# “You give everything the child requires to attend school”: Exploring caregiver involvement in children’s education in Ghana

## TL;DR

This study explores how caregivers in Ghana support their children's education and the barriers they face, aiming to improve educational outcomes through better caregiver involvement.

## Contribution

The study provides a nuanced understanding of caregiver involvement in child education in West African settings, identifying specific barriers and variations based on caregiver education.

## Key findings

- Most caregivers focus on providing basic resources rather than active educational support.
- Higher-educated caregivers are more likely to assist with homework.
- Four barriers to involvement were identified: social/economic, caregiver/family, educational system, and child-level factors.

## Abstract

Parents’ and other primary caregivers’ involvement in children’s education is a major goal of education systems worldwide. However, the current literature lacks a broad understanding of what educational involvement means for parents in West African settings, and the factors that drive or limit their involvement.

We examined caregivers’ views on their roles and involvement in and barriers to child education with 132 caregivers from rural and peri-urban communities in three regions of Ghana, using focus group discussions.

Most caregivers limited their involvement in providing basic and material resources. However, caregivers with a higher education discussed supporting their children’s homework. Four types of barriers to caregiver involvement were identified: social and economic, caregiver and family, educational system, and child-level factors.

Our findings can inform context-tailored interventions and policies aimed at improving caregiver involvement, which is a key driver of educational outcomes.

In this study, we aimed to understand caregivers’ views on their roles and involvement in their children’s education, and the factors that limit their involvement. We conducted a focused-group discussion with 132 caregivers selected from rural and peri-urban communities across three regions in Ghana. Most caregivers felt that their role in their children’s education was to provide their basic needs and school materials. However, caregivers with higher educational levels supported their children’s homework. Furthermore, we identified four factors that limit caregivers’ involvement in their children’s education: social and financial issues; factors related to caregivers and their families; issues with the education system; and factors at the child level. These findings can help to develop interventions and policies to improve caregiver involvement in Ghana and other similar contexts.