Thesis Chapters by Theophilus Nkansah
This paper reports the results of a piece of research conducted in two rural communities in Ghana... more This paper reports the results of a piece of research conducted in two rural communities in Ghana to explore their perceptions on the concept of literacy. The research was framed by the theory of literacy as Social Practice, which conceives literacy as multiple and embedded in the daily lives of people, rather than as a single uniform skill that can be acquired in a neutral and independent environment, and then applied to every situation. I used the qualitative methodology, and the case study method, to enable me to collect data in a natural setting and understand the focus of the research from the perspectives of the research participants. Twenty-two research participants from the two communities were purposely selected to achieve a fair representation of the communities. The findings of the research revealed that for the people of Juaso and Saaman, literacy is not limited to the ability to read and write, even though this is seen to be important. For them, literacy is about knowing how to effectively go about their day-today activities, and cope with life outside the community. The discussion, undertaken from an ethnographic perspective has established that literacy is not merely about the cognitive capacity of individuals and the ability to acquire and use the neutral and de-contextualized technical skill of reading of reading and writing. Rather, literacy is about what people do with reading and writing and other semiotic forms and multi-modal texts including sound, image, visuals and gestures to make meaning of their day to day lives. Literacy cannot be understood in a vacuum. Instead it necessarily has to be linked with a social activity.
Papers by Theophilus Nkansah
The International Journal of Community and Social Development
This article reports the findings of a research that explored the role of adult literacy in commu... more This article reports the findings of a research that explored the role of adult literacy in community development. The research sought to contribute to literacy scholarship by providing empirical evidence on the age-long debate on the role of adult literacy in community development. The research was framed by two theories—literacy as social practice and people-centred development—that provided the lens with which the data was collected, analysed and interpreted. The qualitative case study design was used to enable the collection of data in a natural setting and understand the focus of the research from the perspectives of the research participants. The findings suggest that adult literacy may not necessarily lead to community development. The article concludes that no matter how effectively adult literacy classes are organised, without community-based, people-led, self-reliant development, some people will insist that the government takes responsibility for development even with the...
This study explored the relationship between adult literacy and community development in Ghana fr... more This study explored the relationship between adult literacy and community development in Ghana from a social practices perspective of literacy and peoplecentred development. The study adopted an interpretive qualitative case study methodology, using the perceptions and experiences of research participants in two neighbouring communities. Primary data were collected using four ethnographic methods of data collection namely: in-depth interviews, participant observation, informal conversations, and document review. The data was then analysed using the constant comparative method. Consistent with the claims of the social practice theory of literacy, the study found many social uses of literacy, as well as literacy practices among the learners. It also identified many community-wide literacy practices. These included commercial literacy, religious literacy, funeral literacy, and public communications literacy. The study established that in both communities, adult literacy, in terms of participation in adult literacy classes, or the social uses of literacy by learners, did not lead to community development. However, some of the general literacy practices like reading and writing, funeral literacy, and public communications literacy played roles in the implementation of community development. Development committees, for instance, used reading and writing in activities like DEDICATION To my dear wife, Rene, and my lovely children, Junior, Papa and Maame, for your unfailing love and support throughout the entire process of this PhD thesis Also to you, miss Bernice Kwabeng, my true and faithful friend, for believing and sharing in my dream at a time when most people around me thought the idea of pursuing a doctoral degree was a misplaced priority. Truly, I could not have started this programme but for your invaluable support! v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to the Almighty God for seeing me through this research work successfully! Several people provided invaluable support in diverse ways from start to finish of this thesis and I am happy to express my heartfelt appreciation to them all. I could not have embarked on this journey without the kind permission of my dear wife, Rene, and my three lovely children, Junior, Papa, and Maame. They bravely endured my long absences and gave me the love and peace I needed to be able to focus on this research without unnecessary distraction. My appreciation also goes to my dad, Mr Jonathan Nkansah, and my mum, Mad. Mary Akoto, for continuously bearing me up in their prayers. The journey to the acquisition of a doctoral degree is a long and challenging one on which travellers can easily miss their way and give up out of frustration. A sure way of making it to the end of the road is for one to have experienced and patient people who know the turns and twists, the mountains and valleys on the road to provide guidance every step of the way. I was fortunate to have had such support in the persons of my two supervisors, Dr. Salma Ismail and Professor Astrid Von Kotze, who patiently guided me through the process from start to finish. They provided tremendous constructive feedback and always pointed me to areas of new enquiry, challenging me to think deeper and outside the box. They provided the much-needed encouragement and always urged me on any vi time they sensed I was getting discouraged. I appreciate also the times they spent with me both face to face and on Skype to discuss my work. Many other lecturers from the School of Education, University of Cape Town supported me in one way or the other on my journey. These included Professor Cooper and Dr. Gamble who willingly permitted me to join the special programme they put together to provide deeper insights to selected educational theories. They have no idea how beneficial that programme was to me! My gratitude also goes to Dr. Lucia Thesen for admitting me into the Writers" Circle and to all members of that group for their warm reception. Again, I am grateful to Professor Mastin Prinsloo for generously sharing with me a great avalanche of writings on literacy. These were of immense help to me! My stay in Observatory, Cape Town would have been boring and empty without the love and warmth of Eric and Mana Judd and the entire members of the Observatory Methodist Church. Eric and Mana graciously took me into their home and treated me as a member of their family. May the good Lord continue to bless them for this kind gesture! Thanks also to Mr. Ayamba for being so generous with his time to spend quality time with me out of his busy schedule. I really do appreciate the quality time we spent together! Thanks again to my friend and brother, Kofi Ampomah, for his immense support during my stay in Cape Town. My first insights into doctoral research were at the University of Botswana where I started my doctoral studies before moving on to the University of Cape vii Town. I am grateful to Professor Tonic Maruatona for providing the initial supervision of my doctoral work and giving me valuable insights into research work. Thanks also to Professor Ntseane for providing valuable insights into community development during my stay at the University of Botswana. My field work in Saaman and Juaso was successful due to the support I received from the many friends I made there during the 10 months of data collection. So many people provided support that I cannot begin to attempt mentioning all by name. I am grateful to all the research participants in Saaman and Juaso. I make particular mention of Mr. Gyeatuo Kyenkyenku Boateng, who was the Assembly member of Saaman and Mr. Daniel Obeng, the Unit Committee chairman, as well as Obuobi and Mr. and Mrs. Asare of Juaso, for the tremendous support they gave to me during my stay at Saaman and Juaso. Special thanks also go to Mr. and Mrs. Addo for their immense support. Mr. Addo allowed his wife to be at the time to take care of my feeding throughout my stay in Juaso. Hayford and Bernice, "Nyame nhyira mo pii na omma moase ntre! I am also grateful to management and staff of ADDRO for accepting me as part of the team while still working on my Doctoral research, as well as the staff of ADDRO for accepting me as one of them. My expression of appreciation will not be complete without mention of Emmanuel Family for all the support you gave my family and me through the viii entire period of my research. Words cannot express the depth of my gratitude to you! Doctors Isaac Biney and Auckhinleck Adow challenged and encouraged me to embark on the doctoral research and I am so grateful to them. ix
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Thesis Chapters by Theophilus Nkansah
Papers by Theophilus Nkansah