External Factors and Teacher Effectiveness in Enhancing Learners’ Academic Achievement of Government-Aided Secondary Schools in Lira District, Uganda

Objective: This chapter primarily focuses on establishing a relationship between school external factors and teacher effectiveness in promoting learners’ academic achievement in government-aided secondary schools in Lira District, Uganda.

Background: Teacher effectiveness has been regarded as crucial to student achievement and, attainment of the 21st century competencies. Teacher effectiveness centers on the teacher’s knowledge of the subject matter, expertise and resourcefulness that enhance students’ academic performance. Effective teachers are expected to spell out the learning outcomes to focus learners on the learning goals; make the content as clear as possible and build on existing knowledge of the learners; engage learners in activities during the teaching and learning process; and display high level of enthusiasm that reflects professional competence and confidence. The initiatives by the government of Uganda to improve teacher effectiveness seems to be futile in most upcountry Districts, Lira inclusive as the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) reported poor academic performance of learners in National Examination in most of the Northern Uganda Districts including Lira which is an indicator of teacher ineffectiveness. It is based on this context that this study explored the effects of school external factors on teacher effectiveness in promoting learners’ academic achievement in government-aided secondary schools in Lira District, Uganda.

Methodology: The study employed a mixed research approach, using a correlational research design. Study participants including head teachers, District Education Officer (DEO) and District Inspector of schools (DIS) were sampled purposively whereas teachers were identified using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using interviews and questionnaires. Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient (r) was used to determine the association between the study variables whereas multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the degree of predictability between the study variables. The researcher used thematic analysis to analyzed qualitative data.

Results: The study revealed a strong positive association between school external factors and teacher effectiveness in promoting learners’ academic achievement in government-aided secondary schools in Lira District (r= 0.756, P<0.05). the study further revealed that school external factors significantly account for the teacher effectiveness in the promotion of learners’ academic achievement although it accounts for only 55.6% (R2 = 0. 572, p<0.05). The qualitative interviews held with the head teachers, District Education Officer, and District Inspector of schools also showed that school external factors influenced the teachers’ effectiveness in promoting learners’ academic achievement in government-aided secondary schools in Lira District.

Conclusion: The study revealed a strong positive significant correlation between school external factors and teacher effectiveness in the promoting learners’ academic achievement in government-aided secondary schools in Lira District. This implies that any change on the school external factors causes a positive or negative shift on teacher effectiveness in the promoting learners’ academic achievement. Therefore, we recommend the government and policy makers and external supervisors should strike a balance between school external factors and teacher effectiveness in order to improve learners’ academic achievement. There is also need to replicate this study in tertiary institutions of learning. Finally, it is concluded that school external factors affect teacher effectiveness in promoting learners’ academic achievement in government-aided secondary schools in Lira District.