Exploring the Production and Usage of a Metal Wall Hanging to Highlight some of the Crucial Issues Confronting Girl-Child Education in Ghana
Mohammed Kwaku Baidoo 
, Charles Adu-Boachie , Sandra Acquah , Prince Edem Dzakpasu , Cyril Etornam Adala , Isaac Kwabena Agyei
Issue: Vol.6 No.8 Article 29 pp.1671 -1690
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20256829 | Published online 28th July, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Despite constitutional guarantees of free and compulsory basic education, girl children in Ghana still face significant barriers to education, due to teenage pregnancy, socio-cultural beliefs, and limited resources. This study, therefore, explored and produced a Metal Wall Hanging that highlights some of the critical issues confronting girl-child education in Ghana. This study used descriptive and studio-based research techniques within the qualitative design. The metalwork was created using etching and laser cutting techniques, emphasizing key themes. The research pinpointed certain key actions that pose crucial issues in girl-child education, which include sexual harassment and abuse, teenage pregnancy, societal expectations such as early marriage, and domestic responsibilities over education, like kayayo (head porters). The study also showed that completing techniques of etching allows artists to build complex, 2-dimensional designs that express a variety of artistic and personal messages. This procedure produced a semi-rendition that successfully conveyed the goal of the project and demonstrated how combining technical and creative expression can result in relevant fabrication products, such as a wall plaque. The research portrays that artwork can bring to light the issues of girl-child education and its effects in Ghana. The research recommends that further awareness campaigns be initiated using metal artworks and other artistic media to advocate for girl-child education in Ghana. Collaborating with educational institutions, NGOs, and artists can expand the impact of such artworks, creating more platforms for discussions and solutions to the challenges faced by girls in accessing education.
Keywords: Girl Child Education, Crucial Education Issues, Artefacts, Metal Wall Hanging, Etching
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Dr. Mohammed Kwaku Baidoo is a lecturer in the Department of Industrial Art (Metal Product Design Technology), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He holds a B.A. Art (Metals), MFA Jewellery and Metalsmithing and Ph.D. Art Education all from KNUST, Kumasi- Ghana. His research interest is in Jewellery and Jewellery Education, Jewellery and Metalsmithing, Metal Product Design, Research Methodology, Studio-Based Art, Art Education and Technical and Vocation and Training (TVET).
Charles Adu-Boachie is a Lecturer and researcher with more than fifteen years of experience, teaching several courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Supervised more than 25 theses/research projects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. With a good background in industrial practice, and having worked earlier as a technical instructor, the focus has always been the need and the means to bridge the gap between academia and industry in the area of metalsmithing and its jewellery subsector.
Miss. Sandra Acquah was born in Accra, Ghana where she lived most of her life. She currently resides in Accra, Ghana. She studied Visual Arts at Mfantsiman Girls School in Saltpond, Ghana. She then went on to pursue a degree in BA Industrial Art at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi-Ghana. Her research interest is in Metal scraps Recycling, Metal Product Design Technology and Jewellery materials and techniques.
Dr. Prince Edem Dzakpasu is Lecturer in the Department of Industrial Teacher, Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, CABE Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana. His research interest is Technology Usage in Education.
Cyril Etornam Adala is Lecturer in Jewellery and Metalsmithing in the Department of Industrial Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana. He holds Bachelor of Arts (Industrial Art, Metal Products Design) and Master of Fine Art Degree in Jewellery and Metalsmithing from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. In 2005, a Master of Fine Art Degree in Jewellery and Metalsmithing. He is currently pursuing a PhD programme in the same university. His research interest focuses on sustainable development in metal product design with specific reference to design thinking and innovation.
Dr. Isaac Kwabena Agyei is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Industrial Art in the Faculty of Art, College of Art and Built Environment in the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. His research niche is in design and fabrication of metal products, curriculum development, art education, aesthetics and industrial casting methods. He has a lot of publications to his credit in his area of specialization. He has produced and is still working on producing a bank of designs for metal souvenirs for Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana.
Baidoo, Mohammed Kwaku, Charles Adu-Boachie, Sandra Acquah, Prince Edem Dzakpasu, Cyril Etornam Adala, and Isaac Kwabena Agyei. “Exploring the Production and Usage of a Metal Wall Hanging to Highlight Some of the Crucial Issues Confronting Girl-Child Education in Ghana.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no. 8 (2025): 1671–90. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20256829
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
