Available Online: 19 April 2020
Author/s:
Komba, Sotco Claudius*
Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania (sotratz@sua.ac.tz)
Kanani, Advodia Joseph
President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government, Tanzania (advodiakanani5@gmail.com)
Abstract:
The overall objective of this study was to investigate reasons for different categorization of teachers by secondary school students in Tanzania. The specific objectives included to determine reasons for different categorization of teachers by students in the selected schools; to examine whether the categorization of teachers by students differed across schools; to examine whether the categorization of teachers by students affected students’ academic performance; and to recommend the best ways for enhancing relationship between teachers and students in secondary schools. The study was conducted in Iringa and Morogoro Regions, involving 80 students from five secondary schools. Data collection was done through focus group discussions whereas content analysis was used to analyze the collected data. The findings were as follows: First, personal, pedagogical and professional characteristics constituted most of the reasons which made students to categorize their teachers differently. Secondly, students had the same reasons for categorizing teachers differently irrespective of the location of their schools. Third, the categorization of teachers as either good or bad affected students’ academic performance differently as students performed better in subjects taught by teachers categorized as good than the subjects taught by bad teachers. Lastly, it was recommended that both teachers and students ought to play their roles responsibly in order to enhance relationship between the two parties. In view of this, the Tanzania Institute of Education, in collaboration with teacher education institutions, should regularly review teacher education curricula to ensure that student teachers become knowledgeable, skilled, competent, and morally upright.
Keywords: qualitative study; Tanzania; teacher education; categorization; effective teacher
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2020.5004
Cite this article:
Komba, S. C., & Kanani, A. J. (2020). Why do students categorize teachers differently in Tanzanian secondary schools? International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 9(1), 47-58. https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2020.5004
*Corresponding Author