School Leadership Practices and Parental Involvement in Decision-Making: Evidence from Public Secondary Schools in Kicukiro District, Rwanda
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53983/ijmds.v15n04.002Keywords:
school leadership practices, parental involvement, decision-making, Kicukiro District, Rwanda, transformational leadership, school governanceAbstract
Parental involvement in school decision-making is essential for improving school governance, accountability, and student performance. In alignment with the Rwanda Education Policy (2024), which emphasises active parental participation, this study examined the influence of school leadership practices on parental involvement in decision-making in public secondary schools in Kicukiro District, Rwanda. Specifically, it assessed how leadership practices in organising meetings, communicating with parents, empowering them, and engaging them in school governance affect parental participation. Guided by Epstein's Theory of Parental Involvement and Transformational Leadership Theory, the study adopted a mixed-methods convergent parallel design. The target population comprised 2,580 participants, with a sample of 346 respondents determined using Yamane's formula (95% confidence level). Data were collected through structured questionnaires for teachers and parents and interview guides for school leaders and education officers. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS Version 27 employing descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Findings revealed that all four dimensions of school leadership significantly influenced parental involvement: organising meetings (R = 0.658; R² = 43.3%); communication strategies (R = 0.641; R² = 41.1%); parental empowerment (R = 0.681; R² = 46.4%); and engagement practices (R = 0.691; R² = 47.7%). All models were statistically significant (p < 0.001). The study concludes that effective, inclusive, and empowering school leadership is a critical determinant of meaningful parental involvement, and recommends strengthening follow-up mechanisms, feedback systems, and consistent empowerment to enhance school governance and student outcomes in Rwanda's public secondary schools.
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