Management of language education programmes and training of language teachers in public universities in Uganda

Abstract

This study investigated the management of language education programmes and its influence on the training of language teachers in public universities in Uganda. It particularly sought to determine the planning, organising, staffing and budgeting for language education programmes and their influence on the training of language teachers in public universities in Uganda. The study was based on the contingency theory of management which proposes for adoption of a management style depending on the existing circumstances. The chosen style of management must be compatible and integrated into the ‘manager’s style of management’. Therefore, for effective training of language teachers, the functions of management are executed differently depending on the existing circumstances prevailing in the departments engaged in language teacher training. The conceptual framework for this study was derived from the Streven’s Conceptual Framework of the language learning/teaching process. The study was basically conducted through an analytic ethnographic design; although both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed. Data was collected between February 2007 and January 2010, using observations, interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaires and document analysis techniques from 63 respondents in three departments that are involved in training language teachers in public universities in Uganda. Qualitative data was coded and organised into meaningful categories for easy interpretations, while quantitative data was analysed through percentages, frequencies and the Fishers’ exact test of analysis. The study findings revealed that planning of language education programmes is an abrupt exercise with no proper terms of reference, and no substantial time or space allocated to the activities. It was further revealed that though trainers were performing a central role in the training of language teachers, their teaching load was above the prescribed load, and a laissez fairer supervision prevailed in all language teacher training activities. It was also revealed that all personnel who participate in training language teachers are identified by language teacher trainers and the former do not get pre-training, and their motivation is generally low. The study went on to reveal that the resources for training language teachers were inadequate. The study concludes that management of language education programmes has a direct influence on the training of language teachers: in the sense that effective planning, proper organising, adequate staffing, and efficient budgeting result in effective training of language teachers. Basing on the above findings, the researcher recommends that planning of language education programmes should be prioritised by departments that train language teachers. Secondly, departments involved in language education programmes should streamline the organisation of such programmes through equipping heads of departments and unit coordinators with managerial skills. Thirdly, the identification and recommendation of staff in language education programmes should be made transparent. And the recruited staff should be given both pre-training and in-service training in language and language education programmes. Fourth, language teacher trainers should be availed with resources and especially the language teaching laboratory centre to enhance practical teaching. Also, trainers should be involved in the budgeting process for efficiency, and resource monitoring should be carried out more routinely. Finally, the researcher recommends that further research be conducted on the language teachers’ performance in secondary schools vis-à-vis their training in public universities.