TITLE:
Influences of Community Participation on School Infrastructure Policy Implementation and Performance of Construction Projects
AUTHORS:
Stephen J. Kamau, Charles M. Rambo, John M. Mbugua
KEYWORDS:
Community Participation, School Infrastructure Policy, Performance, Construction Projects, Headteachers, Primary Schools, Somaliland, Community Education Committees, Education, Public Schools, Infrastructure Facilities, Infrastructure Projects, Moderation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.9 No.3,
March
17,
2021
ABSTRACT: Community participation has been used in the developing world as a
fallback when government efforts to establish schools and education within
communities fail or are inadequate. The study was conducted in Somaliland—a
state in the horn of Africa that is in the process or rebuilding schools and
reestablishing education after the wanton
destruction of the education infrastructure during the Somali civil war.
With a school infrastructure regulatory policy having been established to set
standards for school infrastructure, the study examined how community
participation influenced the effect of school infrastructure policy
implementation on the performance of construction projects in public primary
schools. The study was set in Somaliland and targeted all public primary school
headteachers in all the administrative regions and District Education Officers (DEO) in all the Districts. A cross-sectional
survey guided by pragmatism, the study collected data from 20 DEOs and
247 headteachers. Headteachers filled
questionnaires while DEOs were interviewed. Primary schools that reported
low levels of community participation also realized a positive influence of
school infrastructure policy implementation on the performance of construction
projects, while schools that reported moderate and high levels of community
participation did not. Community participation doesn’t only bring positive
influences to projects but negative influences
as well. Community participation has a significant low and negative partial moderation effect on the relationship between school infrastructure
policy implementation and performance of construction projects. A linear model
exists among the three variables.