Rethinking Teacher Education: Improvement, Innovation and Change

Rethinking Teacher Education: Improvement, Innovation and Change is the result of the conference organised by The Aga Khan University - Institute for Educational Development, East Africa (AKU-IED, EA) on education, in Uganda in 2017. The Conference, gathered participants from nine countries, to deliberate on a cross section of factors regarding teacher education in the region and landscaping the same on global perspectives. The choice of the conference theme was inspired by a need to consider new systems, policies, structures and reforms to help drive sustainable education for the development of nations in the East African region. A variety contributors participated from across the education landscape, and included researchers working in higher education, practitioners such as teachers in schools, tutors, instructors in colleges, and lecturers and professors at universities. Also contributing were non-governmental organisations with interests in education and student learning outcomes, civil society organisations whose interests navigate the role education plays in social and national development, policy makers and curriculum developers, librarians, publishers, booksellers and teacher trainees, all of who shared their rich experiences and perspectives on teacher education in the 21st century in East Africa and globally.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mkuki Na Nyota Publishers
• Release date: Sep 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9789987082049

Book preview

Foreword

Education is the process of facilitating learning for the purpose of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, habits, etcetera, for human development. It is the act of giving knowledge to others, as well as the act of receiving knowledge from the others. It can be formally or informally executed. In most cases, this is realized through systematic instructions and methods in settings that are purposely designated to that end, the best example being educational institutions of various order.

As aforementioned, education is for human development. Human development in its nature is never static, but highly dynamic across time and space, which calls, for an equally relevant and worthy education which corresponds with the demands of the moment.

The Aga Khan University, Institute for Education Development, East Africa (AKU-IED, EA) as an institution of higher learning has set out to pave an educational spoor into the 21st century, while bearing in mind the myriad challenges that have been raised by scientific and technological revolution. The AKU-IED, EA move is clearly witnessed by the Uganda Conference papers that compose this heuristic-cum-ponderous, deep-sinking, far-reaching and thought-provocative book. The book is a display of marvellous erudition and intricate knowledge of learning and teaching methods of the current century. It is a must-read book for all educational institutions which need educational transformation.

The Uganda Conference was held on 23rd – 25th October 2017 at the Hotel Africana, Kampala, Uganda, bringing together participants from seven countries. This national conference was on teacher education with the theme Re-thinking Teacher Education: Improvement, Innovation and Change. The conference provided a space for participants to interrogate the systems, policies, structures and reforms to drive sustainable change in teacher education for the development of the East African community and beyond. Since what was discussed in 2017 is still valid today, almost five years after the conference took place, one should not say that the book is out of date. The content and its meaning remain current and worth reading.

As stated by the Dean and Associate Vice Provost - AKU-IED, EA, Prof. Joe L.P. Lugalla, the Institute strongly believes that an excellent institution of higher learning must be possessive of three attributes, namely, an excelling teaching staff, excelling research and scholarship, as well as excelling community outreach programmes. This book is reflective of these virtues to AKU-IED, EA.

While hoping that this book will win a wide circulation of readership, I wish to conclude with a quotation from one of the respected popular Russian novelist and philosopher, Maxim Gorky, who said: We are accustomed to live in hopes of good weather, a good harvest, a nice love-affair, hopes of becoming rich or getting the office of chief of police, but I never noticed anyone hoping to get wiser.

Dr. Joshua S. Madumulla

Catholic University College of Mbeya (CUCoM), Tanzania.

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Authors

Dan Bubale, attained a Master of Education Degree in Educational Leadership and Management from the Aga Khan University - Institute for Educational Development, East Africa in 2012 in Tanzania and then a Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Administration and Management from Uganda Christian University in Uganda. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Education of Kyambogo University in Uganda. Bubale Dan is a Senior Education Officer of Kayunga District Local Government in Uganda. Professionally, he has developed through ranks of Headteacher, Inspector of Schools and Senior Education Officer. He has interest in education leadership, administration and general management. Besides being an active education officer, Bubale Dan is also involved in research and development programs in education, in Uganda.

Dr. Fulgence Saronga Swai has achieved the status of Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in recognition of attainment against the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and learning support in higher education while teaching at the Aga Khan University. He is currently teaching at Tumaini Dar es Salaam University College (A Constituent College of Tumaini University Makumira). From 2004, he has taught at the universities of Dar es Salaam, Open University of Tanzania and the University of Aga Khan (2016 – 2019), teaching in courses ranging from Assessment, Measurement and Evacuation, Curriculum Developmnet, Educational Management Research methods and Statistics. He attained a Doctor of Philosophy (Education) from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA in February 2004. Besides being active in class, Dr Swai is involved in building social capital in the communities surrounding schools with a keen interest on grounded theory. He has the interest to see Kiswahili as the Medium of Instruction in Tanzania Higher Education Universities.

Jayne Doreen Oluga attained a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) Degree from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in October, 2012 and is currently pursuing a Master of Laws (LL.M) Degree from the University of Houston. Jayne is an independent lawyer specializing in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Having worked as a Legal Intern and Legal Officer, she gained experiences in legal research, writing, drafting, litigation and administration. Further, she was able to expand her experience and knowledge in research as a Research Assistant with Firelight Foundation. In addition, her interest in rights education saw her co-present a paper entitled ‘The Role of Teacher Education in Facilitating Human Rights for Citizenship in Kenya – A legal Perspective’ at Aga Khan University’s National Education Conference, Uganda, 2017. Jayne has skills in digital media and is currently a Digital Media and Communications Officer with The Alpha Safety Company, Texas.

Damaris L. Oluga studied International Relations at the United States International University, with a focus on Peace and Conflict Studies. Damaris is a researcher in matters of international affairs and development including a recent research on refugee education during the COVID-19 Pandemic, under the 2nd IGAD Scientific Conference on Migration and Displacement. So far, she has worked with Amnesty International, East African Region - Rwanda and Burundi for Human Rights issues and worked as an intern in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kenya under the China Desk, Asia Directorate. Besides this, Damaris engages in local volunteer work including volunteer work at the First Love Children’s Home in Nairobi, Kenya. She worked with Prudential Life Assurance Company, where she was a team leader in charge of financial advisors. Damaris is currently an independent researcher focusing on international relations, human rights and refugee issues and migration.

Mr. Joachim Tamba

Mr. Joachim Tamba is a lecturer on Special Needs Education and Inclusive Education at the Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development in East Africa (AKU-IED, EA). He has over 30 years of professional and teaching experience in special needs and inclusive education.

Mr. Tamba holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Special Needs Education from the University of Oslo, Norway. Previously, he has also acquired a Bachelor of Art degree in Special Education and an Advanced Diploma in Special Education, both from the University of Jyvaskla, in Finland.

Over the years, Mr. Tamba has accumulated considerable experience in administration and leadership in special needs and inclusive education. He served as Head Teacher at the Mtoni Special School for students with intellectual impairment and Autism Spectrum Disorder, for 18 years. Here, he also served as Coordinator of Educational Support, Resource and Assessment Services (ESRAS) for all the children with special needs in Tanzania. Mr. Tamba has also served as the Chair for the East Africa Inter Cities Federation of Head Teachers for five years. He was recently involved in the Strengthening of Teaching and Raising Achievements in Pre-Primary and Primary Schools (STRAPPS) project in Southern Tanzania, where he contributed on all issues pertaining to special needs. Furthermore, Mr. Tamba also worked at the Tanzanian Ministry of Education for five years, where he was involved in discussing policy issues and participated in formulating national policy and guidelines related to special needs and inclusive education:

Hab’Imana John Baptist is a Doctoral student pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Educational Management from Makerere University. He holds a Master’s Degree in Education Management, a Bachelor of Divinity and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education-all from Makerere University. He also has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Urbanian University in Rome. Hab’Imana is a Lecturer at Gulu University. He has researched and published in areas of Innovation in education.

Maina Gĩokõ is the Head of Professional Development Center at Aga Khan Academy. A teacher Educator Dr. Maina is the Global Coordinator with Knowledge Innovation Exchange, Master Trainer, Virtual Facilitator and a learner. Dr. Maina is a holder of PhD in Management from SMC University and M Ed from Aga Khan University. Dr. Maina has attended internships, fellowships, workshops, seminars, conferences and policy engagement globally from a range of curriculum-based topics, leadership and management, technology integration and education for sustainable development. Dr. Maina has authored on education leadership and management, continuous professional learning, innovative pedagogies and technology infusion in teaching, learning and assessment. Dr. Maina is a global teacher prize finalist, Harvard fellow, listed in Africa’s movers and shakers in cooperate online learning 2018 and awarded alumni leadership for Education by Aga Khan university among other awards and recognitions.

Rosemary Waga is a Grade 3 teacher at Aga Khan Primary School, Mombasa. Ms. Rosemary is a B Ed. Graduate from Moi University a literacy coach with Aga khan education service, Kenya. Ms. Rosemary has co-authored in Technology Integration in learning and communities of learning. Ms. Rosemary is a Member of International Federation for Information Processing Technical working group 3.1. Ms. Rosemary is Ambassador with Learning Toolkit Program supported by Aga Khan Academy and Concordia University and Lead facilitator with Learning Unpacked Applied. Ms. Rosemary has interest in digital agency and gender responsive pedagogy.

Mary Oluga is engaged in programmes and projects related to the improvement of performance of teachers and teacher educators in various contexts of East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania), that target improvement of learning outcomes. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development, East Africa where she coordinates the Masters in Education Programme. She teaches a number of disciplines including Teacher Education, Language and Literacy in Education and Sensitive Issues in the Curriculum. She has been part of the teams involved in reviewing programmes offered by the University, including supporting the recent migration to online learning due to COVID-19.

Her research interests include Children’s literacy development, Universalization of education, Teacher professionalization and development, Quality assurance in Higher Education and Sensitive issues and emergent issues in Education among others.

Moses Orwe Onyango, attained a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Education from the University of Cambridge in 2012. Dr. Orwe is a teacher and CAS Coordinator at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. He was a pioneer faculty at AKU-Institute for Educational Development, East Africa from 2006 to 2012. He has researched and published in areas of assessment for learning and teacher professional development. So far he has one book (co-authored) and many papers in peer reviewed international journals. Besides teaching in classes, Dr. Orwe is also actively involved in a variety of teacher development outreach programs in east Africa, specifically in Kenya.

Fortidas Bakuza is an Assistant Professor at the Aga Khan University-Institute for Education Development East Africa based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Dr. Bakuza holds a doctorate degree in Education Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo where his research interest is in Education leadership and policy with specific interest on differences between enacted and implemented policies on Early Childhood Education leadership. He also holds a Masters degree from the State University of New York and a Bachelor of Arts with Education from University of Dar es Salaam as well as postgraduate professional courses on Children, Youth and Development. He is interested in improving the quality of learning and teaching especially in Early Years Education for a strong foundation of human development.

Bernadatte NAMIREMBE is working since 2016 as a Lecturer at Uganda Martyrs University (UMU). She has a Master degree in Educational Foundations from Makerere University (2007) and a Bachelor of Arts with Education degree from Makerere University (1997). Since 2011, she has been specializing in deaf education and she has trained both specialized teachers of the deaf and regular teachers. She has coordinated an international exchange project with Royal Dutch Kentalis, financed by American Philanthropy (PSIPSE) Teaching Deaf Learners – A pilot on innovative teaching skills in Tanzania (2014-2016) which was implemented at AMUCTA (Archbishop Mihayo University College of Tabora, Tanzania).

Kazinda Generous attained a Master’s Degree SNE - Roehampton University 2008, a Post Graduate Diploma in Curriculum Design and Development Open University of Dara-es salaam – Tanzania 2015. Bachelor of Education in SNE - 2004: Diploma in Educational Planning and Management 2004: Diploma in Education 1999 at Kyambogo University Generous worked as a teacher at Kinyasano P/S 1994-2000 and as an Inspector of Schools in Rukungiri District 2001-2010; Curriculum Specialist - SNE NCDC 2011 to date.

Mweru Mwingi, holds PhD in Education from Rhodes University, South Africa. She teaches at the Aga Khan University-Institute for Education Development, East Africa. Her research interests are in educational leadership, gender in education and teachers professional development.

Hillary. A. Dachi, graduated with a Doctor of Education from the Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol in 2001. He is a Senior Lecturer of educational management at the University of Dar es Salaam Tanzania, teaching educational planning, administration and financing. He is the immediate former Dean of the School of Education, and currently, the Institutional Coordinator of Pedagogical Leadership in Africa (PedaL) programme at the University of Dar es Salaam, supported by Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education Innovation and Reform (SPHEIR).

Nicholas Wachira is a faculty member at AKU-IED. He teaches, researches and has interests in Educational Leadership and Management and assessment approaches to education. Interests in assessment have led him to begin thinking, analyzing and disseminating knowledge about assessment literacy in education as both a practitioner and researcher. Wachira has been a teacher, principal and a university academic for the longer part of his career.

CHAPTER 1

Leadership for School Effectiveness in UPE Schools: A Case Study of Kayunga District, Uganda

Bubale Dan

Abstract

The study examined the status of leadership and its relationship to school effectiveness in UPE schools in Uganda, using Kayunga District as a case. A cross-sectional research design established the degree to which leadership affects school effectiveness in Ugandan UPE schools and the mitigation measures needed to address this gap in educational research literature. Current education research presents that outstanding leadership is a key characteristic of school effectiveness. To-date, there is no single documented case of a school improving its student achievement record without effective leadership practices. Moreover, the 21st century schooling necessitates a shift away from hierarchical leadership policy-driven practices to lateral capacity building for increased teacher and learner performance. Increasingly, researchers and policymakers have called for a move towards more distributed forms of leadership if schools are to become effective. Born from collective decision-making processes of all stakeholders, distributed leadership enables leaders to create school climates in which positive learning is regarded a common benefit. Without redefining schools’ leadership policies to enable effective and quantitative leadership behaviours, the past mistakes are likely to persist.

Key words: Leadership, distributed leadership, school effectiveness and pupil academic achievement

Introduction

The study examined the relationship between leadership and school effectiveness in government-aided primary schools in Kayunga District in Uganda. It displayed how shared leadership and responsibilities impacts on school performance. This paper presents background information of the study, contextual aspects of the research problem, conceptualization of leadership and school effectiveness, and the distributed leadership perspective. It also highlights the purpose of the study, problem statement, research questions and objectives, significance of the study, conceptual framework, theoretical perspectives, methodology, background of respondents, presentation and discussion of findings, conclusion, recommendations and areas for further research.

Background of the Study

Over the past 20 years, international attempts to raise educational standards and improve learning opportunities for all pupils have accelerated and proliferated. This has generated a state of constant change and an unrelenting array of initiatives and reforms that need to be implemented by school leaders. In response to this, a great deal of attention has been given to evaluating how school leadership is effectively practiced to impact instructional change and performance outcomes (UNESCO, 2014). Current education research presents that effective leadership is a key characteristic of school effectiveness. To-date, there is no single documented case of a school improving its student academic achievement record without effective leadership. Developments within the educational sector have increased the roles and responsibilities of those who work in schools, with an increasing debate about the range of different kinds of leadership style.

Due to the increasing complexity of school management which is expressed in all kinds of administrative, educational, social and organisational requirements, today’s school leaders need to enlarge their scope of leadership activities beyond the school. To establish this kind of ‘system leadership’, the leadership at the school itself need to be better distributed (NCSL, 2004). Studies on distributed leadership view schools as large and complex social systems, which need learning and communication to be distributed across the system. Ideally, a school, rather than the individual leader, is the most appropriate unit for thinking about the development of leadership expertise (Spillane, Halverson, & Diamond, 2004).

Contextually, since 1963, Uganda’s school leadership has been largely traditional with a strong hierarchy centralised on the Headteacher (Education Act, 1963). In 1963, the New Castle Commission created new structures in review of the education system. Nevertheless, such structures often tended to ignore the voice of teachers and full participation in school decision-making processes (Ssekamwa, 1997). Non-participative decision-making processes present powerful barriers that lead to teacher ineffectiveness, poor academic achievement levels and school ineffectiveness. This often results into high levels of attrition, reduced completion rates, and fewer entrants to secondary education. Although the Uganda government has tried to redress the issues that cause poor academic achievement in UPE schools, there is little evidence that the interventions used have helped to solve the problems (Uwezo, 2015). Through the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), the government established Education Standards Agency (ESA) to oversee performance standards in all education institutions.

The government also put in place School Management Committees (SMCs), District Education Officers (DEOs), District Inspectors of Schools (DISs) and Centre Coordinating Tutors (CCTs) to oversee school management and monitor pupils’ performance in schools. Despite these endeavors, pupils’ academic performance of government-aided primary schools continues to be wanting (UNEB, 2015). Unfortunately, school leadership is still focused more on administration than teaching and learning in classes (Kyeyune, 2008). A combination of factors that weaken the learning and teaching of pupils in UPE schools is persistent. Thus, in the process, school leaders are challenged in their leadership and managerial roles. Failure to effectively lead and manage schools by most Headteachers translates into failure by learners to achieve a higher performance rate. Research in the United Kingdom has noted that there is a positive relationship between leadership and school effectiveness (Muijs, 2011; Harris, 2008). Recently, empirical studies are appearing more frequently in this field of educational leadership with the idea of enhancing teacher active participation to ensure school effectiveness and change.

Leadership and School Effectiveness

Leadership is pivotal to school effectiveness. Thus, the relationship between these two pillars, has a significant impact on pupils’ academic achievement. As leadership is expected to impact on school improvement process, the link between leadership and the overall success of schools present outstanding benefits to pupils’ academic achievement. The overall image of school effectiveness is thus defined, to a large extent, by the leadership styles of the Headteacher and other senior staff (Muijs, 2011; Elmore, 2008). Increasingly, the Headteacher’s leadership style is critical in influencing performance improvement in the school’s social climate to ensure efficiency and effectiveness (Hargreaves, Boyle, & Harris, 2014; Arun, 2008).

Effective leadership partake the trends of collective decision making processes, shared vision, and facilitation of collaborative action amongst staff by school administrators (Davis, 2009; Elmore, 2005), as well as, successful school leadership describes the scope of tasks and responsibilities of the Headteacher and the school’s leadership team with respect to leading learning and teaching (Elmore, 2008; Harris, 2008). To coordinate and mediate these leadership tasks may necessitate distributed leadership to enhance collaboration, shared values, and collegiality of school personnel. These leadership practices are strong contributors to effecting sound pupil academic achievement levels.

Distributed Leadership Perspective

In education literature, the term ‘distributed leadership’ is believed to have been first used by Gibb (1954; 1958), an Australian psychologist, who drew attention to the dynamics of influence processes as they impact the work of different groups. Gibb drew attention to the tendency of leadership to pass from one individual to another as the situation changes. Gibb refers to such leadership as distributed leadership (DL) in organizations. Gibb (1968) views distributed leadership as a holistic perspective performed by many leaders. He advances three main dimensions: first, there are collaborative forms of engagement which arise spontaneously in the workplace; secondly, there are emergent interpersonal synergies that solidify as part of the development of close working relationships among colleagues; and, thirdly, there is a variety of structural relations and institutionalized structures which constitute attempts to regularize distributed action. All the three patterns are an expression of division of labour based on shared values, as opposed to the system of formally defined role relations in the workplace. Distributed leadership is shared amongst a number of colleagues from time to time. Leadership that is shared within, between, and across departments positively influences collaborative decision making, and positively affects the overall school performance (Sibanda, 2017; Harris, 2013).

Therefore, using DL approach enhances levels of decision - making from the top administration and scales down to line employees across all levels (Malloy, 2012). This creates room for debate and dialogue for all stakeholders to participate sufficiently in the day to day school leadership activities (Gronn, 2008; Fullan, 2007). It also gives attention to how, when, where, and to whom leadership is distributed and erodes mechanism of imbalances in distribution of authority and influence (Gordon, 2010; Woods & Gronn, 2009). Such an approach of shared influence in decision making, not only builds a culture of collaboration, but also coordination of instruction by staff. Moreover, it leads into concerted efforts of teachers to enhance teaching and pupils’ learning outcomes. Consequently, pupils are willing to learn and are inclined to cooperate. Besides, teachers collaboratively implement leadership activities with the capacity to evaluate school effectiveness. Such shared practices enable teachers and pupils in UPE schools to work hard and meet high academic expectations if well implemented in Kayunga District. Thus, for UPE schools to successfully function in Uganda the definition of leadership and school effectiveness must be reconceptualised and effectively implemented by education actors.

Conceptualisation of Leadership and School Effectiveness in UPE Schools

The concept leadership has been defined as behaviors of those that lead and influence followers to achieve a common goal, while school effectiveness refers to high pupils’ academic achievement measured on standardized tests. Effectiveness is thus an indicator of excellent pupils’ academic achievement (Harris, 2008; Muijs, 2011). Studies on school effectiveness can be viewed as the place of a school academically, which is usually explained in terms of pupils’ academic success (Muijs, 2006). Academic success according to the Cambridge University Reporter (2003) is frequently defined in terms of examination performance. Similarly, academic success is premised on the philosophy that pupils achieve the best results (Rashid & Uz Zaman, 2018). This study adapted both the Cambridge University Reporter’s definition of pupils’ academic success, along with Rashid and Uz Zaman’s views on academic achievement, because in Uganda, pupil academic achievement is characterized by the overall academic performance obtained at the end of primary education in each year in the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), which culminates success in Division I as First Grade, Division II as Second Grade, Division III as Third Grade, and Division IV as Fourth Grade. Pupils whose grade score is ‘U’ are considered as failures or ungraded (UNEB, 2015). Thus, passing in terms of first grades, and so on, would take into account pupils’ achievement in national examinations.

Additionally, grades imply that the lesser the division, the better the pupils had performed academically. As such, the First Grade, Second Grade and Third Grade are a good and fair measure of pupils’ academic performance. Conceptualizing school effectiveness to pupil academic achievement helps schools determine what components to target for instruction, what components of curriculum content to assess, what features of problems to give diagnostic information, how to arrange instruction for maximum effect, and how to link proficiency to stipulated competencies and grades. Hence, this study examined the contributions of DL practices that could bridge the performance gap in government-aided primary schools in Kayunga District.

Leadership is also influenced by the prevailing conditions in a school, and in this study the leadership styles that lead to high pupil academic achievement and highly motivated teachers are participatory and collective of which distributed leadership substantially overlaps (Spillane, 2006; Halverson, & Clifford, 2013). Distributed leadership is about collective influence, not just some accidental by-product of high performing schools, but a contributor to school effectiveness (Hargreaves & Harris, 2010; Hargreaves, Boyle & Harris, 2014). It provides a framework for sustainable leadership in schools characterized by shared instructional tasks, depth of learning, and real pupils’ academic achievement (Hargreaves & Fink, 2006). Drawing from the substantive effects of distributed leadership, the researcher formulated strategies to unlock the increasing leadership inefficiencies of school leaders to merit pupil academic achievement in UPE schools. With this perspective, the researcher studied the distribution of leadership throughout the 21 selected UPE schools and the scope for developing teacher leadership to address issues pertaining school effectiveness. This study examined whether leadership styles used by Headteachers provided opportunities for teachers to make significant contributions in decision making, along with the school management to boost pupils’ academic levels. The influence and involvement of stakeholders is a critical factor in determining essential learning needs and interests of pupils.

As a measure of school effectiveness, distributed leadership framework enables Headteachers to deal more swiftly, effectively, and fairly with underperforming members of staff through use of collective intellect and energy at the most appropriate time. For example, this study found that schools that had adapted distributed leadership principles transformed standards. Headteachers took a rigorous distributive leadership approach, together with two senior members of staff, subject heads and their deputies. They undertook a full review of the quality of teaching by giving direct and detailed feedback to each teacher, along with strategies to improve. A reward system and rubric for teaching good lessons was introduced, and dates were set to reassess the quality of their teaching by the District Education officials. Each teacher received tailored support on what was needed to improve. A one-to-one mentoring, coaching and peer observations were used in model schools as effective strategies for scaling up standards (see table 5, pg. 15). Today, the District PLE results are pleasing. Results of the past three years indicate that pupils in the model schools are able to reach national expectations. These schools have received recognition of best performing UPE schools in the District and for the roles they play in networking with other schools to improve.

The above case scenario reaffirms the theoretical terms of DL which suggests that multiple sources of guidance and direction in school-wide decision-making processes, particularly those in middle-level leadership positions such as Director of studies, Heads of department and Class teachers (Malloy, 2012; Cole, 2008). Thus, DL warrants consideration and application of a social form of leadership structure in schools where all teachers’ potentials at different levels are valued and supported regardless of status (Preedy, 2016). Such leadership practices highlight context and boundary management of schools for ensuring co-constructive nature of teachers and the school-wider community if well implemented. This pool of leadership research has, on many occasions, addressed leadership for fostering pupils’ performance in schools (Harris, 2013; 2008).

Purpose of the Study

The study examined the type of leadership vis-à-vis school effectiveness and the impact it has on pupils’ academic achievement in UPE schools in Uganda, using Kayunga District as a case.

Problem Statement

Pupils’ academic achievement in PLE in universal primary education schools in Kayunga district has been consistently poor for the past five years. This state of affairs has persisted despite the fact that all schools have trained teachers, are provided with scholastic materials, have necessary infrastructure development and are regularly inspected to ensure effective teaching and learning prevails. For instance, in 2013, out of 4537 candidates from government-aided primary schools who sat for PLE, 41% were ungraded. In 2014, out of 4132 candidates