School mapping and the quality of education in government aided primary schools in Kawempe Division, Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the influence of school mapping as a planning tool on the quality of education in government aided primary schools in Kawempe Division, Kampala District. It was guided by four objectives namely: to investigate how distribution of schools influence the quality of education, to find out the contribution that instructional materials have on the quality of education, to establish the contribution of availability of teachers on the quality of primary education and to assess the contribution of infrastructure on to the quality of primary education in Kawempe division. A cross sectional survey design using both qualitative and quantitative approaches was used. Population and sample size were as follows: 13headteachers, 6 education officials and civil servants, 144 teachers and 99 School Management Committee members. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and interview guide. It was analysed using frequency counts, percentages, and data reduction method for interviews. The research hypotheses were tested using a Chi square test commonly known as Goodness- of -fit. The findings revealed that school mapping has a significant contribution on the quality of education. It was revealed that distribution of schools, availability of instructional materials, availability of teachers and school infrastructures have significance on the quality of primary schools in Kawempe Division. Conclusions were: that distribution of schools enhances accessibility of education to learners and improves parental involvement, that availability of instructional materials fosters cognitive development of pupils because it encourages a variety of teaching methods by the teachers and attracts pupils’ involvement and participation in the learning and teaching processes, that availability of teachers leads to adequate teacher pupils ration hence enhancing individual attention to pupils, and finally that school infrastructure have important ingredients on the quality of education as they influence perceptions, attitude of the pupils, teachers and parents which are consequential to quality of education. Four recommendations are made: equitable distribution of schools in relation to geographical and demographic factors, planning for adequate and provision of instructional materials, provision of enough qualified teachers regardless of the grade of the school neither geographical location nor socio-economic statuses of schools and that school facilities grant (SFG) should provide standard infrastructures with constant renovations so as to enlist conducive school learning conditions.