Researchers, civil society and international partners collaborate to strengthen foundational learning in Ghana.
GPE KIX, a joint endeavour with IDRC, has supported ten applied research projects in Ghana since 2019. GPE KIX research projects have built strong relationships with key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education, National Teaching Council, Ghana Education Service, and teacher unions, facilitating remarkable knowledge sharing through more than 125 events, 107 knowledge mobilization activities, and training for more than 450 individuals.
Over the past two decades, Ghana has made steady progress in improving access to education, with primary completion rates improving from 61 percent in 2000 to 91 percent in 2021 (World Bank, 2024). By recognizing remaining shortfalls in equitable learning outcomes, the Government of Ghana has now made commitments to advancing foundational learning.
In partnership with Ghana’s Ministry of Education, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has matched US$40 million raised by private and philanthropic partners, known as SCALE (System Change Architecture for Learning Excellence) consortium, doubling the total investment to US$80 million. The partnership agreement was signed in Accra on May 29, 2025.
A few days prior, on May 26, a roundtable with GPE KIX and Education Out Loud partners in Accra, was attended by Christine Hogan, GPE Vice Chair, and focused on the vital role researchers and civil society organizations play in strengthening education systems and how they can contribute to Ghana’s ongoing education reforms.
As the GPE KIX research teams in Ghana are keen to contribute to this new partnership on foundational learning, this event was an opportunity for them to present evidence and insights supporting efforts to improve foundational learning outcomes and inclusion.
On foundation learning, Associates for Change (AFC) in Ghana presented their research on building teachers’ capacity to enhance early learning through child-focused and play-based approaches that generated evidence to improve play-based learning in teacher training and cost-effective methods for training early childhood teachers. They also presented findings from the Scaling Inclusive Home-based Early Learning Initiative (SIHELI) that contextualized play-based learning through teacher mentorship, focusing on child-to-child interactions for all children, including those with disabilities.
Credit: GPE/Translieu | Dr. Leslie Casely-Hayford presenting AFC research findings
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) presented their ongoing GPE KIX project investigating the impact of culturally responsive teaching practices on social and emotional development in diverse early childhood classrooms. This research examines how inclusive pedagogies can enhance social and emotional growth while fostering inclusion, identity affirmation, and learning readiness for minority linguistic and cultural groups.
Credit: GPE/Translieu | Prof. Paul Sarfo Mensah from KNUST
On Inclusive education, AFC provided inputs from their comparative study of accelerated education and girls focused programmes that assessed the effectiveness of alternative education models for out-of-school children across Ghana.
Other GPE KIX grantees, such as World Vision and Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA), attended the roundtable and also contributed to the discussions.
Credit: GPE/Translieu | Dr. Richard Amoah from ESSA
GPE KIX has facilitated the production of more than 34 knowledge mobilization products, including policy briefs tailored specifically for policymakers in Ghana to enhance the uptake of research findings, demonstrating how innovations can be scaled equitably and sustainably.
Ghana's experience exemplifies how GPE KIX research is aligned with country priorities and processes and how routinely GPE KIX strengthens stakeholders’ capacity to integrate new knowledge and evidence into policy and practice, driving meaningful education reform.
