The Effect of School Governance System on Academic Performance of Students in Public Secondary Schools in Benin

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to analyze the perceptions of key stakeholders (principals, teachers, students, parents) regarding the effect of the school governance system on academic performance. To address this research question, qualitative methods were employed to collect the opinions and experiences of the participants. Given our research objective, we adopted an inductive qualitative methodology with an interpretive stance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve key actors in the Beninese education sector, and we performed content analysis through manual processing, using the Nvivo10 software for support. The results obtained reveal that awareness and the importance of certain measures taken by stakeholders, the role of parents, and the living conditions of teachers positively influence students' academic performance. The findings of our research could raise awareness among school administrators to implement training programs for principals, teachers, students, and parents to enhance their skills in school governance. The proposed recommendations aim to guide educational institutions towards concrete measures to strengthen school governance and promote better academic performance. To this end, educational institutions should establish regular training programs for principals, teachers, students, and parents to educate them on the principles of good school governance, best pedagogical practices, and the importance of their role in improving academic performance. Other important variables, such as the living conditions of teachers and students, were not included in our model. Future research will take into account moderating variables such as the living conditions of teachers and students in the relationship between the constructed variables of our theme."

Keywords: School Governance, Academic Performance, Principal, Teacher, Students

JEL Classification:  I21: M12

Paper type: Empirical research