Ethnic Stereotyping as Human Rights Violation in Ghana: Exploring University of Education, Winneba (UEW) Students’ Perceptions

Abstract

In this study, the spotlight was focused on how ethnic stereotyping constitutes human rights violation in Ghana by exploring the perceptions of the students of the University of Education, Winneba.  The research design adopted for the study was a case study, embarking upon a qualitative research approach. A census comprising all the 15 Level 700 students offering M.Phil in Social Studies in the Department of Social Studies Education at the University of Education, Winneba was involved in the study. Interview schedule and focus group discussion were used to collect data for the study.  The data collected were analyzed thematically, based on the research questions raised for the study. The study revealed that a lot of ethnic stereotyping takes place in Ghana and these affect the ethnic groups psychologically, socially, politically and economically. It is, therefore, recommended that the concept stereotyping be incorporated into the school curriculum, via social studies, in order to gradually change people’s attitude towards such wrongful characterization of ethnic groups in the country.

Keywords: Ethnicity, Stereotyping, Perceptions, Violations, Human Rights, Human Rights Violation, Ethnic Stereotyping.