Abstract:
This article analyses selected texts from documents on the Free Compulsory
Universal Basic Education (fCUBE) policy implementation in Ghana to unearth
the discursive shift in policy (i.e. from predominantly socialist/social democratic
towards neo-liberal ideological policy direction) in recent time. The
methodological approach involves the critical discourse analysis (CDA) of
extracts selected purposefully from the fCUBE policy documents to show how
Ghana’s education policy has evolved over time. Owing to its commitment to
enhancing the educational opportunities of the socially and economically
disadvantaged, the analyses view fCUBE as a rights-based policy deeply rooted
in social democracy. However, the strategies for implementation outlined in the
fCUBE policy documents do not appear consistent with the policy goals/
intentions. A significant discursive shift in policy direction and language of
implementation is uncovered, which the article contends, is due to the emergence
of neo-liberal ideological discourses on education wrapped in the rhetoric of
‘skills for the world of work’. The article concludes that owing to its potential to
draw on language as a resource for analysing complex social issues, CDA is a
useful interdisciplinary methodology for highlighting new textual formations and
marginal discourses within policy texts and for tracing discursive shifts in policy
implementation processes
