Determinants of Access and Participation in Primary Education in Ghana

The purpose of study was to investigate the factors influencing access and participation in primary education in the Bongo District. The study employed a quantitative approach with a descriptive survey design.  The population of the study comprised 82 headteachers and 12804 parents of children in primary education. The simple random sampling technique was used to select 68 headteachers and 340 parents to participate in the study.  A structured questionnaire was used to collect data for analysis. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviations were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that factors such as child labour, parents’ level of education, school facilities, teaching and learning materials, distance to school and teacher quality were rated high by respondents as factors that influence access to and participation in primary education in the district. Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that school-related and home-related factors have a significant influence on access to and participation of school-age children in primary education.