Secondary Education in Ghana: Private Enterprise and Social Selection

Social bias in education and inequality of opportunity are world-wide characteristics of mobility systems. In Africa, the social selectivity of secondary schools has been well documented (Clignet and Foster, 1964; Abernethy, 1969; Lloyd 1966). However, the actual process of African educational selection remains relatively unexplored. Scholars have concentrated on the social background of students at a particular point in time. By failing to consider the subsequent examination performance and life experiences of their samples, they are missing much that is relevant to the examination of the connection between education and social mobility. Douglas' (1964) longitudinal studies have indicated one approach. Another, which is utilized in this paper, is to follow a cohort through their examinations and investigate the impact of institutional and social factors on examination success, both at entry to and at exit from secondary school. Whatever their failings, examinations seem likely to remain guardians of the