Challenges Affecting the Integration of Creative Arts into Teaching and Learning in Basic Schools in Ghana: A General Review

<p>The integration of creative arts into teaching and learning in basic schools is widely recognized as essential for promoting learners’ holistic development, including cognitive, emotional, social, and cultural growth. Despite policy recognition of creative arts as a core component of Ghana’s Standards-Based Curriculum, practical implementation remains limited and inconsistent, particularly in resource-constrained rural and peri-urban contexts. This general review creates empirical studies, policy documents, and grey literature published between 2005 and 2025 to examine the structural, pedagogical, administrative, and socio-cultural challenges affecting creative arts integration in Ghanaian basic schools. The findings indicate that inadequate infrastructure, insufficient teaching and learning materials, and lack of dedicated arts spaces significantly constrain practical engagement in creative arts activities. Teacher-related challenges, including limited pre-service training, low pedagogical confidence, and inadequate in-service professional development, further hinder effective delivery. General factors such as weak leadership, policy implementation gaps, competing curriculum priorities, and socio-economic inequalities exacerbate the marginalization of creative arts. Community perceptions that undervalue creative arts relative to core academic subjects also limit student participation and support for arts programs. The review concludes that addressing these interrelated challenges requires multi-level interventions, including targeted teacher education reforms, resource allocation, leadership capacity building, policy reinforcement, and community engagement. Implications for educational policy, practice, and future research directions are discussed, emphasizing the need for context-responsive strategies to enhance the effective integration of creative arts in basic school curricula.</p>