The effect of distant family on teacher performance in Bujumba Sub-County, Kalangala district.

Abstract

The study sought to find out if distant family affects teacher performance for secondary school teachers in Bujumba sub-county, Kalangala District. Distant family was defined as a situation where an employee does not reside with the immediate family members; while teachers’ job performance was taken to mean a teacher’s lesson planning and preparation, lesson delivery, and conduct of co-curricular activities. The study sought to achieve three objectives namely: (i) To establish the effect of distant family on lesson planning and preparation for secondary school teachers of Kalangala district. (ii) To examine the effect of distant family on lesson delivery and report making for secondary school teachers in Kalangala district. (iii) To analyze the effect of distant family on the conduct of co-curricular activities by secondary school teachers in Kalangala district. A sample of 50 secondary school teachers from Bujumba Sub County, Kalangala district was selected for the study. Both the quantitative and qualitative data was collected using questionnaires and interview guides. Chi-square test was adopted to analyse the quantitative data; while qualitative data was analysed by coding and establishing cross-cutting themes. Findings of the study revealed that the majority of the secondary school teachers in Kalangala district do not prepare lesson plans due to the distant family phenomenon; the majority of the secondary school teachers in Kalangala district do not go to class to deliver the lesson content; and the majority of the secondary school teachers do not conduct co-curricular activities in their schools due still to the distant family phenomenon. Basing on these findings therefore, it was concluded that distant family negatively affects lesson planning and preparation for secondary school teachers in Kalangala district; distant family negatively affects lesson delivery and report making for secondary school teachers in Kalangala district; and that distant family does not promote teachers’ conduct of co-curricular activities in Kalangala district. The researcher therefore recommended that the government of Uganda should provide all the essential services in Kalangala district to encourage workers to stay within the district with their immediate families; the Ministry of Education and Sports should pay a hardship allowance to teachers who teach in Kalangala district; and the Ministry of Education and Sports should employ teachers specialized and specific for co-curricular activities in all secondary schools in Kalangala district.