Quality of education of secondary schools under secondary education development program (SEDP).

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to analyze the quality of education of secondary schools established under Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP) in comparison to private schools in Karagwe District. Specifically, the study determined the perception of community members (students, teachers, and parents) toward public ward secondary schools; also a comparison of academic performance between public ward and private secondary schools in rural and urban areas was made. Teaching practices and environment that promote quality of education in schools were also examined. It was an exploratory study which used a cross-sectional approach. The study was carried under two phases. Phase one of the study involved pilot study and the second phase involved structured questionnaire surveys which used as the major tool for data collection. Other instruments used were interview and observation schedules, likert scale, Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) checklist and documentary review. The study was carried in eight secondary schools purposefully selected out of 46 secondary schools in Karagwe District. Four of the selected schools were under SEDP while the other four were private schools. It involved 377 respondents who were purposefully and randomly sampled. The Statistical Package for Social Science was used to analyze quantitative data whereas Content Analysis was used for qualitative data. The study reveals that all community members (students, teachers and parents) had positive attitude toward ward secondary schools. The study findings reveal that the quality of education in public ward and private secondary schools was relatively poor. However, the study reveals that active and participatory teaching and learning methods were not frequently used, in all schools. The study also highlighted teaching environment for improving the provision of quality education. Finally, the study highlighted practical recommendations on different educational stakeholders.