Do you want to hear more about my survival strategies? Rural youth narratives of their journeys to and through university in Ghana

With growing demand for access to higher education in Africa, the rural-urban divide in participation rates across the continent is an area of key policy concern. In Ghana, the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme has increased high school enrolment and resulted in increased demand for university spaces, especially from young people in rural areas However, the perspectives of rural youth on their own university journeys and experiences are often overlooked in academic and public discourse on widening university access and participation in Africa.

In Kojo’s research, he seeks to amplify the voices and lived perspectives of rural youth about their journeys to, and experiences in, Ghanaian universities. He will focus on the life stories of rural youth attending public university in Ghana’s capital, Accra, highlighting how rural inequality is compounded by ethnicity, gender, mature student status, and disability.

He employs a narrative research methodology, using open-ended non-directive narrative interviews to elicit rural youth accounts. He also engaged with other stakeholders, patrons and enablers who enable rural youth university journeys. He used observational methods to describe the lived university experiences of rural youth, and the barriers and support structures they encounter on their journeys. Their voices and perspectives need to inform access and participation policy in Ghana and beyond.