Parental participation - boosting democracy in school governance

In all countries parents ‘participate’ in the choice of schools for their children and in school development through the work of school governing bodies. But what does parental participation mean in the context of primary schooling in Uganda?

New research from the Institute of Education at the University of Sussex explores this question using the school governing body as the unit of analysis. Finding parents’ perceptions of school accountability affect the way they participate in their children’s education, the paper concludes that accountability is one of the crucial factors for democratisation of school governance.

Participation, a buzzword in social development, has several interpretations in terms of purposes, forms, and implications. Parental participation in school governance is a means of assuring school accountability. But exactly who participates in what, how, and why depends on local conditions. This paper explores these questions in the context of primary schooling in Uganda.

Research findings include:

• Levels of parental participation, such as bringing children to school and contributing to school development funds, are affected by the perceived accountability of school management.
• Parental perception of accountability is influenced by the degree of access to information, which reflects the level of parental participation in planning and monitoring school developments. Paradoxically, participation affects accountability, which itself determines levels of participation.
• ‘Accountability’ is used by parents and teachers to refer to the outcomes of spending activities, but also more broadly in relation to decision-making processes.
• Factors affecting parents’ perceived lack of accountability in schools included: lack of transparency, power imbalance between (head)teachers and parents, and weak representation of parents on school management committees.
• Perceived lack of accountability led to parental sanctions in the forms of non-payment of contributions and withdrawal of children from school.
• Parental sanctions are ineffective as no mechanism exists to transform parental dissatisfaction into formal incentives and actions by district education offices.

Accountability is one the keys to enhancing the participation of parents in education. The vicious circle of the lack of accountability leading to non-participation, in turn causing the lack of accountability, must be broken.

Policy recommendations include:

• Increasing transparency through greater disclosure of information.
• Involving parents in planning and monitoring processes.
• Strengthening the representation of parents in school governance structures.

Source(s):
‘The Notion of Participation in Primary Education in Uganda: Democracy in School Governance?’ paper presented at the Annual Conference of the British Association of International and Comparative Education (BAICE), by Ikuko Suzuki, 9 September 2000

Funded by: Unknown

id21 Research Highlight: 5 February 2001

Further Information:
Ikuko Suzuki
Centre for International Education
Institute of Education
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9RE, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1273 877021
Fax: +44 (0)1273 678568
Contact the contributor: i.suzuki@sussex.ac.uk

Centre for International Education, UK

Other related links:
Refer to the USAID site for their Education and Training section

The UNESCO Education site has further information

Search the International Institute for Educational Planning site for more research

The International Bureau of Education is an international forum for dialogue on educational policy

The World Bank has useful Education resources and links

EPU have been transforming the education system in South Africa

NUFFIC work in support of internationalization and improvement of educational systems in developing countries and countries in transition