Social Issues and the Environment in Ghana

B.Ed Primary/Junior High School Programme

• The module is for the 2nd semester of 2023
• It's a training and retraining programme for private school teachers in Ghana, organized by the Ministry of Finance, Trade Union Congress, and the Institute of Education, UCC
• This is a Ghanaian program

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 1

• Social Vices in Ghana:
  • "Vices" originate from the Latin word "Vitium," meaning defect or failing
  • Vices are immoral or wicked personal characteristics, often seen in schools and institutions
  • Vices can also be defined as habitually bad behaviors reflecting moral weakness or wickedness
  • Some vices are considered evil (e.g., prostitution, indecent dressing, robbery, cultism, etc.), while others are self-indulgent (e.g., smoking, premarital sex, rape)

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 1 (continued)

• Social vices are common among young people
  • Examples include prostitution, indecent dressing, robbery, cultism, pocket picking, drug addiction, examination malpractice, hooliganism, thuggery, gambling, smoking, and premarital sexual activities & rape
• Social vices are unacceptable behaviors that contradict societal norms and culture
• Social vices can be harmful behaviours, habits, or practices recognized as immoral, sinful, or degrading in a community

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 1 (continued)

• Social vices are often associated with:
  • Possession of pornographic materials
  • Examination misconduct
  • Stealing
• They are considered behaviours, habits, or practices generally seen as bad or practices that are immoral, sinful, or potentially profitable, like prostitution or gambling

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 1 (continued)

• Causes of Social Vices:
  • Peer pressure
  • Unemployment
  • Poor parenting, broken homes
  • Modelling (influence from media)

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 1 (continued)

• Effects of Social Vices:
  • Negative impact on mental, physical, and moral well-being
  • Dangerous acts (e.g., cultism)
  • Damage to family image
  • Health risks due to illicit drugs, smoking, and alcoholism

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 1 (continued)

• Measures to Curb Social Vices:
  • Parents play a crucial role in guiding their children
  • Governments should create youth-centred policies to reduce poverty and increase educational opportunities to give job creation possibilities for young unemployeded graduates
  • Educational system reform by including entrepreneurship and skill-based courses
  • Stakeholders should educate youth on danger of vices
  • Guidance and counselling centres
  • Parent-teacher communication channels to help parents know their child better

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 2

• Environment:
  • Environment means surroundings that affect an organism throughout their life
  • The environment comprises biotic (living things) and abiotic (non-living components) that surround organisms
  • It encompasses interactions between water, air, land, and human beings/other living organisms

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 2 (continued)

• Types of Environment:
  • Natural: Includes biological and ecological components, all living creatures (plants, animals, humans, microorganisms)
  • Social: Socio-economic interactions between individuals and species; how human beings interact with other human beings

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 2 (continued)

• Types of Environment:
  • Built: Man-made components within the natural environment, e.g., cities, buildings, infrastructure that is carefully planed
  • Spiritual: The sub-conscious level where human interactions with the supernatural beings occur.

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 2 (continued)

• Importance of the Physical Environment:
  • Source of natural resources for life
  • Waste repository
  • Habitat for living organisms
  • Source of beauty

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 4

• Physical Environment:
  • Encompasses land, air, water, plants, animals, buildings, and natural resources crucial for social and economic development
  • Lithosphere (Land): Solid rocky crust, minerals, continents, mountains, ocean floors (29% of Earth's surface)

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 4 (continued)

• Physical Environment:
  • Hydrosphere (Water): All water on Earth (oceans, lakes, rivers, 71% of Earth's surface), includes fresh water and frozen water
  • Atmosphere (Air): Layer of gases surrounding Earth, containing oxygen, carbon dioxide; protects from harmful solar radiation

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 4 (continued)

• Atmosphere: layers
  • Concentric layers (e.g., troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere) with varying characteristics based on temperature, composed of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and other gases

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 5

• Environmental problems:
  • Changes in quality/quantity of environmental factors negatively affecting human & animal health & well being
  • Two viewpoints
    • Look at the adverse effects without understanding the origin
    • Investigate the cause-and-effect relationships

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 5 (continued)

• Examples of environmental problems
  • Air, water, and land pollution
• Air Pollution:
  • Presence of contaminants (dust, fumes, gases, mist, odor, smoke, vapor)
  • Harmful to plants, animals, and human life, pollutants.
  • Causes: industrial wastes, vehicle emissions, household & farming chemicals, deforestation
  • Effects: respiratory infections, global warming, ozone layer depletion, acid rain

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 6

• Water Pollution:
  • Contamination of water bodies by harmful substances (chemicals, microorganisms)
  • Reduces water quality, toxic to humans & environment

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 6 (continued)

• Water Pollution (continued):
  • Causes: urbanization, sewage/waste, industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals, oil spills
  • Effects: waterborne diseases, negative impact on human and animal life, reduced oxygenation

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 6 (continued)

• Water Pollution (continued):
  • Solutions: public awareness, industry effluent treatment, sewage treatment plants, proper fertilizer/pesticide use

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 6 (continued)

• Land Degradation:
  • Temporary/permanent decline in land's productive capacity, includes major land uses (e.g., arable land, irrigation, forests), farming systems, and economic value
  • Causes: deforestation, excessive use of fertilizers/pesticides, overgrazing, industrial/mining activities, waterlogging, desertification, soil erosion
  • Effects: loss of topsoil, reduced vegetation, increased soil salinity, increased flooding, drought

Social Structure of Ghana - Unit 6, Session 6 (continued)

• Land Degradation (continued):
  • Solutions
    • Conservation tillage (leaving crop residue on surface to protect soil)
    • Reducing deforestation
    • Land reclamation