East African Journal of Education Studies

Teachers’ Proficiency in Designing Competence-Based Curriculum Formative Assessment Tools in Selected Public Secondary Schools in Mpigi District, Uganda

Rose Costa Nakawuki — 2025-10-06

Uganda’s Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) emphasises learner-centred pedagogy and continuous assessment to foster critical thinking, creativity, and lifelong learning. Formative assessment tools are central to this approach, enabling teachers to monitor learner progress and adjust instruction accordingly. This study investigated the proficiency of teachers in designing Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) formative assessment tools in selected public secondary schools in Mpigi District, Uganda. Employing a qualitative research design, the study purposively sampled two Head teachers, five classroom teachers, and two education officials from the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) and the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB). Data were collected through in-depth interviews and documentary reviews, and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that teachers demonstrated limited proficiency in developing CBC-aligned formative assessment tools. Key major challenges included inadequate instructional resources, large class sizes, and the time-intensive nature of tool development. Furthermore, the study identified a significant gap in teacher training, with limited opportunities for professional development specifically focused on the design of CBC formative assessments. The study recommends practical workshops and seminars to improve teachers’ skills in developing CBC-aligned assessment tools, especially rubrics that evaluate competencies like problem-solving and critical thinking. External guides and supplementary materials should be provided to support the creation of these tools, particularly in resource-constrained contexts. This aligns with Bigg’s emphasis on assessment tasks that reflect intended learning outcomes. There is a need to introduce targeted training programs on developing and using rubrics for competency-based grading, supported by national guidelines from NCDC and UNEB. These programmes should focus on shifting from fact-based scoring to assessing competency progression. Training in rubric development is essential to align marking with CBC competencies, as per Bigg’s theory. In conclusion, improving teachers’ assessment literacy through structured support and training is vital for successful CBC implementation in Uganda’s secondary education system

Relationship between Grit, Academic Emotions, and Academic Achievement of Secondary School Students in Kiambu County, Kenya

Daniel Muigai Mwaura — 2025-10-06

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between grit and academic emotions in predicting academic achievement among secondary school students. A random sample of 258 form three students (127 Males and 131 Females) was chosen from public secondary school students in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods study design, and data were collected using self-report questionnaires. Validity and reliability measures were established with appropriate adjustments made to the questionnaires. Academic achievement was obtained from an analysis of the students’ examination records. To examine relationships, the study used the Pearson product-moment correlation method, while the t-test for independent samples was used to determine gender differences between students’ grit and academic emotions. Thematic analysis was applied to qualitative data to correlate the findings from the quantitative analysis. Results revealed that the two variables, grit and academic emotions, significantly influence academic achievement, while there was no significant gender difference between them. The study recommended that all educational stakeholders should focus on strategies that enhance non-cognitive skills in teaching and learning, such as grit and emotional regulation, and that they should also enhance students’ sense of control over their academic pursuits

Re-contextualising Education for Self-Reliance: Historical Foundations and Contemporary Entrepreneurship Education in Northern Tanzania

Irene Gabriel Ndossi — 2025-10-06

This study explores the historical evolution and contemporary relevance of Tanzania’s Education for Self-Reliance (ESR) in shaping entrepreneurship education among universities in Northern Tanzania. Using a historical-analytical approach supported by documentary review and empirical data, the findings reveal that current entrepreneurship programs are heavily influenced by Western business models, often emphasising individualism and market competitiveness while neglecting ESR’s core values of community service, ethical labour, and context-based learning. The study shows that this disjuncture has contributed to a persistent mismatch between higher education and employability, limiting the transformative potential of entrepreneurship training. Nevertheless, ESR’s principles of practical education, collective responsibility, and cultural relevance remain critical for reorienting curricula towards inclusive and sustainable development. The research contributes to the study by demonstrating how re-contextualising ESR can guide universities in designing value-driven, socially responsive entrepreneurship programs. Practically, it recommends integrating experiential learning, cooperative enterprise models, and locally relevant innovation to prepare graduates for both self-employment and national development. Overall, the study bridges historical ideology with contemporary educational practice, offering a framework for revitalising higher education in Tanzania.

Strengthening Teacher Competence for Inclusive Active Learning in Pre-Primary Schools: Evidence from Kabale District, Uganda

Grace Ankunda — 2025-10-08

Inclusive active learning is essential as it fosters engagement, accommodates diverse learning needs, promotes collaboration and critical thinking, enhances academic performance, and creates an equitable, student-centred environment that supports success for all learners. This research aimed to examine the influence of teacher competence on the use of active learning strategies in pre-primary schools in Kabale District, Uganda. Teacher competence was assessed through four dimensions: ethical competence, pedagogical competence, subject matter expertise, and assessment and evaluation skills. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed, grounded in Constructivist Learning Theory. Quantitative data were collected from 254 teachers using a structured questionnaire, while qualitative insights were gathered from 15 headteachers through interviews. Quantitative analysis involved descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression, while qualitative data were examined thematically. Findings indicated that while overall teacher competence was rated high, active learning implementation remained moderate. Regression analysis revealed that pedagogical competence, along with assessment and evaluation, had a significant positive influence on active learning. Subject matter competence showed a positive but statistically insignificant influence, whereas ethical competence exhibited a negative and insignificant influence. The study concludes that pedagogical skills and effective assessment practices are critical drivers of active learning in early childhood education. Conversely, subject matter and ethical competencies, though important, may not directly enhance active learning in this context. It recommends that school administrators prioritise strengthening teachers' pedagogical and assessment capabilities. Additionally, the Ministry of Education and Sports, along with other stakeholders such as district education officers and boards of governors, should reinforce professional development focused on ethical conduct, instructional methods, and evaluation strategies to support inclusive active learning.

The Influence of Gender Disparity on Girls’ Dropout Rates in Public Secondary Schools in Rwanda

Bonaventure Niyonshuti — 2025-10-08

This study determined the influence of gender disparity on girls’ dropout rates in public secondary schools in Kicukiro and Gicumbi Districts in Rwanda. Grounded on Social Justice Theory, the study learned gender disparity in girls ‘dropout rates from 260 respondents using questionnaires. It adopted a pragmatist research paradigm, a quantitative research approach, and a descriptive research design. The findings revealed a positive correlation between gender disparity and girls' dropout rates in secondary schools. The study concludes that there are positive perceptions of gender disparity in public secondary schools, highlighting issues like harassment by teachers and the underrepresentation of female teachers highlight the need for improved policies and support systems to create a safe and encouraging environment for female students. The study recommends enforcing anti-harassment policies, expanding education access for low-income girls, increasing female teacher presence, and promoting gender parity to boost girls' academic success.

Examining Symbolic Language-Based Approaches Used During Examinations Cheating among Tanzanian University Students

Chipanda Simon, PhD — 2025-10-10

This paper dwells on the symbolic language-based approach pertinent to examination cheating in Tanzania's Tertiary education. The previous studies have focused in-depth on the factors for cheating, but the communication system for cheating needs investigation. The study used a case study design whereby three Tanzanian Universities were used under investigation. The study used 10 students, who had completed their third year one week ago, and they were selected purposively through a snowball sampling technique. The reason was that one week ago was the time when students did not fear as they were free from studies. Three methods of data collection were used: focus group discussion with ten (10) students who were selected purposively, observation during examinations, and document analysis. Two theories were used, namely the Curriculum Implementation theory and the Constructivism theory, for assessing the symbolic language technique for examination dishonesty. The former infers that implementation of any programme should be based on teacher ability, management of the support facilities, as well as the clarity of the implementer, and the latter refers to the learning and teaching theories for quenching competence-based approach via ‘Social Interaction’ which plays a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development. The study revealed seven techniques, such as lip and tooth shaping, tooth rolling, cuffing, tonicity, Fingerism, and abbreviations used by cheaters. Based on these findings, students can be helped to develop study habits that raise competencies in their academic endeavours; also, technologies can be designed to detect cheating, such as a camera in the examination rooms, which may make cheaters fear rather than depending on physical invigilation by invigilators.

Assessment of Employability Skills Acquired by Livestock Technicians Trained Under Competence-Based Education and Training in Tanzania

Balija Luyombya — 2025-10-11

The livestock sector in Tanzania plays a crucial role in boosting economic growth and providing employment; however, a significant skills gap remains between graduates of Competence-Based Education and Training (CBET) and industry expectations. This study assesses how well CBET curricula align with employer needs by comparing employer perceptions of essential competencies with graduates' self-assessed skills in the livestock sector. Using an explanatory research design, data were collected from 23 employers and 136 CBET graduates through structured surveys and analysed with descriptive statistics, t-tests, and thematic analysis. Results show that while graduates rate themselves highly in communication, technical skills, and workplace readiness, employers see deficiencies in professional knowledge, leadership, and practical expertise. Employers identified communication, teamwork, and problem-solving as the most important generic skills in the labour market, yet these skills were lacking among livestock technician graduates. To close the gap between graduate competencies and employer expectations, it is recommended that the Livestock CBET curriculum and content be reviewed to better reflect labour market demands. This review should include the systematic integration of generic employability skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving throughout all curriculum components, alongside technical training. It should also incorporate workplace-related learning experiences.

Examining the Heads of Schools’ Skills in Managing School Funds among Government Secondary Schools in Iringa District, Tanzania

Teopister Bernard Mvanda — 2025-10-11

This study focused on examining the Heads of Schools’ Skills in Managing School Funds among Government Secondary Schools in Iringa District, Tanzania. The study employed a qualitative research approach, the Agency Theory of Governance, and a cross-sectional survey research design. This study had 22 participants, consisting of 10 heads of schools, 10 teachers who act as school Accountants/Bursars, 01 District Education Officer, and 01 School Quality Assurance Officer. Data were gathered through interviews, observations, documentary review, and focus group discussions. Data were analysed by transcribing field results as acquired by the respective tools, sorting and synthesising them into categories and themes. The results indicated that Heads of Schools lacked school fund management skills like Financial Analysis, Investment Management, Capital Allocation, Asset Management, Funds Administration, and Risk Management, and that education stakeholders like students' parents were not actively involved in the school fund management processes. The study concludes that the lack of School Fund Management skills among the Heads of Government Secondary Schools is the leading obstacle that has hindered proper and effective management of the school funds in Iringa District Council over time

The Role of Teachers in Correcting Learners’ Syntactic Errors among Secondary School Students at GS St. Isidore Gitwa in Ngororero District

Bakuriyehe Donatille — 2025-10-14

This study investigated the role of teachers in correcting learners’ syntactic errors among secondary school students in Ngororero District, at G.S. Saint Isidore Gitwa. The study has been conducted to identify the most common types of syntactic errors made by students, to examine the teaching methods and strategies used by English teachers, to address syntax and strategies for correcting students’ errors, and to assess how teachers’ instructional practices influence the reduction or persistence of syntactic errors. The target population of 780 consisted of students, English teachers, and school leaders at GS Saint Isidore Gitwa, with a sample size of 264 respondents. The findings revealed that 85.2% of students frequently made sentence structure errors, 83% struggled with tense use, and 73.5% faced challenges with subject-verb agreement. Teachers consistently reported using grammar drills and sentence correction activities, and 100% claimed to always integrate grammar instruction with speaking and writing. Feedback strategies such as immediate correction (reported by 58.3% of students). While 95.8% of students found teacher feedback very helpful in improving their syntactic accuracy, teachers identified significant challenges, including large class sizes, time constraints, and a lack of instructional resources. Moreover, students expressed a strong preference for more examples and exercises (98.9%), individual feedback (80.7%), and additional writing tasks (72.3%). The study concluded that teachers play a pivotal role in shaping students’ syntactic development through instructional choices and feedback practices. However, the persistence of syntactic errors suggests a need for improved instructional methods, better resource allocation, and targeted professional development.

Critical Thinking and Doctoral Completion: A Comparative Study of Timely and Delayed Graduates in Ugandan Universities

Ashiraf Mabanja — 2025-10-21

Timely completion is one of the key indicators of higher education effectiveness. Critical thinking, as an essential competency, may be influential in determining the completion rates of doctoral students. This study, therefore, compared levels of critical thinking for the doctoral graduates who completed on time and those who experienced delays in completion. The study adopted a quantitative ex post facto research design, with data collected using a standardised critical thinking self-assessment tool. Data were collected from 279 doctoral graduates who were selected using stratified random sampling. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and an independent samples t-test, where results indicated that there is a statistically significant difference in the critical thinking scores between the doctoral graduates who completed on time and those who experienced delays in completion (p < .05). The negative t-test value (-4.022) and a negative mean difference (-2.60777) indicated that those who experienced delays in completion scored highly on critical thinking dispositions in comparison to those who completed on time. It was concluded that higher levels of critical thinking dispositions are associated with delayed completion and vice versa. The results contribute to the ongoing debates on timely completion in doctoral education and provide practical implications for graduate programme design. The study recommends training of doctoral students to transform their critical thinking dispositions into practice. Further research is suggested using a quasi-experimental design to study critical thinking dispositions and timely completion