Climate-Migrants’ Experiences of Navigating Children’s Educational Needs in the Middle Belt of Ghana

Keywords: Climate-migrants, rural migration, educational opportunities, Ghana, sub-Saharan Africa, Global South
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Migration is currently one of the most relied on strategy for livelihood improvement among many populations across the world. With worsening climatic conditions globally, migrations are expected to increase in volume. In Ghana, rural and farming populations in the Upper West Region (UWR) are some of the hardest hit by ongoing climate change effects, as most of them rely on subsistence farming for food and other livelihood needs. Consequently, many of these agrarian populations in the UWR are relying on outmigration to rural middle-belt farming communities of Ghana as a coping and adaptation strategy towards these climate change effects. The permanent nature of recent migrations has seen the relocation of entire families to the middle-belt. Despite these emerging dynamics, the post-migration educational outcomes of migrant children in rural destination communities remains understudied. This is despite the evidence that factors such as migration and socioeconomic status, as well as geographical location, play a significant role on educational resources and outcomes. Using 15 in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions, this paper explores migrants’ experiences of navigating educational opportunities for their children in the middle belt of Ghana. Our findings reveal that migrants face structural, cultural and socioeconomic barriers in meeting their children’s educational needs. We provide some policy recommendations based on our study findings.