TEACHER EXPERIENCE AS DETERMINANTS OF STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SCIENCE SUBJECTS IN UGANDA CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION EXAMINATIONS IN BUIKWE DISTRICT, UGANDA

This study investigated Teacher Experience as determinants of students’ academic performance in science subjects in Uganda certificate of education examinations in Buikwe district, Uganda. The overall performance of science subjects in Buikwe district has been below average (Uganda National Examination Board, 2018). The low achievement and dismal performance of students in the UC.E Science examinations has been a concern to stakeholders. The study was guided by Convergent parallel mixed methods design specifically a cross-sectional survey and phenomenological survey. The target population included all head teachers, head of departments, science teachers, students in public and private secondary schools, and all Secondary Science and Mathematics regional trainers in Buikwe district. Both Probability and non-probability sampling were used. Simple random sampling was used to select 110 Science teachers, 375 students were selected using cluster random sampling while 28 head teachers were selected through census purposive sampling and expert sampling was used to select regional trainers. Data was collected using questionnaires, interview, focused group discussions and document analysis guide and were subjected to both content and face validity. Cronbach alpha technique determined reliability of quantitative instruments. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 for descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequencies and percentages were used to summarize data while Chi-square Test for associations was used to test hypotheses. The qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis and findings presented in narrative form. The key findings indicated that there was a significant relationship between teacher experience and students’ academic performance in science subjects. The study found that science teachers who do part timing have little time for students, the infectiveness, poor teaching methodologies, negative attitude among students, and lack of text books and well equipped laboratories in some schools contributed to poor performance. The study recommended that MOES needs to organize seminars and equip science teachers with the required skills to teach science subjects. The government needs to abolish part time teaching and invest in building a robust school inspection system and improve teacher quality through staff development.  Article visualizations

Resilient but Overwhelmed: How do Students in South Sudan Public Universities Cope with the Rising Net Cost?

South Sudan is facing the challenges of transition from a liberation movement to democratic state. The protracted political civil war has increased the country’s fragility, dwindling public allocations to education and other sectors. Should education in fragile states wait for the return of peace? The purpose of this study was to interrogate the influence of net cost on out-of-state students’ access in South Sudan public universities. A total of 378 students were selected through random sampling procedure. Six members of the National Council for Higher Education, four university administrators, four parents and two universities were chosen through purposive sampling. The data collection instruments were questionnaires, interview guide, observation and document analysis guide, Descriptive statistics were presented in form of frequencies, percentages and tables. A one-sample t-test was used to establish whether there was a significant difference in the influence of net cost on students’ decision to access and attend South Sudan public universities between in-state and out-of-state students. Qualitative data was collected and analyzed simultaneously, coded, categorized into themes. The results indicate that although public universities have demonstrated resilience, they are overwhelmed and struggling to provide quality education services to all citizens. Students’ net cost was growing faster than their family income due to the rise in inflation adversely affecting out-ofstate students from low-income families’ access to public universities compared to in-state students. The study recommends that the government fast-track peace and re-engineer its education system to make it more accessible, affordable and equitable to all, particularly those from the marginalized groups. It hopes to contribute to improving policy and practice in educational administration and planning

TEACHERS’ USE OF VISUAL AIDS IN ENHANCING TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN BARKIN-LADI, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

The study investigated teachers’ use of visual aids in enhancing the teaching and learning process in the public primary schools Barkin-Ladi, Plateau State in Nigeria. The researchers employed a combination of both quantitative and qualitative approaches: survey and phenomenology. The study targeted public primary school teachers, pupils, head teachers, heads of sections, and supervisors. The researcher used stratified random sampling technique, and non-probability purposive random sampling method. The sample size of the study was: 254 teachers, 391 pupils, 90 head teachers, 3 heads of sections and 13 supervisors. Descriptive statistics: frequencies, percentages, and inferential statistics were used. The findings revealed that the use of different types of visual aids like real objects, diagrams, charts, flashcards, maps and drawings was appropriate to all subjects and relevant to the teaching and learning process. The study recommended that: The study recommended that: there is need for refresher courses, workshops, and conferences for the teachers to improve their skill of using different types of visual aids to the needs of the public primary school pupils, the government should help the public primary schools’ teachers by providing enough visual aids to use during the teaching and learning process, the education office should ensure that close supervision and monitoring of teachers is done promptly to ensure that the teachers use right materials to facilitate the teaching and learning process, and the head of department quality assurance, personnel manager, head of primary education section, supervisors, can also liaise with the head teachers to ensure that teachers are using different types of visual aids and redirect more resources for them, to improve teachers’ utilization and improvisation of different types of visual aids head teachers should monitor and ensure that teachers are using different types of visual aids. Article visualizations

TEACHER CLASS MANAGEMENT SKILLS AS DETERMINANTS OF STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SCIENCE SUBJECTS IN UGANDA CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION EXAMINATIONS IN BUIKWE DISTRICT, UGANDA

This study investigated Teacher Class management skills as determinants of students’ academic performance in science subjects in Uganda certificate of education examinations in Buikwe district, Uganda. The target population included all head teachers, head of departments, science teachers, students in public and private secondary schools, and all Secondary Science and Mathematics regional trainers in Buikwe district. Both Probability and non-probability sampling were used. Simple random sampling was used to select 110 Science teachers, 375 students were selected using cluster random sampling while 28 head teachers were selected through census purposive sampling and expert sampling was used to select regional trainers. Data was collected using questionnaires, interview, focused group discussions and document analysis guide and were subjected to both content and face validity. Cronbach alpha technique determined reliability of quantitative instruments. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 for descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequencies and percentages were used to summarize data while Chi-square Test for associations was used to test hypotheses. The qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis and findings presented in narrative form. The key findings indicated that there was a significant relationship between teacher class management skills and students’ academic performance in science subjects. The study found out that due to a sizable number of science teachers who do part timing, the effectiveness of instruction was hindered which affected students’ academic performance. The study also determined that poor teaching methodologies, negative attitude among students, lack of text books and well equipped laboratories in some schools contributed to poor performance. The study concluded that teacher class management skills are key to students’ academic performance in science subjects and teachers may acquire it through self-improvement, participating in seminars and refresher courses. The study recommended that MOES needs to organize seminars and equip science teachers with the required teaching and management skills to teach science subjects.  Article visualizations

Education Management Information System and Tracking of Students’ Records in Selected Public Secondary Schools in Turbo Sub-County, Kenya

This study sought to assess the role of the education management information system in the tracking of students’ records in selected public secondary schools in Turbo sub-County, Kenya. In most secondary schools that are public in Kenya the tracking of students’ records has been a challenge. EMIS has ensured that all the information about the school and the students is well recorded and kept so that it can be accessible to all at any given time. The study was guided by the research question: How does the Education Management Information System help in the tracking of students’ records in selected secondary schools? The cross-sectional survey design was used in the study. The researcher used a simple random sampling technique and proportion stratified random sampling technique to select a total of 594 participants for the study. The data collection instruments were structured questionnaires and interview schedules. The subject matter experts reviewed face and content validity. The split-half reliability formula was used and a coefficient of 0.9 was obtained which suggests that the items had relatively high internal consistency. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution and percentages were used to summarize the data. The findings revealed that students were classified according to streams, admission numbers, performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and gender during the admission day. The students received end-of-term results in different ways which included manually, Zeraki, Short Message Services and WhatsApp. The findings revealed that EMIS was used to track records and send the academic results of the learners to their parents. It was therefore concluded that the schools use different ways to track and classify the students regarding their data in EMIS. The outcome of the examinations of the learners is given through the progress reports in EMIS. The study recommended that the principals should track and classify the new form one students according to the time and date that they report to the secondary schools. This will guarantee that the student's information is captured accordingly to enhance an accurate collection of the learners’ details. This will in turn facilitate the easy identification of students who require special needs. The students’ results should be electronically sent directly to their parents and guardians while the students given their feedback manually. Keywords: Education Management Information System, Management, Records, Tracking. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-17-06 Publication date:June 30th 202

INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL FACTORS ON VOCATIONAL CAREER CHOICES IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS IN KENYA - A SURVEY OF CATHOLIC PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS IN NAKURU DIOCESE

The purpose of this study was to investigate influence of social factors on vocational career choices of students in Catholic-sponsored technical institutions located in the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru, Kenya. The study was guided by the research question: What is the influence of social factors on vocational career choices in the aforementioned institutions? The study was grounded on Krumboltz theory of social learning. The empirical literature covered various societal factors. A Convergent parallel mixed method design was used whereby 292 respondents participated in the study. Purposive, stratified and simple random sampling techniques were applied in sampling of institutions, administrators, teachers and students respectively. For data collection, interview guides were used for teachers and principals while questionnaires were employed to facilitate data collection from students. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences programme was used to aid analysis of quantitative data from the students while qualitative data from teachers and principals were organized into themes. Analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data were done independently then mixed at the end during interpretation. The study revealed that 91.6% of students are influenced by immediate people they interact with. It was also found that 55.6% never had prior working experience. The study revealed that as family and friends influence students in technical and vocational training institutions there is still a large number (49.3%) who make choices according to their own personal interest. Majority of the students (61.8%) perceived the courses they were pursuing as being very difficult but also marketable. Electrical installation was found to have the highest number of enrollment for national examinations followed by mechanics. The study recommended to Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development to introduce subjects at high school level that could expose students to vocational careers. It was further recommended that technical institutions should come up with guiding policies on how to help and streamline student’s choices on vocational careers.   Article visualizations