Browsing by Author "Kaweesi, Muhamadi"

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    The Culture-Research Nexus: Stakeholders’ Perceptions of the Connection between Disciplinary Cultures and Research Choices in Higher Education
    (African Journal of Education and Practice, 2018) Kaweesi, Muhamadi; Bisaso, Ronald; Ezati, Betty Akullu
    Within the higher education discourse, the critical role of disciplinary cultures in influencing organisational departmentalisation; shaping the academic profession; and in informing academic leadership has been underscored. However, the connection between disciplinary cultures and research choices seems to be underreported. The study explored key stakeholders’ perceptions of this connection in Uganda’s research-led flagship academic institution, Makerere University. The purpose was to ascertain whether and how the espoused disciplinary practices, values and beliefs inform the research choices of academics across disciplinary fields. We adopted a qualitative, intrinsic case study design that was rooted in social constructivism philosophy and guided by an interpretivist paradigm. Professorial staff and Institutional level senior research managers constituted the sample. Data were collected using in-depth interviews from four Full Professors, eight Associate Professors, and two institutional level senior research managers. We then triangulated data sources with documents checks. We analysed data thematically. Findings: Findings reveal that although there is a connection between disciplinary cultures and research choices, the ethos of producing knowledge at the very basic level has more influence on academics' research choices. This is because, across disciplinary fields, research is more understood in terms of journal articles. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: We recommend that if the University is to perfect her research-led status, there is need to popularise cultures that would promote the production of diverse knowledge in order to enhance the contribution of the University to national socio-economic development. This could be achieved by revising the existing research policies to ensure that when academics are being assessed for promotion, they should be assessed on a broader criterion that includes number of publications and contribution to policy and the community.
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    School Policy Commitments to Staff and Students’ Welfare: A Case Study of Public Secondary Schools in Iganga District, Uganda
    (Research and Advances in Education, 2022) Nabirye, Rose; Muweesi, Charles; Kaweesi, Muhamadi; Tomusange, Robert; Cuiying, Wang; Isabirye, Christopher; Mugenyi, Kuteesa D.; Kabasiita, Jessica
    The study was carried out on school policy commitments to staff and students’ welfare in public secondary schools in Iganga District, Uganda with focus on: the indicators of need for school policy commitment to teachers and students’ welfare as well as establishing the effect in a qualitative approach using interviews. The findings indicate that effective school discipline procedures support kids’ decision-making and academic attention. Teenagers that receive sex education are better able to grasp their biological makeup and become more mature. Thus, the sex education policy aids in informing and educating children about puberty and gives them confidence to speak up when boundaries are crossed. Breakfast and lunch are provided to every student in practically every public secondary school. An after-school snack and dinner are also offered to those taking part in extra-curricular activities. Therefore, students are better able to concentrate on studying when they feel comfortable. Students need to be disciplined to make significant academic progress, yet many institutions struggle in this area. Results show that teachers who emphasize timelines in finishing activities end up failing to finish syllabi.
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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.