Effective communication for disseminating soil and water management practices to bring about sustainable smallholder agriculture in Tanzania: Case study of Manyara and Dodoma regions

This study investigated effective communication for disseminating soil and water management (SWM) practices for sustainable smallholder agriculture. Higher uncertainties in precipitation and land degradation are potentially the most limiting reasons for poor performance of rainfed agricultural sectors in Tanzania. Despite the increased focus on sustainable intensification of African agriculture and an increase of agricultural innovations with potential to alleviate these, adoption by smallholder farmers is slow. This includes soil and water management practices designed to minimize land degradation and increase productivity which few farmers implement. Studies note that although researchers generate good technologies, the lack of appropriate communication strategies, tools and methodologies lead to poor extension information and technologies resulting in low adoption of the innovations. Therefore, to find a solution to this problem, this study was guided by four research questions: 1) How is the communication flow between stakeholders through channels for disseminating SWM practices? 2) What are the common and preferred communication channels in disseminating SWM practices? 3) What are the motivations for using the communication channels in disseminating SWM practices? 4) How can the communication on disseminating of SWM practices be improved to support sustainable agriculture? The study was conducted in Kongwa District in Dodoma Region and Babati District, Manyara Region of Tanzania. A net-map tool, questionnaires and semi structured interviews were used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data for this study. Mass media and interpersonal communication are used in disseminating SWM practices information to farmers in Babati and Kongwa districts. But farmers preferred interpersonal channels as sources of SWM information including from extension officers, researchers, fellow farmers, village meetings and mobile phones. The preference was because these channels are not only informative compared to mass media but they are interactive and inclusive, which gives farmers the opportunity for giving feedback on the information disseminate. This influences farmers to not only to get information but also trigger their learning and adoption of the innovation. Agricultural exhibition events should be organised at village or ward levels to provide practical backstops against which the experts can deliver information and knowledge to farmers, and give opportunity to farmers to access knowledge. It will be helpful to increase the number of extension officers who will facilitate effective communication and dissemination of the information as they seem to be an important link for interpersonal between farmers and other agricultural stakeholders

TEACHERS’ CONCEPTION TOWARDS THE USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS AS A TOOL FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN TANZANIA GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS: THE CASE OF DODOMA MUNICIPALITY, TANZANIA

The study sought to assess teachers’ conception towards the use of social networks as a tool for professional development in Tanzania government secondary schools in Dodoma Municipality. Thus, the specific objectives of this study were to assess teachers’ conception on the available social networks opportunities that can support professional development, and to examine the limitations that hinder teachers’ use of social networks available for professional development. The paper is guided by the social-cognitive theory which stresses that learning takes place in a social environment. A cross-sectional  research design  was  used  to  collect  data  that  involved 84  teachers  from  ten secondary schools, six heads of schools, three quality assurers and one respondent from District education office. Qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis and quantitative data were descriptively analyzed through SPSS Version 20 of which the mean score was obtained. The survey results indicated teachers had positive conceptions towards the use of social networks as a tool for professional development. Furthermore, the findings revealed that teachers faced several challenges which include lack training on how to integrate SNs in TPD and high costs of the internet bandwidth, just to mention a few. Finally, the researchers recommend that, teachers should be exposed to professional development programmes that empower them to develop various pedagogical skills and understand a variety of learning environment that can improve their practice through collaborative online social networks. Again, teachers should be provided with opportunities to use the available SNs to create professional learning networks in their local context and globally.  Article visualizations

Towards Sustainable Disaster Management: An Assessment of Levels of Community Awareness on Fire Outbreaks and Safety among Public Universities in Tanzania

This study assessed community awareness on fire outbreaks and safety among public universities in Tanzania with reference to The Open University of Tanzania and the University of Dar es Salaam. Specifically, the study intended to explore individuals’ awareness and knowledge on causes of fire incidents; identify individuals who had witnessed fire incidents; assess knowledge on essential facilities for firefighting and safety; assess the individual’s ability to fight against fire incidents using local and relevant firefighting gears available in one’s premise; examine the individual ability to use modern and specified firefighting gears and safety facilities and to measure the attempts made by the universities under study towards raising community awareness on using firefighting appliances and safety measures. The study adopted phenomenological qualitative research design. Questionnaires, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGD) and observation approaches were used to collect data from 76 respondents obtained through purposive and random  sampling. Data collected were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. Numerical data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics with the help of SPSS software. Qualitative data on the other hand was analyzed using content analysis approach. The study findings revealed that community awareness on fire outbreaks and safety was low. This comes as a result of inadequacy of trainings for facility users, lack of enlightenments for creating community awareness and cautions on fire incidences and poor fire outbreaks management. The study recommended on the improvement of integrative fire management and public fire disaster awareness (PFDA) strategies so as to create community awareness and safety on fire outbreaks

Constraints Hindering Adoption of ICT in Government Secondary Schools in Tanzania: The Case of Hanang District

This paper addresses teachers’ skills on ICT Integration in teaching and learning and constraints that hinder the adoption in Government owned secondary schools. The study employed a cross-section research design which guided the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. Simple random sampling was employed in the selection of participants of which data were collected from 75 teachers in government secondary schools, 15 Heads of Schools, 1 DEO and 3 Quality Assurers. Questionnaires and interviews were used to obtain data. Qualitative data were analysed through content analysis while descriptive statistics was used to analyse quantitative data with the aid of SPSS version 21. The findings revealed that, most of the secondary school teachers had minimal skills of integrating ICT in teaching and learning due to different challenges such as lack of ICT facilities, inadequate computer labs in schools, and inadequate pre-service and in-service teachers training. Finally, the paper recommends a holistic approach in harmonising the curriculum requirements and the ICT policy strategies so as to create awareness among teachers, thus develop the required ICT pedagogical skills

Effect of elephant browsing on selected species of Acacia along the great Ruaha River in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania

Elephant damage was assessed in 1,007 Acacia trees and responses between Acacia tortilis and A. kirkii in Ruaha National park were compared in 30 transects randomly placed in 38.8 km2 on the northern bank of Great Ruaha River (GRR) basing on six browsing categories and four debarking classes. There was no significant difference in browsing (F1, 10 = 0.6, p>0.05) and debarking (F1, 6 = 0.16, p > 0.05) between A. kirkii and A. tortilis. Trees were classified into three height and twelve diameter classes. About 3613 trees <1 m in height represented response in addition to coppices. The difference between the two species was observed only in regeneration potential (F1,58 = 41.4, p < 0.05). In addition, low regeneration potential, severely browsed trees and restricted distribution made A. kirkii more vulnerable to elephant feeding compared to A. tortilis. The high A. tortilis regeneration potential suggests that the study area could become an Acacia bushland or woodland if fire is controlled. Further studies need to investigate, the suppressed regeneration of Acacia trees at Msembe, variations in vegetation utilization along the GRR and effects of fire and small browsers on Acacia species including monitoring of vegetation and animal trends.Key words: Elephants, Acacia, Tree damage, Regeneration, Ruaha Rive

An Assessment of Fire Emergency Preparedness among Public Universities in Tanzania.

This study assessed the preparedness of fire emergency among public universities in Tanzania a case of the Open University of Tanzania and University of Dar es Salaam as a result of fire occurrences in different public institutions. The main focus was to assess the community awareness on fire outbreaks and safety responses, examine the programmes for fighting against fire outbreaks; examine availability and functioning of fire fighting gears at the study areas. The study adopted a phenomenological qualitative research design which focused on cross-sectional descriptive approach. Both purposive and random sampling techniques were applied whereby 76 respondents were selected from the facility users. Questionnaires, interviews, FGDs and personal observation were used for the collection of data. Data collected were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed using SPSS and QDA Miner 4 Lite software respectively. It was finally revealed from the study that fire emergency preparedness was low among the selected universities. This comes as a result of inadequacy of training for facility users, community unawareness on the uses of fire fighting gears, lack of enlightenment for creating community awareness and cautions on fire incidences and poor fire outbreaks management. The study recommended the improvement of integrative fire management preparedness strategies, Public Fire Disaster Awareness (PFDA); the reviews of the laws governing fire fighting and safety and policy formulation to be put into consideration to fight against fire outbreaks

Teachers’ Attitudes towards the Use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) as a Pedagogical Tool in Secondary Schools in Tanzania: The Case of Kondoa District

Abstract This paper presents the findings on teachers' attitudes towards the use of ICT as a pedagogical too

Investigating Education Stakeholders Awareness and Acceptance of Open and Distance Learning in Simiyu Region.

This study was conducted in order to investigate education stakeholders’ awareness and acceptance of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in Simiyu Region, Tanzania. The study was guided by four objectives namely to assess education stakeholders’ awareness of ODL as a means of education and training in Simiyu region, second was to determine acceptance level of ODL in Simiyu region, to examine challenges of ODL in Simiyu region and lastly to identify strategies that can be employed to improve education stakeholder’s. The study was undertaken using a sample size of 200 research subjects by using questionnaires. The study findings revealed that there was limited knowledge of using ODL in Simiyu region. Moreover the findings revealed that there was negative perception about quality of ODL knowledge as 43.5% had the view that the knowledge provided was of low quality. This reflects the finding paused by SADC framework which also pointed out that there were no mechanisms or systems to regulate and monitor the quality and implementation of ODL programmes. Another challenge found by the study was the cost associated with ODL access as it was too expensive to reach the regional centre for accessing ODL services. The study recommends for proper policies to be put in place to guide ODL services. There should be a national policy framework to regulate and monitor provision of ODL programmes. The study also recommends increasing the number of ODL provisional centres to possibly district level through partnership with Private, NGO and international organizations. Furthermore, the study recommends the use of variety of media and technologies to install a quality assurance mechanism for ODL programmes to improve its acceptance. Keywords: Distance Learning, Open Distance Learning, Stakeholders, Acceptance