Can Public International Boarding Schools in Ghana Be the Next Educational Reform Movement for Low-Income Urban Minority Public School Students?

Authors

Kevin D. Brown, Indiana University Maurer School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Publication Citation

19 Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review 91 (2009)

Abstract

The past twenty-five years has witnessed dramatic changes in the world, including the rise of international trade, unprecedented movement of people across national borders, tremendous advances in communication technologies and new forms of knowledge. Due to the changes of this magnitude, the American public is aware of new and formidable global and international problems that did not exist before. However, these changes also provide the conditions for applying new solutions to domestic problems that have plagued American society for decades. This Article puts forward an innovative suggestion to a persistent problem of American society: the problem of how to improve the educational performance of some low-income urban minority schoolchildren. This article will argue it is now technologically possible and economically feasible to establish international boarding schools in politically and economically stable developing countries to educate some low-income urban minority schoolchildren. These schools would provide a quality academic American-style boarding school education to its students, subject to the inclusion of courses about the history, language, culture and customs of the countries where they are located.

A number of possible locations for these schools would work, including areas in countries like India or China. However, this article will argue for the creation of international boarding schools in or near, Accra, the capital city of the Republic of Ghana. Such schools would be open to any student in the public school district that establishes the school, regardless of race or ethnicity; however, it will probably appeal more to blacks than to other racial or ethnic groups. The estimated annual per pupil expenses of such a school should be between $8,000 and $14,000, approximately what public schools spend on the typical student. These expenses will include the cost of transportation to and from Ghana, room, board, clothing and education.

Recommended Citation

Brown, Kevin D., "Can Public International Boarding Schools in Ghana Be the Next Educational Reform Movement for Low-Income Urban Minority Public School Students?" (2009). Articles by Maurer Faculty. 27.
https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub/27