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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Attitudes of Ghanaian Rural Youth towards Craftwork and Other Occupations |
Author: | Browne, Angela W. |
Year: | 1981 |
Periodical: | Rural Africana |
Volume: | 10 |
Period: | Spring |
Pages: | 19-29 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Ghana |
Subjects: | occupational choice school leavers Labor and Employment Architecture and the Arts |
Abstract: | The job expectations of a small group of elementary school children in four villages which specialise in traditional craft activities in Ashanti Region, Ghana, were analysed by means of a ranking exercise: students in Middle Forms 3 and 4, all of whom would soon be joining the work force, were asked to rank seven occupations. The lists were deliberately kept short, but within this constraint they were compiled to include rural and urban, manual and white collar jobs. The results suggest that the children did not, on the whole, disdain manual work and farming, thereby apparently confirming that the supposed unwillingness of school leavers in Ghana to take up manual work is indeed a myth. However, it should be noted that the educational system is but one influence on children's job preferences. Children's choices will also reflect their knowledge of the labour market, the attitudes of their peer group, parents and community, the opportunities for employment at a particular point in time, and many other personal and social factors. Notes, ref., tab. |