Assessing community participation in improving basic education delivery in the Gomoa East District, Central Region Ghana

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which communities in the Gomoa East District participate in improving basic education delivery. Specifically, the study looked at the activities that communities perform and the extent to which they engage in those activities to improve access, infrastructure development and academic performance, as well as ensuring effective monitoring and supervision. The sampled respondents consisted of basic school heads and teachers, School Management Committee, Parent Teacher Association and Unit Committee executives. Respondents were selected using the random sampling approach and questionnaire used as instrument for primary data collection. The study showed that community members were aware of the need to participate in the provision of basic education and saw their participation as very significant to improving education delivery. However, they had little knowledge on the specific roles they needed to play in the school to improve education delivery. The study also revealed that lack of understanding of educational issues, poor communication and lack of resources and time on the part of parents and community members in general were major setbacks to participation in education delivery in the area. This study also notes that the top three ways of improving education delivery were using local language at meetings, informing community members about positive things happening in the school and ensuring effective communication between the school and the community by involving community members in decision making about the school.