Improved learning outcomes for refugee and host community children through community participation in Adjumani district, Uganda

Abstract

The study examined community participation for improved learning outcomes of refugee and host community children in the Adjumani district of Northwestern Uganda. The objectives of the study were to analyze; the current state of community involvement in the education processes during emergencies, the proper involvement of the communities in the development and administration of the school, and the capacity of the communities to assume an increased role in the management of school/learning system and environment. The study employed a phenomenological research design and data collection used an interview guide. The findings revealed that the community participation level was failing as a result of inadequate community participation in the prioritizing and planning of education activities, which goes along with community empowerment for managing the education system. Therefore, inadequate community participation emerged as a key gap in harmonizing national and local education action plans, and community monitoring and evaluation processes were not effective. It was highly recommended to: improve all the emergency educational programs to include active community participation or involvement in the designing and planning of the school education programs in the district, effective inclusive community education committees should be guided by legitimate agreement among all important stakeholders regarding their specific duty, responsibilities, and relationships of all the assorted groups; and improve coordination composition at various level to foster the strength of community education committees (CECs) by establishing or strengthening local community based school education outcome coordination unit at the district education office for inclusive community involvement and management.