Professional Development and Science Teacher Effectiveness in Africa: A Study of South Western Uganda.

Teacher Professional Development (TPD) has long been a factor in revolutionizing the quality of science education in Africa. Although the Ugandan government introduced many TPD initiatives, there have been noticeable failure rates in science subjects nationwide at the Uganda Certificate of Education...

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Main Authors: Sekiwu, Denis, Edoru, John Michael, Mwesigye, Seriano
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Kabale University 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/2319
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author Sekiwu, Denis
Edoru, John Michael
Mwesigye, Seriano
author_facet Sekiwu, Denis
Edoru, John Michael
Mwesigye, Seriano
author_sort Sekiwu, Denis
collection KAB-DR
description Teacher Professional Development (TPD) has long been a factor in revolutionizing the quality of science education in Africa. Although the Ugandan government introduced many TPD initiatives, there have been noticeable failure rates in science subjects nationwide at the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations. This study aims to interrogate the level of science teacher engagement in professional development, challenges hindering teacher access to TPD programs, and the correlation between TPD and teacher effectiveness regarding science grades. Using the Mixed method design, a sample size of 100 science teachers was recruited. The major findings revealed glaring gaps relating to inadequate teacher involvement in professional development, lack of planning for professional training of science teachers, limited funding, and negative attitudes towards professional development by science teachers and the school administration. The study proves that engagement in TPD positively correlates (π = 0.473, p < 0.01) with science teacher effectiveness. The study points to a critical argument that to deconstruct the narrative that STEM performance is supposed to be low and historically few students take on these disciplines, there is a need to invest in professional growth for science teachers.
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id oai:idr.kab.ac.ug:20.500.12493-2319
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publisher Kabale University
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spelling oai:idr.kab.ac.ug:20.500.12493-23192024-10-16T00:01:24Z Professional Development and Science Teacher Effectiveness in Africa: A Study of South Western Uganda. Sekiwu, Denis Edoru, John Michael Mwesigye, Seriano Professional Development Teacher Effectiveness Secondary Schools South Western Uganda Science Education in Africa Teacher Professional Development (TPD) has long been a factor in revolutionizing the quality of science education in Africa. Although the Ugandan government introduced many TPD initiatives, there have been noticeable failure rates in science subjects nationwide at the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations. This study aims to interrogate the level of science teacher engagement in professional development, challenges hindering teacher access to TPD programs, and the correlation between TPD and teacher effectiveness regarding science grades. Using the Mixed method design, a sample size of 100 science teachers was recruited. The major findings revealed glaring gaps relating to inadequate teacher involvement in professional development, lack of planning for professional training of science teachers, limited funding, and negative attitudes towards professional development by science teachers and the school administration. The study proves that engagement in TPD positively correlates (π = 0.473, p < 0.01) with science teacher effectiveness. The study points to a critical argument that to deconstruct the narrative that STEM performance is supposed to be low and historically few students take on these disciplines, there is a need to invest in professional growth for science teachers. 2024-10-15T05:21:32Z 2024-10-15T05:21:32Z 2024 Article Mwesigye, S., Sekiwu, D., & Edoru, J.M. (2024). Professional Development and Science Teacher Effectiveness in Africa: A Study of South Western Uganda. Kabale: Kabale University. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/2319 en Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ application/pdf Kabale University
spellingShingle Professional Development
Teacher Effectiveness
Secondary Schools
South Western Uganda
Science Education in Africa
Sekiwu, Denis
Edoru, John Michael
Mwesigye, Seriano
Professional Development and Science Teacher Effectiveness in Africa: A Study of South Western Uganda.
title Professional Development and Science Teacher Effectiveness in Africa: A Study of South Western Uganda.
title_full Professional Development and Science Teacher Effectiveness in Africa: A Study of South Western Uganda.
title_fullStr Professional Development and Science Teacher Effectiveness in Africa: A Study of South Western Uganda.
title_full_unstemmed Professional Development and Science Teacher Effectiveness in Africa: A Study of South Western Uganda.
title_short Professional Development and Science Teacher Effectiveness in Africa: A Study of South Western Uganda.
title_sort professional development and science teacher effectiveness in africa a study of south western uganda
topic Professional Development
Teacher Effectiveness
Secondary Schools
South Western Uganda
Science Education in Africa
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/2319
work_keys_str_mv AT sekiwudenis professionaldevelopmentandscienceteachereffectivenessinafricaastudyofsouthwesternuganda
AT edorujohnmichael professionaldevelopmentandscienceteachereffectivenessinafricaastudyofsouthwesternuganda
AT mwesigyeseriano professionaldevelopmentandscienceteachereffectivenessinafricaastudyofsouthwesternuganda