Mentorship and teachers’ effectiveness in secondary schools; a comparative analysis of government-aided and private secondary schools in Gulu city council

Abstract

This study examined mentorship and teachers’ effectiveness, a comparative analysis of government-aided and private secondary schools in Gulu city council. The study was based on the following research objectives; that is; To assess the mentorship programs in selected government-aided and private secondary schools in Gulu city council, To examine the indicators of teachers’ effectiveness in selected government-aided and private secondary schools in Gulu city council, To establish the relationship of mentorship on teachers’ effectiveness in the selected government-aided and private secondary schools in Gulu city council, and null hypothis was tested. The study adopted an explanatory sequential research design. The study population included the Head teachers, Deputy Head teachers, Directors of Studies, Heads of Department and Teachers comprising of 160 respondents from whom a sample size of 146 participants were selected comprising of 10 head teachers, 10 deputy head teachers, 10 directors of studies, 28 head of departments, and 88 teachers. The respondents considered were selected using purposive sampling and simple random sampling. Questionnaires were administered to deputy head teachers, head of departments and teachers while interview guides were administered to the head teachers and director of studies. The study revealed that, Government-aided Secondary Schools (GASSs) embraced teachers’ mentorship in their school management. Furthermore, it was noted that, there is high level of teachers’ effectiveness as a result of mentorship programs. Results also revealed that government-aided secondary schools had more experienced teachers with enough skills for mentorship than their private counterparts. However, there is a strong positive significant association of mentorship on teachers’ effectiveness in both GASSs and PSSs. The use of school families, peer mentorship, and support supervision had big impacts on effectiveness of teachers and the performance of students. Furthermore, it was confirmed that, schools in Gulu city consider mentorship in their teaching and learning timetables. The study concluded that, compared to private secondary schools, Government-aided secondary schools have more experienced teachers with enough expertise and skills of mentorship and the teachers are more effective in government schools. It was recommended that, Secondary school administrators in Gulu city should adopt and provide the required space and skills for mentorship because mentorship boosts teachers’ effectiveness to enable them achieve their educational goals There is need for the school administrators to collaborate with the MOES to facilitate continuous professional development for all secondary school teachers on mentorship. In addition, MOES should employ and evenly distribute qualified and experienced teachers to government-aided secondary schools in order to boost mentorship programs.