School Heads' Leadership Practices for Strengthening Teacher–Parent Collaboration in Supporting Learners' Reading and Numeracy Development in Public Elementary Schools: A Systematic Literature Review Protocol

This systematic literature review aims to examine school heads' leadership practices in strengthening teacher–parent collaboration to support learners' reading and numeracy development in public elementary schools. Specifically, the review seeks to identify leadership practices, organizational mechanisms, and strategies used to establish and sustain teacher–parent collaboration; examine the reported associations between such collaboration and learners' reading and numeracy outcomes; and identify theoretical, methodological, and contextual gaps in the existing literature that may inform the development of a practical framework for school heads. The review will follow the PRISMA 2020 reporting guidelines. Relevant peer-reviewed empirical studies published from January 2015 to the final search date in 2026 will be identified through systematic searches of ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, EBSCOhost, and ScienceDirect, with Google Scholar serving as a supplementary search platform. Study selection will be guided by predefined eligibility criteria and facilitated by Rayyan, with screening decisions independently assessed by a second reviewer. The methodological quality of included studies will be appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), version 2018. Qualitative findings will be synthesized using the thematic synthesis approach of Thomas and Harden (2008), while quantitative findings will be summarized through narrative synthesis. Findings from mixed-methods studies will be integrated to provide a comprehensive understanding of the review topic. The review is expected to provide an evidence-informed basis for developing a practical framework to guide school heads in strengthening teacher–parent collaboration and supporting learners' foundational reading and numeracy skills in public elementary schools.