The data and analysis reflect that academic performance of pupils is quite low and this in relation to both national examinations and school based exams. The trend in national examinations for the Primary seven pupils reflects a decline as opposed to progress and is marked by high number of pupils failing all four examined subjects; English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies and thus obtaining a division U grade. In other words, the failure rate of P.7 pupils at PLE has been on an increase. This increase indicates a decline to a performance rate that had already been low as the trend revealed. The performance of pupils in Primary one to Primary six is characterized by regular dropouts, which simply motivates other students to quit school rather than motivate them to value their education. The school facilities are not adequate to offer a conducive learning atmosphere. Similarly, the teacher manpower rather than being supportive is instead detrimental to student learning and progress because they(teachers) make it a habit to abscond from teaching responsibilities. The qualifications of NPS teachers do not offer prospects for better performance. School facilities and scholastic aids make the scenario in conducive for quality curriculum learning on a daily basis.
In short therefore, academic performance at NPS is low as revealed by data. The reasons behind this is because of teacher absenteeism, qualifications, small quantity of facilities alongside
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scholastic materials and no mid-day meals for teachers and pupils. In my opinion, these are the major hindrances to pupil success at the school. Enrollment though high is nonetheless a common statistic among UPE schools including those that obtain quality performance.
This chapter dealt with the dependent variable of the study which is academic performance. Accordingly two research questions raised in chapter one have been adequately handled. These were; (I) has the performance in UPE schools improved? and (II)what are the determinants of academic performance in UPE schools. Relating to question (I), two answers are generated based on this study. One answer suggests that performance in certain UPE schools like KPS is high and gradually improving while the second answer highlights that performance in some UPE schools is quite poor yet declining. The same scenario is raised under question (II) whereby the determinants of school performance have been supportive in schools like KPS but detrimental to quality education to pupils in NPS.
The next chapter will shift the attention on the independent variable; community participation. This will be done in relation to both KPS and NPS and will reflect data gathered majorly by interviews and documentary research.
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CHAPTER 5
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE: ANALYSIS ON
MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES IN KANGULUMIRA C/U PRIMARY
SCHOOL AND NAKAKANDWA R/C PRIMARY SCHOOL.
Having reflected upon the dependent variable; academic performance in chapter four, I proceed to contextualize the independent variable; community participation in this chapter. This the second chapter on empirical findings and analysis. The focus here is on community participation in the two selected Schools; KPS and NPS. Just as chapter four provided answers to the research questions I and II on academic performance, this chapter shall in turn provide answers to the research questions III, IV and V. Respectively, these three objectives relate to the forms of community participation, community responsibilities and the extent of responsibility fulfillment. This chapter begins with an introduction and reminder as to what literature defines as community participation in UPE. After which is an analysis of each School in relation to the variables defined in chapter 2. These variables amount to the community responsibilities. Equally important shall be an analysis of the factors that influence the level of community involvement in both Schools. By doings so, a broad comparison may be realized between the two Schools' communities. At the end of this chapter, one should be able to conclude on what amounts to a high community participation on one hand and low community participation on the other hand. In other words, community involvement as high or low is commonly expressed in literature but often lacking a clear yardstick for determining. In short, what type of participation amounts to high or low involvement? for instance Is low participation equated to cases where no responsibilities are undertaken by the community or rather a situation where a few responsibilities are fulfilled?
5.1 Introduction
As already stated in chapter one, three of the six research questions focus on community participation. To highlight these questions; question III focuses on the forms of community involvement in UPE. Question IV focuses on the responsibilities of the identified communities in question III. Question V measures the level at which communities in both Schools undertake their responsibilities.
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It must be highlighted nonetheless that chapter 2 on the literature review, provided a theoretical discussion on the forms of community participation alongside the responsibilities of these communities. This chapter therefore provides the empirical justification as to the actual experience in each of the selected Schools. In short, this chapter reveals the practical side of community involvement in Schools.
To ensure that I collected adequate data on the practicalities of community participation in KPS and NPS, I centered on Interviews with the head-teachers, parents, teachers, local council authorities, sub-county chiefs, and Secondary data in form of written minutes for previous PTA and SMC meetings held and to a lesser extent on Observations. Observations were simply made in relation to the attendance numbers at both PTA and SMC meetings.