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Browsing School of Social Sciences (SSS) Collections by Subject "Academic performance"
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ItemBarriers to effective acadermic performance of pupils in Universal Primary Education Schools in Kakiri, Wakiso District, Uganda(Makerere University, 2023-11) Nawakholi, CarolineEducation is an important mechanism for achieving social and economic development. Governments in many countries in the world have therefore enforced compulsory education to enhance people’s life chances, income, and well-being. Although many children in developing countries have enrolled, many leave primary schools without gaining good academic performance because of the challenges they experience. The purpose of this study was to examine barriers to the effective academic performance of Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools in Kakiri, Wakiso district, Uganda. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: to examine how individual-based barriers undermine the effective academic performance of pupils in UPE schools in Kakiri; to examine how family-based barriers undermine the effective academic performance of pupils in UPE schools; to examine how community-based barriers undermine the effective academic performance of pupils in UPE schools; and to examine how school-based barriers undermine the effective academic performance of pupils in UPE schools in Kakiri, Wakiso district, Uganda. The study adopted a case design with multiple cases, whereby two UPE schools were studied, particularly in the Kakiri sub-county and Kakiri town council. I conducted in-depth interviews with 15 children and 4 key informants to obtain their perspectives on the performance of UPE schools. I also reviewed secondary documents to obtain more information on the academic performance of UPE schools. I analyzed the data using thematic analysis. I used Microsoft Office (Word) to organize different chunks of data under specific categories and themes. The findings are subsequently presented and discussed in reference to existing literature, themes, sub-themes, and quotations generated from the data set. Findings reveal ways in which barriers undermine the effective academic performance of pupils in UPE schools in Kakiri as follows: individually, through demoralization and demotivation, absenteeism, school drop-out, and indiscipline. Secondly, family-based barriers include negative attitudes of family members, child labor, mobility in schools, and malnutrition. Thirdly, community-based ways include vandalism of school property, undue competition in private schools, attractive business opportunities for pupils, and unregulated entertainment in the area. Fourthly, school-based ways are inadequate teachers, inadequate building facilities, and poor remuneration for teachers.
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ItemThe influence of poverty on the academic performance of students within the School of Education of Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda(Makerere University, 2022-03) Taha, WailThis study examines the influence of poverty on the academic performance of students within the School of Education at Makerere University, Uganda. The research aims to identify the relationship between poverty and students’ academic performance, to compare the performances of underprivileged and wealthy learners and to provide possible solutions for enhancing the academic achievement of the School of Education’s students. The study population consisted of second-year students in the aforementioned school at Makerere University. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, 125 questionnaires were distributed and face-to-face interviews and focused group discussions were held; the interviews were conducted with five key informants and eighteen interviewees. Using the capability approach, the investigation found a significant positive relationship between poverty and students’ academic performance and a significant negative association between the performance of underprivileged students and their wealthier counterparts. Regarding the relationship between economic factors and academic achievement, most of the participants who performed poorly in previous semesters had families with a monthly income that was below 200,000 UGX, received below 100,000 UGX a month, spent less than 3,000 UGX a day on food and faced challenges in terms of their accommodation and access to medication. Essentially, disadvantaged students have varying needs and thus require different amounts of resources to achieve the same standard of living as more financially secure learners. Moreover, poverty-related factors, particularly having insufficient money to cover the socioeconomic needs, shaped the students’ academic performances. Finally, there is a negative relationship between the solutions to the challenges, challenges and their academic performance. The government of Uganda and Makerere University are advised to minimise tuition fees, offer meals for vulnerable students and facilitate adequate access to financial funding and loan.
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ItemMakerere University mentorship and the performance of academic staff, 2010-2020(Makerere University, 2023-01) Walube, Kantono TinaThis study sought to investigate the existing mentorship among academic staff at Makerere University and how it can systematically be enforced as a mechanism to enhance academic staff performance. It also examined how mentorship is undertaken by academic staff in selected colleges, the challenges it faces at Makerere University and how mentorship can be improved on to enhance staff performance. The study used a case study design with a qualitative research approach for data collection, analysis and interpretation where Makerere University was the area of study with the academic staff being the study population from the College of Health Sciences (CHS), the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) and the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES). Academic staff were designated in the ranks of Professors, Associate Professors, Lecturers, Teaching Assistants and Graduate Fellows. It used a sample size of 36 participants who were selected through purposive sampling, employed interviews with interview guides with open ended questions for data collection. The key research findings revealed that mentorship was undertaken informally based on mutual interest and respect between junior and senior academic staff. It also discovered that mentorship of academic staff was also currently undertaken through research projects organized by senior academic staff, research grants conducted in different colleges like CHUSS or CHS, orientation and induction programs and graduate programs like Masters and PhDs. The study concluded that mentorship among academic staff was largely informal and was mostly based on mutual relationships, interests and respect between senior and junior academic staff. It recommended that formal structures which facilitate academic staff mentorship should be put in place at Makerere University to improve on mentorship of academic staff to enhance staff performance. The main contribution of this study is that it addressed the knowledge gap on the status of mentorship and how it was used as a mechanism to enhance performance of academic staff at Makerere University, identified ways to strengthen and improve on the practice of mentorship of academic staff in institutions of higher learning in Uganda and also other non-academic organizations in Uganda and other developing countries globally, it has also increased awareness of the importance of mentorship of academic staff in regard to performance enhancement.