CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

• Background of the Study

Child fostering is practiced across the globe and literature reveals that it is mostly practiced in West Africa (Serra, 2009; Gage, 2005). The practice of child fostering is considered to be part of a larger mediation process that takes place amongst extended family networks (Caldwell, 1997; Akresh, 2005) and accepting a foster child occurs under diverse circumstances (Goody, 1982; Bledsoe & Isiugo-Abanihe, 1989). According to ethnography, households that accept foster children enjoy the added labour of the foster child and also benefit from the social insurance of investing in other people’s children (Bledsoe, 1990; Caldwell, 1997). Above all, fosterage is practiced in anticipation of securing returns to the foster child, the parents and the foster mother or possibly to every party involved (Castle, 1995). Researchers have different views on the practice of child fostering.

In as much as writers have different opinions or definitions of child fosterage, there is a common understanding. In Ghana, the practice of fosterage is seen to be the transfer, exchange and relocation of children both within and between families (Fiawoo, 1978; Isiugo-Abanihe, 1985; Klomegah, 2000; Serra, 2009). There is a belief in Ghanaian culture that a child is not born only to the birth parents but to the entire society as well. Therefore, child fostering is an efficient mode of skilling or training a child to face adult life. Heads or adults in the family make the decisions whether to foster in or foster out children based on the availability of resources and

household choices to overcome economic and demographic destitutions through social networks such as the extended family (Isiugo-Abanihe, 1985; Akresh, 2004; Serra, 2009).

Human capital development is essential to policy makers due to its noted contribution to economic growth. At the micro level, investment in human capital is a key means of reducing poverty for many families while at the macro level, education is a way of ensuring that individuals have access to improved skills and knowledge that enhances economic growth (Quang, 2012). Thus, investing in human capital is generally acknowledged as a way to accomplish sustainable development. Child fostering is seen as a strategy by many families for enhancing children’s education as a means of alleviating poverty (Ainsworth, 1996; Gage, 2005). The effect of child fostering on education is also a subject which needs careful attention as it is the basic means of not only becoming successful persons but also good parents, responsible citizens and productive members of the labour force.

On the subject of education in Ghana, its system is a blend of private and public schools and every child has the right to them. Irrespective of the economic circumstances, the government, parents and guardians have the primary responsibility to warrant a child’s access to quality education. Quality of education at all levels in Ghana is mostly expressed in terms of pass rate especially at basic and secondary levels and equipping students with the requisite skills for the labour market at the tertiary level (IMANI-Ghana, 2013). According to IMANI-Ghana (2013), passing with good grades is a good proxy to quality education and not a comprehensive indication of its quality. One key benefit of education is that it helps individuals to earn more

income or wealth and also can add value to production in an economy (Sen, 1999). Conferring to the report of The Forum for Education Reform on the topic, “The state of education in Ghana”, Government of Ghana in recent times uses over 6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and budgetary expenditure on education as compared to other countries in the world with a global average of 5% (IMANI-Ghana, 2013).

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