Assessing the Impact of the African Rural University Students’ Village Practicum for 2018/19 Cohort

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THE AFRICAN RURAL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ VILLAGE PRACTICUM FOR 2018/19 COHORT

Charles L. Tumuhe, Kasfa Ategeka, Desire M. Muhindo, John Tusiime

African Rural University P. O. BOX 24 Kagadi - Uganda

Abstract

Keywords; epicenter managers, visionary, practicum, internship

Background

Visionary leadership should be incorporated into academic training programs because it is key to developing and reshaping community programs (Saleh & Al-karasneh, 2009). It improves both organizational performance (Ali Mohammad, 2009) and strategic management (Westley & Mintzberg, 1989). People are primary resources but not objects of their own desired change. Community Action Planning (CAP) enables people take appropriate actions to realize their shared visions. CAP involves articulating the vision, mission, objectives, information gathering to ascertain the current reality using social maps, setting strategies, and developing action plans (Center KU Research and Training center on Independent Living, n.d.). The action plans may be different because each community has unique aspirations. During formulation of action plans, facilitators extract solutions from the people, agree on the due dates and identify accountable stakeholders. (Bernard, 2013), (Kongkraijak, 2006). Research has been conducted using appreciative inquiry to (Ronald, 2014) show the practicality of the visionary approach in URDT epicenters. For example, the visionary approach in sub-counties of Kyanaisoke, Muhorro and Kagadi Town Council in Kagadi district, Uganda have been to supported appreciate their current realities (status quo) and envisioned their desired state. They were able to start their own projects e.g. savings and credit cooperatives in Kyanaisoke. The facilitators of such visioning processes undergo specialized training at ARU preceded by trial field practice through internship placements and practicum in villages.

The ARU internship program provides opportunity for experiential learning to the third-year students. They are introduced to real life experience and prepared to be better visionary leaders. They are given opportunity to practice what they learnt in the classroom in the three years. It makes them more employable and paves way for them to be recruited by Uganda Rural Development and Training (URDT) Program as Epicenter Managers. The internship program improves the student‟s collaborative and interpersonal relationship skills (Amos & Reiss, 2012). It has been reported that students have a positive feeling about the internship field work. This is because it makes them more confident in meeting community challenges. The purpose of practicum and internship courses is to help students connect the theoretical and conceptual contribution to the practical world. It helps students apply knowledge to real- life situations. (Boyle et al., 2003). (Fekede & Gemechis, 2011). Student internship is hinged on the social cognitive theory that relates environmental learning, cognitive behavior and internship. (Ndibuuza, 2016) Others; - Cord, Bourey, Clement 2010, El Tawil 2011 and Raph & Walker 2014.

The four-year Bachelors of Rural Development (academic) program at African Rural University (ARU) involves three years of theoretical learning and one year of community practice (Seybold, 2013). The students are under a village practicum before the internship attachment (Ndibuuza, 2016). The one-month village practicum is a supervised participatory fieldwork experience for ARU students in their third year with the intent of working on transformation of rural communities. After the theoretical training, it is necessary that the students have the opportunity to practice using the acquired knowledge, skills and technologies to help villages plan, mobilize, organize and carry out community projects (Boyle et al., 2003). The students stay in communities, live with the people, work with them and catalyze the development process. They are hosted in selected families in those communities. They work with groups that are associated with URDT Girls‟ School parents to improve on their capacity to deliver services to members. Strong and functional interface between ARU and local communities is also developed during this practicum process. In addition, the students conduct Participatory Action Research with the mentorship of the field mentors (URDT Epicenter Managers) and the ARU faculty mentor (African Rural University, 2019). The practicum for 2018/2019 academic year involved 11 students – all female, who were allocated to five sub-counties for a period of one month i.e. July – August 2019 (www.aru.ac.ug ). The students engaged with the communities (5 villages) and this report presents the key action plans, strategies and key changes created by these students in a 1-month period.

Methodology

 Visit all villages and hold familiarization meetings  Community engagement and interactions  Idea generation  Visioning – individual, community, sub levels (Michael, 2009; NPA, 2013; Saleh & Al-karasneh, 2009, 2009; Stoner-Zemel, 1988; Westley & Mintzberg, 1989)  Establishment and implementation of community action plans (Cairngorms National Park Authority, 2008; Center KU Research and Training center on Independent Living, n.d.; Kongkraijak, 2006)  PAR research design – observations, FGDs (data collection) and report writing (Martínez, n.d.), (Selener, 1997), (MacDonald, 2012), (Kongkraijak, 2006), (Bain et al., 2007; Kongkraijak, 2006; Pain, Geoff, Trust, & Rivers, 1992; Yeates & Amaya, 2014)

Study area

About ARU

African Rural University (ARU) is one of Uganda‟s newest universities and among the first non- denominational all-women rural universities in Africa. The University was founded by an indigenous non-governmental organization, the Uganda Rural Development and Training Programme (URDT) to institutionalize and deepen the home-grown methodology for human and rural development, based on the Visionary Approach and the principles of Systems Thinking (Wellesley Centers for Women and Erkut & Erkut, 2014). ARU puts its emphasis on practical learning mainly through community engagement by students and their mentors. The mentors are University Academic Staff and Traditional Wisdom Specialists – „auxiliary professors. ARU produces visionary leaders – Epicenter Managers who are recruited by URDT – the mother organization to work in selected villages to catalyze community driven integrated development (Seybold, 2013). The ARU educational model is hinged around the creative orientation. The focus of this orientation is on what people truly want to achieve in life not reacting to events. This requires both visioning and action. This promotes democratic decision making to bring about sustainable human and rural development. ARU undergraduates help the communities to set a set a vision, assess the current reality and brain storm on the action steps. It believes that women, when well equipped, can offer visionary leadership to stimulate community transformation. (www.aru.ac.ug).

The host Sub Counties

The study was conducted in 5 sub-counties (Pachwa, Kyenzige, Mugarama, Bwikara and Kyebando). These sub-counties were selected because they all have Epicenter Mangers and students from the URDT Girls‟ School. The study was carried in the one-month practicum period.

Data entry and analysis

The data was collected by the students with guidance from the field mentors – ARU academic staff and TWS. It was typed in Micro Soft word computer program and analyzed. The data was qualitative – narrative and thus analyzed thematically. Qualitative data analysis was done by grounded theory analytical approach. The full version grounded theory analytical approach was used in data analysis. This involved analyzing data and collecting more at the same time. (Glaser, n.d.; Hanlen, 2014; Khan, 2014; Macqueen, Mclellan, Kay, & Cdc, 1996; Reed, 2008; Saleh & Al-karasneh, 2009, 2009).

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Recommendations

References

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