SELECTED SCHOOL BASED FACTORS’ INFLUENCE ON VALUE ADDITION IN SECONDARY EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN RACHUONYO SOUTH SUB-COUNY, HOMABAY COUNTY, KENYA

Educational accountability has mainly focused on final academic performance in judging schools’ effectiveness without regard to where the students started. Judging schools' effectiveness solely based on final academic performance is unfair to school systems. Hence, the need to determine value addition in secondary education taking into consideration KCPE scores as intake abilities and KCSE scores as exit abilities. Moreover, public secondary schools in Rachuonyo South Sub-County recorded the highest negative academic progresses, -3.262 and -3.745, in the secondary education of 2013 and 2014 cohorts in Homa Bay County. However, the cause of the negative academic progresses is unknown. Hence, there is need to examine selected school-based factors’ influence on value addition in the secondary education of the two cohorts. The objectives of the study are to examine performance appraisal’s influence on value addition in secondary education; to examine continuous assessments’ influence on value addition in secondary education and to examine classroom push and pull factors’ influence on value addition in secondary education. A conceptual model developed from the basic model of school effectiveness by Scheerens (2000) and a correlational research design guided the study. The sample of the study comprised 49 Deputy Principals, 49 Directors of Studies and 780 students randomly sampled. Primary data were collected using questionnaires. Findings revealed that TPAD (β=0.386, p=0.029) and CPP (β=0.364, p=0.034) have positive significant relationships with value addition, while CATs have insignificant relationship with value addition (β1=0.277, p=0.104) for 2013 cohort. For 2014 cohort, TPAD (β=0.633, p=0.000) and CATs (β=0.356, p=0.02) have positive significant relationships with value addition, while CPP has insignificant relationship with value addition (β=0.22, p=0.136). Moreover, findings revealed that school-based factors contributed to 19% and 38% variance in academic achievements of the 2013 and 2014 cohorts respectively. The findings of the study may be used as a tool for school improvement, checking school progress and accountability, informing policymaking, reporting to parents and the community about school.  Article visualizations

Information Communication Technology Devices for Agricultural Information Dissemination among Smallholder Farmers in Uganda (Rubanda, Mayuge Districts, and Mbarara City)

Agriculture continues to be the main source of livelihood in developing countries and smallholder farming is the most common type of agriculture practice supporting more than 70% of the population. On the other hand, information and communication technology (ICT) is quickly growing as its helping to connect easier and faster; thus, a dire need to harness it in promoting the agricultural sector. This study investigated the Information Communication Technology Devices for Agricultural Information Dissemination among Smallholder Farmers in Uganda (Rubanda, Mayuge Districts, And Mbarara City). The study adopted a cross-sectional research design that comprised a mixed methods approach of quantitative and qualitative. The instrument for this study consisted of structured questionnaires and interviews. More so, available reports and records were explored. The questionnaire was subjected to face and content validity and reliability test. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages. Findings show that the leading types of ICT devices for agricultural information dissemination in Rubanda District, Mayuge District, and Mbarara City were mobile phones and radios. The study recommends that the most important information to farmers should always be disseminated via phone conversation, texting, and radio for broadcast agricultural-related programs in respective local language

Mobile Telephony as an ICT Tool for Agricultural Information Dissemination in Developing Countries: A Review

In emerging nations, the use of information and communication technology has considerably benefitted the advancement of agriculture, health, rural development, and education. This technique has had a considerable impact on the way agriculture is developed in third-world countries. For information on the weather and prices, farmers now have direct access to the market, buyers, customers, and the metrological department. Information and communication technology has increased farmer incomes all over the world. It is now vital to provide access to facilities and introduce technology to rural areas where farmers lack knowledge, information, and skills regarding this technology. Several studies have also demonstrated that the adoption of information and communication technology tools in agricultural production has increased agricultural productivity. A few of the major problems and challenges that farmers encounter includes inadequate information transfer, poor agricultural practices, record reconciliation between farmers, the government, and traders, and a lack of understanding of the best farming technique

Classroom Push and Pull Factors’ Influence on Value Addition in Secondary Education in Public Secondary Schools in Rachuonyo South Sub-County, Kenya

Purpose: The study sought to examine classroom push and factors’ influence on value addition in secondary educations of 2013 and 2014 cohorts in public secondary schools in Rachuonyo South Sub- County. Methodology: The study adopted correlational research design to measure and describe the degree of association between independent and dependent variable data sets. The populations for the study were 44 public secondary schools and 4351 students. Yamane’s formula was used to determine 39 public secondary schools from where 10 students were simple randomly sampled from each candidate class to represent a cohort apiece. The total sample of students in the study was 780. Data were collected using a researcher modified What Is Happening In Classroom Questionnaire (WIHICQ). Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics (frequencies, means) and inferential statistics (simple linear regression analysis) with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) V.25 software. Findings: Regression analysis revealed that classroom push and pull factors account for up to 16% change in value addition in secondary education of the 2013 cohort and that classroom push and pull factors (P≤.05; β=0.386) have a weak significant positive relationship with value addition in secondary education of 2013 cohort. For the 2014 cohort, regression analysis revealed that classroom push and pull factors account for 10% change in value addition in secondary education and that classroom push and pull factors (P≤.05; β=0.358) have a weak significant positive relationship with value addition in secondary education. Unique contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study examines the relationship between classroom push and pull factors and value addition in secondary education in Kenya based on Bowlby’s (1969) Attachment Theory. The analysis highlights how classroom relationships among students and teachers shape students’ academic progress in Kenya while providing insights that may inform research in comparable to other countries’ contexts

Analysis of E-Exams performance under COVID-19 Pandemic at Kabale University, Uganda

There has been a shift in the mode of conducting exams from the physical appearance of students to the electronic examinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents the experiences in the management of e-exams as part of the summative evaluation of students. This was achieved by establishing the readiness strategies for managing e-exams, determining the performance of e-exams management and ascertaining the challenges faced during the management of e-exams. Objectives one and three were achieved by reviewing secondary data gathered from various reports from the University and objective two was achieved by analysing the primary data from the e-learning system. The results of the study indicated that Kabale University was strategically positioned to conduct e-exams through university policies, management support, infrastructural acquisition, competent human resource, technical and awareness training of staff and students. The      performance rates of e-exams varied from one faculty to another with the least and most attendance rates being 88.62% and 96.85% respectively, and with an overall performance of 92.18% at the university level. Regardless of the success stories, the study identified challenges which the university is already resolving and others that need more attention. The study identified that the e-exam took the form of multiple-choice questions and take-home exams. The challenges were technical e.g., lack of equipment, unreliable Internet and electricity problems; economical e.g., lack of money to buy data; social e.g., lack of conducive environment to sit for examinations at homes and integrity e.g., difficult to confirm the authenticity of the examinees’ identity. The paper recommends the exploration of viable solutions that support      diverse forms of e-exams while regulating exam malpractices, like enabling software applications that limit the students’ ability to navigate and search through the computer and internet, live proctoring option to monitor candidates and having response teams to attend to examinee

Exploring Undergraduate Research Projects Success Factors in Muni University, Uganda

This paper presents the success factors for undergraduate research projects (URPs) at Muni University. The objectives of the study were to determine the relevant skills required for the success of undergraduate research projects and investigate the roles of students, supervisors and faculty towards the success of URPs. Questionnaires were administered to a population of 70 final-year students. SPSS-v.21 program was used to analyse the data collected. The research instrument was reliable at Chronbach’s alpha 0.9038. Results showed that research, research environment, research management, personal effectiveness, communication, networking and teamwork skills are paramount to the success of URPs. The study found out that the key stakeholders (students, supervisors and faculty) perform their roles throughout the project period. However, there’s a need to have a mechanism for project tracking, filing complaints, and having URPs externally examined among others

Entrepreneurship skills application among ICT Graduates of Muni University, Uganda

The study aimed at investigating the acquisition and application levels of entrepreneurial skills acquired by ICT graduates from Muni University. This study specifically: identifies the entrepreneurial skills acquired by Muni University ICT Graduates; assess the entrepreneurial competency levels of Muni University ICT Graduates; examines the impact of the entrepreneurial skills acquired by Muni University ICT Graduates; evaluates the gaps in the entrepreneurial skills acquired among Muni University ICT Graduates. Questionnaires were administered to a population of 60 former students of Bachelor of Information Systems and Bachelor of Science in Information Technology who graduated from Muni University under the faculty of Technoscience. The graduates that formed the study population were selected, based on their online-availability, from two graduation cohorts of 2017 and 2018. Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (v.21) program was used to analyse the data. The research instrument was reliable at Chronbach’s alpha 0.960. The results of the study identified that the key entrepreneurship skills acquired by Muni University ICT graduates are: innovativeness; business and economic management; human relations and interpersonal skills; and communication skills. The study assessed the entrepreneurial competency levels of ICT graduates of Muni University rated against the industrial expectations. The results show that the graduates are competent in: computer literacy and information technology (ICT applications); creativity, innovation and opportunity identification; life skills (problem solving, time management, decision making, ability to learn and change management); literacy and numeracy among others. The study examined the impact of the entrepreneurial skills acquired by Muni University ICT Graduates and the results show that the graduates had: advanced in their career; acquired jobs; interest in setting their own business; the required knowledge to start businesses; demonstrated innovativeness and problem-solving ability. The study also evaluated the gaps in entrepreneurship skills acquired by ICT graduates of Muni University and the results indicate that the graduates had challenges in: getting finances or loans for starting a new business venture; communications like returning phone calls and emails; taking lead in a group and risk management. The ICT curriculum designers in Muni University should use the findings of this research to improve the curriculum in the courses that relate to entrepreneurship. There is need for the entrepreneurship learning facilitators to: train learners in numerical problem solving; equip learners with information and knowledge on business proposal writing and securing start-up finances; encourage learners to run and grow new business ventures. Acquisition of innovative skills such as creativity, critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills to ICT students for job creation should be upheld. In conclusion, ICT graduates of Muni University obtain the necessary entrepreneurial skills required by the ICT entrepreneurial industry. There is a need to continuously conduct more similar studies with other subsequent graduates in order to track the application of entrepreneurial skills by the ICT graduates of Muni University. The researchers also recommend an establishment of system to track Muni University alumni

Migration and the Anxieties of Belonging: Diasporic Identity in Ike Oguine’s a Squatter’s Tale and Cristina Farah’s Little Mother

This article examines the aftermath of the movement of Africans to the West. Many Africans have continued to migrate from their African countries to Western countries for a variety of reasons; employment, education, exiles seeking asylum. Basically, the diaspora has morphed from involuntary or forceful migration to voluntary. By and large, this movement, which in a way is a self-displacement and forceful displacement, impacts the diasporans’ attachment to their homelands and hostlands. The attachment or lack of it brings out the unbelonging and belonging to the homelands and hostlands.  Diasporans are people who have migrated from their home of origin. These are people who are trying to assimilate and or attempting to settle in their new lands.  This article is a qualitative and library-based research which aims to discuss Ike Oguine’s a Squatter’s Tale and Cristina Ali Farah’s Little Mother. The study employs post-colonial and psychoanalytic theories within the interpretivist approach. This approach focuses on the meaning attributed to attitudes, relationships and occurrences. The interpretive method assumes that social phenomena are constructs that are negotiated and widely shared. This study focuses on the characters’ sense of belonging and unbelonging to the homelands and the hostlands as well as their otherization. This study explores the prejudices, discriminations and racism the diasporans are subjected to which culminates into the unbelongingness. Consequently, the diasporans are subjected to alienation, which is a prime catalyst for otherization, marginalization, exclusion and segregation in Western countries. Besides, the people in the homelands might erase the diasporans from their memorie

Assessing Medical Students’ Learning Style Preferences at Kabale University Medical School, Uganda

This article is based on an empirical study conducted to assess and establish the preferred learning styles of medical students in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Kabale University. The study was prompted by a paradigm shift in teaching-learning strategies from the conventional knowledge-based medical curriculum to competency-based medical education (CMBE). In line with the learners’ diversity and inclusion, CBME liberalises the learning environment by providing a variety of learning methods. Hence, the aim of this study was to ascertain the preferences of medical students’ learning styles in relation to the competency-based learning approaches. Procedurally, the study employed online survey methods, and the respondents included 160 medical (MBChB) students, all from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. The data collected were captured on SPSS version 26 and subjected to t-test analysis. Besides, Visual, Aural, Read-Write, and Kinaesthetic (VARK) learning inventory was used to determine the students’ learning preferences, while a t-test was used to establish the relationships between the demographic profiles and the learning styles. Notably, the Aural learning style produced the highest mean score of 7.21 ± 3.61, followed by Kinaesthetic (6.43 ± 3.22), Read-Write (6.12 ± 2.23) and Visual (4.04 ± 2.42). Relatively, t-test results showed significant (p < 0.05) differences in learning styles between pre-clinical and clinical students. However, the t-test results for gender factors for all the learning dimensions were insignificant (p > 0.05). Pre-clinical students prefer visual and read-write learning styles, while clinical students prefer kinaesthetic and visual learning styles. Based on the findings, this study believes that identifying the learners’ preferred learning styles will help educators choose the most effective teaching methods