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Professor Kwame Akyeampong

Profile summary

  • Central Academic Staff
  • Professor of International Education and Development
  • Faculty of Wellbeing, Education & Language Studies
  • School of Education, Childhood, Youth & Sport
  • Centre for the Study of Global Development
  • kwame.akyeampong

Professional biography

Kwame Akyeampong is Professor of International Education and Development at the Open University, UK. Kwame began his academic career in Ghana at the University of Cape Coast in 1989 and served as the Director of the Institute of Education from 2002-2004.   He has particular interest in the political economy of education systems in low-income countries. His research has aimed to offer alternative viewpoints on educational policy and practice based on critical perspectives and experiences of policy makers, school leaders, teachers and students in African education environments. He has over 25 years’ experience in Education Programme Evaluation, Teacher Education Policy, Education Access and Equity with a focus on disadvantaged and marginalised groups in sub-Saharan Africa.  He has produced education review and evaluation reports for various Ministries of Education in Africa.  He served as a visiting Professor at the Centre for International Cooperation in Education (CICE) in Hiroshima University in 2002, and a Senior Fulbright Scholar at Georgia State University (GSU) in the USA in 2001. Over his career he has consulted for UNESCO, FCDO, Belgian Development Organisation (VVOB) and the World Bank. Kwame served for two years(2011 to 2013) as a Senior Policy Analyst with UNESCO’s Global Monitoring Education Report in Paris. He is an Honorary Professor of International Education and Development at the University of Sussex, and co-chairs the World Bank and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP).

Research interests

Educational Change and Policy Analysis in Low Income Countries

Teacher Education Research

Educational Assessment and Evaluation Classroom Teaching and Learning in low-income countries

Youth and Skills Development Learning to teach mathematics

Political Economy of Education in sub-Saharan Africa

 

 

External collaborations

Major Research Projects and Consultancy:

Senior Policy Analyst - UNESCO Global Monitoring Report Team - Paris (2012-2013)

Principal Investigator - Speed Schools Project in Ethiopia - Funder: Geneva Global Inc. USA (2011-2017)

Principal Investigator - Teacher Preparation in Africa (TPA) Research Project - Funded by Flora & Hewlett Foundation, USA

Consultant for Rwandan Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Scientific Research(MINEDUC). This one-year consultancy service (Feb 2004 - Feb 2005) was in support of the Government of Rwanda's plans to move from 6 to 9 year Basic Education system.

Co-researcher/consultant - DFID funded research project April 2004- October 2005 "Teacher Motivation and Incentive in Developing Countries - Study of 12 countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Consultant for World Bank study on Financing Secondary Education in Africa - Produced report on the cost and financing of secondary education in Ghana (www.worldbank.org/afr/seia) (March 2003 - September 2003) Consultant for World Bank Commissioned study on "Learning to Teach in the Knowledge Society" - A Case Study of Ghana: September 2003 - May 2004. T

Consultant for International Development Center of Japan (IDCJ) for "A study of the Characteristics and Effectiveness of Japanese Technical Cooperation in Ghana" May - August 2002. This consultancy involved evaluating the impact of two Japanese technical assistance programmes in Ghana: (a) the Science, Technology and Mathematics (STM) teacher education programme, and (b) an Agriculture Irrigation programme in the Ministry of Agriculture.

World Bank Project on Vocationalisation of Secondary Education in Ghana. Part of a three case study report of TVET in sub-Saharan Africa.

Multi-site Teacher Education Research Project "MUSTER" on Primary Teacher Education in Ghana (1998-2001) - British DFID project; Lead Researcher for Ghana. MUSTER involved four other countries, Trinidad & Tobago, Malawi, Lesotho and South Africa. Principal Researcher for JICA Baseline study of Science, Mathematics and Technology (STM) project in Ghana; Completed in 2000. Sub-Consultant for World Bank funded Final Evaluation of Ghana Primary School Development Project (GPSDP) Ghana Ministry of Education (January - March 1999).

Publications

The effects of language preference and home resources on foundational literacy retention during school holiday closures in Ghana: Lessons from the Complementary Basic Education Programme (2022)
Akyeampong, Albert; Carter, Emma; Rose, Pauline; Ryan, Jennifer; Sabates, Ricardo and Stern, Jonathan
Prospects, 52 (pp. 115-136)

Sustaining literacy from mother tongue instruction in complementary education into official language of instruction in government schools in Ghana (2020)
Carter, Emma; Sabates, Ricardo; Rose, Pauline and Akyeampong, Kwame
International Journal of Educational Development, 76 (p 102195)

Trapped in low performance? Tracking the learning trajectory of disadvantaged girls and boys in the Complementary Basic Education programme in Ghana (2020)
Carter, Emma; Rose, Pauline; Sabates, Ricardo and Akyeampong, Kwame
International Journal of Educational Research, 100, Article 101541 (p 101541)

The effect of working on students’ learning in Latin America: Evidence from the learning survey TERCE (2019-10)
Delprato, Marcos and Akyeampong, Kwame
International Journal of Educational Development, 70, Article 102086

Intergenerational Education Effects of Early Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa (2017-03)
Delprato, Marcos; Akyeampong, Kwame and Dunne, Máiréad
World Development, 91 (pp. 173-192)

On the impact of early marriage on schooling outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa and South West Asia (2015)
Delprato, Marcos; Akyeampong, Kwame; Sabates, Ricardo and Hernandez-Fernandez, Jimena
International Journal of Educational Development, 44 (pp. 42-55)

Teaching at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Teacher Education in Poor and Marginalised Communities (2022-01-24)
Akyeampong, Kwame
In: Wagner, Daniel A.; Castillo, Nathan M. and Suzanne, Grant Lewis eds. Learning, Marginalization, and Improving the Quality of Education in Low-income Countries.. Learning at the Bottom of the Pyramid (2) (pp. 77-111)
ISBN : 9781800642010 | Publisher : Open Book Publishers | Published : Cambridge

Transforming Teacher Preparation for Development of Education in Ghana: Challenges, Progress and Prospects (2020-07-07)
Akyeampong, Kwame
In: Lefty, Lauren and Frazer, James W. eds. Teaching the World's Teachers (pp. 179-198)
ISBN : 9781421438290 | Publisher : John Hopkins University | Published : Baltimore, MD

Power of Parents: Exploring the potential role of parents and caregivers in strengthening language development and literacy acquisition for children aged 3-12 in Sub-Saharan Africa Extended Literature Review (2024-09)
Ebubedike, Margaret; Akyeampong, Albert; Addae-Kyeremeh, Eric; Dery, Portia; Boateng, Felicia and Doka, Jane
The Open University, Milton Keynes.

Consultation for the 2023 GEM Report on Technology and Education (2023-06)
Charitonos, Koula; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Huxley, Sarah; Hedges, Claire; Law, Patrina; Power, Tom; Akyeampong, Kwame; Mwoma, Teresa; Al-Awidi, Hamid and Whitelock, Denise
The Open University

Partners in Play Baseline Evaluation Report (2022-01)
Akyeampong, Albert; Addae-Kyeremeh, Eric; Cullen, Jane and Hendry, Helen
Open University, UK.

Play-based Learning in Ghana - The Evidence and Policy Implications (2021-10-01)
Akyeampong, Kwame; Cullen, Jane; Addae-Kyeremeh, Eric; Hendry, Helen; Kwaah, Christopher Yaw and Avornyo, Esinam Ami
The Open University