A B S T R A C T Violent forms of discipline in schools continue to be widespread across the globe... more A B S T R A C T Violent forms of discipline in schools continue to be widespread across the globe despite their damaging effects. Since little is known about factors influencing the extent of violence applied by teachers, this study aimed to investigate the influence of teachers' stress, work satisfaction, and personal characteristics on their disciplining style. Using structural equation modeling, associations between violent discipline, burnout symptoms, and job perceptions (pressure and difficulties in class) reported by 222 teachers from 11 secondary schools in Tanzania in 2015 were analyzed. Results indicated a direct association between perceived stress and emotional violent discipline (β = .18, p < .05) as well as physical violent discipline (β = .37, p < .001). Perceived stress also mediated the association between job perceptions and both forms of violent disciplining. The model showed good model fit (χ 2 [44, n = 222] = 67.47 (p = .013), CFI = .94, TLI = .91, IFI = .94, RMSEA = .049 [90%-CI = .02–.07, PCLOSE = .50], SRMR = .06). Our findings suggest that teachers' personal perceptions of their work as well as their stress burden play a role in their disciplining styles. Our findings underline the importance of integrating topics, such as stress and coping as well as positive, nonviolent discipline measures into the regular teacher's training and in addition to develop and evaluate school-based preventative interventions for teachers.
Abstract
Counseling is currently becoming a necessary service for school learners in the developi... more Abstract Counseling is currently becoming a necessary service for school learners in the developing world, this is due to fact that, the challenges facing learners in their learning process results into both internalizing and externalizing problems which affect student’s learning in terms of social, psychology and academic. This paper explores the status of school counselor’s training, knowledge and skills in Tanzania secondary schools. It attempt to assess school counselor’s perception towards the existing school counseling services and the degree of readiness to attend a counseling training in order to improve their counseling skills. The sample for the study included 62 school counselors from 16 secondary schools in Dar es salaam and the data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The findings indicate that, there is less training among school counselors in the studied secondary schools. It was also noted that, though some school counselors attended some trainings, their knowledge, skills and awareness to school counseling principles is very limited. However, school counselors’ perception towards counseling services in schools is good and their degree of readiness to attend counseling training is positive (M=1.39, SD= 0.554). It was therefore concluded that school counseling services need to be enhanced through provision of school counseling trainings to teachers who are appointed to serve as school counselors in various secondary schools. With the support from these findings, it is recommended that, seminars and workshops for raising awareness as well as long term trainings are important in order to make school counseling services effective. Therefore, future research can also observe the extent to which the counseling component is taught in teacher colleges and universities so as to test the rationale for appointing teachers to work as school counselors even without any specified training on counseling.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of school based sexuality education... more The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of school based sexuality education in promoting knowledge and skills relating to the prevention of pregnancy and HIV and AIDS. The rationale was that understanding how teachers and pupils experience sexuality education in schools could perhaps contribute to better ways of mitigating HIV/AIDS and pregnancies. In this regard, the study focused on exploring the way in which sexuality education is provided in primary schools, explore teachers' training on sexuality education provision, pupils' source of sexuality education knowledge and challenges that affect the provision of sexuality education. The study used mixed method design, where by both quantitative and qualitative approaches were utilized. The study population was drawn from a total of 120 teachers and 204 pupils. Data collection methods included, questionnaires and interviews. The research findings shows although sexuality education seem to be intergrated in subjects, pupils' source of sexuality knowledge seem to be not from schools teaching and learning rather other sources out of schools. On the other hand there was evidence of inadequate training for teachers on how to teach and handle sexuality classes in primary schools. Furthermore pupils faces difficulties in learning sexualit topics due to different factors such as cultural barrier, religious beliefs and personal background, teachers with relevant teaching skills and learning facilities. The study recommend several approaches to improve sexuality education in schools which include training for teachers to improve the content and methodology for teaching sexuality education, providing teaching and learning facilities relevant for improving sexuality education teaching. It is concluded that an open discussions on sexuality education among parents, pupils, religious leaders and policy makers should be carried out so as to develop a guideline on what should be included in the syllabus for sexuality education topics and how the contents should be taught. The study therefore calls for other researchers to investigate the application of sexuality knowledge and skills to pupils in protecting them from sexual risks.
School career service delivery refers to establishemt, provision and engagement of students in ca... more School career service delivery refers to establishemt, provision and engagement of students in career activities by school career counselors for the purpose of helping them to obtain skills necessary for making informed career decision during and after school journey. Since the counseling service is a voluntary activity, it is necessary for students and teacher counselors to willingly participate in this exercise so as to make career services' delivery effective.This paper intended to identify students' knowledge with career services available in schools, students' frequency of participation in career activities at school, students' attitude towards career services offered in schools and students' awareness on various career options. The paper also examined teachers' perception towards career services delivery by comparing government and international schools. The sample for the study included six secondary schools with a total number of 322 students, 6 heads of schools and 6 teacher counselors. Information from students were collected through questionnaire and focus group discussion while the interview was used for teacher counselors and heads of schools. The t-test shows a significant difference in scores for government school students (M= 28.88, SD=6.76) as compared to international school students [M=41.37, SD=11.67; p=.000], also students' frequency of participation in career activities was good among international school students as compared to students in government school. Apart from that international school students expressed positive attitude (M=39.47, SD=3.82) towards career services delivery in schools as compared to low attitude from government school students (M=29.77, SD=2.58 ). In line to that, many international school students expressed good awareness in various career options as compared to students in government schools. On the other hand, teachers in international schools perceived career services delivery to be very important as compared to low consideration expressed by teachers from government schools. It was therefore concluded that, career services delivery in international schools is to some degrees' effective as compared to government schools. It is therefore recommended that, awareness seminars and workshops are necessary especially in government schools in order to make career services provision effective. In line to that, future research can focus on the relevance of the current career counselors' training in preparing teacher counselors to work in schools in Tanzania.
Career services provision include all actions which deal with giving students information and psy... more Career services provision include all actions which deal with giving students information and psychological assistance that may directly affect their decisions and choices which these individuals are about to make on their schooling and employment. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of career services provision and its role on career decision making among high school students in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania by comparing career services provision in government and international schools. Specifically, the study intended to identify the career programs available to students in schools, students' career knowledge and the contribution of career programs and career knowledge to students' career decision making. The study was conducted in six secondary schools using a sample of 322 students. The data from students were collected through a structured questionnaire and focus group discussions. The results revealed that students in international schools had access to many career programs and they have better knowledge on careers as compared to students in government schools. It was therefore concluded that, career services provision in international schools is to some degrees a reality as opposed to government schools where career services provision is still a dream. It is suggested that, future research can observe the role of career services provision in secondary schools to students' ability to make relevant course choices in higher learning institutions.
Teaching practice is the central activity in testing teaching skills gathered in classroom learni... more Teaching practice is the central activity in testing teaching skills gathered in classroom learning and in preparing professional teachers in any country. The current study investigated student teachers perception and experience on the teaching practice supervisor's treatment, student supervisor pre or post classroom discussion and teaching practice processes in general. The data to inform the study were collected from 112 student teachers: 67 were males and 45 females and the tools used were questionnaires both structured and non-structured. Of these 52 were second years while 60 were third years. Majority of respondents about 95 (84.8%) were pre service and 17 (15.2%) were in-service. The findings revealed that student teachers had positive perception on teaching practice exercise, teaching practice supervisor's treatment, and supervisor-student feedback provision style. It was also discovered that demographic variables such as: sex, year of study and professional background had a slight influence on student teachers perception on teaching practice exercise, supervisors treatment, and supervisor-student feedback styles. In line to that 42 (37.5%) student-teachers acknowledged the concept that teaching practice is for improvement and the remaining percentages were given to factors associated to opposite dimension. It was therefore concluded that, there is a need for strengthening the teaching practice supervision exercise and specifically the collaboration between university teaching practice office and the teaching practice-host institutions should be improved so as to minimize the challenges emanating from miscommunication during the teaching practice exercise.
Development of science and technology especially in developing nations demands the preparation of... more Development of science and technology especially in developing nations demands the preparation of skilled individuals in science disciplines from lower levels of academic and skill training. This fact calls for the need to promote effective science teaching and learning in secondary schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of science teaching and learning, challenges facing the science learning in schools and opportunities for improvements. The study was conducted in four districts in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. Specifically, the study intended to identify the pass rates in science subjects, teachers' professional development, science teachers' teaching strategies, students' level of satisfaction with the teaching and students' readiness to take science subjects in their high schools. The study was conducted in twenty four secondary schools using a sample of 471 students and 66 teachers. The data from students and teachers were collected through a structured questionnaire and focus group discussions. The results revealed poor quality of science classroom teaching and a serious decline in interest of students in science subjects. It was therefore concluded that, teacher-students interaction and relationship in classroom teaching and learning of science need improvement. It is suggested that, future research can observe on the influence of social factors in the decline of interest in science subjects among secondary school students in Tanzania.
A B S T R A C T Violent forms of discipline in schools continue to be widespread across the globe... more A B S T R A C T Violent forms of discipline in schools continue to be widespread across the globe despite their damaging effects. Since little is known about factors influencing the extent of violence applied by teachers, this study aimed to investigate the influence of teachers' stress, work satisfaction, and personal characteristics on their disciplining style. Using structural equation modeling, associations between violent discipline, burnout symptoms, and job perceptions (pressure and difficulties in class) reported by 222 teachers from 11 secondary schools in Tanzania in 2015 were analyzed. Results indicated a direct association between perceived stress and emotional violent discipline (β = .18, p < .05) as well as physical violent discipline (β = .37, p < .001). Perceived stress also mediated the association between job perceptions and both forms of violent disciplining. The model showed good model fit (χ 2 [44, n = 222] = 67.47 (p = .013), CFI = .94, TLI = .91, IFI = .94, RMSEA = .049 [90%-CI = .02–.07, PCLOSE = .50], SRMR = .06). Our findings suggest that teachers' personal perceptions of their work as well as their stress burden play a role in their disciplining styles. Our findings underline the importance of integrating topics, such as stress and coping as well as positive, nonviolent discipline measures into the regular teacher's training and in addition to develop and evaluate school-based preventative interventions for teachers.
Abstract
Counseling is currently becoming a necessary service for school learners in the developi... more Abstract Counseling is currently becoming a necessary service for school learners in the developing world, this is due to fact that, the challenges facing learners in their learning process results into both internalizing and externalizing problems which affect student’s learning in terms of social, psychology and academic. This paper explores the status of school counselor’s training, knowledge and skills in Tanzania secondary schools. It attempt to assess school counselor’s perception towards the existing school counseling services and the degree of readiness to attend a counseling training in order to improve their counseling skills. The sample for the study included 62 school counselors from 16 secondary schools in Dar es salaam and the data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The findings indicate that, there is less training among school counselors in the studied secondary schools. It was also noted that, though some school counselors attended some trainings, their knowledge, skills and awareness to school counseling principles is very limited. However, school counselors’ perception towards counseling services in schools is good and their degree of readiness to attend counseling training is positive (M=1.39, SD= 0.554). It was therefore concluded that school counseling services need to be enhanced through provision of school counseling trainings to teachers who are appointed to serve as school counselors in various secondary schools. With the support from these findings, it is recommended that, seminars and workshops for raising awareness as well as long term trainings are important in order to make school counseling services effective. Therefore, future research can also observe the extent to which the counseling component is taught in teacher colleges and universities so as to test the rationale for appointing teachers to work as school counselors even without any specified training on counseling.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of school based sexuality education... more The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of school based sexuality education in promoting knowledge and skills relating to the prevention of pregnancy and HIV and AIDS. The rationale was that understanding how teachers and pupils experience sexuality education in schools could perhaps contribute to better ways of mitigating HIV/AIDS and pregnancies. In this regard, the study focused on exploring the way in which sexuality education is provided in primary schools, explore teachers' training on sexuality education provision, pupils' source of sexuality education knowledge and challenges that affect the provision of sexuality education. The study used mixed method design, where by both quantitative and qualitative approaches were utilized. The study population was drawn from a total of 120 teachers and 204 pupils. Data collection methods included, questionnaires and interviews. The research findings shows although sexuality education seem to be intergrated in subjects, pupils' source of sexuality knowledge seem to be not from schools teaching and learning rather other sources out of schools. On the other hand there was evidence of inadequate training for teachers on how to teach and handle sexuality classes in primary schools. Furthermore pupils faces difficulties in learning sexualit topics due to different factors such as cultural barrier, religious beliefs and personal background, teachers with relevant teaching skills and learning facilities. The study recommend several approaches to improve sexuality education in schools which include training for teachers to improve the content and methodology for teaching sexuality education, providing teaching and learning facilities relevant for improving sexuality education teaching. It is concluded that an open discussions on sexuality education among parents, pupils, religious leaders and policy makers should be carried out so as to develop a guideline on what should be included in the syllabus for sexuality education topics and how the contents should be taught. The study therefore calls for other researchers to investigate the application of sexuality knowledge and skills to pupils in protecting them from sexual risks.
School career service delivery refers to establishemt, provision and engagement of students in ca... more School career service delivery refers to establishemt, provision and engagement of students in career activities by school career counselors for the purpose of helping them to obtain skills necessary for making informed career decision during and after school journey. Since the counseling service is a voluntary activity, it is necessary for students and teacher counselors to willingly participate in this exercise so as to make career services' delivery effective.This paper intended to identify students' knowledge with career services available in schools, students' frequency of participation in career activities at school, students' attitude towards career services offered in schools and students' awareness on various career options. The paper also examined teachers' perception towards career services delivery by comparing government and international schools. The sample for the study included six secondary schools with a total number of 322 students, 6 heads of schools and 6 teacher counselors. Information from students were collected through questionnaire and focus group discussion while the interview was used for teacher counselors and heads of schools. The t-test shows a significant difference in scores for government school students (M= 28.88, SD=6.76) as compared to international school students [M=41.37, SD=11.67; p=.000], also students' frequency of participation in career activities was good among international school students as compared to students in government school. Apart from that international school students expressed positive attitude (M=39.47, SD=3.82) towards career services delivery in schools as compared to low attitude from government school students (M=29.77, SD=2.58 ). In line to that, many international school students expressed good awareness in various career options as compared to students in government schools. On the other hand, teachers in international schools perceived career services delivery to be very important as compared to low consideration expressed by teachers from government schools. It was therefore concluded that, career services delivery in international schools is to some degrees' effective as compared to government schools. It is therefore recommended that, awareness seminars and workshops are necessary especially in government schools in order to make career services provision effective. In line to that, future research can focus on the relevance of the current career counselors' training in preparing teacher counselors to work in schools in Tanzania.
Career services provision include all actions which deal with giving students information and psy... more Career services provision include all actions which deal with giving students information and psychological assistance that may directly affect their decisions and choices which these individuals are about to make on their schooling and employment. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of career services provision and its role on career decision making among high school students in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania by comparing career services provision in government and international schools. Specifically, the study intended to identify the career programs available to students in schools, students' career knowledge and the contribution of career programs and career knowledge to students' career decision making. The study was conducted in six secondary schools using a sample of 322 students. The data from students were collected through a structured questionnaire and focus group discussions. The results revealed that students in international schools had access to many career programs and they have better knowledge on careers as compared to students in government schools. It was therefore concluded that, career services provision in international schools is to some degrees a reality as opposed to government schools where career services provision is still a dream. It is suggested that, future research can observe the role of career services provision in secondary schools to students' ability to make relevant course choices in higher learning institutions.
Teaching practice is the central activity in testing teaching skills gathered in classroom learni... more Teaching practice is the central activity in testing teaching skills gathered in classroom learning and in preparing professional teachers in any country. The current study investigated student teachers perception and experience on the teaching practice supervisor's treatment, student supervisor pre or post classroom discussion and teaching practice processes in general. The data to inform the study were collected from 112 student teachers: 67 were males and 45 females and the tools used were questionnaires both structured and non-structured. Of these 52 were second years while 60 were third years. Majority of respondents about 95 (84.8%) were pre service and 17 (15.2%) were in-service. The findings revealed that student teachers had positive perception on teaching practice exercise, teaching practice supervisor's treatment, and supervisor-student feedback provision style. It was also discovered that demographic variables such as: sex, year of study and professional background had a slight influence on student teachers perception on teaching practice exercise, supervisors treatment, and supervisor-student feedback styles. In line to that 42 (37.5%) student-teachers acknowledged the concept that teaching practice is for improvement and the remaining percentages were given to factors associated to opposite dimension. It was therefore concluded that, there is a need for strengthening the teaching practice supervision exercise and specifically the collaboration between university teaching practice office and the teaching practice-host institutions should be improved so as to minimize the challenges emanating from miscommunication during the teaching practice exercise.
Development of science and technology especially in developing nations demands the preparation of... more Development of science and technology especially in developing nations demands the preparation of skilled individuals in science disciplines from lower levels of academic and skill training. This fact calls for the need to promote effective science teaching and learning in secondary schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of science teaching and learning, challenges facing the science learning in schools and opportunities for improvements. The study was conducted in four districts in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. Specifically, the study intended to identify the pass rates in science subjects, teachers' professional development, science teachers' teaching strategies, students' level of satisfaction with the teaching and students' readiness to take science subjects in their high schools. The study was conducted in twenty four secondary schools using a sample of 471 students and 66 teachers. The data from students and teachers were collected through a structured questionnaire and focus group discussions. The results revealed poor quality of science classroom teaching and a serious decline in interest of students in science subjects. It was therefore concluded that, teacher-students interaction and relationship in classroom teaching and learning of science need improvement. It is suggested that, future research can observe on the influence of social factors in the decline of interest in science subjects among secondary school students in Tanzania.
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Papers by Mabula Nkuba
Counseling is currently becoming a necessary service for school learners in the developing world, this is due to
fact that, the challenges facing learners in their learning process results into both internalizing and externalizing
problems which affect student’s learning in terms of social, psychology and academic. This paper explores the
status of school counselor’s training, knowledge and skills in Tanzania secondary schools. It attempt to assess
school counselor’s perception towards the existing school counseling services and the degree of readiness to
attend a counseling training in order to improve their counseling skills. The sample for the study included 62
school counselors from 16 secondary schools in Dar es salaam and the data were collected through
questionnaires and interviews. The findings indicate that, there is less training among school counselors in the
studied secondary schools. It was also noted that, though some school counselors attended some trainings, their
knowledge, skills and awareness to school counseling principles is very limited. However, school counselors’
perception towards counseling services in schools is good and their degree of readiness to attend counseling
training is positive (M=1.39, SD= 0.554). It was therefore concluded that school counseling services need to be
enhanced through provision of school counseling trainings to teachers who are appointed to serve as school
counselors in various secondary schools. With the support from these findings, it is recommended that, seminars
and workshops for raising awareness as well as long term trainings are important in order to make school
counseling services effective. Therefore, future research can also observe the extent to which the counseling
component is taught in teacher colleges and universities so as to test the rationale for appointing teachers to work
as school counselors even without any specified training on counseling.
Counseling is currently becoming a necessary service for school learners in the developing world, this is due to
fact that, the challenges facing learners in their learning process results into both internalizing and externalizing
problems which affect student’s learning in terms of social, psychology and academic. This paper explores the
status of school counselor’s training, knowledge and skills in Tanzania secondary schools. It attempt to assess
school counselor’s perception towards the existing school counseling services and the degree of readiness to
attend a counseling training in order to improve their counseling skills. The sample for the study included 62
school counselors from 16 secondary schools in Dar es salaam and the data were collected through
questionnaires and interviews. The findings indicate that, there is less training among school counselors in the
studied secondary schools. It was also noted that, though some school counselors attended some trainings, their
knowledge, skills and awareness to school counseling principles is very limited. However, school counselors’
perception towards counseling services in schools is good and their degree of readiness to attend counseling
training is positive (M=1.39, SD= 0.554). It was therefore concluded that school counseling services need to be
enhanced through provision of school counseling trainings to teachers who are appointed to serve as school
counselors in various secondary schools. With the support from these findings, it is recommended that, seminars
and workshops for raising awareness as well as long term trainings are important in order to make school
counseling services effective. Therefore, future research can also observe the extent to which the counseling
component is taught in teacher colleges and universities so as to test the rationale for appointing teachers to work
as school counselors even without any specified training on counseling.