Parents' and teachers' perception of the Universal Secondary Education policy implementation in Mukono and Kayunga districts in Uganda

Abstract

This study was set out to investigate Parents' and Teachers' perception of Universal Secondary Education (USE) policy implementation in Uganda since this is a new innovation in the education sector whose implementation brought mixed feelings among the key stakeholders (Parents and Teachers). The study was set out to: find out the benefits of USE to both Parents and Teachers; establish whether Parents and Teachers significantly differ in the way they perceive USE policy implementation; find out whether personal variables of Parents and Teachers such as age, sex and others significantly influence their perception of USE policy implementation; find out whether teachers in government and private schools significantly differ in the way they perceive USE policy implementation; and establish Parents' and Teachers' views on how USE policy implementation could be improved. The study carried was out in Mukono and Kayunga Districts which involved the use of a descriptive survey design with both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Data was collected from 471 respondents of which 93 were parents, 65 teachers of USE government schools, 75 teachers of USE private secondary schools, 70 teachers of Non - USE government secondary schools, 90 teachers of non - USE private secondary schools and 78 key informats using a structured self – administered questionnaire and an interview guide for key informats. The Data collected from hypothesis one and five were analysed using frequencies and percentages as it was from open-ended questions, while that from hypothesis two, three and four were analysed using Analysis of Variance (ANOV A) to determine the level of significance of personal variables versus parents' and teachers, perception of USE. The findings of the study indicated that both parents and teachers have benefited significantly from USE implementation though differently. They also revealed that parents and teachers significantly differ in their perception of USE implementation. They indicated that all personal variables of parents and teachers significantly influence their perception of USE implementation, although some variables have more influence than others. On the other hand, teachers of government and private schools differ in their perception of USE policy implementation. Lastly, the research findings revealed that there were a few differences between Parents' and Teachers' suggestions of how USE implementation could be improved. From the findings of the study, the researcher concluded that; 1. Both parents and teachers have significantly benefited from USE implementation. 2. Parents and teachers do significantly differ in their perception of USE implementation. 3. All personal variables significantly influence the parents' and teachers' perception of USE although some variables such as education level and number of dependants have more significant influence on the parents' and teachers' perception of USE implementation than the rest. 4. Teachers in government and private schools do significantly differ in their perception of USE, but those in government and private USE schools, and those in government and private non-USE schools had no significant perception differences. 5. Both Parents and Teachers have similar suggestions for improving USE policy implementation which can lead to the successful implementation of the policy. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that: there should be massive sensitisation of all stakeholders to enable them play their roles adequately; there should be rational increment of teachers' salaries and promptness in payment; there should be adequate and timely release of USE funds, with annual increment in subscription per student to cater for inflation; strengthening the inspection and monitoring of USE school and funds; providing enough infrastructure and instructional resources to match with the increased enrollment; recruitment of more teachers to reduce the student-teacher ratio; and introduction of USE at A-level as well as modifying the secondary school curriculum to impart more technical skills to students for self-reliance. The researcher recommended the following areas for further research: The impact of USE on teachers' commitment and job satisfaction in government aided USE schools; The contribution of Parents' and Teachers' Associations (P.T.A) and Board of Governors (B.O.G) in the implementation of USE policy; Evaluation of USE policy implementation; and The effect of UPE and USE on the quality of education in Uganda.