Effectiveness and Efficiency of Resource Management and School Learning Outcomes in Public Primary Schools in Gasabo District, Rwanda

This study examined the effectiveness and efficiency of resource management on school learning outcomes in public primary schools in Gasabo District, Rwanda. Guided by Resource-Based View Theory and Educational Production Function Theory, the study focused on four dimensions of resource management: resource planning, resource utilization, resource monitoring, and resource adequacy. A descriptive-correlational survey design with a concurrent mixed-methods approach was employed. From a target population of 1,623 stakeholders (82 headteachers, 1,540 teachers, and 1 District Education Officer) across 82 public primary schools, a stratified and purposive sample of 321 respondents was determined using the Yamane (1967) formula. Data were collected from 294 teachers through structured questionnaires, 16 headteachers through semi-structured interviews, and 1 District Education Officer through a key informant interview, yielding an overall response rate of 96.9%. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using Pearson correlation and regression analysis in SPSS, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Findings revealed that all four dimensions of resource management significantly and positively predict school learning outcomes. Resource planning accounted for 37.5% of the variance in learning outcomes (R = 0.612, R² = 0.375, F = 174.67, p < 0.001; β = 0.612). Resource utilization explained 34.4% of the variance (R = 0.587, R² = 0.344, F = 153.07, p < 0.001; β = 0.587). Resource monitoring accounted for 33.4% (R = 0.578, R² = 0.334, F = 146.29, p < 0.001; β = 0.578). Resource adequacy explained 36.1% (R = 0.601, R² = 0.361, F = 164.48, p < 0.001; β = 0.601). The combined multiple regression model explained 56.0% of the variance in school learning outcomes (R = 0.748, R² = 0.560, p < 0.001), confirming that the four dimensions operate as an integrated, mutually reinforcing system rather than as isolated practices. Qualitative findings corroborated the quantitative results, identifying delayed funding, limited teacher participation in planning, inconsistent monitoring feedback, and persistent resource shortages as constraints on further improvement. The study concludes that effective and efficient resource management is a multidimensional and integrated determinant of school learning outcomes, and recommends strengthening participatory resource planning, building capacity for resource utilization, improving monitoring and accountability systems, and addressing funding and distributional inequities, particularly in high-enrollment urban schools.