Leading Free Secondary Education Policy Reform: Stakeholder Perspectives on Access, Equity, and Quality in Ghana

Abstract

This study examines how school leaders, teachers, parents, and students perceive the implementation of Ghana’s Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy, with emphasis on how leadership practices shape access, equity, and quality. Drawing on Stakeholder Theory and literature on school leadership in resource-constrained contexts, the study uses a qualitative case study design. Twenty-one participants were purposively selected and interviewed, and the data were analyzed through Ajjawi and Higgs’s interpretive framework. Findings show that the FSHS policy has substantially expanded access, enabling low-income children to attend school. However, equity remains partial due to disparities in rural schooling and the Double Track System, while quality is compromised by overcrowded classrooms, inadequate infrastructure, and limited teaching resources. Leadership effectiveness is constrained by limited autonomy, resource misalignments, and unequal stakeholder power. The study concludes that strengthening stakeholder consultations, equitable resource distribution, teacher support, and sustainable funding is essential to enhancing equity and quality while maintaining access. These findings contribute to the literature on participatory governance in education policy reform by showing how stakeholder engagement and leadership practices influence access, equity, and quality in Ghana’s FSHS policy.