The Jacobs Foundation has hosted a three-day Fellow-Led Conference in Accra aimed at deepening research, policy dialogue and classroom practice on language development, learning variability and inclusive education.
Held from January 20 to 22, 2026, the conference was organised under the theme “Language, Learning Variability and Children’s Education: New Research Insights, Inclusive Practices and Emerging Realities.”
It brought together researchers, education practitioners, policymakers and community stakeholders from Ghana and beyond to examine evidence-based strategies that promote equity in education, particularly within multilingual and multicultural learning environments.
Simon Sommer, Co-CEO of Jacobs Foundation, emphasised that as societies become increasingly diverse, there is a growing need for inclusive, research-driven educational practices that respond effectively to differences in language acquisition, learning needs and children’s development.
He indicated that the conference therefore served as a platform for dialogue, collaboration and the advancement of scholarship in these critical areas.
According to him, key sub-themes including multilingual education and language acquisition in diverse contexts, inclusive pedagogies for neurodiverse learners, evidence-based practices for multilingual classrooms, policy frameworks that support educational equality and access, and innovative approaches to addressing learning differences were discussed.
One of the highlights of the conference was the presentation of research findings by Dr. Ivy Kesewaa Nkrumah, whose work examines selective attention, working memory and cognitive control, and how these cognitive processes influence teaching and learning.
Her research explored the relationship between the language spoken at home and the language of instruction (LOI) in schools, highlighting significant alignment in many cases, while also drawing attention to critical gaps.
Dr. Nkrumah noted that instruction in learners’ first language (L1) has been shown to support cognitive development and enhance comprehension, engagement and participation in the classroom.
However, she pointed to persistent challenges, including teacher–community language mismatches, where teachers posted to certain areas do not speak the local language.
In an interview, she highlighted some other constraints as rigid application of L1-only instruction leading to low school enrolment in some contexts, the absence of teaching and learning materials in local languages, inadequate teacher preparation in local languages, and weaknesses in assessment and instructional management.
Her inquiry was guided by a two-phase research approach.
The first phase, according to her, focused on cognitive research, examining how language is represented and organised in bilingual memory.
The second phase examined classroom realities through observations of teachers, engagement with parents and documentation of how language policies are implemented in practice.
This approach, she explained, helped bridge the gap between cognitive science research and classroom realities, revealing both areas of alignment and tensions that undermine the full potential of language-in-education policies.
Findings from classroom observations showed that blended language instruction—using both the local language and English—led to heightened learner engagement, increased participation and stronger comprehension.
In such classrooms, learners freely asked questions and eagerly responded to teachers. Post-instruction questioning revealed strong understanding, with students answering confidently and creatively.
However, challenges were also observed. In some instances, teachers over-explained concepts or struggled to find appropriate equivalents in the local language, particularly when dealing with abstract ideas or numerical concepts, leading to confusion among learners. One pupil was quoted as saying, “The teacher said ‘aduonu’ and I didn’t know what that means.”
In contrast, classrooms where English-only instruction was used showed different dynamics. Teachers tended to give shorter explanations and sometimes struggled to maintain lesson flow. In one Class 2 mathematics lesson on decomposing numbers, the concept was misunderstood when the teacher interchanged “decompose” with “break,” which a pupil interpreted as a “car break.”
Classroom interaction in such settings appeared forced, with learners responding only when called upon. Teachers relied heavily on lesson planners, and voluntary student engagement was minimal. Learners also demonstrated comprehension difficulties, often responding only after questions were reformulated in the local language.
The study further revealed that while some pupils expressed admiration for English and associated it with future aspirations such as travelling abroad or securing good jobs—reflecting internalised parental perspectives—the overwhelming preference among pupils was for blended instruction. Notably, all pupils expressed their preferences in the local language.
Teachers, for their part, largely favoured the blended approach, citing smoother lesson flow, more natural pacing and better instructional balance.
The conference was organised by a committee of leading academics, including Prof. Richardson Addai-Munkum of the University of Education, Winneba; Dr. Ivy Kesewaa Nkrumah and Prof. Eric Anane of the University of Cape Coast; Prof. Ebenezer Owusu Sekyere of the University for Development Studies; Prof. Ahmed Abdul Rahman of KNUST; Dr. Emmanuel Adjei-Boateng of the University of Ghana, Legon; and Prof. Stella Yerimsi Erinosho of Methodist University.
Organisers say the Jacobs Foundation Fellow-Led Conference is expected to make a significant contribution to national and global conversations on inclusive education, learning diversity and child development, while informing more effective and context-responsive language-in-education policies.
