The UK-Ghana deaf education project team deliver first impact workshop in Winneba
The impact workshop was organised by a research team who are undertaking a research project entitled 'The Early Education for Young Deaf Children and their Caregivers in Ghana'.
The research project is a collaboration between the University of Leeds and the Department of Special Education (SPED) under the Faculty of Educational Studies of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Ghana. The project is funded by the British Academy’s Early Childhood Education Programme, supported under the Global Challenges Research Fund.
The project team is made up of:
- Professor Ruth Swanwick (School of Education, University of Leeds) – Principal investigator
- Dr Alexander Mills Oppong and Dr Yaw Nyadu Offei (SPED) – Co-investigators
- Dr Daniel Fobi (School of Education, University of Leeds) – Project support and lead on engagement with the UK and Ghana stakeholders.
The project seeks to build an understanding of the socio-cultural and resource dynamics surrounding young deaf children and their caregivers in Ghana where early childhood development and inclusive education for all is a priority. It also aims to improve opportunities for quality Early Childhood Development (ECD), care and pre-primary education that helps young deaf children in Ghana progress through early childhood developmentally in terms of language, communication, learning, and psychosocial wellbeing.
The Head, Department of Basic Education, UEW, Professor Sakina Acquah, chaired the workshop and, in her address to the audience, emphasised the need for institutions of higher learning to conduct cutting-edge researches into the area of deafness and to reduce its impact as much as possible.
Workshop participants deliberated on pertinent issues in consonance with the research topic in groups leading to a plenary session where secretaries from the groups presented on key issues raised during the group discussions for further deliberations.
