Browsing by Author "Ladaah Openjuru, George"

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    Christianity and rural community literacy practices in Uganda
    (Journal of Research in reading, 2007) Ladaah Openjuru, George; Lyster, Elda
    This article is based on a wider ethnographic study1 of local literacy practices in Bweyale, a rural community in Uganda. The general aim of the larger study was to understand, recognise and give value to how rural people use literacy in their everyday lives, to identify the most prominent literacy domains in rural community life and make recommendations as to how understanding of local literacy practices can contribute to more meaningful adult literacy programmes for rural people. The wider study revealed that one of the main areas in which literacy use features prominently in rural community life is in Christian religious practices. Unlike literacy practices in other significant areas such as education and commerce, religious literacy practices are often overlooked, possibly because they do not relate directly to national development concerns and can also be negatively associated with colonialism and evangelism. As a result of national development concerns, adult literacy programmes for rural communities in Uganda, as in most African countries, have tended to focus on economic activities in areas such as agriculture, general household and community livelihoods and on more general development outcomes such as improved health (see Carr-Hill et al., 2001; Fiedrich & Jellema, 2003; Oxenham, Diallo, Katahoire, Mwangi & Sall, 2001; Wagner, 1995). In spite of some important studies revealing the influence of Christianity on rural literacy practices (Kulick & Stroud, 1993; Probst, 1993), religious literacy practices are not generally regarded as significant in informing adult literacy education curricula for rural people. This study confirms that the Christian religion provides the impetus for many literacy activities that occur in rural communities like Bweyale.
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    Hollywood in Uganda: local appropriation of transnational English-language movies
    (Language and Education, 2012) Achen, Stella; Ladaah Openjuru, George
    Hollywood movies are popular in Uganda. This paper reports a study that investigated access to English-language Hollywood movies in Uganda, by way of an ethnographic audience study carried out in slum areas of the city of Kampala. The researchers visited and participated in the watching and reviewing of English-language movies in makeshift video hall shacks, where interpretation of the films into Luganda, the most common local language, took place simultaneously with the viewing of the films. By way of unstructured conversational interviews, descriptions of events, photographs and reviews of movies, the paper examines the practices of interpreting and localising carried out by the hired interpreters (known as Vee-Jays). In particular, it describes how the interpreters operate as mediators who provide access to these English Hollywood movies and examines how the global gets infused into the local through processes of contextualisation of the films. The paper contributes to our understanding of how new forms of cultural representation are created, consumed and shared through digital and other media, and the effects digital technology has on the local movie entertainment industry.
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    The influence of out-of-institution environments on the university schooling project of nontraditional students in Uganda
    (Studies in Higher Education, 2018) Buhwamatsiko Tumuheki, Peace; Zeelen, Jacques; Ladaah Openjuru, George
    Participation and integration of non-traditional students (NTS) in university education is influenced by factors within the institution and those external to the institution, including participants’ self-perceptions and dispositions. The objective of this qualitative study is to draw from the life-world environment component of Donaldson and Graham’s model of college outcomes for adults, to discuss the out-of-institution experiences of NTS participating in university education in Uganda. Findings derive from two elements: first, the social settings of work, family and community including the roles NTS play in these settings. The second element is connected to the first but goes deeper into individual relationships NTS have with important people around them. Both elements were found to be reinforcing and deterring to the NTS’ university schooling project. To this end, we argue that to achieve quality-inclusive university education for all learners, the lifelong learning frameworks must be accentuated, even outside the university.
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    Learning informally: A case for arts in vocational education and training in Uganda
    (ENGAGE, 2022) Openjuru Ladaah, Maxwell; Ladaah Openjuru, George; Sanford, Kathy; De Oliveira Jayme, Bruno; Monk, David
    This paper advocates for the inclusion of the arts in vocational learning programs in Uganda as an integrated form of holistic learning oriented towards empowerment and entrepreneurship. Using community-based research in the context of vocational education and training, our data emerged from open-ended interviews, focus groups and youth-led radio talk shows with stakeholders from public and private sectors, instructors, artists, and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Three significant themes arose from the data collected. First, pathways available to learners to become artists are limited by increasing neoliberal orientations towards education. Second, there is a thriving informal youth-led arts community in northern Uganda empowering young artists to pursue the arts as a livelihood. Third, the arts are socially delegitimated. That is, without ways for learners to generate income from the arts, they are not able to devote their time to learning through the arts, and their artistic endeavors are not recognized as important skills in their communities or in society. Although different, these three themes demonstrate that there is a vibrant space in the informal sector of arts to inform professional practices, that if supported by vocational education and training, have the potential to become important and much needed professional careers in Uganda.
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    Motivations for participation in higher education: narratives of non-traditional students at Makerere University in Uganda
    (International Journal of Lifelong Education, 2016) Buhwamatsiko Tumuheki, Peace; Zeelen, Jacques; Ladaah Openjuru, George
    The objective of this qualitative study was to establish motivations for participation of non-traditional students (NTS) in university education. The findings are drawn from empirical data collected from 15 unstructured in-depth interviews with NTS of the School of Computing and Informatics Technology at Makerere University, and analysed with the aid of qualitative data analysis software ATLAS. ti. Three major findings were established: (1) motivations were found to be multiple, multifaceted and varied for each individual; (2) the sociocultural context of the African society including societal perceptions of university education were found to be the major factor shaping motivations of NTS to upgrade their educational qualifications; and (3) most motivations were found to be extrinsic in nature rather than intrinsic and based more on push rather than pull factors. Yet, although the demand for university education is increasing, life beyond university can no longer guarantee some of the anticipated rewards such as employment and its related benefits. It therefore becomes important that the purpose of education within universities in Africa is directed towards achieving development of the whole human being. In this way, a graduate’s capacity to function will not be seen only in the economic and professional life, but also in other spheres of life.
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    Towards a conceptual framework for developing capabilities of ‘new’ types of students participating in higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa
    (International Journal of Educational Development, 2016) Buhwamatsiko Tumuheki, Peace; Zeelen, Jacques; Ladaah Openjuru, George
    Building on the participation model of Schuetze and Slowey, this study contributes to the public discourse on theoretical considerations for guidance of empirical research on participation of non-traditional students (NTS) in higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Drawing from empirical work at Makerere University Uganda, we found that improving only the institution environment cannot suffice as there are also other factors affecting participation outside the institutional structures. These include family and work environments and context specific factors like perceptions and socio-cultural environment of the Ugandan society. A conceptual model specific to SSA is thus proposed, and the capability approach presented as the most insightful in elucidating the participation realities of NTS in SSA.