EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF FOSTER CHILDREN IN THE TAMALE METROPOLIS, NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

Fosteringisa commonpracticein manypartsof Dagbon intheNorthernRegionof Ghana. Itisasocio-culturalbarriertoqualityeducationof manyfosterchildrenintheTamalearea. ThestudysoughttoinvestigatetheeducationalattainmentsoffosterchildrenintheTamale Metropolis in the Norther Region of Ghana. The study adopted the mixed method approach. Snowball sampling technique was used to selecting or identifying respondents due to the nature of the study. Respondents for in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were purposively selected. Twenty-three in-depth interviews and three focus group discussions were conducted. The findings showed that majority of foster children were enrolled in school against few who were not enrolled. Also, there was regular school attendance by majority of foster children in the metropolis. Absenteeism was low among foster children. Majority of foster children were also found to be punctual to schools with few going to school late. The findings also showed that foster children were performing averagely well in school. However, majority of them were found performing below non foster children in their respective households. The foster children were overburdened household chores, inadequate learning educational materials, late payment of fees, discriminationandabuse,andinadequatefreedomtorecreationorsocialisewithpeers.The study concluded that fostering remains inimical to educational attainments of children in the metropolis despite signs of good school enrollment and attendance among foster children.There is the need for effective policy implementation and sensitisation against the engagement of foster children in too many chores that significantly affect studies both in schools and at home.