At-risk students in Delta State, Nigeria: an exploratory study on home-school partnership in rural secondary schools

Abstract

There is overwhelming evidence that home-school partnerships can improve students’ outcomes regardless of their background characteristics, particularly for those at risk of educational disengagement. Therefore, this thesis explored partnership practices in five rural secondary schools in Delta State, Nigeria serving a large number of students experiencing risk factors. To guide the study, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory provided the theoretical lens, and Epstein’s typology of parental involvement was utilised as the conceptual framework to explore practices of partnership. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 22 parents and 34 teachers, as well as focus group interviews conducted with students in the five rural schools.

Findings revealed limited partnership and parental involvement activities in the sampled schools which is attributed to several contextual factors encountered by both parents and teachers, and which are manifested in the form of tensions and challenges. These factors are connected to the students such as a negative attitude towards education, indiscipline and vandalism of school’s properties; their parents regarding issues of poverty, educational attainment, attacks on teachers and guardianship of the children; and their schools regarding policies on manual labour, fees/levies, student discipline and quality of teaching, among others. The study advances new knowledge and understanding about the phenomenon of home-school partnership while acknowledging and addressing gaps in the extant literature. Exploring the topic provided a unique opportunity to capture voices that are typically unheard when considering home-school partnerships and parental involvement in education. Given the unique characteristics of such rural schools and their complicated contexts, the study makes contribution to practice by proposing practical strategies that could be adopted in an effort to build partnership with at-risk families.

Date of Award	Apr 2025
Original language	English
Supervisor	Kelsey Shanks (Supervisor), Barbara Skinner (Supervisor) & Claire Woods (Supervisor)