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Linking classroom assessment approaches to learners’ livelihood context in Tanzania: The disjunction between policy and practice
No full textJournal articleAssessment is fundamental to students’ learning as it influences learner’s knowledge, skills, and
competences. According to the Tanzanian educational policy, the central focus of assessment approaches is to
facilitate the building of capability for students to apply the learning outcomes adequately in diversified contexts.
This study examines how the nature, modality, and contents of the assessments carried out in secondary schools in
Tanzania have been playing the role of testing knowledge and skills relevant to learners’ life.
The semi-structured interview was purposively conducted to a total of sixty subject teachers (Agricultural
Sciences, Biology, and Civics) and 10 academic teachers in ten ward secondary schools in Mvomero district to
assess their views on how formative assessments are being conducted. Besides, focused group discussion was held
with secondary education leavers who work in informal sectors in Mvomero district, Tanzania.
The findings indicate that there was a disjunction between policy and actual classroom assessment practices. The
assessment approaches were conducted not for testing the mastery of learning outcomes but conforming to
examination demands. The livelihood knowledge and knowledge and skills such as critical thinking, innovation,
creativity, and mastery of diversified livelihood skills were not given due weight. The practical examinations were
mainly for students to retrieve the scientific facts rather than orienting towards solving real-life problems. It is,
thus, recommended that entrepreneurial assessment approaches should be adopted to bring the school knowledge
to reality
Bringing evidence to bear for negotiating tradeoffs in sustainable agricultural intensification using a structured stakeholder engagement process
No full textJournal articleSustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) has the potential to increase food
security without detrimental effects on ecosystem services. However, adoption of
SAI practices across sub-Saharan Africa has not reached transformational numbers
to date. It is often hampered by lack of context-specific practices, sub-optimal
understanding of tradeoffs and synergies among stakeholders, and lack of
approaches that bring diverse evidence sources together with stakeholders to
collectively tackle complex problems. In this study, we asked three interconnected
questions: (i) What is the accessibility and use of evidence for SAI decision making;
(ii) What tools could enhance access and interaction with evidence for tradeoff
analysis; and (iii) Which stakeholders must be included? This study employed a
range of research and engagement methods including surveys, stakeholder
analysis, participatory trade-off assessments and co-design of decision dashboards
to better support evidence-based decision making in Zambia, Tanzania and
Ethiopia. At the inception, SAI evidence was accessible and used by less than half
of the decision makers across the three countries and online dashboards hold
promise to enhance access. Many of the stakeholders working on SAI were not
collaborating and tradeoff analysis was an under-utilized tool. Structured
engagement across multiple stakeholder groups with evidence is critical
Perceived benefits of participation in public electronic procurement: a comparative analysis of vendors in Ilala district, Tanzania
No full textResearch ArticlePublic electronic procurement (PEPS) is an emerging technology in public procurement for efficiency
and value assurance. Vendors’ participation has been un-avoidable for true realisation (benefits) of
PEPS; however, studies are still inconclusive regarding perceived benefits contributions on participation
for participants and non-participants vendors. This study therefore did a comparative analysis on
perceived benefits contributions for participants and non-participants vendors’ participation in PEPS.
The study adopted across-sectional research design and Ilala District was a study area. Simple random
sampling technique was used to select 300 respondents with 73 participants and 227non-participants
vendors. A purposive sampling technique used to select three key informants, each one from Public
Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), Government Procurement Service Agency (GPSA) and
Medical Stores Department (MSD). The structured questionnaire and Key informant Interview guide
were used for collecting quantitative and qualitative data respectively. Quantitative data used multiple
response analysis and independent samples t-test for analysis while content analysis technique analysed
qualitative data. The Findings have revealed a significant difference (p< 0.05) between participants and
non-participants on perceived benefits (transparent, paper reduction, cost control and corruption
control). The study therefore concludes that, perceived benefits have contribution for vendors’
participation in PEPS. The study recommends to non-participants vendors to consider participating in
PEPS in order to gain significant perceived benefits. The study also to PPRA to make sure the PEPS offer
the perceived benefits for vendors’ participation. This can be done once the system stakeholders improve
impacting benefits knowledge to vendors, hence attracts more vendors to participate in PEPS
Drying effectiveness and aflatoxin contamination of household stored Agricultural produce at Chamwino, Dodoma
No full textDissertationIn the tropics, agricultural produces experience high post-harvest losses and are prone to
mycotoxins contamination. Environmental conditions coupled with inadequate drying and
storage practices are the major causes of postharvest loss and contamination. Cereals and
oilseeds are more susceptible to aflatoxin contamination. This study aimed at assessing
storage practices, awareness of smallholder farmers on aflatoxins, and walk-in solar dryer
(WSD) as a drying technique to control aflatoxins contamination in cereals, oil seeds and
nuts for improved livelihood of smallholder farmers in Chamwino, Dodoma. Ninety
smallholder farmers in Chamwino were interviewed to assess storage practices and
awareness of aflatoxins contamination in maize, groundnuts and sunflower seeds.
The majority (95.6%) of smallholder farmers stored grains in plastics or synthetic bags
and kept the bags of grains on the floor without pallets. In addition, 88.9% of smallholder
farmers had never heard about mycotoxins and thus are not aware of the health
consequences of consuming aflatoxin contaminated foods. Moreover, most (96.7%) of
farmers interviewed were not aware the fact that feeding animals with contaminated feeds
pass on the toxins to animal products such as meat, eggs and milk.
Immune-affinity High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and post column
derivatization was used to analyse AFB 1 , AFB 2 , AFG 1 , AFG 2 and total aflatoxins of
household-stored maize, groundnuts and sunflower seeds samples (n=45). For all samples,
the moisture content levels were within the legal limits; maize (9.57%), groundnuts
(4.13%) and sunflower seeds (5.70%). However, 38% of samples were highly
contaminated with aflatoxins in which mean for maize and groundnuts were 74.91 μg/kg
and 268.82 μg/kg, respectively. On contrary, sunflower seeds had the lowest levels (0.23iii
μg/kg) of total aflatoxins. The maximum level according to Tanzania standards (TZS) or
East Africa Community Standards (EAS) is 10 μg/kg. The highest mean levels of AFB 1
was observed in maize (58.36 μg/kg) and groundnuts (233.48 μg/kg), which is beyond the
legal limit (5 μg/kg). It further, observed that 31.1% of interviewed smallholder farmers
did not sort their grains, and the produces were kept on bare grounds during harvesting
and no pallets on storage.
The WSD had higher mean temperature (41°C) and lower relative humidity (31.2%) than
open-sun drying (temperature 31°C, relative humidity 43.2%). WSD had lower drying
time for all the produce (maize 18 hours, groundnuts 18 hours and sunflower seeds 10
hours) than open-sun drying (maize 20 hours, groundnuts 20 hours and sunflower seeds 16
hours). The final moisture content was statistically significant for all analysed samples.
The average mould Aspergillus flavus (CFU/g) for maize; freshly harvested, dried in WSD
and open sun-drying (OSD) were 4.30, 3.60 and 4.23, respectively (which was within the
limits set in EAS 44-2017). In addition, foreign matter for samples dried on OSD was
significantly (p<0.05) higher (4%) compared to samples dried in WSD (0.65%) which
was exceeded the recommended level of foreign matters set in TZS 438-2018 /EAS 2-
2017 and TZS 740-2018 /EAS 888-2018.
It was concluded that in the studied villages there is limited knowledge on aflatoxins
contamination of stored products and effects of consuming contaminated foods. Training
of smallholder farmers on good agricultural and postharvest handling are recommended to
reduce postharvest losses and assure food security and safety.Tanzania Industrial Research
and Development Organizatio
Assessment of tap water scarcity and alternative water sources used at household level: a case of Lukobe ward, Morogoro municipality, Tanzania
No full textDissertationWater is essential to life because it heavily influences public health and living standard.
However, many developing countries face severe challenges with the reliability of water
supplies. Until now, water is unequally distributed throughout the world. The study
assesses the tap water scarcity and alternative household water sources in Lukobe Ward.
The study adopted cross-sectional research design. Mixed method approach was
employed involving quantitative and qualitative data. Descriptive statistics and one-way
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used for quantitative data while qualitative data
were subjected to content analysis. Data were collected from three streets, a household
survey of 120 respondents, key-informant interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs). The findings from household survey show that (100%) of the
respondents depended on buying water from vendors, (63.1%) depended on fetching
water from private sources, (61.1%) use shallow wells and (100%) use harvested
rainwater. Further, 81.5 were the mean litres obtained per households per day. In
addition, the findings showed that there was no significant difference in litres of water
that was gained among the three streets per household per day (f=2.335) and (p=0.101).
However, there was a significant difference in litres of water from shallow wells and
water from vendors gained between Lukobe Juu and Mgudeni streets (p=0.035).
Furthermore, findings showed that the distances from households to water sources were
significantly different (f=19.965) and (p=0.000) among streets. While, the overall mean
distance from a household to a water source was 633.45 metres with a standard deviation
of 1015.77 metres. However, there was no significant difference in distance used
between Lukobe Kambi Tano and Lukobe Juu streets (p=0.0581). Additionally, the
findings showed that more than 50% of the respondents among streets in the study area
purchased water which spent 400 Tshs per 20 litres of water per day from water vendors.
The average proportion of respondents reported the need of up to 5 buckets (100 litres)
of water per day which costs 2 000 Tshs per day. Therefore, the households were
expected to spend 60 000 Tshs per month implying that 720 000 Tshs was spent per year
as costs of buying water. However, the water requirements and the associated costs
mainly depended on the size of the households. Moreover, findings showed 60.0% of
male respondents spent less than 60 minutes for fetching water than female respondents
(58.1%). In addition, findings further showed that 89.5% and 95.4% of the respondents
agreed on two statements: poor water supply leads to poor households sanitation and
long distance to water points delays other economic activities. Until now, ensuring
access to water within 400 metres to domestic water sources by the majority of
household is not yet to be achieved in Lukobe Ward. Majority of respondents depend
much on water from vendors, use shallow wells and private water sources from
neighbours as their alternative water sources for domestic uses. From the findings, it is
recommended that in line with the 2002 National Water Policy, the beneficiaries in the
peri-urban areas should be encouraged to manage and run the water schemes in
partnership with the private sector for sustainable water service delivery in the area
Monitoring of woody plant species composition, diversity, structure and dynamics in kihansi gorge forest, southern Udzungwa mountains, Tanzania
No full textKihansi Gorge forest is located within the Udzungwa Mountains in the Eastern Arc
Mountains in Tanzania. The Gorge has critically endangered and endemic plant species,
hence has national and global significance. Kihansi hydropower project started to be
constructed in 1990 and its operation commenced in 1999. The construction of the
hydropower facilitated the establishment of baseline study to monitor the forest. The main
objective of this study was to monitor trees’ diversity using the established baseline study.
Specifically this study intends (i) To assess changes of woody plant species composition
and diversity for the period between 1997 and 2018 (ii) To assess changes in forest stand
parameters between 1997 and 2018 (iii) To assess changes in tree species diversity and
forest stand parameters along altitudinal gradients. Data were collected in 19 permanent
sample plots established in year 1997 and 75 temporary sample plots installed in year
2018. The findings from statistical tests for all stand parameters for montane forest
showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) throughout the study period. Basal area,
volume and total carbon for miombo showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) for year
2006 and year 2009 and no significant difference (p > 0.05) for the year 2018. The study
concludes that time to detect significant changes of forest stand parameters differ between
vegetation types. Dynamic processes in the miombo woodlands are faster compared to
montane forest. Based on altitude, tree species diversity in the Kihansi Gorge forest
decreases as altitude increases. The study recommends monitoring to continue at Kihansi
Gorge forest through the established permanent sample plots to ascertain the causes of the
changes.Mufindi District Counci
The determinants of the performance of health facility governing committees (HFGC) in selected primary health facilities in Tanzania
No full textJournal articleLower and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) implement fiscal decentralization through Direct Health Facility Financing (DHFF) to empower Health Facility Governing Committees (HFGCs). The measure is designed to enable HFGCs to effectively participate in the planning, implementing and controlling health service delivery at primary health facilities. However, it is not empirically known what HFGCs members perceive to be determinants of the performance of these HFGCs under DHFF context. Drawing from community participation and decentralization literature, this study was conducted to assess the determinants of the HFGCs performance under DHFF as perceived by the HFGC members in four selected regions in Tanzania. A cross-sectional research design was employed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from the four regions. The study has found that availability of finance to the health facility has RII 0.8964 score is ranked 1st important determinant of HFGC performance, followed by clarity of powers and functions with RII 0.8928 score (2nd) and communication between the HFGCs and community has RII 0.8792 score ranked third (3rd). This study concludes that contextual factors significantly influence the performance of HFGCs than HFGC members' characteristics in carrying out their devolved functions. The study recommends working environment for HFGCs to be improved for strengthening HFGCs performance
Adoption and use of ICTs by Livestock Keepers for improved access to Livestock Information: A case of selected urban areas in Tanzania
No full textInformation and communication technologies (ICTs) are very important tools for economic development
and poverty reduction when used effectively by individuals in all economic sectors including agriculture.
Urban livestock keepers need ICTs in their activities so that they can make informed decisions that can
lead to improvement of the livestock industry. Despite its importance, ICT use is hindered by several
factors including unawareness of the radio and television programmes and lack of computer skills. This
chapter reveals the extent of use of ICTs by urban and peri-urban livestock keepers whereby different
types of ICTs are used by urban livestock keepers to access livestock information, though some ICTs, for
example, mobile phones are used more than other ICTs (radio and television). Internet is used by very
few livestock keepers due computer illiteracy. Policy implications include improvement of the telecommunications services by the government through relevant bodies in order to facilitate more access to
information through mobile phones, radio, television, and the internet
Service performance and customer satisfaction as antecedents of corporate reputation: A comparative analysis between local and foreign banks in Tanzania
No full textArticleThe competitiveness of commercial banks is of vital importance for a developing country that is striving to enhance
the standard of living of its citizens by ensuring an expansion of banking services. This study compared service
performance and customer satisfaction as antecedents of corporate reputation between foreign and local banks in
Tanzania. The study had a sample size of 380 respondents who were the customers of these banks. The structural
equation modelling was carried out so as to examine the interrelationships of the constructs and how the findings can
be inferred on the entire population. Chi-square statistical values, Incremental Fit Index, the Tucker-Lewis Fit Index,
the Comparative Fit Index, the Parsimony Normed Fit Index and the Root Mean Square Error Approximation were
applied to examine the models’ fit. While the mean values were applied to compare customers’ perceptions of service
performance, customer satisfaction and corporate reputation between local and foreign banks.
The main findings from the study indicate that, service performance levels were perceived relatively positively;
customer satisfaction on corporate reputation was slightly stronger for the foreign banks than the local banks and
there are very strong positive relationships between service performance and customer satisfaction in the Tanzanian
banking industry. The study recommends that managers of the banks need to understand that customers’ perceptions
on the banks’ service performance have a significant influence on the perceived banks’ reputation
Socialisation and health literacy: theories, agents, and the influence
No full textJournal of Co-operative and Business Studies (JCBS), Vol. 6, Issue 1, pp. 115-128This article reviews literature on the influence of socialisation agents towards the promotion of health
literacy (HL) to attain better health hence productive society. The paper specifically reviews theories,
debates, and realities on the influence of socialisation agents on HL. A systematic literature review was
conducted using a documentary research method, various search engines were used to obtain information
based on the keywords. The key words included in the study were socialisation, socialisation theories,
socialisation agents, means/ ways of socialisation, HL, and the influence of socialisation on HL. In
conducting systematic literature review, aspects of the protocols by Cochrane Methods and the criteria
articulated by PRISMA for reporting in the field of health were employed. The articles which met those
criteria were selected and underwent the quality assessment and data extraction. The search identified
1692 publications, abstract screening was done from 1021 qualified publications, and 340 full-texts were
screened for eligibility. Only 77 articles reflected the theme of this review. The review revealed that
literature indicated the existence of influence of socialisation on HL through socialisation agents. This
indicates that efforts to enhance HL should significantly focus on these agents. It is recommended that
various stakeholders should devise interventions which will enhance health knowledge beginning at
socialisation agents