Educational broadcasting and socio- economic development of rural communities in Mbarara District, Uganda

Abstract

The elimination of poverty, increased productivity and employment is only possible with improvements in socio-economic development which however, remains dismal to the rural communities of Mbarara District. The study as its main purpose examined the influence of educational community radio broadcasting on socio-economic development among rural communities of Mbarara district so as to derive a framework for broadcasting to enhance socio-economic development among listeners. The study as a methodological stance adopted a cross sectional survey design followed both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Questionnaire, open-ended and interviews and focus group discussion methods were used. The data was collected using questionnaires from 250 randomly selected, interview guides and focus group discussion tools were applied. The data was analysed at descriptive and inferential levels using SPSS Version 20.0. The results showed that education broadcasting related to government programmes (β = 0.283, p = 0.03) had a significant positive influence on the socio-economic development of rural communities in Mbarara district. The study recommends among others the need for management of community radios in collaboration with media team to prioritize broadcasts that promote children immunization in addition to agricultural practices as well as embracing listenership to radio programs that provide information on sanitation and hygiene as a health promotion tool.