Browsing by Author "Kani Olema, David"

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    Assuring Quality amidst Political Intrigue in Higher Education Institutions
    (East African Journal of Education Studies, 2021) Zami Atibuni, Dennis; Kani Olema, David
    This article provides an anatomical analysis of the political intrigue within quality assurance and management mechanisms of higher education institutions in East Africa. Actionable strategies are hence proposed for circumventing the negative effects of such intrigue in order to ensure quality service delivery within the institutions while respecting the need for diversity and innovative practices in research and education. We recognize that the primary responsibility for quality assurance and quality management lies with the higher education institutions themselves, rather than with any outside body. The article therefore discusses issues of autonomy internal to the institutions and those external - between the institutions and regulatory cum oversight bodies that have perpetually riddled the efficiency of quality enhancement. The article draws its data and information from international, national, and institutional policies as well as refereed studies on quality assurance and quality management, especially those highlighting political intrigue in the processes. It has been observed that quality assurance of higher education processes is desired to enhance quality in the response of higher education to labour market needs. However, the article reveals the existence of immense negative politicking and intrigue in the quality assurance processes in higher education institutions in East Africa which are responsible for compromising the quality of services delivered by the institutions. It is argued that being an indicator for organisational performance, the continuous monitoring and enhancing of quality of higher education should be the primary goal and objective of all stakeholders of higher education in East Africa, meaning that quality assurance processes should be embedded in the conducting of the routine business of the institutions.
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    Challenges and strategies of research engagement among Master of Education students in Uganda
    (International Journal of Educational Policy Research and Review, 2017) Zami Atibuni, Dennis; Kibanja, Grace Milly; Kani Olema, David; Ssenyonga, Joseph; Karl, Steffens
    A qualitative investigation was done to explore the challenges and strategies of research engagement among Master of Education students in Uganda. Two focus group discussions (n = 12) and seven key informant interviews (n = 7) were conducted among purposively selected students and university staff respectively. Participants in the focus groups included Master of Education students of 2011/2012, 2012/2013, 2013/2014, and 2014/2015 cohorts who were still on or had completed their studies by January 2016. The key informant interview participants included heads of departments, deans of faculties, and directors of institutes and directorates. Challenges faced by the students were mainly work-life balance related: work interference with personal life, personal life interference with work, and workplace support challenges. These challenges caused further challenges in the students’ research engagement in the aspects of active and collaborative learning, student effort, student-faculty interaction, and institutional support. Strategies to overcome the challenges included provision of work-life balance activities and opportunities to learn. Implications for educational practice were suggested.
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    Gender differences in response to warrelated trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder – a study among the Congolese refugees in Uganda
    (BMC psychiatry, 2020) Ainamani, Herbert E.; Elbert, Thomas; Kani Olema, David; Hecker, Tobias
    The wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo have left indelible marks on the mental health and functioning of the Congolese civilians that sought refuge in Uganda. Even though it is clear that civilians who are exposed to potentially traumatizing events in war and conflict areas develop trauma-related mental health problems, scholarly information on gender differences on exposure to different war-related traumatic events, their conditional risks to developing PTSD and whether the cumulative exposure to traumatic events affects men and women differently is still scanty. Methods: In total, 325 (n=143males, n = 182 females) Congolese refugees who lived in Nakivale, a refugee settlement in the Southwestern part of Uganda were interviewed within a year after their arrival. Assessment included exposure to war-related traumatic events, and DSM-IV PTSD symptom severity. Results: Our main findings were that refugees were highly exposed to war-related traumatic events with experiencing dangerous flight as the most common event for both men (97%) and women (97%). The overall high prevalence of PTSD differed among women (94%) and men (84%). The highest conditional prevalence of PTSD in women was associated with experiencing rape. The dose-response effect differed significantly between men and women with women showing higher PTSD symptom severity when experiencing low and moderate levels of potentially traumatizing event types. Conclusion: In conflict areas, civilians are highly exposed to different types of war-related traumatic events that expose them to high levels of PTSD symptoms, particularly women. Interventions focused at reducing mental health problems resulting from war should take the context of gender into consideration.
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    The Hidden Effects of Child Maltreatment in a War Region: Correlates of Psychopathology in Two Generations Living in Northern Uganda
    (Journal of traumatic stress, 2014) Kani Olema, David; Catani, Claudia; Ertl, Verena; Saile, Regina; Neuner, Frank
    Adverse life experiences are a major risk factor for psychopathology. Studies from industrialized countries have consistently shown the detrimental effects of child maltreatment on the mental health of the victims. Research in war-affected populations, however, has mostly been restricted to the psychological damage caused by the war. Both war trauma and child maltreatment have rarely been studied simultaneously. In a comparative study of 2 generations living in severely war-affected regions in Northern Uganda, we determined the relationship between both trauma types and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and suicide ideation. A total of 100 adolescents, 50 with and 50 without a history of abduction by the rebel army with both their parents (100 mothers and 100 fathers) living in camps in northern Uganda were interviewed. The study showed that both generations were severely affected by war and child maltreatment. Both trauma types were independently correlated with psychological disorders in the adolescent group. Only child maltreatment, however, not war violence, accounted for PTSD symptoms in the parent group (β = .253, p = .002).We conclude that, even in the context of severe war, the impact of child maltreatment on psychological disorders surpasses the damage of war trauma.
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    How Quality of Supervision Moderates the Relationship between Student Teachers’ Preparation for and Performance in School Practice
    (American Journal of Educational Research, 2020) Kani Olema, David; Zami Atibuni, Dennis; Birabwa, Elizabeth
    This quantitative cross-sectional survey examined the moderation effect of the quality of supervision on the adequacy of preparation for SP - performance in SP among 184 (98 second year and 84 third year) student teachers at Busitema University. Findings revealed high adequacy of preparation (M = 103.02, SD = 13.17), high quality of supervision (M = 37.13, SD = 6.19), and high level of performance (M = 43.16, SD = 4.75) in SP. The quality of supervision was a significant moderator of the preparation—performance link, R2 = .0136, F (7, 176) = 3.767, b = .006, t (176) = - 1.941, p = .05. The findings imply need for tagging SP preparation and supervision to student teachers’ performance.
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    ICT Adoption Readiness and ICT Policy Implementation in Secondary Schools in Mayuge District, Uganda
    (American Journal of Educational Research, 2021) Mukhula, Gideon James; Manyiraho, Deborah; Zami Atibuni, Dennis; Kani Olema, David
    This study explored the levels of and relationship between ICT adoption readiness and ICT policy implementation in Secondary Schools in Mayuge District. The objectives included determining the level of ICT adoption readiness, establishing the level of ICT policy implementation and examining the relationship between ICT adoption readiness and ICT policy implementation. A cross-sectional survey research design employing both quantitative and qualitative approaches was used. A sample of 232 teachers was selected from both private and public secondary schools using simple random sampling technique to participate in the study. Three District Inspectors of Schools (DIS) selected purposively also participated in the study. A questionnaire containing closed ended questions was used to collect quantitative data from the teachers, while an interview guide was used to obtain qualitative responses from the DIS. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics: frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations, while the qualitative data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The results revealed a moderate overall level of ICT adoption readiness (M = 42.19, SD = 10.10), a moderate overall level of ICT policy implementation (M = 85.11, SD = 9.88), and a significant moderate positive relationship (r = .50, p < .01) between ICT adoption readiness and ICT policy implementation. From the results it was concluded that secondary schools in Mayuge District were in the early stages of domestication of ICT and ICT policy implementation. It was recommended that concerted effort be directed towards improving schools’ ICT adoption readiness in order to improve ICT policy implementation.
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    Locus of control as a predictor of academic attitudes among secondary school science teacher trainees at a public university in Uganda
    (International Journal of Educational Policy Research and Review, 2017) Atibuni, Dennis Zami; Ssenyonga, Joseph; Kani Olema, David; Kemeza, Imelda
    A host of factors often determines academic attitudes among learners. This quantitative study using cross-sectional survey design was conducted to establish the prediction effect of locus of control on academic attitudes among secondary school science teacher trainees at a public university in Uganda. Data were collected from a census of 203 students using structured questionnaires comprising a biodata section, Locus of Control Scale and Academic Attitudes Scale. Analysis was done using SPSS, and information was presented in tables and later described. Results showed that the trainees used mainly external locus of control and had generally moderately negative academic attitudes. Locus of control significantly predicted academic attitudes (t = -2.595, p = .010). Further analysis revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in academic attitudes between students originating from rural areas and those from urban areas. It was concluded that the use of external locus of control shifted responsibility of academic issues from the students to other external causes which likely resulted in counterproductive view the science and hence negative academic attitudes among the students.It is recommended that trainees need to be educated before and during pre-service training to appreciate teaching as a noble profession, and that trainees with the right disposition should be selected at entry to preservice training so as to foster the needed changes in science and technology education for national socioeconomic transformation.
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    Posttraumatic Cognitions, Avoidance Coping, Suicide, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Adolescent Refugees
    (Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013) Ssenyonga, Joseph; Owens, Vicki; Kani Olema, David
    This cross-sectional survey examined posttraumatic cognitions, avoidance coping, suicide and trauma-related disorders of Congolese adolescent refugees in Nakivale refugee settlement. We interviewed 89 adolescents (aged 18-24 years; 62.9% females) using the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory, Coping Response Inventory, MINI suicidality scale and Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostics Survey. Forty-four (49.4%) adolescent satisfied the PTSD diagnostic criteria. Twenty-six adolescents (29.2%) had moderate to high current suicide risk. Significant predictors including negative cognitions about self, emotional discharge, and acceptance or resignation explained 33.6 percent of the variance in PTSD symptom severity. About 50.8 percent of the variance in PTSD was explained by risk factors including age, trauma load, and negative cognitions about self. The findings suggest that for the adolescent refugees, negative appraisal and avoidance coping strategies used subsequent to trauma exposure have implication for current psychological wellbeing. Therefore there is need to provide psychological intervention to address these maladaptive posttraumatic problems.
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    Posttraumatic Growth, Resilience, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Among Refugees
    (Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013) Ssenyonga, Joseph; Owens, Vicki; Kani Olema, David
    The study examined posttraumatic growth, resilience and PTSD among a random sample of 426 (mean age: 35 years; 51.6% females) Congolese refugees resident at Nakivale camp, using a cross-sectional survey. Interviews were conducted using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and Posttraumatic Diagnostic Survey. Prevalence of PTSD was 61.7%, with 58.6% female reporting PTSD. Female gender, low education level, and trauma load were significant predictors of PTSD. The regression model accounted for 12.2 percent of the variance in PTSD. Resilience, posttraumatic growth, number of displacements and trauma load were significant predictors accounting for 6.1 percent of the variance in PTSD symptom severity. There were no significant differences in the resilience and posttraumatic growth of refugees with and without PTSD. The high prevalence of PTSD is partly explained by risk factors including trauma load. Our findings also point to the protective role of resilience and posttraumatic growth among refugees.
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    Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Transformative Teaching and Learning in the Face of COVID-19: A Case of Busitema University-Faculty of Science and Education
    (Direct Research Journal of Education and Vocational Studies, 2022) Kaweesi, Muhamadi; Kani Olema, David; Zami Atibuni, Dennis; Manyiraho, Deborah
    Following the lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Uganda through the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) and the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) rolled out a policy that required universities and their disparate academic faculties to, among other things, transform from the traditional face to face teaching and learning to the virtual online format. As such, the second semester of the academic year 2019/2020 for undergraduate academic programmes was delivered through distance learning (DL) as opposed to classroom learning (CL). Considering this sudden shift, several issues came into play and this quantitative empirical study that employed a questionnaire survey was carried out to shed some light on how students at the Faculty of Science and Education, Busitema University-Nagongera campus perceived institutional readiness to implement transformative (online) teaching and learning in the face of COVID-19. This study was inspired by concerns highlighted in publications and studies, as well as the voices of various stakeholders, that online teaching and learning inside regional institutions appear to have begun with inadequate preparation. According to the findings, research participants observed gaps in institutional readiness for transformative teaching and learning in the areas of human resources, self-development, technological readiness, and innovation readiness. We urge that lecturers and students be open-minded, adaptable, and motivated in self-development in order to adapt their teaching and learning approaches to the online environment. Campus leadership, through continuous online training programmes are also urged to focus on altering lecturers' and students’ mindsets to help them understand that the future of higher education systems involves the online environment, and that online teaching and learning has become the new normal.
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    Traumatic Experiences and PTSD Among Adolescent Congolese Refugees in Uganda: A Preliminary Study
    (Journal of Psychology in Africa, 2012) Ssenyonga, Joseph; Owens, Vicki; Kani Olema, David
    The study examined experienced traumatic events and the related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) amongst a sample of 89 adolescent Congolese refugees (56 females and 33 males) at a refugee camp in Uganda. Data was collected using a questionnaire, and analyzed for trauma moderation by demographics and mediation by PTSD symptom scores. Findings indicate a prevalence of PTSD of 49.4% overall, with 75% of the female refugees meeting the PTSD criteria. The refugees with PTSD had high intrusive, avoidance and arousal scores, in addition to moderate to severe PTSD symptom severity scores. Trauma load was a significant predictor of PTSD among adolescent refugees. Our findings point to the high prevalence of PTSD resulting from an increased trauma load and being a female.