Reading the Visual: The Representation of Literature in the Ghanaian Educational Context

Abstract

Literature is a paradox in the field of art education in Ghana because of its perceived importance to critical and creative development, yet it is underutilized in an art curriculum that is studio-centric. This paper investigates how literature is represented in the Ghanaian art education context, the influence of literary theory on art production and the increasing availability of digital and new media texts in the art education system, and how this negatively affects the possibility of art learners accessing reading materials. This paper draws from a narrative synthesis of literature on creative arts pedagogy in Ghana, curriculum policy, library and digital infrastructure, and post-colonial art history. The study suggests that while there may be a continuum between textual and visual literacy, the former is not an aside to the latter but an integral component of it. The results suggest that the interplay between cost, inadequate library provision, uneven digital infrastructure and an inherited Eurocentric canon collectively limit students' access to the literature that would place their creative practice within a wider cultural and historical context. The paper concludes that textbook designers, teacher educators, and policy makers in Ghana should no longer regard texts as an ancillary issue in art learning, but as an integral part of the field's infrastructure rather than a supplementary concern and recommends directions for future research in the long-term relationship between literary engagement and creative identity.