Preparing Ghanaian Children to Meet the Requirements of Literacy in the 21\(^{st}\) Century: A Systematic Review of Educational Reforms and Policies

Abstract

This paper adopts a configurative synthesis approach to systematically review secondary data. It examines the relevance of the current educational reforms and national language and literacy policy in preparing Ghanaian children to meet the requirements of the changing perspectives of literacy in the 21st century. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) was used to identify, screen, and select 37 relevant online resources for an in-depth analysis. The review revealed that the concept of literacy in the 21st century goes beyond traditional literacy skills and includes additional new competencies. These competencies include (1) core subject competencies, (2) learning & innovation skills, (3) information, media, and technology skills, and (4) life & career skills. To meet the literacy requirements of the 21st century, the Ghanaian government embarked on some educational reforms, including the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, the 2018 Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL), and the 2019 National Pre-Tertiary Curriculum Review.  The curricular reform introduced three sets of skills relevant to the 21st-century global agenda, namely foundational literacy skills, functional competencies, and ethos for the workplace. The study recommended that the government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Education, should address the current digital and infrastructural deficit in many basic schools, which is a major setback. Also, while gradually upgrading schools with modern educational facilities, the Ministry of Education should prioritise teachers’ training to equip them with the content, pedagogical, and technological knowledge necessary to teach effectively in the 21st-century classroom.