This chapter describes deaf education in Ghana, including the practices and challenges in public special schools for the deaf, early identification, hearing screening, audiological and educational assessment, and the impact of cultural beliefs and practices on school enrollment. For the past sixty years, Ghana has been striving to promote the development of formal education for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals through improvement in school participation rates and lifelong learning for independent living and sustainable development. The authors provide information on basic education (kindergarten to junior high school), secondary education placement options, medium of instruction, and the curriculum. Tertiary education, support services, legislation, and advocacy for deaf persons are also discussed. The chapter ends with conclusions and suggestions for future research in the promotion of best practices in the education of deaf individuals.

This paper examines policies and practices of inclusive education for young deaf children in Ghana. Though existing Government policy promotes the principles and implementation of educational inclusion of all children in Ghana, caregivers often encounter significant challenges ensuring access to early years’ education for their deaf children. We used Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) bioecological systems theory and interviewed 15 educators of deaf children and 9 hearing-health clinicians, to capture different knowledge, experience, and perspectives on policy, practice, and inclusive approaches to deaf children’s education. We ask: (a) How do teachers, clinicians, and caregivers connect to promote early childhood care education (ECCE) for young deaf preschoolers in Ghana? and (b) What resources and precarities are available to educators of deaf children and hearing-health clinicians in sustaining inclusive educational practices across urban and rural contexts in Ghana? We address these unanswered questions about the potential pathway to bring about changes in policy and practice in promoting successful inclusive education for deaf children in Ghana. Implications for national and international policy and practice of ECCE for deaf children are discussed and recommendations are made.

Few studies exist on the early care and education (ECE) of children who are deaf in low-to-middle-income countries, and none examine the roles of deaf adults in such provision. A research base is needed to inform contextually sensitive “deaf-infused” models of ECE in such contexts that build on indigenous deaf community experience, knowledge, and local expertise. This paper discusses the development of ECE in Ghana in sub-Saharan Africa focusing specifically on the perspectives of deaf adults on their roles in ECE support and leadership. Seventeen deaf adults with different leadership and advocacy roles in Ghana were interviewed about their perceptions of ECE priorities in this context, and the role of deaf adults in the development and delivery of early support. The participants expressed diverse views on ECE for the children and their families and suggested ways of building capacity and leadership among deaf adults to support ECE for the children and their families.

This paper discusses historical and contemporary issues regarding communication approaches for educating Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children in Ghana. Discussion of the communication approaches took into account a brief historical background to the development of formal education for DHH children in the country, academic achievement of DHH students at West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) over the past ten years, types of communication approaches for the DHH in Ghana, as well as legislation and relevant policy documents on educating DHH children in Ghana. The paper recommends the sign communication approach and other strategies which the authors believe will aid Ghana achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 for all DHH individuals.

This study examined the nature of partnerships that exist between parents and teachers, the attributes that influence these partnerships, and the strategies that can enhance the partnerships between parents and teachers in two schools for the deaf in the Central Region of Ghana. We conducted focus group discussions with 12 teachers and had one-to-one interviews with 13 parents. Participants described the partnerships as implicit and also indicated that the major associated attributes which affect their partnerships were parents’ and teachers’ role construction, neglect, sociocultural influences, and technology. The study suggested home visits, proactive outreaches, parent-teacher conferences, training, use of technology and instituting reward systems for parents and teachers who show dedication as ways of enhancing partnerships in schools for the deaf.

Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) has become one of the most recognized theories in moral psychology. Atari et al. (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 125(5), 1157–1188, 2023) answer the call for a cross-culturally valid instrument to measure moral foundations with the Moral Foundations Questionnaire-2 (MFQ-2). We evaluate the psychometric quality of the MFQ-2 in Ghana, a non-WEIRD country (N = 1,049). Following the PROMIS plan (Reeve et al., Medical Care, 45(5), S22–S31, 2007), we assess traditional descriptive statistics in item and scale analysis, Item Response Theory assumptions (IRT), Graded Response Models (GRM) item fit, and Differential Item Functioning (DIF) due to age, gender, religion, and religiosity. While problems occur with traditional descriptive statistical analyses, IRT assumptions are mostly given, GRM item fits are seen as slightly problematic, and items generally display no DIF. The purity scale harbors numerous challenges in terms of validity. To ensure high-quality results across cultures, the instrument needs to be revised or adapted to specific cultures.