College of Social Sciences and Humanities

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Browsing College of Social Sciences and Humanities by Subject "Academic performance"

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    Assessment of students’ academic performance under secondary education development plan (SEDIP I) implementation: the case of Nyamagana district, Tanzania
    (Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2014) Makoye, Susana
    The study was conducted to assess students’ academic performance under Secondary Education Development Plan (SEDP I) implementation in Nyamagana District, Tanzania. Data were collected using both structured and non-structured interviews. Field observations and secondary data supplemented the data collected using questionnaires. Purposive sampling procedure was used to select 5 schools that were in place before and after SEDP 1 implementation. At the school level, 12 teachers and 8 students from each school were randomly picked leading to a sample size of 100 respondents. The collected data were analyzed using SSPS software. The results indicated that there was no significant difference (P < 0.05) in students academic performance before and after SEDP I implementation. The results suggested that major factors which could have affected students’ academic performance included poor teaching/learning environment such as inadequate classrooms, text books, basic laboratory and library equipment/facilities. These were largely attributed to inadequate funding of the planned activities, misallocation of funds, poor participation by the key stakeholders and untimely disbursement of funds. In light of the above, it is recommended that successful implementation of future similar programmes should take into consideration the following: (1) Provision of adequate funds for budgeted activities and proper financial management, (2) Sensitization of key stakeholders in progamme/project management, (3) Provision of regular in service training to teachers aiming at improving teaching methodology and professional skills, and (4) training more teachers in mathematics and science based subjects in order to reduce the existing deficit.
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    Comparison between students’ academic performance and their abilities in written English language skills: A Tanzanian perspective
    (2012) Komba, S. C.; Kafanabo, E. J.; Njabili, A. F.
    This article is based on the study which sought to compare between the students’ academic performance and their abilities in written English Language Skills. The study was conducted at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania. The respondents were 358 finalists from six degree programmes selected randomly out of the 20 degree programmes at the university. The findings indicated that there was a statistically significant positive relationship between the students’ abilities in the English Writing Skills Test (EWST) and their University GPAs (r=314, p< 0.01). However, the content analysis of the EWST essays showed that the students had serious problems in spelling, using appropriate forms of adjectives, punctuation marks, simple present tense, recognizing passive voice and using relative pronouns and prepositions.
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    The Link between English language proficiency and academic performance: a pedagogical perspective in Tanzanian Secondary Schools
    (Sciedu Press, 2012) Wilson, B.; Komba, S.C.
    English, the Language of Instruction (LOI), has fallen victim of blame of some scholars as the cause of poor performance in secondary schools in Tanzania. The blame is directed at English strongly up until recent years (2010 and 2011) when the results of national examinations have been extremely worse. It seems, the public presumes that there is relationship between students’ academic success and their abilities in the LOI. This paper sought to investigate whether there is relationship between English Language Proficiency (ELP) and academic performance in Tanzanian secondary schools. The data used were obtained by administering an ELP test and a review of students’ reports, and were quantitatively analyzed using a computer software, Statistical Package for Software System (SPSS) version 18. The study revealed that there is a significant weak positive relationship between ELP and students’ academic achievement. The relationship was significant in English and insignificant in other subjects which were investigated. On the basis of the findings of this study, it is argued that academic success is a function of several variables and not only proficiency in the LOI. It is therefore recommended that the responsible authorities should invest in improving English language proficiency among students since ELP is positively connected with academic success.