Leaving no place behind: Community participation and primary school students’ learning achievements in Burkina Faso's small-scale gold mining communities

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Community participation in education is important to improve education quality, mostly in developing countries where governments face many issues in the education sector but have limited resources. Employing Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) and standardized test data, this study examines the proportion of variances in students’ learning achievements associated with community participation and explores variances in students learning achievements associated with various community components, focusing on the context of small-scale gold mining communities in Burkina Faso. Results suggest that community participation in school life is associated with students’ learning achievements, but the association depends on who “community” refers to, and under the condition of a school context where communities have the necessary resources to support schools. Community participation in education research theory and policy practice implications of the findings were discussed.