BASIC SCHOOL GOVERNANCE AND PUPILS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: VIEWS FROM GUSHEGU AND KARAGA DISTRICTS IN NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

This study on school governance and pupils' academic performance in the Gushegu and Karaga Districts focused on generating views and understanding of stakeholders on; What constitute basic school governance, How effective are the basic school governance structures. What is the impact of basic school governance structures on pupils' academic performance and What strategies can be used to improve school governance in order to ensure better academic performance the districts. A total sample size of One hundred and eighty-eight was used and the sample was drawn from representatives of the District Education Oversight Committee, the School Management and Parent Teacher Associations, Parents, teachers and the Pupils. In the analysis of the data, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, vi6.0) was used for data entry and processed into frequencies, percentages and cross tabulations, The focused group discussions, interviews and free response items in the semi-structured questionnaire and interview guides were analyzed by using descriptions and narrations based on the themes identified from the data. The major findings uncovered by the study among others include; the governance structures available in the districts include District Education Directorate (DED), DEOC, SMC, PTA and District Assembly. Many of the respondents from both districts were not aware of the existence of the DEOC and District PTAJSMC networks in the districts and hence not very effective. School based SMCs and PTAs were generally seen effective. The school governing bodies have high impact on the academic performance of pupils in both districts. To improve on the effectiveness of these governing bodies for greater impact on academic performance, suggestions included the need for the members of the SMC to be given regular orientation on their roles, be made aware that schools in the various communities are owned by them, and monitor teachers and pupils' attendance at school regularly.