School Governance Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives in Public Primary Schools in Ngorongoro District, Tanzania

Abstract

Public primary schools in underserved settings often face shortages of educational resources that affect access to and quality of education. In Tanzania, although the government is the main provider of primary education, inadequate funding limits schools’ capacity to meet essential resource needs. Consequently, organisations provide support through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This study examined school governance stakeholders’ perceptions of CSR initiatives in public primary schools in Ngorongoro District, focusing on types of initiatives implemented, contributions to infrastructure, educational access, quality, and stakeholder influence on prioritisation and allocation of CSR Initiatives. Guided by Stakeholder Salience Theory, the study employed a descriptive qualitative design involving 32 stakeholders, comprised of head teachers, ward education officers, village leaders, and school committee members. Data were collected through 16 key informant interviews and two focus group discussions involving participants purposively selected from eight wards and 16 schools receiving CSR support. Data were analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis. Findings revealed that CSR initiatives focused on visible infrastructure and learning materials, improving infrastructure, access to, and education quality. However, support for ICT, sanitation and extracurricular support varied across schools. This pattern suggests that visible needs attracted greater attention and priority, particularly where claims were perceived to have greater power, legitimacy, and urgency. It concludes that CSR initiatives prioritise visible infrastructure and learning materials and were perceived to improve educational access and quality. However, ICT, sanitation, and extracurricular activities received limited attention. It recommends coordination, needs-based allocation, maintenance, monitoring, and community participation to ensure equitable, sustainable CSR support.