Browsing by Author "Buluma, Alfred"

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    Administrators’ Perception of Teacher-educators’ Exhibition of Pedagogical Skills and Implementation of Early Childhood Education Curriculum in Primary Teachers’ Colleges in Eastern Uganda
    (East African Journal of Education Studies, 2023) Wambi, Moses; Buluma, Alfred; Ludigo, Harriet
    The major intention of this study was to assess the perception of college administrators on the extent to which Teacher-educators exhibit the required pedagogical Skills to be emulated by their trainees to the expectations of the Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda. The authors of this paper were motivated by the notion that Teacher-educators ought to exhibit desirable pedagogical Skills as a mentorship strategy to their trainees. There is a persistent public outcry about the pseudo-trained graduates from Primary Teachers’ Colleges (PTCs) in Uganda. The objectives of this study were threefold, namely: (1) identify the pedagogical Skills stipulated in the ECE curriculum for teacher trainees in PTCs; (2) establish the extent to which teacher-educators facilitate their trainees to acquire the required pedagogical Skills in the ECE curriculum; and (3) find out the challenges associated with Teacher-educators’ competencies to exhibit pedagogical Skills in PTCs in Eastern Uganda. A phenomenology research design was adopted with a qualitative approach. Thirty-eight informant interviews and nineteen focus group discussion schedules were conducted with participants who included; Principals, Deputy Principals, the Director of Studies and an ECE Official from Kyambogo University. The key findings indicated that the Primary Teacher Education (PTE) curriculum of 2012 stipulates pedagogical Skills to be exhibited by Teacher-educators to their trainees; however, teacher-educators experienced the inability to exhibit desirable pedagogical Skills for their trainees to emulate. It was difficult for the Teacher-educators to offer what they never possessed. The greatest challenge reported by the majority of the participants was inadequate funding and yet ECE is a practical learning area and limited access to opportunities for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses for capacity building was yet another concern. It was therefore, recommended that Teacher-educators be trained to acquire desirable competencies in exhibiting pedagogical Skills so as to mentor and support their trainees. If the quality of teacher education is to be realised as expected, Teacher-educators’ CPDs on pedagogical Skills are crucial. Trainees are expected to tap into the vast experience of their Teacher-educators through mentorship as emphasised by the Vygotsky social-cultural theory.
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    Assessment of head teachers’ stakeholder collaboration in church of Uganda founded secondary schools of Namirembe Diocese
    (International Journal of Educational Policy Research and Review, 2024) Tumuhimbise, Jasper; Muweesi, Charles; Buluma, Alfred; Mbabazi, Faith; Ocheng, Kagoire Mary
    This paper presents an assessment of head teachers’ stakeholder collaboration in church of Uganda founded secondary schools (CFSs) of Namirembe Diocese over the past five years (2019 to 2023). The purpose is to assess the effectiveness of stakeholder collaboration in schools, emphasizing their strength in school performance. This research employed a survey design utilizing a qualitative and quantitative descriptive approach. This was from eight out of twenty three CFSs in the Diocese. This included schools categorized as Government Aided (GA), USE, and Private. Respondents were staff, management, teachers, alumni and students. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires. The final sample consisted of 211. The study evaluates the extent to which Head Teachers in CFSs have engaged with various stakeholders, on influencing performance of schools using a Likert Scale (1 is Strongly Disagree and 5 is Strongly agree). The stakeholders assessed include: Church related, Local and Central Governments, School Relations and Communities around from EE2 to EE17. Findings of this assessment reveal that stakeholder collaboration is significant for all except local parishes and alumni. It is recommended that Head Teachers should design a more integrated and supportive approaches in engaging them within CFSs. Further, for Head Teachers to put in place mechanisms for all stakeholders to be involved in decision making. Keywords: Stakeholder collaboration, leadership practices, Church of Uganda Founded Secondary Schools, Foundation Body
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    Blended Learning Pedagogy and the Development of Digital Competences among Teacher Trainees in a Predominantly Face to face Teacher Education Program
    (SN Social Sciences, 2021) Buluma, Alfred; Walimbwa, Michael
    This paper examines the influence of blended pedagogy in facilitating the development of digital competences among teacher trainees in a leading University in Uganda. This is an action research that took place between August and November, 2019, in which data were collected from third-year teacher trainees at School of Education in a pre- and post-intervention survey environment. At the beginning of August 2019, a self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) seeking the opinions about the teacher trainees’ digital competences was administered. In the course of the semester, the researchers introduced a blended pedagogy approach through offering online tutorials to the teacher trainees using a MOODLE learning management system referred to as Makerere University Electronic Learning Environment (MUELE) in the course unit known as Evaluation of Instruction. Prior to the beginning of semester one examinations in November 2019, the same SAQ was administered to teacher trainees to examine the influence of blending online tutorials in nurturing their digital competences. Findings indicate improved competences in teacher trainees’ digital competences in line with navigation in the internet environment, operating mobile internet, operating internet-based search engines, and formal internet skills. Other competences that teacher trainees demonstrated improvement include digital information and communication competences. The study, however, indicated minimal improvement in teacher trainees’ digital competences in content creation. Consequently, it is recommended that teacher educators should deliberately adopt the use of blended pedagogy to enable teacher trainees develop the various digital competences expected from the twenty-first-century teacher.
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    Building Bridges into the Future: An Evaluation of Stakeholders’ Perceptions on the Actualisation of the Curriculum in Uganda’s Seed Secondary Schools
    (East African Journal of Education Studies, 2022) Buluma, Alfred; Kyasanku, Charles; Kalule, John; Mbulankende, Julius Shopi; Sebbowa, Dorothy Kyagaba; Kiggundu, Muhammad Musoke
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    Head Teachers’ Team Leadership Practices’ Influence on Financial Performance in Church of Uganda Founded Secondary Schools in Namirembe Diocese
    (East African Journal of Education Studies, 2024) Tumuhimbise, Jasper M.; Muweesi, Charles; Buluma, Alfred; Mbabazi, Faith; Ocheng, Mary Kagoire; Eryenyu, Charles; Kitayimbwa, John M.; Wanyana, Mercy
    he influence of Head Teachers’ team leadership practices on the financial performance is highly acknowledged. The paper aims to highlight the challenges of head teachers’ team practices and advance insights on how they can be overcome to enhance financial performance. The methodology employed was a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data was gathered through questionnaires assessing perceptions of the above metrics. Qualitative data was collected through documentary review of reports and interviews to explore the underlying mechanisms through which the variables above interrelate. The total number of respondents were 326 sampled from eight out of twenty-three schools. Quantitative analysis revealed that it has a coefficient of 0.52 and a p-value of 0.004 which indicates a strong correlation and statistically significant relationship between effective team leadership and financial health. This indicated that a team leader yielded better cash flow management, alignment with financial objectives, and overall sustainability. Qualitative insights supported the above crucial role that head teachers’ have in engaging teams of CFSs in shaping financial decision-making processes. The study concludes by emphasizing the need to foster team cohesion, positive financial culture and ensuring the long-term sustainability of CFSs. Recommendations include strengthening leadership development programs that are not available currently in Church of Uganda. Further, to enhance team dynamics and aligning leadership practices with organizational goals to optimize financial performance in these settings
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    Head Teachers’ Team Leadership Practices’ Influence on Financial Performance in Church of Uganda Founded Secondary Schools in Namirembe Diocese
    (East African Journal of Education Studies, 2024-10) Tumuhimbise, M. Jasper; Muweesi, Charles; Buluma, Alfred; Mbabazi, Faith; Ocheng, Kagoire Mary; Eryenyu, Charles; Kitayimbwa, M. John; Wanyana, Mercy
    The influence of Head Teachers’ team leadership practices on financial performance is highly acknowledged. The paper aims to highlight the challenges of head teachers’ team practices and advance insights on how they can be overcome to enhance financial performance. The methodology employed was a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data was gathered through questionnaires assessing perceptions of the above metrics. Qualitative data was collected through documentary review of reports and interviews to explore the underlying mechanisms through which the variables above interrelate. The total number of respondents were 326 sampled from eight out of twenty-three schools. Quantitative analysis revealed that it has a coefficient of 0.52 and a pvalue of 0.004 which indicates a strong correlation and statistically significant relationship between effective team leadership and financial health. This indicated that a team leader yielded better cash flow management, alignment with financial objectives, and overall sustainability. Qualitative insights supported the above crucial role that head teachers’ have in engaging teams of CFSs in shaping financial decision-making processes. The study concludes by emphasizing the need to foster team cohesion, positive financial culture and ensuring the long-term sustainability of CFSs. Recommendations include strengthening leadership development programs that are not available currently in Church of Uganda. Further, to enhance team dynamics and aligning leadership practices with organizational goals to optimize financial performance in these settings. Keywords: Leadership, Team, Finance Performance, Church Founded School.
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    In-Service Teacher Reflections on Program Innovations towards Education Responsive to Local Communities
    (East African Journal of Education Studies, 2022) Walimbwa, Michael; Mugisha, Arthur; Buluma, Alfred; Mbulankende, Julius
    Innovation in teacher training encompasses additions to a program so as to serve the most recent skills required by stakeholders. Innovation requirements push the redesign of in-service teacher education program which has seen embedding of an internship aspect. Using the theory of partnering pedagogy, these innovations focus on provision of education that is relevant and responsive to the local communities around and beyond the school. The innovations engage principles of effective pedagogy to design activities that involve and promote local community engagement practices and learning experiences. Using educational design research, ten in-service teachers participated a program that was recently reviewed with some innovation brought aboard. This study is qualitative which explored in-service teachers’ reflections on having gone through a recently reviewed in service program with innovations on board. The in-service participated in a reflection on their lived experiences and impact on their pedagogic practice having gone through the reviewed program. The resultant qualitative data was subjected to content analysis. Findings indicate that program review innovations that bring local stakeholders aboard allow integration of competencies beneficial to in-service teachers, learners, and the local community in which the school is located. Innovation design that engages communities lead to pedagogic practices that emphasize learning by doing and not just transmission and accumulation of theoretical knowledge. Innovation in program design and review should therefore focus on activities that engage the in-service teacher, learners, and the local community. This leads to the design of innovations that focus on quality learning and development of contextually purposed skills for the local community. However, because of the collaborative attribute among stakeholders, there are challenges in the implementation of innovative suggestions. It is concluded that innovations in program design and review need to be contextually relevant because then, their impact extend to the local communities surrounding the school. In these ways, innovations provide avenues for schools to provide quality learning opportunities and skills to serve the local communities and beyond.