Attitudinal variables affecting education reforms and quality of primary education in Uganda

Abstract

This paper establishes the extent to which attitudinal variables affect the education reforms and subsequently the quality of primary education in Uganda. The paper is based on the views of a wide spectrum of different education stakeholders including: policy analysts, Members of Parliament (MPs), education officers, Headteachers, teaching staff, school directors, parents, and school management committees. The variables under study include: school culture, religion of the school, freedom of expression, parents’ attitude toward the school, the learners’ attitude toward the school and achievement of expectations. It was realized that the reform of Uganda’s Primary Education System is mostly determined by three elements within the attitudinal dynamics. First, majority of the respondents 336 (93.1%) agreed that parents’ attitudes toward the school affect quality of primary education; 331 (91.7%) concurred that learners’ attitude toward the school affects the quality of primary education and lastly; 320 (88.6%) agreed that achievement of expectations affects the quality of primary education. In addition, all elements of attitudinal dynamics, according to the regression analysis accounted for 19.7% of the variations in the quality of primary education.

Keywords

• quality of primary education
• attitudinal dynamics
• education reforms