PromotingLGBTQ+ for financial aid: (Mis)Construing sexuality education for early childhood development in Ghana

Abstract

One of the primary goals of a curriculum change is to address the needs of a society. Nonetheless, its implementation may face hurdles if the cultural heritage, worldview, and philosophy of society are not well represented in the curriculum. Thus, this study was an attempt to discover the sociocultural and curriculum-related concerns that led to Ghanaians’ opposition to the introduction of comprehensive sex education (CSE) in the basic school curriculum. Data were gathered from the online social media platforms: Facebook and Twitter. The analysis show that CSE, as an educational initiative for early childhood learners in Ghana, conflicts with the culturally accepted means of bringing up children in the sociocultural context of Ghana. Consequently, the idea of CSE was strongly opposed by Ghanaians because they misconstrued the initiative as a concealed attempt by the Westerners to promote LGBTQ+. Nonetheless, some consider it a crucial means of preventing STIs and unintended pregnancies. We, thus, argue in this paper that Ghanaians misconstrued this initiative because major stakeholders in the curriculum were not engaged in the curriculum development process. We, therefore, recommend that effective situational analysis and needs assessment precede the introduction of any culturally sensitive educational initiative in Ghana.