EASTER BREAK ASSIGNMENT
NAME: Asah Marcia Abena Adowaa .
CLASS: 3E2.
TOPIC: SOCIAL STUDIES.
DATE DONE: 8TH APRIL, 2023.
ANSWERS.
1. Formal education is the type of education that follows a well
structured system and is carried out in structured institutions
for the absolute development of the individual to enable him
gain the skills and knowledge needed for one to merit
employment where as informal education is the type of
education which is unstructured and is carried out through the
individual’s interactions with others around him at any place or
time to enable the individual to aquire knowledge, skills and
attitudes to enable him to leave peacefully in the society.
2. Educations plays a number of varied and important roles in
the life on an individual and in the society, some of which are
outlined in the succeeding paragraphs.
Education ensures the continuity of culture. Education
hands down the way of life of a people from one generation to
the other. In formal education, the Social Sciences like Social
Studies and Our World Our People treat lessons which
encompass culture and ensure that the individual has a fair
knowledge of it. Oral transmission of culture through folktales
and traditional songs by the elderly prevents the end of culture.
The dynamism of a society is a function of education. Day
in day out, there are societal changes which include problems.
Education teaches and shows how the society should adapt in
order to push through these changes. For example; the advent
of the Europeans to the Gold Coast came along with western
eduction which enlightened the people on the malihuman
sacrifice. This made most traditionalists in those days substitute
the sacrificing of humans with the sacrificing of animals like
goats instead.
Education ensures social order. Formal and informal
education teach the individual values such tolerance, love and
the essence of oneness and skills like diplomacy, which when
put into practice ensure peace and order in the society and to
prevent and control conflicts, misunderstanding and war.
People are educated against social vices like prostition and
armed robbery, their ill effects and ways of keeping them at
bay. For example : the Akan doctrine of two heads being better
than one instills in the individual the importance of unity and
team work which are polar opposites of division and war.
Also, education provides a means of earning a living. The
curricular structure of subjects and courses under formal
education are designed to ensure that the individual gets the
necessary preparation in terms of the skills, values and training
needed to gain employment and remain employed to earn a
substantial source of income. Informal education through
apprenticeship also hands down vocational skills for example:
weaving, carpentry, masonry and street hawking to other
indivuals, so that they can provide for themselves and their
families.
Education is responsible for the moral upbringing of the
individual. The teaching of societal tenets, values and norms by
elders of the society help mold the individual morally so that he
or she does not become a moral or social misfit. Subjects such
as Religious and Moral Education and Social Studies also play a
significant role in moral training.
3.
Education by its nature walks hand-in-hand with societal
change. A few positive impacts of education with regard to
societal change are as follows.
The abolition of outdated socio-cultural practices is a
societal change inpacted by education. Enlightenment from
education on the dire effects and implications of redundant
cultural practices such as female genital mutilation have caused
a lot of people to shun their practice. These practices are
gradually being wiped out of the society.
The presence of education brings about variety on the job
market. The skills and knowledge acquired from formal
education gives the individual the opportunity to employ him
or herself to earn a living if he or she is unable to gain
employment from others. Education constantly teaches more
efficient ways of solving problems, producing goods and
providing services. The introduction of these nouvelle ways
creates different jobs on the job market for people to choose
from.
Education has positively changed the society by bringing
about global intergeration.With the introduction of education,
Ghana has been able to adopt an official language of English to
allow her to partake in foreign affairs. The study of other
international languages by diplomats has also promoted
Ghana’s transactions and interactions with other nations. For
example: His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo’s
multilingual abilities make it possible for him to easily interact
with other world leaders at international meetings with regard
to Ghana’s wellbeing.
Societal unification or integration is also a societal change
brought about by education. The adoption of the official
language of English has promoted interactions and easy
communication between the diverse ethnic groups of Ghana.
Education has also made it possible for the different ethnic
groups to commonly identify themselves with cultural activities
that are common to all of them through platforms. For example
the annual National Arts Festival in Ghana exhibits the nation’s
varying ethnic cultures and unifies them under a common
identity.
4. Western education has a lot of impacts on the family system.
One of the main effects of Western education on the family
system is the loss of respect for family authority. The young and
educated individuals in the family tend to disregard their elders
and other less educated members who they view as illiterate.
Another impact of Western education on the family
system is individuals growing up without adequate family
history. As a requirement of Western education, the individual
spends most of his time with his books and time for
socialisation with the extended family is often limited. In the
case of boarding school, the distance between the person is
widened and the time spent together a family is lessened, thus
preventing family history from being passed down and also
preventing the person from knowing his kinsmen too.
Marriage without family consent is also a reflection of the
negative impact of Western education on the family system.
Marriage under ordinance, commonly practised by the elite,
seeks the presence of witnesses regardless of whether or not
they are family. Thus, some educated people get married
without the consent of their family which contradicts the
traditional ideology of marriage being a union of two families.
Also, Western education weakens family ties. Most people
after acquiring Western education, move out of their family
homes and head to the cities or over seas in search of white
coloured jobs. The demanding nature of their work leave little
to no time for visiting the family back at home. Even phone
calls are limited. This distance weakens and breaks down family
relationships.
Last but not least, the neglecting of external family
members is an effect of Western education on the family
system. Western education often promotes the ideology of the
nuclear family system more than that of the extended family
system. Educated individuals tend to toe these lines and focus
solely on taking care of their immediate family, leaving the
extended family which is mostly made up of the aged and non
working people, to fend for themselves.
5. Globalisation despite its benefits has demerits. Some of these
disadvantages of globalisation are discussed in the following
paragraphs.
Globalisation has lead to the collapse of many local
industries. This is so because many individuals have developed
an inordinate taste for foreign goods and services at the
expense of locally manufactured goods and local services. This
has led to the collapse of many local industries as many
Ghanaians do not patronise our own products and services.
They therefore stop producing goods and providing services in
order to prevent incurring more losses and debt.
Unemployment is also an effect of globalisation. As
aforementioned, the influx of foreign goods unto the market
may force local industries to shut down, leaving many people
unemployed. Again, globalisation has introduced machines
which get work done more efficiently and faster into our
society. These machines have taken the place of people, leaving
these people without a source of income. For example, the
advent of high technology devices such as CCTV cameras
displaced some local security people.
Globalisation has negatively Impacted national identity.
National identity can be defined as the a sense of a nation as a
cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions,
culture, and language. However globalisation has gradually
eroded the distinction between the foreign way of life and our
way of life because individuals are letting go of their culture to
adopt foreign ones . This makes it difficult for an individual to
be identified as belonging to a particular nation. For example,
rightly guessing the nationality of a Ghanaian female dressed in
jeans and a tee-shirt is almost impossible as opposed to some
decades back when seeing one dressed in Kaba and Slit.
Another bad effect of globalisation is the rise in crime rate.
Due to globalisation, individuals are now exposed to foreign
screenplays which show organised crimes like murder and
armed robbery. Some individuals take inspiration from this and
decide to carry them out. Also, globalisation has made it
relatively easy for individuals to lay hands on arms and
weapons like guns manufactured in foreign countries due to
trade liberalisation.
Lastly, globalisation also leads to currency depreciation.
Globalisation has provided the opportunity of importing goods
from other countries. These goods have unfair amount of taxes
on them and as a result, individuals end up paying more for
goods than the price they cost at their country of manufacture.
Thus, the individual would need more of his currency in order
to increase his purchasing power.
6. Bilateral cooperation refers to a political, social, cultural,
educational or technical agreement between two countries in
which both countries gain whereas multilateral cooperation is a
political, social, cultural, educational, or technical agreement
between more than two countries in which they all benefit
something.
7. Cooperation are very advantageous to the nations involved
in it. The following are some of the benefits of cooperation.
Cooperation promotes socio-cultural development in
countries. Countries receive assistance from foreign institutions
like the American Field Service and Voluntary Service Overseas
who provide rural communities with social amenities like
schools and hospitals which would ensure better leaving
conditions and improve living standards. Institutions like Child
Rights International and Amnesty International also ensure that
human rights are protected so as to provide the needed
environment for individuals to realise their full potentials.
Cooperation also contributes to the development in a
nation’s educational sector. Scholarship opportunities to study
and sharpen their skills in other countries and exchange
programmes diversify the educational system and encourage
academic excellence in the sector. Educational materials such
as textbooks, computers and lab equipment are also provided
by some countries in a cooperation to others. For instance,
Ghana receives educational materials from UNICEF and
UNESCO.
Military assistance is also a benefit derived from
cooperation. In some cooperation, countries experiencing war
and instability are given assistance in the form of deployed
military troops. Countries with relatively powerful military
bodies offer training to the military of the other countries.
Another benefit of cooperation is the access to financial
assistance. Countries in cooperation can readily receive
monetary assistance in times of crisis under certain terms and
conditions enjoyed only by members of the Cooperation. For
example, many countries receive assistance form the
International Monetary Fund to handle developmental projects
and to facilitate economic restructuring.
Improvement in the health sector is also an advantage of
cooperation. The cooperation allows more experienced
countries to assist other less experienced countries in terms of
complicated and delicate surgeries. Some organisations provide
countries with materials and equipment like drugs and vaccines
needed to battle with diseases and viruses. For example, in
2020 during the Co-vid 19 pandemic, the World Health
Organisation provided many underdeveloped countries with
medical assistance in the form of vaccines and protective
clothing.
8. The Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) is an international organisation comprising of 16
member countries in West Africa. It is of a lot of merits to its
members. A handful of these benefits are highlighted below.
The ECOWAS promotes peace in its members states.
Through its formation of ECOWAS Monitoring Group
(ECOMOG) which is made up of the integration of military
resources of its member states, the ECOWAS has promoted
peace keeping. The end to Liberia’s civil war is a reflection of
ECOMOG’s effort.
The ECOWAS also promotes free movement of people of
its member states. It ensures that citizens of the community
can travel to a member country with only a valid passport and
without a visa.
Moving on, the ECOWAS serves as a powerful and
common front for its members. This is so because, through the
ECOWAS, member countries can project a common voice and
pursue their ambitions in international conferences, much
better than they could have done individually.
The ECOWAS again ensures economic cooperation
between it’s member countries. The coming together of the
member countries allow goods to move freely to any part of
West Africa with little to no tedious processes. This provides a
larger market for goods produced as more people would be
patronising.
Finally, the ECOWAS attracts foreign investment for its
member sates. The presence of a larger economic market,
foreign investors would feel confident and will invest more
capital as the probability of yielding more profit is assured.