Uganda REPORT Introduction the Context

Report UGANDA REPORT Alice Nankya Ndidde Dr. Jude Lubega Dr. Daniel Babikwa Grace Baguma Introduction The Context This report provides an in-depth analysis of the According to UNESCO the current African educa- results of the first phase of the PanAfrican Research tion status requires innovative ways to support it in Agenda on the Pedagogical integration of ICTs achieving the millennium goals. These innovative in Uganda’s sampled education institutions. The features can be achieved through the integration of PanAfrican project aims at creating a better unders- technologies that can process information and trans- tanding of how the pedagogical integration of ICTs mit it for the purpose of learning and educational can enhance the quality of teaching and learning in development (UNESCO, 2004). In Uganda, the go- Africa. The first phase (2007 – 2009) of the project vernment has explicitly emphasized the importance covered twelve African countries including Uganda. of integrating ICT for teaching and learning. This 1 In Uganda, eleven educational institutions were has been encouraged through its ICT incentives, included in this study where five were primary, four policy formulation and various ICT projects being secondary schools and two tertiary teacher training implemented. Research has shown that inefficiency institutions. and ineffectiveness in learning is created whenever The country researchers collected the data using there is an abrupt influx of students in any learning a mixed methods approach. Specific methods of environment (Adelman & Taylor, 2000). data collection included reviews of ICT policy Within the Ugandan context, the introduction of documents, questionnaires, interview guides, and both Universal Primary and Secondary Education focus group discussions. The instruments used were (USE) programmes resulting in 30% increase in centrally developed and pre-tested in some of the net enrolment, the desire to meet the Millennium education institutions of one of the participating Development Goals (MDGs) and EFA, and the need countries. The collected data was organized, stored to respond to the challenging effects of the chan- and interpreted within an electronic observatory that ges in the education sector have made this project could be accessed ubiquitously by both researchers indeed timely. and educational practitioners in Africa. As observed by Mooij (2007) integrating ICT in an educational context means combining all technologies that can process information and transmit it 1 In Uganda eleven education institutions were sampled contrary to the mandatory ten (10). The for purposes of learning and educational develop- research team in addition to the main teacher training ment. However the technologies considered in this institution in the country - Kyambogo University, research are the computer related. The report is or- School of Education,- included the Department of ganized in the following sections; challenges faced Adult Education and Communication Studies- the by the researchers, successes achieved, presentation department hosting the project since it also trains of the research results and conclusions. educators and has been involved in a process of pedagogical integration of ICTs. 0 • RAPPORTS NATIONAUX DE LA PHASE 1 Unstable Power Supply: This is a challenge that Challenges and Successes affected researchers on several occasions when there Context based challenges was a power disruption during the data upload on the observatory. On several occasions data was lost be- Despite the researchers having been taken through fore saving and hence re-entering of the entire data a methodological training on how to collect, orga- afresh. Sometimes power disruptions have made it nize and store data using the observatory, there are impossible to upload any data on the repository. certain challenges that were faced and probably led to inefficiency in the research undertaking. Challenges inherent in the research design Access to the right respondents: while researchers There were several inherent challenges in the re- always identified the right individuals in the institu- search design which affected the research process tions to provide the required data, on a number of and probably the quality of data. The research was occasions the officers delegated subordinates who apparently built on a positivist framework informed often lacked some of the key information required by the desire to control and predict, yet later the for the study. This created gaps in some of the data research appealed to more than these obviously and often compelled researchers to make several positivist sensibilities – as it required a lot of in- visits to the institution which became costly in terms terpretive insights. In the same vein the centrally of time and money. developed research instruments, and strict control of the research process in terms of data entry, Normal Work demands: Researchers were often standardization of expected outcomes and manner confronted with competing demands on how to of reporting confirms this observation. The above balance their time between the research (field work scenario seemed to largely reflect the developers and uploading the data on the observatory) and the preconceived assumptions about the situation in normal teaching and other University routine work country/ institution which in a way failed to appeal which on several occasions led to delays in meeting to the uniqueness of the countries/institutions and the set deadlines. While the option of using graduate curtailed the researchers’ creativity and innovative- students/research assistants was not clearly articula- ness when situations demanded so. To overcome the ted within the project methodology, it was used as a above, there should be higher level involvement of strategy to overcome the above challenge. all researchers from the different countries to ensure Research Fatigue: There was also evidence of that contexts are clarified early in the process and researcher fatigue among many respondents who road maps drawn from a more informed perspec- exhibited little interest in responding to the research tive. While comparability is a good thing, it is not questions even as it was admittedly important for always true that things have to or can be compared. them. The respondents were asked too many ques- The difference in contexts at times renders it not tions and could not easily attach their efforts for only difficult but also impossible. In such cases our answering all questions to any benefit. Motivation main concern as researchers should be the nature of of these respondents would be very important during experiences emerging form the different contexts the data collection process. and lessons that can be drawn there from Low Bandwidth and Equipment: The low band Successes width that the researchers were using during the The above challenges notwithstanding, the research upload of the data made the observatory difficult had several successes that are laudable: to access, and the uploading of data cumbersome and time consuming. The iPod meant to record Common Repository: the study uniquely provided audio data was also faulty which left researchers an opportunity to bring together data from different with no alternative but to improvise which was not sources in different countries and institutions into always easy. one portal accessible to all. The triangulation at the levels of method, institution and respondents PHASE 1 • NATIONAL REPORTS • 1 worked as a very important quality assurance and data validation tool. Through the use of a common Summary of the participating repository, it was easier to share and compare data institutions for the different countries hence making effective recommendations. The data being stored remotely The table below shows the eleven educational ins- away from the African countries created a well titutions that participated in this research. Five (5) deserved backup for it. were primary schools, four (4) secondary schools and two (2)tertiary institutions, one of which is Research Coverage: The study design can also be the main teacher training faculty in one of the uni- applauded for covering the entire education system versities and the other a training institution of non that is primary secondary and tertiary in a short formal adult educators at Makerere University. The period using smaller but effective samples. Taking four secondary schools had both ‘O’ and ‘A’ level such a scope makes sure that at least all the neces- students. All the institutions were of mixed gender sary samples are considered during the research and except one which was a girls’ only secondary school. hence a commendable conclusion can be made on The institutions were selected from rural, semi urban the collected data. and urban areas of Uganda and eight were public Training workshops: The training workshops and only three private. All the schools were drawn organised at the beginning for the core researchers from the central region of Uganda in the districts of provided the necessary basic understanding of the Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono. project and methodology. In the first workshop researchers were introduced to the manual and electronic methods of data collection, organization and storage. Another workshop on research writing also equipped researchers with skills on how to effecti- vely make publications out of their collected data. The visit by the project team for further research coordination uplifted the status/ profile of the project

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