The Village That Teaches: Community as the Backbone of Education
1.0 Introduction
Education does not exist in isolation—it is nurtured, sustained, and enriched by the communities in which it takes place. At Lead For Ghana (LFG), we believe that the success of every child is not solely the responsibility of schools or teachers, but of the entire community working together to create conditions where learning can thrive. The school community - school leaders, teachers, school staff, students, parents and local traditional and political leaders and community members - all work together to shape the values, motivation, and aspirations of students while influencing the commitment and resilience of teachers.
This month’s Insights, themed The Village That Teaches: Community as the Backbone of Education, explores how the collective effort of the entire school community strengthens education in Ghana. To do this, we briefly explore some literature on the role of community to support student outcomes. We then discuss some of the activities that LFG Associates undertake to engage the school community in supporting student achievement. Finally, we present findings and learning from our maiden annual Community Leadership survey, which engaged 513 members of the school community in LFG partner schools across the country to examine their views on the quality of community engagement with the schools.
2.0 Community support for academic outcomes
Global evidence and evidence from Ghana consistently supports the positive relationship between community engagement and student achievement. Meta-analyses of research on parental involvement and academic achievement reveal that parental involvement, especially in the form of high expectations and strong home-school communication, is associated with better learning outcomes across age groups and educational contexts (Castro et al., 2015). In Ghana, Shibuya (2020) demonstrates that effective community participation in school management is linked with improved performance metrics such as Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) pass rates, particularly when engagement is substantive rather than symbolic. Donkor et al. (2024) also found in the Sekyere South District that parents who attended school programmes, supplied learning materials, selected textbooks, and arranged extra classes contributed significantly to improved student achievement. Similarly, Kwarteng et al. (2022) showed that junior high school students in the Upper West Akim District achieved higher outcomes when parental involvement was paired with favorable socioeconomic conditions. Among senior high school students in the Ashanti Mampong Municipality, Owusu Amponsah et al. (2018) also observed that parental academic ambition and involvement in their children’s education were positively correlated with performance in core subjects such as Mathematics and English. Together, these studies reinforce the notion that education is strengthened when families and communities actively support student learning, both at home and in school settings.
In addition to student outcomes, community engagement influences teacher motivation, attendance, and professional practice. Salifu and Agbenyega (2013) found that teachers in Ghana are motivated by the perception of their work within the community. Conversely, Salifu (2014) also found that limited community involvement in school governance undermines teacher motivation. And low teacher motivation affects the quality of teaching and learning. These findings emphasize that communities play a critical role not only in supporting students but also in creating enabling conditions that sustain teacher performance.
A growing body of scholarship highlights the importance of authentic community ownership and partnership in school governance as a driver of educational performance. Malone (2020) contends that in under-resourced settings, schools that genuinely partner with families and communities are more effective at mobilizing resources, adapting to local needs, and delivering quality outcomes. In a similar vein, Hoppers (2005) notes that community schools in Africa that are responsive to local contexts tend to achieve better attendance and, in some cases, superior learning results, particularly when communities assume governance and oversight roles. Complementing these perspectives, Willems and Gonzalez-DeHass (2012) demonstrate that academic motivation—a key determinant of achievement—improves when students are engaged in authentic learning contexts shaped by community collaboration. These insights suggest that when communities move beyond peripheral support to active ownership and partnership, schools become more responsive, teachers more motivated, and students more engaged in their learning journeys.
Overall, across education systems, communities shape the norms, expectations, and resources that make learning possible. It is therefore not surprising that in Ghana, formal governance arrangements already embed community in school life through School Management Committees (SMCs) and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), reinforcing the idea that quality and accountability in education must be a shared responsibility (Aryeh-Adjei, 2021).
3.0 Lead For Ghana’s community engagement activities
Lead For Ghana recognizes that lasting educational equity cannot be achieved by schools alone; but requires the active involvement of families, school leaders, and community stakeholders. To embed this principle into practice, the organization has designed activities that position the community as a co-owner of education rather than a passive observer. These initiatives, spanning community entry, continuous family engagement, and collaborative projects, are intentionally structured to build trust, shift mindsets, and strengthen community responsibility for student success.
The first step in community engagement activities, especially for new Associates, is the community entry event. At this event, new Associates are formally introduced to key stakeholders such as parents, chiefs and PTAs, and are formally welcomed into the community. This event not only establishes early networks of trust but also signals to Associates and the key stakeholders that schools are a shared responsibility, thereby fostering community ownership and paving the way for stronger academic outcomes. Beyond introductions, Lead For Ghana emphasizes ongoing engagement with families. Associates receive specialized training to conduct regular home visits and phone calls with parents and stakeholders. These sustained interactions strengthen relationships, reinforce parental responsibility, and cultivate a culture of shared accountability for education. Finally, in the final year of the Leadership Development program, Associates design and implement a capstone project in collaboration with the entire school community. These projects address pressing educational needs within the school. To date, Associates have completed more than 120 capstone projects ranging from infrastructure projects (e.g. building or renovation of infrastructure such as libraries, classroom blocks, and laboratories), projects to provide materials such as desks and computers to improve the student learning experiences, and human capacity development workshops for students aimed at improving student mindsets and behaviours (e.g. workshops on time management, course and school selection for tertiary schools). The school and community members support these initiatives by providing financial and in-kind support such as land for infrastructure building, materials and labour to aid in project implementation. These initiatives therefore leave behind tangible improvements and foster a sense of shared achievement and long-term investment in education among community members.
Together, these activities reflect Lead For Ghana’s conviction that meaningful community engagement is essential to addressing educational inequity. By embedding Associates into local networks, sustaining communication with families, and fostering collaboration through projects, the organization strengthens the partnership between schools and communities—ultimately ensuring that education is both a collective effort and a shared success.
4.0 The Community Leadership Survey
To enhance the support to school leaders and communities, the Community Leadership survey aimed to collect data from members of the school community to assess how aware they are of school development initiatives and how involved they feel in shaping them. The survey was structured around four pillars of joint school-community work:
Aligned Goals between School and Community, which explore how the school tailors learning and teaching to the needs of their students and the community in which the school is located;
Evidence of Impact and Mutual Accountability, which explores the availability of accountability systems between school and community for improved student outcomes;
Authentic Community Engagement, which explores how the various members of the school community engage with each other; and
Strategic and Sustainable Partnerships, which explores school’s partnerships with organizations to support student outcomes and other school activities.
A total of 513 school members were engaged across all regions in Ghana, made up of six main stakeholder groups: school leaders (26%), members of the PTA (23%), community members (21%), local government/political officials (12%), student leaders (11%) and local traditional leaders (7%). The results of the Community Leadership Survey reveal a nuanced picture of how different stakeholder groups perceive their relationship with schools across the four key pillars.
Aligned Goals between School and Community
Survey findings showed Aligned Goals between Schools and Community to be the strongest pillar, suggesting that schools and communities largely share a common vision for student success. Generally, respondents believe that there are aligned goals between schools and communities. Respondents agree that school leaders are aware of the socio-economic status of the students in their school and the needs of the community, and that school leaders and teachers use that information to inform teaching and learning, ensuring that it addresses real-life community issues. All the stakeholders except community members were aware of the aligned goals between the school and community, suggesting that community members might be least informed on whether and how schools align learning and teaching to community needs.
Evidence of Impact and Mutual Accountability
Evidence of Impact and Mutual Accountability was the second highest pillar, showing that stakeholders perceive some mechanisms for tracking contributions and holding each other responsible. Respondents agree that there is evidence of mutual accountability and impact. Respondents also agree that there are shared goals between the school and community, including student attendance and learning outcomes. Like with the Aligned Goals between Schools and Community pillar, respondent community members were below the target for this pillar. Once again highlighting low engagement between schools and community members.
Authentic Community Engagement
Authentic Community Engagement was the third highest pillar. Generally, respondents believe that engagement among various members of the school community is authentic rather than tokenistic. Respondents agree that schools regularly connect with parents and local traditional and political leaders, and vice versa. They also believe that teachers and staff also engage with parents in informal settings, beyond formal PTA meetings. This observation was however not evenly distributed across groups, which signals that while many feel their involvement is meaningful, others remain on the periphery. In particular, student leadership and community members were less aware of engagement among school community members, especially concerning engagement between the school on one hand and local traditional and political authorities on the other hand.
Strategic and Sustainable Partnerships
Strategic and Sustainable Partnerships was the weakest pillar, suggesting that collaboration is often ad hoc or short-term rather than institutionalized. Many respondents who were community members, student leaders or traditional and community leaders were not aware of the existence of partnerships with external organizations. School leaders and government and political leaders however had good awareness of the existence of such partnerships, and agreed that these partnerships were leveraged for school improvements between schools and external organizations to support student outcomes and school activities.
Overall, school leaders along with government and political leaders report the highest levels of engagement and awareness. For school leaders, this might be a reflection of their intimate connection to both the day-to-day operations of schools and the accountability frameworks that shape them. And for government leaders, the strong alignment reflects their involvement in decision-making and policy processes. PTA members, student leaders and traditional and community leaders sit somewhere in the middle. PTA members are more engaged than general community members; but there is the potential to deepen their role as true co-owners of school initiatives. Students also recognize that their voices matter, but are less integrated into long-term planning and governance structures. And the cultural authority and influence of traditional and community leaders could be a powerful lever for mobilizing broader community participation, provided their role is formalized within school-community frameworks. Finally, community members consistently report the lowest awareness and engagement across all four pillars. This suggests that many ordinary community members are not fully aware of ongoing school initiatives, or do not perceive their involvement as impactful. Their voices and contributions risk being overlooked, and as a result they may disengage further.
The implications of these findings are significant. First, while alignment and accountability are relatively strong, partnerships will not endure unless they are made more strategic. Schools and their communities need to move beyond one-off collaborations toward institutionalized structures, such as joint action plans, school-community boards, or memoranda of understanding. Second, there is an urgent need to bring ordinary community members along. Without deliberate efforts to raise awareness, showcase impact, and create inclusive spaces for their participation, schools risk deepening the divide between engaged elites (school leaders, government officials, chiefs) and disengaged grassroots members. Finally, PTA members and student leaders represent a bridge. With targeted capacity-building and empowerment, they can help connect schools to wider networks of families and youth voices, ensuring that engagement is not only strategic but also multi-layered and inclusive. Taken together, these results present a picture of both promise and urgency. The promise lies in the fact that key stakeholders already perceive strong alignment and some accountability, which are vital building blocks. The urgency lies in the weak foundations of strategic partnerships and the disengagement of ordinary community members. By intentionally addressing these gaps, Lead For Ghana can ensure that community-school relationships are not only meaningful but also durable, inclusive, and capable of driving long-term educational equity in Ghana.
5.0 Conclusion
The Community Leadership Survey findings present both encouragement and urgency: while many respondents agree that schools and communities share common goals and have some accountability mechanisms, fewer than six in ten report genuine, strategic partnerships. Lead For Ghana is working to close this gap through targeted support and professional development sessions for school leaders on how to improve community engagement along the four pillars for all members of the school community. Overall, the survey underscores an important point: when communities see themselves as partners in education, students benefit. Going forward, the path to equitable and high‑quality education in Ghana requires that every stakeholder (i.e. families, school leaders, traditional authorities and civic organizations) embrace a shared vision, invest in sustained partnerships, and hold themselves accountable for the success of every child. For us at Lead For Ghana, this understanding reinforces a guiding principle: education is not just delivered by classrooms—it is sustained by villages.
6.0 References
Aryeh-Adjei, A. A. (2021). Community Participation in the Management of Ghanaian Schools. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 10(S1), 79-95.
Castro, M., Expósito-Casas, E., López-Martín, E., Lizasoain, L., Navarro-Asencio, E., & Gaviria, J. L. (2015). Parental involvement on student academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 14, 33–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.01.002
Shibuya, K. (2020). Community participation in school management from the viewpoint of relational trust: A case from the Akatsi South District, Ghana. International Journal of Educational Development, 76, 102196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2020.102196
Donkor M., Atta G.P., Acheampong F., and Atta-Asiamah E. (2024) Effects of Parental Involvement in Education on the Academic Achievement of Students in Ghana, British Journal of Psychology Research, 12 (1), 49-65
Kwarteng, P., Asiamah, F., Twumasi, A. O., Nkansah, J. O., Issaka, J., & Afetorgbor, S. K. (2022). Parental involvement in the academic performance of students in Ghana: Socio-economic status. Open Journal of Educational Research, 2(3), 114–125. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojer.2022.305
Amponsah, M., Milledzi, E., Ampofo, E. T., & Gyambrah, M. (2018). Relationship between parental involvement and academic performance of senior high school students: The case of Ashanti Mampong Municipality of Ghana. American Journal of Educational Research, 6(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.12691/education-6-1-1
Salifu, I., & Agbenyega, J. S. (2013). Viewing teacher motivation in the Ghana Education Service through a postcolonial lens. Current Issues in Education, 16(3), 1 - 12.
Salifu, I. (2014). Barriers to Teacher Motivation for Professional Practice in the Ghana Education Service. Policy Futures in Education, 12(5), 718-729. https://doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2014.12.5.718
Malone, H. J. (2020). Community schools: Bridging educational change through partnerships. Journal of Educational Change, 21(3), 487–497. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-020-09375-2
Hoppers, W. (2005). Community schools as an educational alternative in Africa: A critique. International Review of Education, 51(2–3), 115–137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-005-0445-8
Willems, P. P., & Gonzalez-DeHass, A. R. (2012.). School-Community Partnerships: Using authentic contexts to academically motivate students. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1001611
