‘I’ll DEAL with You …’: power and domination in discourse in a Ghanaian educational context

Abstract

In spite of the democratic arrangements that have been made to ensure students’ participation in decision-making in the administration of Ghana’s school system, it is not uncommon to hear of students’ strikes and demonstrations which often result in the destruction of public property and closure of schools. Studies that observe the power dynamics between students and educators as they engage in decision-making and negotiation may contribute to our understanding of conflicts in schools, as well as the need to find solutions to these conflicts. This study applied Critical Discourse Analysis in analysing a 13-minute segment of a meeting between members of staff and student leaders in a Ghanaian senior high school. The study reveals discursive features through which social power and domination are reproduced and enacted in the discourse. Also, school authorities employ both positive self-representation and negative other-representation in cognitively controlling the minds of student leaders. The study has significant implications for power and domination in educational practice