CRITICAL REVIEW

Critical Review



Critical Review

Introduction

The paper includes a critical review of the two research articles that are on the studies conducted in Southern and Northern Ghana. The paper simultaneously reviews the research methods that the researchers deploy. Moreover, sampling strategies are also being examined.

The studies that are being focused for the critical review, includes “Dropping Out of School in Southern Ghana: The Push-out and Pull-out Factors” and “Mapping the incidence of school dropouts: a case study of communities in Northern Ghana” with special focus on the methodologies used in these two studies.

The two research articles that are being focused in this review are similar in nature as both focuses on to bring out the influence of context as a factor that leads to dropout based on the experiences of individual children aged from 7 to 17. In both researches, the researchers have used interpretive research approach focusing on real life experiences of children who dropped out of school to highlight the reasons behind school dropout.

Rationale for the Studies

The discussion regarding the economy and educational conditions in ghana provides rationale for both the studies. In Ghana, there is a high level of income inequality between the rural and the urban population. Also, many rural communities lack social infrastructure, including high quality schools. Studies in Ghana have found poverty to be predominant in rural areas. The lack of resources and quality schools in the rural areas impact children' education considerably. Lack of reliable sources of clean water and fire for cooking means children have to spend more time fetching water and preparing food. Also, the turnover rate for teachers in the rural areas is higher than teachers in the urban areas. Teachers, posted to these areas transfer to the urban areas after a while, especially those with families.

In a study conducted in Ghana about teacher's experiences in poor, rural areas, Yeboah (1997, 412) found that there are no courses in teacher training or at the university that better orient teachers about teaching in the rural areas. Therefore, most of the teachers posted to the rural areas serve their two-year posting and leave immediately afterwards. It is common in Ghana to find teachers who work in the rural community keeping two homes or commuting every day from the city to the village. In the absence of a reliable transportation system, it is evident that teachers will often be late to school or not show up at all. The rationale for mentioning the teachers issue is because this is one of the major issues that contribute to school dropout in Ghana.

In addition, the rate of poverty in rural areas means that parents find it difficult to provide all the school supplies for their children. The lack of school supplies makes it difficult for teachers to engage their pupils. The result of this is the poor performance, low enrolment, and low retention. According to Ananga (2011), there are some government and civil society initiatives, such as the school feeding program and ...