Discourses of historical and democratic consciousness in Ghanaian curriculum documents

Abstract

This study examines the intersections of historical and democratic consciousness in Ghana's pre-tertiary curriculum framework and primary school history curriculum. The study adopts a critical discourse analysis approach drawing on the work of Wodak to analyse the curriculum documents. Findings show that democratic and historical consciousness is strongly expressed through key concepts such as citizenship and community, and through democratic values such as honesty, respect and tolerance for diverse groups, cultures, and religions. Discourses reveal a social justice orientation and underscore history as a critical context for developing responsible national and global citizens who can contribute to democratic processes through connecting the past to the present and future. The study highlights opportunities to intensify democratic and historical consciousness in the conceptualisation of governance, curriculum content, and history teaching practices.