1,720,960 research outputs found
Meaning and experiences in managing primary education development programme school funds among public primary school headteachers in Tanzania
Get PDFThe main purpose of the study was to understand the meaning and experiences of primary schools head teachers in managing Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP) funds. The study was guided by two major research questions. The first question is; what meaning do head teachers construe regarding the management of Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP) funds? And the second is; how do head teachers manage Primary Education Development Programme funds? The study used the descriptive phenomenological as it was deemed relevant to examine head teachers‘ meaning and experiences about the phenomenon. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with head teachers, observations and analysis of documents at public primary schools. Seven informants were selected from a number of schools based on educational attainment and experience serving as a head teacher. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed systematically. In addition, data from observations and documents analysis supported the data obtained from in-depth interviews. Four major themes that emerged from analysis of data are: allocation of funds, accountability, control of funds and competence and traits. The study revealed bureaucracy, insufficiency and inconsistency of funding and delays of disbursements as sub themes associated with allocation of funds. Accountability, as a theme in this study is associated with head teachers considering themselves responsible, challenging roles, adhering to ethics, and complying with instructions. It was also revealed in this study that, limited resources, selection of options, accepting duties and participatory decisions are sub themes associated with control of funds. Furthermore, the study revealed that personal aspiration, level of education, democratic leadership support from others and mindfulness of school funds as sub themes linked to competence and traits. Four major conclusions were drawn from this study. First, direct school funding has only offered limited solutions to resources acquisition in schools due to availability of insufficient funds in schools. Secondly, schools do not have full autonomy to use the allocated funds to fulfil locally determined school requirements. Thirdly, at school levels there is a state of confusion between participatory decision making and the issue of taking responsibilities. Fourthly, there is a need and urgency to build their capacities through continuous trainings. Based on these conclusions, the study recommends for systemic approach to understanding allocation of PEDP funds in order to improve quality of education in public primary schools in Tanzania. Finally, for head teachers and other stakeholders to act and facilitate effective implementation of educational programmes such as PEDP, there is a need and urgency to build their capacities to competently manage these educational programmes
Exploring Perceptions of Parents on Head Teachers’ Financial Management Skills in Public Primary Schools in Tanzania
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine the observations of parents on head teachers’ financial management skills in public primary schools in Tanzania. The study was guided by three research questions and used qualitative method, with a case study as a strategy. Interviews were used to collected data about head teachers’ management of financial resources in public primary schools in Tanzania. Findings from the interviews revealed that head teachers are insufficiency of significant financial management skills. Both participants demonstrated that the current disbursement procedure is necessary for school effectiveness. However, findings also revealed uncertainty and sustainability of the funding mechanisms given the current environment of financing primary education. The findings of this study are important for policy makers. Keywords: Public primary schools, financing schools, financing financial management skills, head teacher
Managing Distance Learning for Secondary School Students in Tanzania during the COVID-19 Outbreak: Challenges and Opportunities Implicating Educational Inequality
Get PDFThis study explored the lived experiences of secondary school students in Moshi Municipality with distance learning amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Tanzania. Specifically, it explored the challenges and opportunities of learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the roles assumed by parents and teachers to support secondary school students’ distance learning. A qualitative approach, framed within the phenomenography research design, guided the present study. Nineteen secondary school students were purposively selected from four secondary schools in Moshi Municipality. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The collected data underwent a systematic inductive content analysis to identify emerging themes from the data. The findings indicate that different approaches or methods were utilised by students for distance learning, including printed materials for self-study, TV and radio programmes, online resources, and online interactive classes. However, challenges such as limited internet access and limited device availability emerged as significant hurdles. Additionally, emotional struggles, including loneliness and motivational issues, were evident, while the absence of peer interaction and concentration difficulties were notable concerns. On the positive side, flexible learning environments allowed for self-paced learning, skill development, and the exploration of personal interests. Students capitalised on the autonomy of distance learning to discover new abilities and passions. The present study recommends that teachers continue to explore innovative teaching methods, like recorded audio lessons and supplementary resources to enhance students' learning experiences. The study suggests provisional of professional development opportunities to equip educators with the necessary skills for effective distance teaching
Phenomenological study of meanings and experiences in managing school funds among public school head teachers
Get PDFThis study explored the meanings and experiences that head teachers construed in managing school funds in public primary schools in Tanzania. Descriptive phenomenology was employed to directly explore, analyze and describe head teachers insights about the phenomenon. Seven head teachers were purposively selected based on inclusive criteria of education and years of serving in the headship post. In-depth interview, informal observation and documentary review were used to gather the data. Through descriptive phenomenological analysis bureaucratic procedure, insufficiency and inconsistency of funding and deferred disbursement emerged as themes that reflected head teachers meanings and experiences in managing school fund. Drawing from the findings, this research provides a conclusion and recommendation that would help address issues of practices. Thus, understanding head teachers’ insights are essential for effective resources allocations to schools
External School Quality Assurance and its influence on instructional leadership practices in secondary school education in Zanzibar
Get PDFThis study investigated External School Quality Assurance (ESQA) and its influence on instructional practices in secondary school education in Zanzibar. The mixed-method research approach was employed coupled with a convergent parallel design. The study was conducted at Kaskazini Region in Unguja and it involved 167 teachers, 12 HoSs, 11 ESQ assurers, 2 District Educational Officers (DEOs), and the Regional Educational Officer (REO), making a total of 193 participants. The study employed purposeful and simple random sampling procedures. Data was collected through interviews, documentary reviews, and questionnaires. Quantitative data were anlysed using Spearman's rho correlation coefficient and qualitative data were anlyzed using content and thematic approach. The results indicate that although ESQA plays a significant role in the improvement of instructional practices in secondary schools, however, statistically, the results indicate that there was no significant relationship between ESQA practices and HoSs and teachers’ instructional leadership improvement in secondary education. It was also found that the ESQA reports and recommendations were not implemented by the respective authorities to bring about effective improvement of the instructional process. ESQ assurers evaluated the performance of HoS based on administrative roles and teachers’ professional documents whereas classroom observations were not effectively carried out. The results further indicate that HoSs and teachers needed professional support to improve instructional practices. The key argument in this paper is that if secondary schools have to improve the quality of teaching and learning through instructional practices, ESQ assurers need to support the HoSs and teachers professionally. For this to be a reality, the government needs to commit its resources for the training programmes to the Department of ESQA, and classroom observation needs to be a central focus of the ESQ assurers to improve the teaching and learning in secondary school education
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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