Browsing by Author "Oonyu, Joseph"

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    Assuring the Quality of Teaching at Makerere University in Uganda: Practices and Experiences of Academics and Students
    (Alternation Journal, 2016) Nabaho, Lazarus; Aguti, Jessica N.; Oonyu, Joseph
    Quality is an ethos in academia and assuring it is top of the agenda at many universities. Since the 1990s, substantial research has been conducted on the quality assurance systems of developed countries with advanced higher education systems. However, literature on quality assurance systems in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa is limited. The study examined the practices and experiences of stakeholders at the student-academic interface in assuring the quality of teaching at Makerere University. A case study design was employed and respondents included academics and final-year students. Data was collected through documents review, interviews and focus group discussions. Thematic analysis and content analysis were used to analyse the data. The findings demonstrate that the university employs five practices to assure the quality of teaching, namely, recognition of teaching, student evaluation of teaching, pedagogical training, monitoring and supervision of teaching, competence-based deployment and interfacing. The findings further show that stakeholders had varying experiences of teaching quality assurance practices.
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    Head Teacher’s Leadership Styles and the Quality of Teacher Support Supervision
    (International Journal of Education and Research, 2016) Tibagwa, Kate Norah; Onen, David; Oonyu, Joseph
    This paper examines the relationship between head teacher’s leadership styles and the quality of support supervision offered to teachers in primary schools in Mid-western Uganda. The study was driven by the need to establish the largely and widely held belief that school heads make a difference on instructional effectiveness of teachers through effective leadership and the kind of support supervision they provide teachers in their schools. The researchers employed a correlational cross-sectional survey design in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a study sample of 320 teachers and 20 educational administrators using questionnaire survey and interview methods. The data were analysed with the use of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques as well as content analysis method. Study results revealed that both people-oriented, and task-oriented styles of leadership have statistically significant correlation (r = .566, p = .000) and (r = .536, p = .000) respectively, with the quality of teacher support supervision. But laissez-faire style of leadership has a statistically weak correlation (r = .117, p = .057) with the quality of teacher support supervision. The researchers thus concluded that the type of leadership styles that school heads use have a bearing on the quality of teacher support supervision. Consequently, it was recommended that school heads should make use of appropriate leadership styles to suit situations, needs and developmental aspirations of teachers as well as the needs of the primary schools they serve.
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    Instructional Supervision and the Pedagogical Practices of Secondary School Teachers in Uganda
    (Journal of Education and Practice, 2016) Malunda, Paul; Onen, David; Musaazi, John C. S.; Oonyu, Joseph
    This paper looks at the effect of instructional supervision by school authorities on the pedagogical practices of teachers in public secondary schools in Uganda. To date, research into this field in the country has focused more on the technicalities of supervision rather than on how the teachers have been responding to it. The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, in which both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis were applied. Study respondents included 934 teachers randomly selected from 95 public secondary schools, 76 head teachers, and two officials from the Directorate of Education Standards of the Ministry of Education and Sports. Ordered logistic regression technique was used to establish the effect of instructional supervision on the pedagogical practices of teachers. Findings of the study revealed that both classroom observation (odd ratio=4.1; p=0.000<0.05) and portfolio supervision (odd ratio=2.3; p=0.000<0.05) have statistically significant effect on the pedagogical practices of teachers in public secondary schools in Uganda. Furthermore, the study established that school authorities were inadequately carrying out instructional supervision, thereby leaving teachers to employ ineffective pedagogical practices. The study concluded that teachers’ pedagogical practices are dependent on the manner in which they are supervised, other factor notwithstanding. Therefore, in order to augment the pedagogical practices of teachers, school inspection by the Directorate of Education Standards should be increased and regular in-service training needs to be provided to head teachers as well as subject heads on how to conduct classroom observations and portfolio supervision in schools.
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    Making Sense of an Elusive Concept: Academics’ Perspectives of Quality in Higher Education
    (Higher Learning Research Communications, 2011) Nabaho, Lazarus; Aguti, Jessica N.; Oonyu, Joseph
    Since the 1990s studies on how stakeholders in higher education perceive quality have burgeoned. Nevertheless, the majority of studies on perception of quality in higher education focus on students and employers. The few studies on academics’ perceptions of quality in higher education treat academics as a homogeneous group and, therefore, do not point out cross-disciplinary perspectives in perceptions of quality. This article explores how academics across six disciplines perceive quality in higher education. Method: The article is anchored in the interpretivist paradigm. Data was collected from 14 purposely selected academics at Makerere University in Uganda and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The findings show that academics perceive quality in higher education as transformation, fitness for purpose, and exceptional. The findings further demonstrate that a stakeholder group or an individual stakeholder can subscribe to a notion of quality in higher education but voice divergent views on its variants. Similarly, the academic discipline, the perceived purpose of higher education, and the problems within a higher education system have an influence on stakeholders’ conception of quality in higher education. Conclusions: From the findings it can be inferred that quality in higher education defies a single definition and that stakeholders’ perceptions of quality do not take place in a vacuum. Implication for Theory and/or Practice: The multidimensional nature of quality and the contestations around it necessitate a multidimensional approach to assuring and assessing it.
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    Making Sense of an Elusive Concept: Academics’ Perspectives of Quality in Higher Education
    (Higher Learning Research Communications, 2017) Nabaho, Lazarus; Aguti, Jessica Norah; Oonyu, Joseph
    Since the 1990s studies on how stakeholders in higher education perceive quality have burgeoned. Nevertheless, the majority of studies on perception of quality in higher education focus on students and employers. The few studies on academics’ perceptions of quality in higher education treat academics as a homogeneous group and, therefore, do not point out cross-disciplinary perspectives in perceptions of quality. This article explores how academics across six disciplines perceive quality in higher education. Method: The article is anchored in the interpretivist paradigm. Data was collected from 14 purposely selected academics at Makerere University in Uganda and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The findings show that academics perceive quality in higher education as transformation, fitness for purpose, and exceptional. The findings further demonstrate that a stakeholder group or an individual stakeholder can subscribe to a notion of quality in higher education but voice divergent views on its variants. Similarly, the academic discipline, the perceived purpose of higher education, and the problems within a higher education system have an influence on stakeholders’ conception of quality in higher education. Conclusions: From the findings it can be inferred that quality in higher education defies a single definition and that stakeholders’ perceptions of quality do not take place in a vacuum. Implication for Theory and/or Practice: The multidimensional nature of quality and the contestations around it necessitate a multidimensional approach to assuring and assessing it.
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    The Mediating Effect of Affective Commitment on the Relationship between Human Resource Management Practices and Turnover Intentions of University Employees
    (Education Quarterly Reviews, 2020) Tumwesigye, Godfrey; Onen, David; Oonyu, Joseph; Musaazi, John C. S.
    In this study, we explored the mediating effect of affective commitment on the relationship between human resource management practices (HRMPs) and the turnover intentions of university employees in Uganda using the theoretical lens of social exchange theory. The study was instigated by reportedly persistent increase in the cases of employee attrition in higher education institutions in Uganda in spite of Government’s attempts to improve the working conditions of the university employees. Using the cross-sectional survey research design, data were collected with the use of an adapted self-administered questionnaire from a sample of 722 academic and non-academic employees of three public and three private universities in Uganda. The results of structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated that HRMPs were significant positive predictors of affective commitment (rewards: β =.225; p<.001), promotions: β =.228; p<.001; and job security: β = .141; p<.001). However, HRM practices were negative predictors of turnover intentions (rewards: β = -.228; p<.001; promotion, β = -.215; p<.001; job security, β = -.138; p<.001). Furthermore, affective commitment was indeed a significant mediator of the relationship between HRMPs and turnover intentions of university employees. These findings made us draw the conclusion that when university employees perceive the institution’s HRMPs to be favourable, they will not only become committed to the organisation but also desire to remain working longer for it. Therefore, we recommend that the university managers in Uganda and similar countries should formulate and practise human resource management styles that do not only spur employee commitment but also enhance staff retention.
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    Organisational Factors as Antecedents of University Academic Staff Research Productivity
    (Journal of Education and Practice, 2020) Hiire, Geoffrey Boaz; Oonyu, Joseph; Kyaligonza, Robert; Onen, David
    This study explored whetherorganisational factors such as technological progress, computer skills, research funding, and human resourceswere significant antecedents of academic staff research productivity in chartered private universities in Uganda. The study stemmed from reportedly low levels of research productivity of the academic staff in private universities in the country in spite of the numerousinterventionsby the Government of Uganda to spur research in both public and private higher education institutions.Using the quantitative approach anddescriptive cross-sectional survey research design, the researchers collected data using a pre-testedselfadministered questionnaire from a sample of 210 academic staff drawn from four out of nine chartered private universities in the country. The data were analysed with the use of appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The study findings showed, among others, that while technological progress (β = 0.425, p = 0.000 < 0.05) and possession of computer skills (β = 0.329, p = 0.000 < 0.05) were positive and significant antecedents of research productivity, research funding (β = -0.003, p = 0.965 < 0.05)and human resources (β = 0.073, p = 0.186 < 0.05) were respectively negative and positive but non-significant antecedents of academic staff’s research productivity in the universities studied. Therefore, it was concluded that although organisational factors, overall, were significant antecedents of university academic staff’s research productivity, some of its elements such as technological progress and possession of computer skills were more significant antecedents than others – implying that in order to boost the research productivity of the academic staff, university managers need to place proportionate emphasis on these factors if they are to create an enabling research environment in their institutions.
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    Teacher Evaluation and Quality of Pedagogical Practices
    (International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 2016) Malunda, Paul; Onen, David; Musaazi, John C. S.; Oonyu, Joseph
    This study explored the extent to which teacher evaluation influences the quality of pedagogical practices in public secondary schools in Uganda. It was triggered by the persistent criticisms about the deteriorating quality of teaching and learning in secondary schools in the country. The study was approached from the positivist research paradigm. However, a descriptive cross-sectional survey research design was specifically used to conduct the study. Data were collected from 76 head teachers and 960 teachers drawn from 95 public secondary schools and two officials from the Uganda’s Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports (MoESTS) using survey and interview methods. Ordered logistic regression and content analysis methods of data analysis were used to establish the influence of teacher evaluation on the quality of pedagogical practices in the schools. Study findings revealed that both formative (coeff. =5.557; p=0.000<.05) and summative (coeff. =3.056; p=0.000<.05) teacher evaluations significantly influence the quality of pedagogical practices in school. Thus, it was concluded that the way teachers teach, is partly determined by how well and regularly they are evaluated, other factors notwithstanding. Therefore, the researchers recommended that in order to enhance the quality of pedagogical practices, MoESTS needs to develop standard formative evaluation tools that can be used for continuous teacher evaluation as well as train head teachers on how to effectively appraise their staff.
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    University Leadership During Times of Significant Transformation: A Case of Kyambogo University in Uganda
    (Journal of Education and Practice, 2017) Namubiru, Gertrude; Onen, David; Oonyu, Joseph
    This study investigated how leadership was exercised at Kyambogo University [KyU] (in Uganda) during its formation that involved the merger of three tertiary institutions and the period immediately thereafter. This was regarded as a period of significant transformation at the institution. The study was prompted by the rampant strikes and protests that the students and staff staged against the University’s leaders during that time. The researchers used the descriptive cross-sectional sample survey design to collect both qualitative and quantitative data through the use of surveys and interview methods from 44 administrators, 201 academic staff, 345 students, and 230 support staff. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis techniques. The study findings indicated that, at that time, KyU leadership lacked a shared vision and common strategies for managing transformation besides being non-collegial and heavily bureaucratic in nature. Secondly, the University was bedeviled with a myriad of leadership challenges related to, amongst others, personality clashes amongst leaders; the problem of red-tape in decision making; the shortage of funds and other resources; and the interference by external agents in the affairs of the University. However, several efforts were also made to avert the crises that the institution experienced at that time. It was thus concluded that the kind of leadership exercised during that time of transformation was partly responsible for the challenges experienced then and probably today. The researchers therefore recommended that the University managers should often develop a shared vision, employ a collegial kind of leadership, and be supportive to different units as well as individuals in the institution. Keywords: leadership, management, transformation, challenges, university
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    Unravelling Quality in Higher Education: What Say the Students?
    (Africa Education Review, 2019) Nabaho, Lazarus; Aguti, Jessica N.; Oonyu, Joseph
    The extant literature on quality assurance in higher education points to a dearth of empirical studies on students’ conceptions of quality in higher education. This interpretivist article reports on a study that explored the conceptions of quality in higher education by final year undergraduate students in six academic disciplines at Makerere University, Uganda. Data for the article was collected from 50 final year students in eight discipline-specific focus group discussions and was analysed using thematic analysis. Four conceptions of quality in higher education were evident from the participants’ responses, namely: quality as transformation (value-added); quality as fitness for purpose; quality as excellence; and quality as consistency/ perfection (zero-errors). Nevertheless, transformation and fitness for purpose featured as the dominant conceptions of quality in higher education and these conceptions of quality did not take place in a vacuum. The students rationalised transformation and fitness for purpose by what they perceived the purpose of higher education to be. The multiple and yet competing purposes of higher education occasioned the two definitions of quality in higher education. Therefore, consensus on the meaning of quality can be hastened by arriving at a common purpose of higher education in a given society rather than engaging with the notions of quality themselves. This thinking presupposes the idea that the purpose of higher education varies across time and space and the definition of quality in higher education should be responsive to the prevailing purpose(s) of higher education in a given society.
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    Written and Non-Written Communication Methods as Correlates of Employee Performance: A Study of Academic Staff of Primary Teachers’ Colleges in Central Uganda
    (Journal of Education and Practice, 2016) Kasande Byakutaga, Beatrice N.; Onen, David; Oonyu, Joseph; Kasesene, Edris S.
    This study delved into how written and non-written communication methods are correlated with the performance of the academic staff of Primary Teachers’ Colleges (PTCs) in Central Uganda. The study was prompted by reportedly the deteriorating performance of the academic staff of most PTCs in the country despite government’s efforts to train and motivate them. The study employed a correlational cross-sectional survey design where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a total of 120 respondents comprised of 5 Principals, 7 Deputy Principals, 13 Heads of Department and 95 members of the Academic Staff using questionnaire survey and interview methods. The data were analyzed with the use of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques as well as content analysis method. Study results revealed that non-written communication methods generally have a statistically weak correlation (r=.380, p=.146) with the performance of the academic staff while written communication methods – whether personally or impersonally addressed - revealed a statistically significant correlation (r=.912, p=.000) with the performance of the academic staff. The researchers thus concluded that the kind of communication methods that managers/administrators employ on their staff have a bearing on how their staff perform their jobs. Thus, it was recommended that colleges’ administrators as well as those concerned with communicating with the academic staff of PTCs should carefully select from the array of available communication methods those that have significant positive correlations with the performance of the staff in order to enhance their job performance as well as that of the entire institution.