Staff development and performance of secondary schools in Uganda

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between staff development and performance of secondary schools. Review of different opinions from the respondents in relation to the research survey included three selected schools in Mbarara District; St Joseph’s Vocational Secondary school, Booma High School and Global High School were chosen as it occurred that these schools were facing high student turnover rates, high dropout rates and low pass rates. In particular the study sought to establish how staff training, mentoring and coaching influence school performance. The study applied a descriptive survey design. The target population was 45 staff members employed in the selected schools in Mbarara District and the sample size was 40. The study applied quantitative sampling technique. Data collected was mainly quantitative in nature and was appropriately analyzed using descriptive statistics. The descriptive statistical tools in SPSS enabled me describe the data. The results were presented in form of tables. From the findings of the research study, it was noted that teacher training programs are part of the overall educational system and attempts are made to enhance the quality of teachers through in-service and pre-service training. It was also noted that coaching and group professional development meets all the needs of ongoing teacher education and helps the staffs maintain a balanced perspective about the high-stake tests in schools. Furthermore the research findings found out that mentoring can be an important professional development tool for staff, including for management and this can either be an informal or formal process thus introduces a fact that emphasis on mentoring improves and enhances school performance. The study concluded that training mentoring and coaching practices were significantly associated with school performance. The study recommended that the school management should undertake staff development practices to equip the staff members with more skills and knowledge on how to improve on the students’ pass rates in schools