contribution of missionaries to education in ghana

It included the opening up of Africa to forces of change namely commerce (legitimate commerce, i.e. 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. One is led to ask, why this sudden development? Some early success included the Liberian coast where Afro-Americans and freed slaves were converted. hbbd```b``vd d"e ] DrI`5 d"(/ 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. Further, the missionaries introduced improved methods of farming together with modern farm implements. Their greatest legacy in the field of education was the foundation which the Methodist laid for what is today the Gambia High school. A history of African Christianity 1950-1975. 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. In conclusion, the educational enterprise of the Christian missionaries in the British and Italian colonies of Africa during the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries was primarily negative for the African pupils. Required fields are marked *. station in 1858, it was not until 1889 that the missionaries entered Hausaland, which was predominantly Muslim. 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). Other difficulties the early Christians faced were the problems of the many languages and dialects and their ignorance of the true meaning of the various cultures, beliefs, values and ways of life of the people whom they set out to convert to Christianity. And thats why I decided to look deeply into this issue. Indeed, most of our early nationalists were all products of mission schools. 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. They need YOU. The missionary impact on education would have far-reaching consequences, as their creation of a weak basis of education would slow down the political and educational development of many former colonies in Africa. Burns & Oates, 1979. hb```,,g@( B(Pi xD r[e}v'$ImK *e()dP#jjTNl=VtN(%!30p0040tt0B GGc2m2@M``a$]x2\YkvIaB1b`h6f` (eAKPU d The Journal of Negro Education (JNE), a refereed scholarly periodical, was founded at Howard University in 1932 to fill the need for a scholarly journal that would identify and define the problems that characterized the education of Black people in the United States and elsewhere, provide a forum for analysis and solutions, and serve as a vehicle for sharing statistics and research on a national basis. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba. Development of Education in Sierra Leone. Under the Basel Missions Salem system, converts were separated from the traditional society. 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. The CMS began to work in the freed slave villages in Sierra Leone in 1804 and the Methodist in 1811. While missionaries could sometimes clash with colonial governments, for the most part missions were important tools for colonial governments. Hastings, Adrian. 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). These commercial activities, therefore, made an important contribution to the economic development of Ghana. Ralph teaches English for Academic Purposes (EAP) online. It was not until 1909 that the government opened a teacher training college and a technical school in Accra. He worked zealously as an evangelist and schoolmaster in the Castle School until his death in 1816. Thomas Birch Freeman, son of a London-based West Indian father and an English mother. Who is Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen? Through hard work and persuasion she succeeded in stopping the practice among the people of killing twins. Finally, education affects many other aspects of peoples lives, including economic opportunities and political attitudes. Ghana continued to call. In spite of the division, the parent Methodist missionary church played an important role in the history of Christianity in Sierra Leone. Rev. These missionaries saw death in the course of their evangelizing work as a means to ascend to heavenly glory. In 1925 the Governor introduced measures which helped the efforts of the missionaries. church were founded in south-eastern Nigeria, the chief centres being Bonny and Brass. The original letters from abroad cover West Africa from 1899 to 1933. In addition to studying the impact of these struggles on education, we also need to understand how they influenced gender inequality. Hildebrandt, Jonathan. The European missionaries engaged in trading and other commercial activities as well. opened, in Freetown, the first boys secondary school in the country and another for girls in 1849, later renamed the Annie Walsh Memorial School. Introduction, spread and effects, 6: Christian Missionary Activities in West Africa, 7: Scramble for and Partition of West Africa, 9: Problems of Independent West African States, 10: West Africa and International Organizations, 11: Women and Authority in West African History, 12: The Environment in West African History. Edward Berman notes that contemporary critics of the missionaries felt that missionaries were more interested in increasing enrolments in their respective churches than in pooling their resources for the benefit of African education (Berman 1974:533). About the same time, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) headed by the Rev. 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. Hope Waddell was later joined by the Rev. However the superficial motivations and ideologies have changed, at the most basic level both contemporary Northern charities and nineteenth century missionaries share the belief that the North must come and save the suffering natives, which in the case of the missionaries, has been proven to have inflicted more harm than provided relief. One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. They also prescribed many taboos which, in the light of modern medical science, had no relation whatever with the illness being treated. In spite of all this, with the advent of the First World War in 1914 in the Kwaku District there were 21 congregations with a total of over 2500 members. These pioneer mission schools met with a discouraging response. 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. Please click this link to download the chapter. PROBLEMS FACED BY THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES. They were at the forefront during the fight for self-rule in Ghana. Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. 1991. The Methodist Church Ghana came into existence as a result of the missionary activities of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, inaugurated with the arrival of Joseph Rhodes Dunwell to the Gold Coast (Ghana) in 1835.Like the mother church, the Methodist Church in Ghana was established by people of Anglican background. Joseph Dunwell. There were related organizations that sprang up in Scandinavia, Holland and the USA. In 1858 ten years after the founding of the first college, the Presbyterians opened a sister college at Aburi for the training of women teachers. Hope Waddell started pioneering work, in 1846, in Calabar. West Africa and Christianity. 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. He told me that that amount of money could pay for school fees for five students in secondary school in Ghana.. The Methodists, known as the Wesleyan Missionaries (after their founder), arrived in Freetown in 1811. One Liberian student recalls that we were taught to dress properly, to eat properly, to speak properly. Series CLR. For this reason, missionaries believed they were doing their students a favour by discouraging traditional practices and promoting Western ones. 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. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004. famous poems In my study, I explored how colonial era conflicts and disagreements over marriage norms lastingly affected educational development. The Society of the Divine Word is the world's largest Roman Catholic order of priests and brothers who focus on missionary work. opened was the Christian Institute, established in 1814 for the training of teachers, catechists and priests. 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. A large body of studies show that missionaries had a lasting impact beyond their early years. Among the Christian missionaries that came to the Gold Coast (Ghana) were the following. For several years they paid attention to slave trade rather than evangelization and Christianization of the people of West-Africa. He knew me as a boy [in Ghana] who washed his car and went with him when he said Mass at mission stations, yet [as an adult] he treated me as an equal, Father Tetteh said. The European Christian missions preached the Gospel, built churches, and seminaries translated the Bible to Ghanaian Languages such as Ewe, Ga, and Twi. These new movements considered such ventures to be their contribution to Europes reparation for centuries of exploitation of Africans, reparation for the centuries of exploitation which the Trans Atlantic slave trade had caused to African society. That there are parallels between contemporary Christian organizations efforts and the missionary efforts of the mid-nineteenth to mid- twentieth centuries is a reason for concern, considering the similar impact of missionaries of all Christian denominations on the education of Africans in the British and Italian colonies in Africa. 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. In short, it was a very successful mission in making us little black Anglo-Saxon Protestants. This thesis discusses and assesses contribution of Christian Missionaries to education in Meru from 1908 to 1963. 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. Thank you for supporting this project. And yet the Asafo provided most of the services which a community needed: protection against military attacks, communal services, etc. Website design and development by Americaneagle.com, Inc, Society of the Divine Word- Western Province, Society of the Divine Word- Southern Province. 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. others adopted a system of education varied from one and the other hence, lacking consistency in the educational sector [3]. Frank Ogodo Ogbeche 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. This made it difficult for the early missionaries to stay in the country for long. Christian converts were indoctrinated to frown upon the use of indigenous first names in favour of Christian ones. Economics Its message was that of love and the universal brotherhood of mankind. In traditionally monogamous societies, primary school completion increased by about eight percent, but only four percent in polygamous societies. Establishment of Christian Churches In Nigeria. Called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. 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). They relied very much on their home churches for their funds. 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. 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. The impact of Christianity on West African society has persisted to this day. Establishment of Christian Churches In The Gambia. 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. The governor had observed the bad moral life of the Europeans in the fort. Some of these new crops were grapes coffee, mango, ginger, and olives. An attempt to respond to this question informs the underlying interest for this paper, namely, to explore the extent to which these institutions, especially . Get full access to all 9,566 pages that make up the Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951 collection. education was an important means for mission evangelization. past questions In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into . Africa and the Winder World 3. But Annor (1989) writes that before Europeans came to colonize Africa, Africans had a way of producing artifacts. Thus as early as 1823, the Roman Catholic Sisters started a clinic for the sick and for children in Banjul. personal development The Christian Connector Scholarship. Governments are also not free from blame even if they had a laissez-faire educational policy, as in Ghana, where until 1944 the registration of schools was not required and no attempt was made to exert detailed control even over the activities of grant-aided [by the government] institutions except for a series of minimal registrations (Foster 1965:114). Reiterating what teacher education must encapsulate, Adegoke (2003) and Benneh (2006) indi-cated that the mission of Ghana's teacher education is to pro- Father Tetteh also took note of Father Burkes humility and devotion to his students. Your email address will not be published. The work of the missionaries also had little success initially. These included the Basel Missionary Society, founded in Switzerland, and the Breman Mission formed in Germany. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. It is interesting to note that while in many ways missionaries sought to isolate students from their cultures, missionaries often insisted in teaching in the native languages. One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. The activities of the early Christian missionaries negatively affected the development of African traditional political institutions. primarily purposed to outline the contributions of religion and education to national development in Ghana. ]v#5%{,%Y{iKsZ|Cm7NismGmg_zxKYh?>bQ?ni8G.wx:qAm$ eb!^Kr$,.9Qq^|1. I have used my expertise to design and implement strategies for major projects including new programme development, global proposals, book launches, international talks, lectures, and executive . Above, we have described the role that trading companies, missionaries, and the government played for the spread of Western education in the coastal areas from the late sixteenth century onwards. A History of West Africa, Cambridge University Press, 1969, Fynn , J. K and R. Addo-Fening History for Senior Secondary schools. C.M.S. Moreover, it was not in the colonial powers interest for the natives to become too educated, as they might become self-reliant and could conceivably demand independence from the colonial power, so encouraging the less intellectual agricultural schools was in the governments interest. Furthermore, they were skilled farmers that could grow cash crops to be consumed back in the mother country, such as cocoa from Ghana (Foster 1965: 153). The Committee for Women's Work was responsible for the education of native girls. 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. For instance, in Ghana, it was in 1858 that Rev. African Drama Among other missionary hospitals of long standing and reputation are those run by the Methodists at Wenkyi in the Brong-Ahafo Region, and by the Seventh Day Adventists at Kwahu Atibie in the Eastern Region. Baker Pub Group, 1996. senior high school government 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. Born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1933, Vincent Burke was the third of Walter and Eleanor (nee McGoff) Burkes four sons. For instance, on 2nd October 1792, the Baptist Missionary Society was formed followed by the interdenominational London Missionary Society which was established in 1795. 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. S.J. He professed vows in 1953 in Conesus, N.Y., and was ordained to the priesthood in 1961 at Techny, Ill. To their minds, Africans were too backward and needed help to become more civilized. Thus, because of the motive of proselytization, unqualified teachers, and inter-denominational rivalry, missions frequently provided poor education. Arnold, 1986. Lake Volta provides a vital venue for aviation evangelism in remote areas. 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. While the protestant evangelical movements were gaining ground in West Africa, similar movements were being promoted by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. The resulting atmosphere of disunity enabled the European colonialists to easily achieve their goal of economic exploitation. For that matter, they rebelled against their chiefs and elders. It was however in the coastal territories filled with mulattos and other European trading communities that Christianity won some of its early success. This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. These attempts were traumatic for the students and threatened the survival of unique cultures. The original letters from abroad cover West Africa from 1899 to 1933. 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. However, with time, they brought some crops, which they cultivated and which sustained them. In conclusion, the converts tended to look down upon many things in their ancestral culture. 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. The Journal of Negro Education, 2019 Their converts, for many years, were confined to the people of southern Nigerian extraction resident in the north, and to the-large non-Muslim population of the north. 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. In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. The Committee for Women's Work was responsible for the education of native girls. Some of these effects are still with us today. 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. Yes! ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. Amidst much honest missionary activity in the country for two centuries, prosperity gospel teachers have also gained influence, and numerous indigenous cults have arisen with distinct appeal and just enough truth to create confusion and syncretism. Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries came to the Gold Coast from the 15th century. By focusing on the African demand for education, I showed that Africans were not just passive recipients of mission schooling. While the Evangelical Presbyterian missionaries were the First to develop literature in Ewe, the Roman Catholics were responsible for Nzima literature. Also, Christian missionaries in Ghana were as zealous as their counterparts in Nigeria in pioneering medical services. Find below a list of mission schools that still exist in Ghana today. missionaries was the development of literature in Yoruba. 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. Textbooks were heavily biased towards western ideas and values. Their personal and family choices influenced the expansion speed of missionary education. For instance, the Basel Mission established Basel Mission Trading Company (UTC) in 1859. cited in Miran 2002:128). One of their scholarships is a drawing for $2,500. When he arrived in Nkwatia-Kwahu to teach English at St. Peters Secondary School, the town had yet to benefit from electricity and running water. Renewed evangelism started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). This research was funded by the European Research Council. 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. In addition, the contributions of celebrity missionaries, such as Christian Schwartz, William Carey, Alexander Duff, and James . Unsurprisingly, the level of education increased as one moved closer to the missionaries. This allowed me to estimate the impact of mission schooling directly. In 1858 the Rev. They had to speak through few interpreters who did not have sufficient education to interpret correctly. The missionaries opened schools further inland, and by 1880, the Wesleyan Mission had eighty -three schools. Upon completing his degree, Father Burke received his first assignment abroad: Ghana, the first Black sub-Saharan country in Africa to gain independence from a colonial power. The Christian missionaries of different missionary societies made a tremendous contribution to education in South Africa. Shaw, Mark. Despite their significant contributions to education, local language development, agriculture and the economy as a whole, the missionaries have been criticized severally. 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. Again, the Wesleyan missionaries established Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast in 1876. Theres still so much to be learned from the history of education in Africa and its long-term consequences. This finding was supported by two types of analysis. In regions where a denomination felt threatened by another denomination, the denominations were more likely to establish more schools in an attempt to gain more converts than their rival, while in regions such as northern Nigeria, where colonial policy prevented too much rivalry, schools were scarce (Bassey 1991:45). Operational Christianity started 267 Years ago. Help those suffering in Turkey and Syria. All rights reserved. Predominantly Muslim territory, the North received western education later than the South. As an institution introduced by agents with radically different values, the Christian religion damaged the culture and traditional beliefs of the people of West Africa. Teacher training colleges in Ghana did not expand as fast as the secondary schools. Again, the missionaries helped to pacify Africans while their rich natural resources were being plundered by the colonial government. They did a lot to impact the social and economic lives of Africans. 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). Notable among these were cocoa and coffee. The original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. Another difficulty that the early missionaries faced in the spread of Christianity was insufficient Christian literature at that time. In Fanteland, the Methodists and Roman Catholics pioneered similar works. Being able to speak and write in the colonisers language was considered a privilege. Meanwhile, the Scottish missionary, Mary Slessor, had established a reputation in the Cross River area as a nurse. 0 CUP Archive, 1979. Perhaps the greatest service of the missionaries was the promotion of western education and the development of vernacular literature. Up to Guggisbergs time, the church schools did not receive grants from the government. This study simply offers systematic, long-term evidence of it. homework help 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. 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.

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