The Relationship between Creative Thinking, Metacognitive Thinking, and Academic Performance among Secondary School Students in Tanzania

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between creative thinking, metacognitive thinking, and academic performance among secondary school students in Tanzania. The independent variables investigated were divergent thinking, convergent thinking, metacognitive thinking and teachers’ ability to foster creative and metacognitive thinking. These were studied against academic performance as the dependent variable. A total of 444 secondary school students, of whom 217 were males and 227 were females responded to the Guilford’s Alternate Uses Task (AUT, 1967), the Assessment of Convergent Thinking Test Using Insight Problems (ACTT), and the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI) for measuring divergent, convergent, and metacognitive thinking respectively. The study found moderate but positive and significant correlations (r=0.36 and r=0.48) between divergent and convergent thinking respectively; and academic performance. There was low positive correlation (r=0.14) between metacognitive thinking and academic performance, all at p ≤ .01. The performances on the key independent variables were M=54.32 out of the maximum score of 134 mentioned uses, M=4.67 at the maximum of 12 score out of 15, and m=106.88 at a maximum score of 150 out of 150. Convergent thinking uniquely explained academic performance than divergent and metacognitive thinking, suggesting the independence and suffering of divergent and metacognitive thinking in schooling. Recommendations for the practice of teaching and learning and for future research are provided

Effectiveness of professional suitability scale in assessing teaching suitability among primary school teachers in Tanzania

This study intended to evaluate effectiveness of professional suitability scale (PSS) in assessing primary school teachers’ suitability for teaching profession in Tanzania in an attempt to address the challenges of professional unsuitability among teachers in Tanzania. Specific objectives of this study were to explore the structure, validity and reliability of PSS in assessing the professional suitability among primary school teachers, to examine effectiveness of PSS in measuring differences in professional suitability among teachers by region and to examine the effectiveness of PSS in measuring differences in professional suitability between teachers in private schools and government schools. Data were collected among 365 primary school teachers using 26 items of the PSS. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that PSS is a valid four-factor scale comprised of social, practical, personal, and ethical suitability. It was also found out that PSS is a reliable tool with an internal consistency of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of α =.79. Results further revealed no significant difference in professional suitability by region but found out significant difference in professional suitability with school ownership and school performance category (Low versus High Performing Schools). It was concluded that although PSS is an effective tool for measuring professional suitability among teachers, the difference in school performance by region or ownership can just partly be explained by teachers’ professional suitability. It was recommended that PSS may assist employers in assessing their employees’ suitability for teaching and that future studies may undertake a validation study for further improvement of the PSS.