Paper short abstract:

Tracing the history of several Ghanaian families from the late nineteenth century until today, this paper analyzes the influences of transnational migration on education strategies and careers within extended families. The members of the families I discuss largely come from middle-class backgrounds.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper, I will analyze the influences of transnational migration on education strategies within extended families from Southern Ghana. I will trace the educational history of several extended families from the late nineteenth century until today. In discussing my case studies, I will take the historical background of educational migration in Ghana into account. Many members of the families in my study come from middle or even upper-middle class backgrounds. As such, they have long been highly mobile and migrated for education and work from the late nineteenth century onwards. While studies on transnational migration often focus on migration to the Global North, I will also take south-south migration into consideration which was very common within the Ghanaian middle class, including the families in my study. One focus will be the impact of transnational family life and child-rearing practices on children's educational experiences and career choices. More particularly, in Ghana but also abroad, some children were socialized into an international context due to their parents' education and jobs. They grew up in an international field, and sometimes in gated communities. Not only did they go to international schools in Ghana and abroad, but they also acquired international contacts and the habitus of a transnational middle class, which facilitated their professional careers.