Community Support in the Development of Rural Basic Schools in Ghana. A Study in the Assin South District

Abstract

This study was to find out the support offered by the school community in addressing challenges faced by rural basic schools in the Assin South District of Ghana. The sample for the study consisted ten basic school headteachers, one hundred and forty teachers, and ten Parent Teacher Association chairpersons. The mixed method design was adopted. Respondents were selected using the purposive and convenience sampling procedures. Again, the study used questionnaire and interview guide as instruments for data collection.The study showed that the community support in education was significantly related to pupils’ access and enrolment in basic education. Again, this study revealed that community support in the Assin South district related to school management. Furthermore, it was evident from the study that, there was a significant difference among the scores of schools with very good, good and poor community support in schools development programmes. Therefore, the hypothesis which state that the community support in school have significant effect on basic schools development in the Assin South District was supported. Based on the findings and conclusions the following recommendations were given:The District Education Oversight Committee should endeavour to educate stakeholders on their roles and responsibilities in educational management in the district during school durbars. The Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service should make it a policy the need for communities to support schools in their jurisdiction in areas such as building, maintaining and managing the schools.The Parent Teacher Association and the community leaders can build an environment in their areas through active concern and support for improving the quality of education. In doing this there should be good communication between the school and community. Regular parent-teacher meetings explaining the value of education. With this, parents will know the performance of their children on regular basis and if there is any shortfall, take remedial action for improving their children’s education.

Keywords: Community support, challenges, basic education, rural, quality education

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-9-02

Publication date:March 31^st 2021