Homework and quality of education in primary schools in Jinja district

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between Homework and Quality of Education in Primary Schools in Jinja District - Uganda. Specifically, the study sought to establish the extent homework is being used as means to advance teaching and learning in primary schools in Jinja district; quality of education in primary schools, relationship between homework and quality of education in primary schools in Jinja District. The continuous poor performance of primary school learners in PLE exams prompted this study. The study used a cross-sectional survey research design, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative approaches with a sample size of 203 (including 97 teachers,97 parents, 9 head teachers) respondents in Jinja District, although 201 responses were obtained. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire guide were established using the CVI (90.7%) and the Cronbach Alpha coefficient (α = 0.824) respectively. Stratified Random and purposive sampling techniques were used. Data collection instruments were the questionnaire and the interview guides. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 23 with a focus on descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and Multiple Regression analyses. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis where direct quotes relevant to study objectives were captured from data set and triangulated with quantitative data. Pearson's Product Moment correlation coefficient was applied to measure whether there was a statistically significant relationship between homework and Quality of Education in Primary Schools in Jinja District. Generally, results show that there is a positive, statistically significant relationship between homework and quality of education (r=.701** p< 0.05) implying that homework and quality of education move in the same direction. Multiple regression results also showed that homework preparation, participation and quality are more predictive of the Dependent variable (Quality of education) at = 0.386, p > 0.05), followed by interaction effect of government policy at = 0.232, p < 0.05), and lastly by the interaction effect of learner interest at = 0.231, p < 0.05) in Jinja District. The study concluded that although homework positively influences the quality of education and that primary school children in Jinja District use English frequently, the majority perform poorly in national examinations. The study recommends that primary schools should encourage teachers to adopt appropriate homework tools that promote teaching and learning. Schools also need to ensure that use of homework in teaching and learning shouldn’t be left to teachers only but also parents too need to create an environment that allows learners to participate fully in homework assignments.