A scoping review on community and parent involvement in quality education in rural primary schools

Abstract Quality education is crucial for local economic development, and a lack of it widens the rural-urban gap, particularly in rural, deprived schools. As a result, there has been an increased emphasis on school-based management through decentralisation to achieve quality education. Having community and parents as part of the strategic constituents for its achievement, research is thus needed to clarify the element of quality education that the community and parents are involved in at primary schools in rural areas. However, there is little research on this element. This scoping review examined literature from 2006 to 2025 to map out evidence and identify the gaps. Using the 2005 Framework of Arksey and Malley, forty-six studies met the inclusion criteria. The review revealed that there is little research on quality education in rural areas, with a predominant focus on parents than the community and less representation of children’s voices. Many parents and community members highly supported infrastructure, finances, attending meetings, teacher supervision and incentives. The significance of the review underscores the critical need for more comprehensive research that includes diverse stakeholder perspectives to enhance quality education initiatives in rural settings.