Stakeholders' Involvement and School Effectiveness in Primary Education: Evidence from Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between stakeholder involvement and school performance in primary schools in Lagos State Education District IV, Nigeria. Data was collected through a survey using descriptive survey methodology with structured questionnaires administered to 300 teachers, yielding a 97% response rate. The study used the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient to test five hypotheses at the significance level of 0.05. Results demonstrated statistically significant positive correlations between school effectiveness and the involvement of five stakeholder groups: parents (r = 0.80, p < 0.05), teachers (r = 0.77, p < 0.05), community members (r = 0.76, p < 0.05), voluntary agencies (r = 0.73, p < 0.05), and government entities (r = 0.79, p < 0.05). The findings showed that the quality of education in primary schools is significantly associated with collaborative stakeholder involvement. The research proposes the use of participative decision-making processes involving stakeholders in shaping educational policy, depoliticizing educational policy-making, increasing transparency in government educational programs through mass media, and ensuring that school administrators engage relevant stakeholders in the implementation of educational policies directly affecting primary education. These results are important for understanding multi-stakeholder models in educational policy settings in developing countries and offer empirical data for policy changes to enhance primary education outcomes.