaries and colonial governments were similarly lauded as performing a great work of humanity (Beck 1966:117) and likewise believed that they were helping their African pupils. In addition to promoting a monogamous lifestyle in their schools, missionaries often insisted on divorces before polygamists or their children could even enrol. 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. While the protestant evangelical movements were gaining ground in West Africa, similar movements were being promoted by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. In 1981, Father Burke was promoted to headmaster and rector of Pope John XXIII Secondary School and Minor Seminary in Koforidua. Indeed, once the souls had been saved and since the students must have been considered clever enough, European languages were almost universally the languages of instruction in the later primary years and in secondary schools (Beck 1966: 120; Foster 1965: 159; Miran 2002:127). While it has brought undoubted benefits, it has also harmed the traditional way of life. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? He professed vows in 1953 in Conesus, N.Y., and was ordained to the priesthood in 1961 at Techny, Ill. Establishment of Christian Churches In Sierra Leone. There were no Bibles in local languages, likewise grammar books were scant, so the missionaries had to spend time learning local languages, and translated the Bible and wrote series of grammar books. Instruction in the Colonial School and the Wesleyan Mission schools at Cape Coast Castle was in English despite the fact that Fanti was the language of the native people. The Roman Catholic Sisters provided medical care in the Upper and Northern Regions of the country before the government started to provide hospitals and clinics in the regional and district headquarters. 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 Nigeria, one of the lasting works of the C.M.S. Earlier in 1846, the Rev. Human Zoos: Untold History of Suppression, The Legend of King Ulu (Ancient Thai Folklore), The Kingdom of Saud of The Arabs (Saudi Arabia), The Wesley Brothers of Oxford University (1700s), Razia Sultan of Medieval India (786 Years Ago), The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (The Revelation), Education in Africa: The Impact of Colonialism, Why The Legendary Geneva Bible was Banned. And yet the Asafo provided most of the services which a community needed: protection against military attacks, communal services, etc. It was only after the Second World War that the colonial governments started to show a real interest in the promotion of formal education in West Africa. The Christian Connector is a great resource for Christians and aspiring ministry leaders and missionaries to apply for scholarships. Africa Christian Press, 1996. This conditioning was focused on norms that missionaries deemed incompatible with a Christian way of life. Longman Group Ltd. London and Basingstoke, 1986, Fage, J.D. The churches opened primary schools both in the capital and in the rural communities. English for life Johannes Zimmermann wrote a grammar of the Ga language, and in 1874 the Rev. He is survived by two brothers, Walter and Kevin Burke. Containing 9,566 pages belonging to 77 documents housed in 6 volumes As outlined in the short history entitled. The missions agricultural schools were especially beneficial for colonial governments considering that governments believed that manual labour was a means to prevent discontent and unrest in the tribes (Hansen 1984:232). The first missionaries to come to Ghana were the Roman Catholic missionaries in the 15th century and the Anglican missionaries. The early missionaries set up craft centres as part of their educational programmes. 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. The Journal of Negro Education (JNE), a scholarly refereed journal, was founded at Howard University in 1932. Similar developments were carried out by the missionaries in other Nigerian languages, Efik, Kanuri, Igbo, etc. A history of Christianity in Africa: From antiquity to the present. Almost all the missions in West Africa faced financial problems in the early stages of their missionary work. Father Burke, whose students included Father Tetteh and Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle of Accra, arrived in Ghana, West Africa, in 1963, only four years after the country gained independence from Great Britain. Now, with the burgeoning Cocoa industry, the expansion of commercial activity, the development of gold mines and the building of roads and railways disturbed the traditional lifestyle. The Akim area had about 3400 converts over 32 villages and there were about 900 children distributed in 27 Schools. The late Eighteenth Century witnessed the rise of Christian groups in Europe that resorted to the evangelization of Africa. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. Among the first missionaries was the Rev. Kuhne , his fellow captive and co-author joined him at the mission as a trader in cotton, an activity which was part of, and a means of, financing the mission. 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. 4; img 109. At the time of its inception, however, there was no publication that systematically or comprehensively addressed the enormous problems that characterized the education of Blacks in the United States and elsewhere. Initially, a majority of the missionary journeys was done with English-Speaking Protestants and later, in the 1820s and 1830s, they were joined by continental Protestantism from Germany, Switzerland and France. Both the academic and vocational forms of education the missions provided served to strengthen the rule of the colonial powers, so that the native inhabitants were second-class citizens in their own land. 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. Moreover, they introduced new crops into the Ghanaian economy. His viewing and wake service took place on Sept. 26 at the chapel in the Divine Word Residence at Techny. As happened in other colonial territories, the government did not show great interest in the provision of education in Ghana until the missionaries had extended their services throughout the country and had set up primary schools and a few secondary schools and training colleges. Also the missionaries set up model farms where scientific agriculture was taught and new crops were introduced for the people, to go alongside longstanding indigenous production. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This special relationship continued until 1960 when Fourah Bay became a college of the newly reconstituted University of Sierra Leone; the other constituent college located at Njala developed from a training college founded in 1920. These pioneer mission schools met with a discouraging response. All work is written to order. After a time the idea becomes ingrained -it is heathen and unchristian to be an African culturally (Awori cited in Berman 1974:536). While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. Copyright 2023 ABWE. Like the Methodists, the Roman Catholic missionaries spread the faith notably in the interior, which later became Protectorate. The Methodists founded Mfantsipim (1876) for boys and Wesley Girls High School (1884). Chapter by Chapter Summaries of Second Class Citizen, 22 Reading Comprehension Past Questions and Answers, Second Class Citizen Summarized: Plot Summary, Themes & Characters, 50+ List of Characters in Second Class Citizen, Top 7 Reasons for the Colonization of Africa, 90+ Likely Grammatical Name (Past) Questions and Answers, Black Woman Analyzed: Subject Matter, Themes and Poetic Devices, Analysis of Bat: Meaning, Themes and Poetic Devices, 20+ Sample WASSCE English Summary Questions and Answers, Chapter 2 Summary of Second Class Citizen, Bookshop: High School Textbooks for Sale (PDF), English Language Audio Lessons Free (mp3), Download Key WASSCE PDFs, E-Books and More, July 2002 WAEC Economics Questions and Answers, 2001 WAEC Economics Questions and Answers (Nov-Dec), WASSCE 2000 Economics Questions and Answers, WASSCE 2002 Economics Past Questions and Answers, Is It You and Me or You and I? In Sierra Leone, the Church Missionary Society (CMS), offshoot of the Anglican Church, was the first to become firmly established chiefly among the freed captive and freed slave settlers from Britain, Nova Scotia and other parts of the New World. Another contribution of missionaries to the development of Ghana was their pioneering role in writing many local languages. These trends occasionally brought kings into conflict with the missionaries and their converts. (with Examples), Top 20 Topics in English for Academic Purposes, 7 Rules of Referencing and Citation in Academic Writing, 10 Importance of Referencing and Citation in Academic Writing, How to Get a Degree Without Going to High School, Joseph Rhodes Dunwell Methodist Missionary, 1835, Thomas Birch Freeman Methodist Missionary, 1838, Thomas Thompson Society for the Propagation of the Gospel/Anglican, 1752, Wesley Girls High School, Cape Coast Methodist missionaries, Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast Methodist, Adisadel College, Cape Coast Anglican Missionaries, Holy Child School, Cape Coast Roman Catholic, St Augustines College, Cape Coast Roman Catholic, Archbishop Potter Girls School, Takoradi, Aburi Girls Secondary School Presbyterian, St Monicas High School, Mampong Anglican. According to the Head of the Methodist Church in Ghana, Mmofraturo was established in Kumasi, 'when it dawned on the early Wesleyan Missionaries that when the girl child was educated, she could grow up to face the challenges of the fast-changing world. Education (2002), the latest committee to work on education reforms in Ghana, recommended a critical review and approach to making teacher education relevant to the devel-opment of the country. Johann Christaller produced a similar work in Twi. Father Burke became director of the Divine Word Language and Cultural Centre in Ghana. further studies West Africa and Christianity. In due course leprosariums and orphanages were built to supplement their medical services. A history of Christianity in Ghana. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba, called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. Europe in those days looked upon Africa as the Dark Continent with very primitive civilizations, and most Europeans refused to adapt their religion to suit the local situation. Therefore the period for the rise of Christianizing Missions in the late Nineteenth Century has been considered as reprise. English comprehension However, the discovery of quinine and other curative medicines in the late 19th century made the history of the missionary work in West Africa a different thing altogether. (As at December 2020). Besides being an online tutor, Ralph is an author and expert digital marketer with proven skills in SEO content writing. For example, they preached against human sacrifice. In the field of education, however, the missionaries had to adjust their programmes to fit in with the policy of assimilation. I will earn a commission if you follow a link to purchase a product. By 1885, the church had spread further inland, thanks to Father Joseph Lutz who started work around Onitsha in 1886 and spread the gospel in many parts of the present day Imo and Anambra States. However hypocritical, government support for the schools should not be surprising, considering the benefits the colonial governments stood to gain. He had a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 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. This Western education imparted to the Ameru by the Church of Scotland Missionaries, Consolata . Just look at the lyrics of this evangelizing song written in 1819 by Reginald Heber, a prolific English hymnist in the Anglican church. 517 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<2E41B338ACB2B2110A00B08D5A5CFE7F>]/Index[503 20]/Info 502 0 R/Length 86/Prev 357984/Root 504 0 R/Size 523/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream As long as the Africans could read the Bible, the missionaries were satisfied that they had had enough academic education. Father Tetteh also took note of Father Burkes humility and devotion to his students. For example, they made our people view polygamy and puberty rites as pagan practices. Looking for a flexible role? Reiterating what teacher education must encapsulate, Adegoke (2003) and Benneh (2006) indi-cated that the mission of Ghana's teacher education is to pro- Next, branches of the C.M.S. "Big things have small beginnings"; so is The Presbyterian Church of Ghana. The foreign exchange earnings helped to develop Ghanas infrastructure. 1991. Their personal and family choices influenced the expansion speed of missionary education. Other Roman Catholic hospitals were built in all the nine regions of the country; including those at Asikuma and Foso (Central Region), Akyem Swedru (Eastern Region), Berekum (BrongAhafo), Maase (Asante Region) and Anfoega (Volta Region). Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. Operating from Whydah in what is today the Peoples Republic of Benin (formerly Dahomey), Father Berghero, in 1860, visited Abeokuta and Lagos where freed Catholic slaves from Brazil welcomed him warmly. Alignment is the degree of congruence between your teaching philosophy and your institution's mission. T. Nelson. English grammar They did a lot to impact the social and economic lives of Africans. C.M.S. Although Lokoja had a small C.M.S. It is important to emphasize that the modern history of the Christian Mission in Africa started from the late Eighteenth Century, the Catholics had been there earlier in the first centuries of the Christian era especially during the first Portuguese adventures. 4>Ofv}TMdQ! ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. 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. There were related organizations that sprang up in Scandinavia, Holland and the USA. This is the famous Presbyterian Teacher Training College founded in 1848 at Akropong-Akwapim. Groundless fears that the converts would become contaminated with paganism led some of the Christian missionaries, notably the Presbyterians, to separate the Christians from the rest of the township. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. Kalu, Ogbu. The European missionaries believed that European culture was superior to African culture. PROBLEMS FACED BY THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES. After World War I was declared in 1914, the German missionaries were restricted in their movements by the British in the British colonies. Although there were many disagreements between European missionaries and African populations, antagonising polygamy is probably the best-documented norm conflict. The missionaries condemned African religion, music, art, festivals and customary practices. Yet, the relationship between European missionaries and African populations had some contradictions. For the West Africans, the acceptance of Christianity meant the total rejection of most of the cherished institutions upon which their society rested. Efforts to change these norms were often aimed at women. 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. This single problem made the missionary work very difficult. Rather, it denationalized and facilitated the indignity and loss of cultural identity of the Ghanaian. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. 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. They provided missionaries a way to spread Eurocentric norms and attract new converts. Metadata. Barely ten years later, after the first missionaries arrived, the Methodists, for example, had started a station as far inland as MacCarthy Island. The result is that today, many Africans are alienated from their authentic ways of life. The country has diverse geography, people groups, and languageswith English as the common language, and more than 11 others with state recognition. 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. In 1876 the college became associated with Durham University in England, which awarded degrees to students of the college. In this chapter, we shall examine how Christianity and Western-style education influenced West Africans values, attitudes and life-styles. I wanted to buy a smartphone for him, but when he got to know the price of the cell phone, he humbly declined. So why did the European missionaries come to Ghana and other parts of Africa? All the three secondary schools in Cape Coast were mission institutions. In the British colonies, as elsewhere, religious missions were instrumental in introducing European-style education. Prior to advent of the Christian missionaries and indeed well into the pre-independence period, most sick people depended for cure upon concoction herbs and roots and barks of trees. 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. As happened in Ghana, the development of training colleges in Nigeria was slower than secondary schools, though the C. M. S. had opened the first training college at Abeokuta as far back as 1849. First, I looked at how educational outcomes depended on the distance to historical missions. Senior High School Literature 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! However, accustomed to monogamy, few European missionaries were open to such arguments. Call: +233558280780, Your email address will not be published. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. Indeed, the quality of the education could be so poor that the colonial governments complained, as in the case of the Nigerian government, which complained that the secondary school graduates provided by the missions were illiterate and ignorant and therefore poorly suited to fill the lower levels of the administration (Ayandele 1966:294-5). 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. Therefore, considering that the impact of mission education continues to have serious repercussions today, one must question whether the First World should continue to interfere in African education. The blessings which Christianity has brought to West Africa are many. But that increase was greater in monogamous societies. We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.co.uk.

Dennis Mikula Obituary, Did Emily Kaplan Play Hockey, Signs From Allah About Marriage, Southwest Flight Attendant Training Manual Pdf, How To Add Freckles To Bitmoji On Snapchat, Articles C