School Infrastructure Policy Implementation, Community Participation, Project Management Practices, and the Performance of Construction Projects in Primary Schools in Somaliland

Abstract

Adequate school infrastructure facilities are vital for schools to function, dispense education services to the community, and realize the performance targets expected. The study was set in the post-conflict state of Somaliland where school infrastructure is in the process of being rebuild following wanton destruction visited by the Somalia civil war. The study aimed to provide a research evaluation of how the performance of construction projects is affected by school infrastructure policy and community participation. The study sought to establish the influences of school infrastructure policy implementation aspects of policy interpretation and policy governance on the performance of construction projects; the mediating influence of project management practices on the relationship between school infrastructure policy implementation and performance of construction projects; the influence of community participation on the performance of construction projects; and the moderating influence of community participation on the relationship between school infrastructure policy implementation and performance of construction projects. To overcome the main limitations of the study: costs, time and logistical challenges; the study drew a scientifically determined representative sample of 279 respondents. It was delimited to public primary schools in seven sampled regions of Somaliland since public primary schools are bound by both the school infrastructure policy and community participation policy by MoEHS while private schools are bound only by the school infrastructure policy. The study’s theoretical framework drew from punctuated equilibrium policy theory, program theory, social capital theory and Arnstein’s ladder of participation theory. The study was guided by the pragmatism philosophy. It was a cross-sectional survey using a correlational research design and mixed methods. The target population was 920 headteachers in 920 public primary schools in Somaliland; and 82 district education officers in the 82 districts units in Somaliland - a total of 1002. The survey adopted a multistage sampling approach using purposive, proportionate stratified random sampling, and simple random sampling techniques to draw a sample of 257 headteachers and 22 district education officers. The questionnaire was pilot tested on 28 headteachers and the interview guide on 2 MoEHS officers from Awdal district. Construct, content and criterion-related internal validity of the questionnaire was ensured by the two academic supervisors, by use of proven variable indicators and by computing the predictive validity coefficient (r = 0.82) respectively. Internal validity of interviews was ensured by a variety of methods among them, simple random sampling of informers, voluntary participation of informers and triangulation of interview data with quantitative data and secondary data. External validity was ensured by random sampling, respondent validation, and use of a scientifically determined representative sample. Reliability of the questionnaire was ensured using the Cronbach alpha coefficient of internal consistency (α = 0.924). Reliability of interviews was ensured by triangulation, respondent validation and comparing of responses. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect primary quantitative data, semi-structured interviews to collect primary qualitative data and desk analysis to collect secondary data. Participation in the study by respondents was voluntary and the researcher ensured confidentiality of respondents and their responses. The response rate was 96.1% (247 headteachers) for questionnaires and 90.9% (20 DEOs) for interviews. Data were presented in tabular form in frequency and percentage distributions. Descriptive analysis was by the mean, standard deviation, mean of means and composite standard deviation. The data fulfilled the assumptions of parametric tests. Pearson correlation was used to analyse the association between the variables. Simple and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse total effects. Path analysis technique was used to calculate the direct effect, indirect effect and the path coefficients. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. Relationships among the variables were tested using t-tests at a 5% level of significance. The study found that policy interpretation (b = -0.3215, p< 0.001, R2 = 0.4183), policy governance (b = -0.3074, p< 0.001, R2 = 4308), and school infrastructure policy implementation (b = -0.7350, p< 0.001, R2 = 0.6214), each had significant direct influence on performance of construction projects. Community participation, however, did not have a significant influence on performance of construction projects (c = -0.1870, P = 0.100, R2 = 0.011). Project management practices were found to mediate the relationship between school infrastructure policy implementation and performance of construction projects (p52 * p21 = 0.8008, CI [0.6411, 0.9779]). The study concluded that policy interpretation, policy governance and school infrastructure policy implementation, each had a moderate direct negative linear relationship with performance of construction projects. These variables also exerted a significant positive indirect influence on the performance of construction projects through project management practices (mediation). Project management practices exerted a partial positive mediation on the relationship between school infrastructure policy implementation and performance of construction projects. Community participation had no significant total effect and direct effect on the performance of construction projects but rather exerted its influence by moderating the relationship between school infrastructure policy implementation and performance of construction projects (b = -0.0309, p = 0.4380, CI [-0.0609, -0.009], R2 = 0.0279). Low community participation partially moderated the relationship between school infrastructure policy implementation and performance of construction projects while moderate and high community participation levels fully moderated that relationship. The study concluded that policy interpretation, policy governance and combined school infrastructure policy implementation manifest their influence on the performance of construction projects through project management practices. The study also concluded that project management practices mediate while community participation moderates the relationship between school infrastructure policy implementation and performance of construction projects. The study recommends that the school infrastructure policy should be put together into one policy document, it should be made accessible and available to the schools and ministry officials, school management should be sensitized on the policy, headteachers be acquainted with basic project management skills and stakeholders be participated throughout the project cycle for more projects’ support and better projects’ performance. Future studies can focus on: how administration structures affect policy implementation, establishing whether other sub-variables of policy exist, why policy interpretations vary between urban schools and rural schools and, whether practices should be specified in policies.