Barriers to home-school partnerships for at-risk rural students: teachers’ and parents’ perspectives from Nigeria

This research, part of a broader project, explored barriers to home–school partnerships in rural secondary schools in Delta State, Nigeria, serving predominantly at-risk student populations. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's [1977. Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531] ecological theory and interview data of 33 teachers and 16 parents, the study examined how home and school micro-settings and broader macro-level factors constrain meso-connections between teachers and parents. Teachers identified parental poverty, attitudes linked to low educational attainment, and guardianship responsibilities as barriers to parental involvement. Parents highlighted school practices (manual labour, poor teaching quality, and financial demands), alongside economic hardship, as obstacles to engagement in their children's education. Despite differing perspectives, both groups emphasised the significant influence of poverty on parental involvement. The study highlights the need for targeted interventions to strengthen home–school partnerships in disadvantaged rural contexts.