Enhancing Financial Management in Secondary Schools through a Participatory Intervention

Authors

Keywords:

Capacity Building, Financial Management, Governance, School Development Committees, Secondary Schools

Abstract

This study aims to address financial management challenges in secondary schools by adopting a social work–oriented, participatory intervention approach. Previous studies have primarily focused on identifying governance issues such as weak accountability, limited financial literacy, and inadequate policy adherence, with limited emphasis on practical, stakeholder-driven solutions. This study employed a Participatory Action Research (PAR) design consisting of three phases: needs assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis involving school heads, teachers, School Development Committee (SDC) members, and education officials. The findings from the baseline assessment revealed significant gaps in financial governance, including poor record-keeping, lack of training, and weak institutional structures. Following the implementation of a capacity-building intervention—comprising workshops, mentoring, and participatory discussions—participants demonstrated improved financial management knowledge, enhanced governance practices, and increased stakeholder engagement. The novelty of this study lies in integrating social work principles, particularly empowerment and participation, into educational financial governance. The study implies that sustainable improvements require not only technical training but also inclusive, context-sensitive interventions that strengthen both individual capacity and institutional systems.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Arain, M. A., & Fakir, R. (2023). Decentralization in education system: Outcomes and challenges. Journal of Development and Social Sciences, 4(1), 273–279. https://doi.org/10.47205/jdss.2023(4-I)25

Chinyoka, A., & Mutambara, E. (2020). The challenges of revenue generation in state universities: The case of Zimbabwe. Cogent Social Sciences, 6(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2020.1748477

Connolly, M., Farrell, C., & James, C. (2017). An analysis of the stakeholder model of public boards and the case of school governing boards in England and Wales. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 45(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143215607879

Dibete, K. J., & Potokri, O. C. (2018). Policy compliance of SGB members on their financial management roles in selected no-fee schools in Limpopo province of South Africa. International Journal of Educational Management, 32(5), 799–812. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-03-2017-0058

Dibete, K. J., & Potokri, O. C. (2021). The functionality of finance committees in no-fee schools of Limpopo province, South Africa. National Accounting Review, 3, 256–271. https://doi.org/10.3934/NAR.2021013

Dlomo, S. S., Buthelezi, A., Hlengiwe, M., & Ajani, O. (2022). Impact of school governing boards' collaboration on school financial management in South African schools. Multicultural Education, 8(4), 36–46.

Ezeh, C. R., & Ogara, P. I. (2020). Impact of financial management on effective school administration in Enugu education zone. British International Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 7(6), 1–15.

Hungwe, G. D., & Mpofu, P. (2021). An investigation into the reasons for the prevalence of financial mismanagement in high schools of Eswatini: A case of four schools in Northern Hhohho Region. Indiana Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(12), 29–35.

Katterbauer, K., & Moschetta, P. (2021). An innovative artificial intelligence and natural language processing framework for asset price forecasting based on Islamic finance: A case study of the Saudi stock market. Econometric Research in Finance, 6(2), 183–196. https://doi.org/10.2478/erfin-2021-0009

Lucky, A. (2025). Transparency and accountability in school governance. International Digital Organization for Scientific Research, 10(1), 8–14. https://doi.org/10.59298/JBESS/2025/101814

Munge, M. N., Kimani, M., & Ngugi, D. G. (2016). Factors influencing financial management in public secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 4(9), 91–114.

Muzenda, D. (2017). Causes of mismanagement of school finances in Mrewa district secondary schools. IJRDO Journal of Educational Research, 2(2), 42–52.

Myende, P. E., Bhengu, T. T., & Kunene, I. S. (2020). School financial management development programme for eSwatini principals: Lessons, challenges and implications. South African Journal of Education, 40(4), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v40n4a2041

Ngwenya, V. C., & Maushe, J. (2017). Accounting procedures within a decentralized Zimbabwean school financial management system. Journal of Banking and Financial Dynamics, 21–25. https://doi.org/10.20448/journal.525.2017.11.21.28

Njau, L. K., Lyamtane, E., & Ogoti, E. (2022). Conceivable challenges heads of schools face in managing school-based income-generating activities among public secondary schools in Kilimanjaro Region – Tanzania. International Journal of Education, Learning and Development, 10(9), 1–18.

Nyakanyanga, W. (2019). Financial management challenges. Retrieved January 3, 2019, from http://www.centreold.com/blog/FinancialManagementChallenges.php

Nyandoro, J., Mapfumo, J., & Makoni, R. (2013). Effectiveness of school development committees in financial management in Chimanimani West Circuit primary schools in Zimbabwe. Academic Research International, 4(1).

Okoye, U. T., & Okorji, P. N. (2021). Financial management practices adopted by principals for effective administration of secondary schools in Anambra State. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 11(2), 51–57.

Sharma, A. (2020). A study on the problems and constraints of school management committees in Sikkim. Elementary Education Online, 19(4), 7843–7850.

Sipahioglu, M. (2023). Principals struggling with school financing in Turkey: Money matters. Journal of School Administration Research and Development, 8, 36–46. https://doi.org/10.32674/jsard.v8i1.4077

Solis, J. A. (2025). Experiences of school heads in budget management: Uncovering challenges and best practices. NEXUS: International Journal of Science and Education. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15713381

Tenha, J. (2022). Work relationships between school development committees and school heads in the performance of their duties in selected Zimbabwean primary schools. International Journal of Advanced Research and Publications, 5(7), 83–88.

Zhuwau, C., & Shumba, M. (2018). Influence of auditing on financial performance of secondary schools: A case study of Goromonzi District, Zimbabwe. International Journal of Contemporary Research and Review, 9(6), 20819–20831. https://doi.org/10.15520/IJCRR/2018/9/06/533

Downloads

Published

2026-04-24

How to Cite

Njini, S., & Elda, H. (2026). Enhancing Financial Management in Secondary Schools through a Participatory Intervention. Jurnal Karya Abdi Masyarakat, 10(1), 11–22. Retrieved from https://www.online-journal.unja.ac.id/JKAM/article/view/47803

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2026): Jurnal Karya Abdi Masyarakat

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Stephen Njini, Hungwe Elda

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Please find the rights and licenses in Jurnal Jurnal Karya Abdi Masyarakat (JKAM).

  1. License

The non-commercial use of the article will be governed by the Creative Commons Attribution license as currently displayed on Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

  1. Authors Warranties

The author warrants that the article is original, written by stated author(s), has not been published before, contains no unlawful statements, does not infringe the rights of others, is subject to copyright that is vested exclusively in the author and free of any third party rights, and that any necessary written permissions to quote from other sources have been obtained by the author(s).

  1. User Rights

JKAM's spirit is to disseminate articles published are as free as possible. Under the Creative Commons license, JKAM permits users to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work for non-commercial purposes only. Users will also need to attribute authors and JKAM on distributing works in the journal.

  1. Rights of Authors

Authors retain the following rights:

  • Copyright, and other proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,
  • The right to use the substance of the article in future own works, including lectures and books,
  • The right to reproduce the article for own purposes, provided the copies are not offered for sale,
  • The right to self-archive the article.
  1. Co-Authorship

If the article was jointly prepared by other authors, the signatory of this form warrants that he/she has been authorized by all co-authors to sign this agreement on their behalf, and agrees to inform his/her co-authors of the terms of this agreement.

  1. Termination

This agreement can be terminated by the author or JKAM upon two months notice where the other party has materially breached this agreement and failed to remedy such breach within a month of being given the terminating party notice requesting such breach to be remedied. No breach or violation of this agreement will cause this agreement or any license granted in it to terminate automatically or affect the definition of JKAM. 

  1. Royalties

This agreement entitles the author to no royalties or other fees. To such extent as legally permissible, the author waives his or her right to collect royalties relative to the article in respect of any use of the article by JKAM or its sublicensee.

  1. Miscellaneous

JKAM will publish the article (or have it published) in the journal if the articles editorial process is successfully completed and JKAM or its sublicensee has become obligated to have the article published. JKAM may conform the article to a style of punctuation, spelling, capitalization, referencing and usage that it deems appropriate. The author acknowledges that the article may be published so that it will be publicly accessible and such access will be free of charge for the readers.