Community Stakeholder Engagement in School Governance and Educational Quality in Primary Schools in Anambra State

This study examines the relationship between community stakeholder engagement in school governance and educational quality in public primary schools in Anambra State, South East Nigeria. The School-Based Management Committee framework, introduced to decentralise school governance and enhance community accountability, has produced varied outcomes across Nigerian states. The study adopts a descriptive survey design, targeting 260 school-based management committee members, headteachers, and parents from schools in Onitsha North, Aguata, and Awka South local government areas. Data were collected using a stakeholder engagement quality scale and an educational quality assessment checklist. Pearson correlation and regression analysis were employed. The study is anchored in Social Capital Theory and the Collaborative School Governance Framework. It assesses the quality of community participation in planning, resource mobilisation, accountability mechanisms, and school improvement decisions. Findings are expected to show that schools with active and structured stakeholder engagement report higher scores on indicators of infrastructure quality, teacher accountability, and pupil performance. The study also identifies barriers to effective participation including low parental literacy and elite capture of committee processes. Recommendations are directed at the Anambra State Government, the UBEC, and school administrators on building the capacity of governance committees and creating transparent participation structures. The study contributes to the school management literature on decentralised governance in South East Nigeria. Keywords: community stakeholder engagement, school governance, educational quality, Anambra State, school-based management