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The Covid-19 pandemic mandated the closure of all schools globally. E-learning programmes were introduced to promote learning throughout the crisis. This paper, therefore, investigates the impact of Covid-19 e-learning and teaching on students’ social life, indexed by their practice of social conviviality after the pandemic. The study employed multiple sampling techniques in selecting students in the second cycle and tertiary institutions in Accra, Ghana for the study. Using data collected from extensive interviews with students, teachers/lecturers and parents, backed by personal observations, the study found out that the social skills of students were negatively impacted by the pandemic, as several students suffered multidimensionality of social exclusion when schools were re-opened after lockdown rules were liberalised. The e-learning approach that Ghana introduced to stem the debilitating impact of the pandemic yielded some positive results – helping the education sector to retain contact hours. Nevertheless, the outcome of the pandemic had some negative social consequences. Students were unable to effectively recuperate their social skills in fostering social conviviality. Considering the outcome of the study’s findings, the paper concludes that Ghana needs to invest in its Triple Heritage – through the synthesisation of human ontological dignity that is embedded in Islam, Christianity, and indigenous worldview – to restructure its educational curriculum as part of rejuvenating social conviviality among students. The paper contributes to knowledge by providing evidence of the social impact of the pandemic. However, it also recommends a need for further research to explore how Ghana can broaden the frontiers of its heritage without provincializing or marginalisation emerging minority cultures.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Charles Prempeh
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References
Adarkwah, M. A., & Agyemang, E. (2022). Forgotten frontline workers in higher education: Aiding Ghana in the Covid-19 recovery process. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, 127, 103202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2022.103202
Adom, D. (2020). The Covid-19 global pandemic: Socio-cultural, economic and educational implications from Ghana. International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 9(3), 202–229. https://doi.org/10.17583/rimcis.2020.5416
Adzovie, D. E., & Jibril, A. B. (2022). Assessment of the effects of Covid-19 pandemic on the prospects of e-learning in higher learning institutions: The mediating role of academic innovativeness and technological growth. Cogent Education, 9(1), 2041222. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2041222
Agana, A.-N., & Prempeh, C. (2022). Of farms, legends, and fools: Re-engaging Ghana’s development narrative through social media. Media, Culture & Society, 44(7), 1290–1306. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221111918
Alrefai, A., & Brun, M. (1994). Ibn Khaldun: Dynastic change and its economic consequences. Arab Studies Quarterly, 16(2), 73–86. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41858090
Amankwa, E., & Asiedu, E. K. (2022). Emergency e-learning acceptance in second-cycle institutions in Ghana: A conditional mediation analysis. SN Social Sciences, 2(4), Article number: 42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-022-00338-3
Amihere, A. (2022). Appropriate technology for teaching and learning in Ghanaian higher educational institutions during and post Covid-19 era. International Journal of Innovative Research and Development, 11(2), 74–81. https://doi.org/10.24940/ijird/2022/v11/i2/FEB22036
Boadi, K. N. (2000). The ontology of Kwame Nkrumah’s consciencism and the democratic theory and pratice in Africa: A diopian perspective. Journal of Black Studies, 30(4), 475–501. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2645900
Busia, K. A. (1951). The position of the chief in the modern political system of Ashanti: A study of the influence of contemporary social changes on Ashanti political institutions. International African Institute, Oxford University Press.
Campbell, H. A., & Lövheim, M. (2011). Introduction: Rethinking the online–offline connection in the study of religion online. Information, Communication & Society, 14(8), 1083–1096. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2011.597416
Chetan, G. (2011). Schools adrift. In J. Casewit (Ed.), & E. Lohja (Trans.), Education in the light of tradition: Studies in comparative religion (pp. 119–129). World Wisdom.
Darwin, C. (2003). The origin of species (150th Anniversary edition). Signet; Original work published 1859.
de Tocqueville, A. (2002). Democracy in America (H. C. Mansfield & D. Winthrop, Trans.; 1st edition). University of Chicago Press.
Durkheim, E. (2014). The division of labor in society (S. Lukes, Trans.). Free Press; Original work published 1984.
Edumadze, J. K. E., Barfi, K. A., Arkorful, V., & Baffour Jnr, N. O. (2022). Undergraduate student’s perception of using video conferencing tools under lockdown amidst Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana. Interactive Learning Environments, Latest Articles. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2021.2018618
Faanu, P., & Graham, E. (2017). The politics of ethnocentrism: A viability test of Ghana’s democracy? Insight on Africa, 9(2), 141–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/0975087817715534
Foucault, M. (1982). The archaeology of knowledge: And the discourse on language (3988th edition). Vintage.
GhanaWeb. (2017, July 13). First visually impaired Minister presents award to Mahama [HTML]. GhanaWeb. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/First-visually-impaired-Minister-presents-award-to-Mahama-558269
Gyekye, K. (2013). Philosophy culture and vision: African perspectives. Selected essays (Illustrated edition). Sub-Saharan Publishers.
Khaldûn, I. I., & Lawrence, B. B. (2015). The muqaddimah: An introduction to history (N. J. Dawood, Ed.; F. Rosenthal, Trans.; Abridged edition). Princeton University Press.
Koduah, A. (2010). The woman’s head-covering in church: Controversies surrounding the issue. Excellent Printing Press.
Kundu, N. D., & Ngalim, A. N. (2021). Covid-19 impact on education and beyond. VIJ Books (India) PVT Ltd. http://public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=6631846
Kwapong, O. A. T. F. (2022). Online learning experiences of adult applicants to a university in Ghana during the Covid-19 outbreak. E-Learning and Digital Media, OnlineFirst, 20427530221125856. https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530221125858
Marrou, H. I. (1982). A history of education in antiquity (G. Lamb, Trans.; Later print edition). University of Wisconsin Press.
Mazrui, A. A. (1986). The Africans: A triple heritage. Little, Brown and Companay.
Mazrui, A. A. (2002). Africanity Redefined: Collected essays of Ali A. Mazrui (UK ed. edition, Vol. 1). Africa World Press.
Naylor, R. (2000). Ghana. Oxfam EPP Books Services.
Ngwa, S. E., & Lawyer, B. (2020). The competency-based approach in public universities in Anglophone Cameroon: Implications for the Tuning Africa Project. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 10(4), 38–59. https://doi.org/10.9734/AJESS/2020/v10i430274
Nii-Dortey, M., & Nanbigne, E. (2020). Tabooing insults: Why the ambivalence? Journal of Philosophy and Culture, 8(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.5897/JPC2019.0039
Nikolopoulou, A., Mirbagheri, F., & Abraham, T. (2018). Introduction. In A. Nikolopoulou, T. Abraham, & F. Mirbagheri (Eds.), Education for sustainable development: Challenges, strategies and practices in a globalizing world (First edition, pp. xi–xxxii). SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd.
Nkrumah, K. (2016). Consciencism (1964). In F. L. Hord, Mzee Lasana Okpara, & J. S. Lee (Eds.), I Am Because We Are (Revised edition, pp. 65–74). University of Massachusetts Press; JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1hd18x6.11
Nucci, L. P. (2001). Education in the moral domain (1st edition). Cambridge University Press.
Nyamnjoh, F. B. (2020). Decolonising the academy: A case for convivial scholarship. Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
Obeng, C., Amissah-Essel, S., Jackson, F., & Obeng-Gyasi, E. (2022). Preschool environment: Teacher experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7286. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127286
Okrah, K. A. (2003). Nyansapo (the wisdom knot): Toward an African philosophy of education (1st edition). Routledge.
Owusu-Fordjour, C., Koomson, C. K., & Hanson, D. (2020). The impact of Covid-19 on learning—The perspective of the Ghanaian student. European Journal of Education Studies, 7(3), 88–101. https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v0i0.3000
Pals, D. L. (1987). Is religion a sui generis phenomenon? Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 55(2), 259–282. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1464494
Phelan, W. (2012). What is sui generis about the european union? Costly international cooperation in a self-contained regime. International Studies Review, 14(3), 367–385. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23280306
Prempeh, C. (2021). Religion and the state in an episodic moment of Covid-19 in Ghana. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 4(1), 100141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2021.100141
Prempeh, C. (2022a). Polishing the pearls of indigenous knowledge for inclusive social education in Ghana. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 5(1), 100248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2022.100248
Prempeh, C. (2022b). Decolonising African Divine Episteme: A Critical Analysis of the Akan Divine Name of God (Twereduampon Kwame). Journal of Religion in Africa, 52(3–4), 269–291. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700666-12340231
Putnam, R. D. (2004). Democracies in flux: The evolution of social capital in contemporary society (Illustrated edition). Oxford University Press.
Reimers, F. M. (Ed.). (2022). Primary and secondary education during Covid-19: Disruptions to educational opportunity during a pandemic. Springer International Publishing. https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-81500-4
Ripstein, A. (1987). Commodity fetishism. Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 17(4), 733–748. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40231565
Salm, S. J., & Falola, T. (2002). Culture and customs of Ghana. Greenwood Press.
Sartre, J.-P. (2007). Existentialism is a humanism (C. Macomber, Trans.; Annotated edition). Yale University Press.
Sherlock, S. (1997). The future of commodity fetishism. Sociological Focus, 30(1), 61–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20831808
Simmel, G., & Levine, D. N. (Eds.). (1972). Georg simmel on individuality and social forms. University of Chicago Press. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo3622859.html
Thompson, N., & Casely-Hayford, L. (2008). The Financing and outcomes of education in Ghana (RECOUP Working Paper No. 16). Research Consortium on Educational Outcomes and Poverty. https://ceid.educ.cam.ac.uk/publications/WP16.pdf
Tsevi, L. (2021). Covid-19 and higher education in Ghana: The case of a public higher education institution. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Education, 6(1), 150–155. https://doi.org/10.32674/jimphe.v6i1
Turkle, S. (2012). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other (1st edition). Basic Books.
United Nations. (2020, August). Policy brief: Education during covid-19 and beyond [HTML]. United Nations Sustainable Development Group. https://unsdg.un.org/resources/policy-brief-education-during-covid-19-and-beyond, https://unsdg.un.org/resources/policy-brief-education-during-covid-19-and-beyond
Weiss, D. (1995). Ibn Khaldun on economic transformation. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 27(1), 29–37. https://www.jstor.org/stable/176185
Wiredu, K., & Gyekye, K. (1992). Person and community: Ghanaian philosophical studies I. Council for Research in Values and Philosophy.
Wolf, S., Aurino, E., Suntheimer, N., Avornyo, E., Tsinigo, E., Jordan, J., Samanhyia, S., Aber, J. L., & Behrman, J. R. (2021). Learning in the time of a pandemic and implications for returning to school: Effects of Covid-19 in Ghana [CPRE Working Papers]. University of Pennsylvania. https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_workingpapers/28/
References
Adarkwah, M. A., & Agyemang, E. (2022). Forgotten frontline workers in higher education: Aiding Ghana in the Covid-19 recovery process. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, 127, 103202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2022.103202
Adom, D. (2020). The Covid-19 global pandemic: Socio-cultural, economic and educational implications from Ghana. International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 9(3), 202–229. https://doi.org/10.17583/rimcis.2020.5416
Adzovie, D. E., & Jibril, A. B. (2022). Assessment of the effects of Covid-19 pandemic on the prospects of e-learning in higher learning institutions: The mediating role of academic innovativeness and technological growth. Cogent Education, 9(1), 2041222. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2041222
Agana, A.-N., & Prempeh, C. (2022). Of farms, legends, and fools: Re-engaging Ghana’s development narrative through social media. Media, Culture & Society, 44(7), 1290–1306. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221111918
Alrefai, A., & Brun, M. (1994). Ibn Khaldun: Dynastic change and its economic consequences. Arab Studies Quarterly, 16(2), 73–86. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41858090
Amankwa, E., & Asiedu, E. K. (2022). Emergency e-learning acceptance in second-cycle institutions in Ghana: A conditional mediation analysis. SN Social Sciences, 2(4), Article number: 42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-022-00338-3
Amihere, A. (2022). Appropriate technology for teaching and learning in Ghanaian higher educational institutions during and post Covid-19 era. International Journal of Innovative Research and Development, 11(2), 74–81. https://doi.org/10.24940/ijird/2022/v11/i2/FEB22036
Boadi, K. N. (2000). The ontology of Kwame Nkrumah’s consciencism and the democratic theory and pratice in Africa: A diopian perspective. Journal of Black Studies, 30(4), 475–501. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2645900
Busia, K. A. (1951). The position of the chief in the modern political system of Ashanti: A study of the influence of contemporary social changes on Ashanti political institutions. International African Institute, Oxford University Press.
Campbell, H. A., & Lövheim, M. (2011). Introduction: Rethinking the online–offline connection in the study of religion online. Information, Communication & Society, 14(8), 1083–1096. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2011.597416
Chetan, G. (2011). Schools adrift. In J. Casewit (Ed.), & E. Lohja (Trans.), Education in the light of tradition: Studies in comparative religion (pp. 119–129). World Wisdom.
Darwin, C. (2003). The origin of species (150th Anniversary edition). Signet; Original work published 1859.
de Tocqueville, A. (2002). Democracy in America (H. C. Mansfield & D. Winthrop, Trans.; 1st edition). University of Chicago Press.
Durkheim, E. (2014). The division of labor in society (S. Lukes, Trans.). Free Press; Original work published 1984.
Edumadze, J. K. E., Barfi, K. A., Arkorful, V., & Baffour Jnr, N. O. (2022). Undergraduate student’s perception of using video conferencing tools under lockdown amidst Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana. Interactive Learning Environments, Latest Articles. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2021.2018618
Faanu, P., & Graham, E. (2017). The politics of ethnocentrism: A viability test of Ghana’s democracy? Insight on Africa, 9(2), 141–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/0975087817715534
Foucault, M. (1982). The archaeology of knowledge: And the discourse on language (3988th edition). Vintage.
GhanaWeb. (2017, July 13). First visually impaired Minister presents award to Mahama [HTML]. GhanaWeb. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/First-visually-impaired-Minister-presents-award-to-Mahama-558269
Gyekye, K. (2013). Philosophy culture and vision: African perspectives. Selected essays (Illustrated edition). Sub-Saharan Publishers.
Khaldûn, I. I., & Lawrence, B. B. (2015). The muqaddimah: An introduction to history (N. J. Dawood, Ed.; F. Rosenthal, Trans.; Abridged edition). Princeton University Press.
Koduah, A. (2010). The woman’s head-covering in church: Controversies surrounding the issue. Excellent Printing Press.
Kundu, N. D., & Ngalim, A. N. (2021). Covid-19 impact on education and beyond. VIJ Books (India) PVT Ltd. http://public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=6631846
Kwapong, O. A. T. F. (2022). Online learning experiences of adult applicants to a university in Ghana during the Covid-19 outbreak. E-Learning and Digital Media, OnlineFirst, 20427530221125856. https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530221125858
Marrou, H. I. (1982). A history of education in antiquity (G. Lamb, Trans.; Later print edition). University of Wisconsin Press.
Mazrui, A. A. (1986). The Africans: A triple heritage. Little, Brown and Companay.
Mazrui, A. A. (2002). Africanity Redefined: Collected essays of Ali A. Mazrui (UK ed. edition, Vol. 1). Africa World Press.
Naylor, R. (2000). Ghana. Oxfam EPP Books Services.
Ngwa, S. E., & Lawyer, B. (2020). The competency-based approach in public universities in Anglophone Cameroon: Implications for the Tuning Africa Project. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 10(4), 38–59. https://doi.org/10.9734/AJESS/2020/v10i430274
Nii-Dortey, M., & Nanbigne, E. (2020). Tabooing insults: Why the ambivalence? Journal of Philosophy and Culture, 8(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.5897/JPC2019.0039
Nikolopoulou, A., Mirbagheri, F., & Abraham, T. (2018). Introduction. In A. Nikolopoulou, T. Abraham, & F. Mirbagheri (Eds.), Education for sustainable development: Challenges, strategies and practices in a globalizing world (First edition, pp. xi–xxxii). SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd.
Nkrumah, K. (2016). Consciencism (1964). In F. L. Hord, Mzee Lasana Okpara, & J. S. Lee (Eds.), I Am Because We Are (Revised edition, pp. 65–74). University of Massachusetts Press; JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1hd18x6.11
Nucci, L. P. (2001). Education in the moral domain (1st edition). Cambridge University Press.
Nyamnjoh, F. B. (2020). Decolonising the academy: A case for convivial scholarship. Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
Obeng, C., Amissah-Essel, S., Jackson, F., & Obeng-Gyasi, E. (2022). Preschool environment: Teacher experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7286. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127286
Okrah, K. A. (2003). Nyansapo (the wisdom knot): Toward an African philosophy of education (1st edition). Routledge.
Owusu-Fordjour, C., Koomson, C. K., & Hanson, D. (2020). The impact of Covid-19 on learning—The perspective of the Ghanaian student. European Journal of Education Studies, 7(3), 88–101. https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v0i0.3000
Pals, D. L. (1987). Is religion a sui generis phenomenon? Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 55(2), 259–282. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1464494
Phelan, W. (2012). What is sui generis about the european union? Costly international cooperation in a self-contained regime. International Studies Review, 14(3), 367–385. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23280306
Prempeh, C. (2021). Religion and the state in an episodic moment of Covid-19 in Ghana. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 4(1), 100141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2021.100141
Prempeh, C. (2022a). Polishing the pearls of indigenous knowledge for inclusive social education in Ghana. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 5(1), 100248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2022.100248
Prempeh, C. (2022b). Decolonising African Divine Episteme: A Critical Analysis of the Akan Divine Name of God (Twereduampon Kwame). Journal of Religion in Africa, 52(3–4), 269–291. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700666-12340231
Putnam, R. D. (2004). Democracies in flux: The evolution of social capital in contemporary society (Illustrated edition). Oxford University Press.
Reimers, F. M. (Ed.). (2022). Primary and secondary education during Covid-19: Disruptions to educational opportunity during a pandemic. Springer International Publishing. https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-81500-4
Ripstein, A. (1987). Commodity fetishism. Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 17(4), 733–748. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40231565
Salm, S. J., & Falola, T. (2002). Culture and customs of Ghana. Greenwood Press.
Sartre, J.-P. (2007). Existentialism is a humanism (C. Macomber, Trans.; Annotated edition). Yale University Press.
Sherlock, S. (1997). The future of commodity fetishism. Sociological Focus, 30(1), 61–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20831808
Simmel, G., & Levine, D. N. (Eds.). (1972). Georg simmel on individuality and social forms. University of Chicago Press. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo3622859.html
Thompson, N., & Casely-Hayford, L. (2008). The Financing and outcomes of education in Ghana (RECOUP Working Paper No. 16). Research Consortium on Educational Outcomes and Poverty. https://ceid.educ.cam.ac.uk/publications/WP16.pdf
Tsevi, L. (2021). Covid-19 and higher education in Ghana: The case of a public higher education institution. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Education, 6(1), 150–155. https://doi.org/10.32674/jimphe.v6i1
Turkle, S. (2012). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other (1st edition). Basic Books.
United Nations. (2020, August). Policy brief: Education during covid-19 and beyond [HTML]. United Nations Sustainable Development Group. https://unsdg.un.org/resources/policy-brief-education-during-covid-19-and-beyond, https://unsdg.un.org/resources/policy-brief-education-during-covid-19-and-beyond
Weiss, D. (1995). Ibn Khaldun on economic transformation. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 27(1), 29–37. https://www.jstor.org/stable/176185
Wiredu, K., & Gyekye, K. (1992). Person and community: Ghanaian philosophical studies I. Council for Research in Values and Philosophy.
Wolf, S., Aurino, E., Suntheimer, N., Avornyo, E., Tsinigo, E., Jordan, J., Samanhyia, S., Aber, J. L., & Behrman, J. R. (2021). Learning in the time of a pandemic and implications for returning to school: Effects of Covid-19 in Ghana [CPRE Working Papers]. University of Pennsylvania. https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_workingpapers/28/
