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Christianity and rural community literacy practices in Uganda
(Blackwell Publishing,, 2007) Openjuru, George Ladaah
In this article, we examine how Christianity provides the impetus for local literacy practices in a rural community in Uganda. These Christian literacy practices form a central part of the literacy activities of the community and are manifested in a variety of contexts from public to private, using a wide variety of readily available religious texts in the community. Through examination of Christian literacy practices, the authors suggest that ethnographic research has the potential to generate information that can be used to enhance literacy learning in rural community life.
Engaging in a Movement of Cognitive Justice at the Gulu University K4C Hub, Uganda
(Africa Education Review, 2023) Monk, David; Aber, Gloria; Lamwaka, Alice Veronica; Odoch, Martin; Openjuru, George L.
The Gulu hub is an initiative of the Gulu University under the Knowledge for Change (K4C) initiative of the UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education. The hub’s work is linked to the university’s mandate “for community transformation” oriented toward serving the geographic space of Northern Uganda. It is a somewhat unique hub, because it does not have formal space within the university, and most of the hub’s activities are generated through informal community partnerships and networks.
Entry Grades and the Academic Performance of University Students
(The Asian Institute of Research, 2021) David, Onen; Geoffrey M., Malinga; Betty A, Ezati; George L, Openjuru; Aciro, Rosalba
Universities world over mostly base their decisions to admit their new students on the applicant’s pre-university academic results. However, there is yet no concrete evidence that the students’ pre-university academic accolades determine their performances at university level. In this article, we explored the findings of earlier studies that examined the relationships between entry grades and the academic performance of university students. The study was undertaken to collate the literature on the relationships between the students’ entry grades and their university academic performance in order to validate earlier assertions, if any, as well as to identify opportunities for further research in this field. During the study, we carried out a systematic review of 59 articles that we drew from different online electronic databases including, among others, the Free Scientific Publication, the Worldwide Science.org, and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The majority of these reviewed studies were drawn from America and Europe. Only a few of them were conducted in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Of the 59 reviewed articles, only 53 of them met our inclusion criteria and our key findings showed, among others, that out of the 53 reviewed articles, 26, 4 and 13 of them revealed the existence of positive, negative, and mixed correlations respectively between the entry grades and the academic performance of university students. The remaining 10 articles, however, did not reveal any significant correlations between the two variables; instead, they alluded to the existence of difference in these relationships between male and female students; thus, suggesting for the need for affirmative action schemes. Overall, the study revealed that there is yet no consensus over whether pre-university academic performances of students predict their performances at university level; thus, indicating the need for further research in this field.
Entry Grades and the Academic Performance of University Students
(The Asian Institute of Research, 2021) Rosalba, Aciro; David, Onen; Geoffrey M., Malinga; Betty A., Ezati; George L, Openjuru
Universities world over mostly base their decisions to admit their new students on the applicant’s pre-university academic results. However, there is yet no concrete evidence that the students’ pre-university academic accolades determine their performances at university level. In this article, we explored the findings of earlier studies that examined the relationships between entry grades and the academic performance of university students. The study was undertaken to collate the literature on the relationships between the students’ entry grades and their university academic performance in order to validate earlier assertions, if any, as well as to identify opportunities for further research in this field. During the study, we carried out a systematic review of 59 articles that we drew from different online electronic databases including, among others, the Free Scientific Publication, the Worldwide Science.org, and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The majority of these reviewed studies were drawn from America and Europe. Only a few of them were conducted in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Of the 59 reviewed articles, only 53 of them met our inclusion criteria and our key findings showed, among others, that out of the 53 reviewed articles, 26, 4 and 13 of them revealed the existence of positive, negative, and mixed correlations respectively between the entry grades and the academic performance of university students. The remaining 10 articles, however, did not reveal any significant correlations between the two variables; instead, they alluded to the existence of difference in these relationships between male and female students; thus, suggesting for the need for affirmative action schemes. Overall, the study revealed that there is yet no consensus over whether pre-university academic performances of students predict their performances at university level; thus, indicating the need for further research in this field.
An examination of the difference between the contents of the FAL literacy curriculum/primers used in Uganda and everyday literacy practices in rural community life.
(Journal of Research and Practice in Adult Literacy, 2007) Openjuru, George
Adult literacy learning programmes in Uganda and, I believe, in most African countries, are largely driven by national and community development concerns (see Carr-Hill et al., 2001; Fiedrich & Jellema, 2003; Wagner, 1995). These concerns are informed by the dominant theories of literacy. However, how the content of adult literacy learning programmes relates to literacy uses in everyday life is often taken for granted when developing adult learning programmes. In this article, I used the Uganda Functional Adult Literacy [FAL] programme as a case study, to show the difference between the content of the FAL curriculum/primer and what rural people read and write in their everyday life in Uganda‟s rural community life. I then recommend a social practices or the real literacy approach to adult literacy education as a better alternative that can reconcile literacy learning and literacy use in rural community life, and help the learner to make the connection between what they are learning in the literacy classes and the literacies that goes on outside the classrooms.
The influence of out-of-institution environments on the university schooling project of non-traditional students in Uganda
(Taylor & Francis, 2016-07-14) Buhwamatsiko Tumuhekia, Peace; Zeelenb, Jacques; Openjuru Ladaah, George
Participation and integration of non-traditional students (NTS) in university education is influenced by factors within the institution and those external to the institution, including participants’ self-perceptions and dispositions. The objective of this qualitative study is to draw from the life-world environment component of Donaldson and Graham’s model of college outcomes for adults, to discuss the out-of-institution experiences of NTS participating in university education in Uganda. Findings derive from two elements: first, the social settings of work, family and community including the roles NTS play in these settings. The second element is connected to the first but goes deeper into individual relationships NTS have with important people around them. Both elements were found to be reinforcing and deterring to the NTS’ university schooling project. To this end, we argue that to achieve quality-inclusive university education for all learners, the lifelong learning frameworks must be accentuated, even outside the university.
The influence of out-of-institution environments on the university schooling project of nontraditional students in Uganda
(Routledge- Taylor &Francis, 2018) Buhwamatsiko Tumuheki, Peace; Zeelen, Jacques; Ladaah Openjuru, George
Participation and integration of non-traditional students (NTS) in university education is influenced by factors within the institution and those external to the institution, including participants’ self-perceptions and dispositions. The objective of this qualitative study is to draw from the life-world environment component of Donaldson and Graham’s model of college outcomes for adults, to discuss the out-of-institution experiences of NTS participating in university education in Uganda. Findings derive from two elements: first, the social settings of work, family and community including the roles NTS play in these settings. The second element is connected to the first but goes deeper into individual relationships NTS have with important people around them. Both elements were found to be reinforcing and deterring to the NTS’ university schooling project. To this end, we argue that to achieve quality-inclusive university education for all learners, the lifelong learning frameworks must be accentuated, even outside the university.
Interrogating the agency and education of refugee children with disabilities in Northern Uganda: A critical capability approach
(National Children's Bureau and John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2023-10-17) Monk, David; Walton, Elizabeth ; Madziva, Roda ; Opio, George ; Kruisselbrink, Annemaaike ; Openjuru, George Ladaah
This paper draws on empirical evidence from a 3-year research project in Northern Uganda examining the educational experiences of refugees with disabilities. The authors present the compounded and interrelated challenges children with disabilities and their families face as they navigate their educational experiences and seek out opportunities to live well. The authors seek to make a contribution towards improving educational experiences by first highlighting compounding challenges faced by refugee children living with disabilities and their families and related policy gaps that have ramifications for refugee children's access to education in particular, and second by expanding discourse about refugee children with disabilities agency in relation to these liminal gaps and the impact the gaps have for accessing education. The authors use Powell and McGrath's(in Skills for human development: Transforming vocational education and training, Routledge, 2019; Handbook of vocational education and training, Springer, 2019) concept of critical capabilities and relationality, to expand Klocker's (in Global perspectives on rural childhood and youth: Young rural lives, Routledge, 2007) notions of thick and thin agency and to interrogate refugee children living with disabilities' agency in relation to education opportunities and rights.
Motivations for participation in higher education
(International Journal of Lifelong Education, 2016-03-28) Jacobus, Zeelen; George L., Openjuru; Tumuheki, Peace Buhwamatsiko
The objective of this qualitative study was to establish motivations for participation of non-traditional students (NTS) in university education. The findings are drawn from empirical data collected from 15 unstructured in-depth interviews with NTS of the School of Computing and Informatics Technology at Makerere University, and analysed with the aid of qualitative data analysis software ATLAS. ti. Three major findings were established: (1) motivations were found to be multiple, multifaceted and varied for each individual; (2) the sociocultural context of the African society including societal perceptions of university education were found to be the major factor shaping motivations of NTS to upgrade their educational qualifications; and (3) most motivations were found to be extrinsic in nature rather than intrinsic and based more on push rather than pull factors. Yet, although the demand for university education is increasing, life beyond university can no longer guarantee some of the anticipated rewards such as employment and its related benefits. It therefore becomes important that the purpose of education within universities in Africa is directed towards achieving development of the whole human being. In this way, a graduate’s capacity to function will not be seen only in the economic and professional life, but also in other spheres of life.
Motivations for participation in higher education
(International Journal of Lifelong Education, 2016) Peace Buhwamatsiko;, Tumuheki,; Jacobus;, Zeelen; George L., Openjuru
ABSTRACT The objective of this qualitative study was to establish motivations for participation of non-traditional students (NTS) in university education. The findings are drawn from empirical data collected from 15 unstructured in-depth interviews with NTS of the School of Computing and Informatics Technology at Makerere University, and analysed with the aid of qualitative data analysis software ATLAS. ti. Three major findings were established: (1) motivations were found to be multiple, multifaceted and varied for each individual; (2) the sociocultural context of the African society including societal perceptions of university education were found to be the major factor shaping motivations of NTS to upgrade their educational qualifications; and (3) most motivations were found to be extrinsic in nature rather than intrinsic and based more on push rather than pull factors. Yet, although the demand for university education is increasing, life beyond university can no longer guarantee some of the anticipated rewards such as employment and its related benefits. It therefore becomes important that the purpose of education within universities in Africa is directed towards achieving development of the whole human being. In this way, a graduate’s capacity to function will not be seen only in the economic and professional life, but also in other spheres of life.
The Relationship between Entry Grades of Students Admitted to Public Universities in Uganda under Direct Entry Schemes and Their Academic Performance: Implications for Admission Policies
(East African Journal of Education Studies, 2023-04-21) Aciro, Rosalba; Oriangi, George; Onen, David; Malinga, Geoffrey M.; Ezati, Betty A.; Openjuru, George L.
Although studies on relationships between entry qualification and academic performance show that students who excelled academically in entry qualification often perform better than those with low entry qualification in subsequent examinations, this argument has been questioned. This study explored the relationship between entry grades of undergraduate students and academic performance in public universities in Uganda in the first and final years of their studies. A retrospective cohort analysis of data for undergraduate students of Gulu and Makerere Universities using a sample of 2825 academic records from 2013- 2016 was conducted. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis were used for analysis. Results revealed a significant relationship between entry scores and students’ academic performance for those admitted on national merit, district quota, affirmative action schemes and private sponsorship schemes in four university programs. However, there was no significant correlation between entry scores and students’ academic performance in the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery programs. Although male students joined with lower grades than females, their performance in the final year was better than their female counterparts. Therefore, this study confirms that the entry qualification score predicts academic outcomes in the early and exit stages of the university. These findings support the current Government entry criteria for public universities, provide important information for the admission committee decisions, and may have implications for admission policies. However, the lack of a significant correlation between entry qualification scores and students’ academic performance in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery could indicate the need to revisit admissions criteria for this program. Future studies should go beyond the commonly used GPA to measure academic performance by including noncognitive factors such as practical skills, clinical skills, and professionalism. Furthermore, the role of background and sociodemographic factors in influencing academic performance at public universities should be considered alongside the pre-entry qualification score.
Revisiting VET research paradigms: Critical perspectives from the South
(Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 2023-11-16) Monk, David; Molebatsi, Palesa; McGrath, Simon; Metelerkamp, Luke; Adrupio, Scovia; Openjuru, George; Robbins, Glen; Tshabalala, Themba
This paper reflects on a large multisite funded VET research project conducted by a large and diverse research team. Reflecting on two of our case studies, from Uganda and South Africa, we consider both the need for broadening the VET research agenda to incorporate more research on non-formal sites of vocational learning and work, and the imperative of continued critical reflection on modalities of researching the formal sphere. What we offer is a very fallible attempt to open up the debate about the future of VET research further through, we believe, a critical reading of some of our failures as well as successes in trying to ground our research ethically, ontologically and axiologically and not just methodologically. We advocate, where possible, a radical embeddedness of VET research in communities, whilst acknowledging that this is applicable only to some parts of a comprehensive VET research agenda. We also acknowledge that employers and the state are also legitimate stakeholders who should be part of research but point to the need for a more critical reflection into the patterns of power implicit in researching with/on these constituencies. We believe that our reflection on our successes and failures in these two cases and the project as a whole offers useful provocations regarding ways of making VET research more reflective of diverse settings, less extractive from those being researched and more equal in the participation of members of the research team from the South
The Role of Religion in Written Language Maintenance and Shift in Uganda
(Multilingual Matters 2019, 2019) Openjuru, George Ladaah
The primary focus of this chapter is the ambivalent role of religion in language maintenance and shift in Uganda. This chapter draws its theo-retical framework from the work of Pauwels (2005) on language mainte-nance and shift. Indeed, Pauwels’ contribution is central to this area and provides a very good definition of language maintenance and shifts in the context of language contact. Furthermore, she considers factors and forces promoting both language maintenance and shift, relevant to the case of Uganda and the Christian religion. Basically, according to Pauwels (2005), both phenomena of language maintenance (LM) and language shift (LS) come about in the context of language contact. An outcome of this process is that one language may give way to the other as the domi-nant language. The contact of significance in this Ugandan language landscape was between European Christian missionaries and native Africans in Uganda. The missionaries introduced two aspects of language use: literacy, which contributed to language maintenance, and formal school education, which promoted the use of English in favor of local languages. The Christian missionaries created two powerful social institutions in Uganda: school and church. These two social institutions produced the conflicting forces of both LM and LS in the Ugandan language landscape, as I shall show in this chapter. Language use in this chapter will be con-sidered largely in terms of the written text (literacy) and to some extent spoken language as well. Religion, language, literacy and education have always been associated in Africa to the same degree as in other parts of the world. The three noted ‘Religions of The Book’ are Islam, Christianity and Judaism (Kapitzke,1999). Accordingly, religion, especially the Christian religion, through the activities of its missionaries, has done a lot in spreading alphabetic literacy in Africa (Venezky, 1999) and has triggered both LM, through the devel-opment of orthographies and printing in local languages, and LS, through the introduction of school education based on the use of English as the language of instruction and power in Uganda. Before going into a detailed discussion, it is important to look at the language context in Uganda. I will draw on the literature and also refer briefly to my field notes.
The Role of the University as Mediator in a Skills Ecosystem Approach to VET
(2023-01-06) Lotz-Sisitka, Heila; Openjuru, George L.; Zeelen, Jacques
Introduction In this chapter, we focus particularly on the mediating role of the university, in close connection with vocational institutions and informal community actors, in developing an inclusive approach to vocational education and training (VET) through an expanded social ecosystem for skills model. Here we draw upon lessons learnt from the Alice and Gulu cases on community-based approaches to establishing an expanded skills ecosystem approach to VET in Africa. The main question guiding this chapter relates to the possible mediating role of the university to enhance a regional expanded ecosystem for supporting quality vocational education that is also relevant to its context, including emergent possibilities to build skills and livelihoods linked to just transitions.
Towards a transformative lifelong learning agenda for non-traditional students at university
(Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, 2023-09-16) Tumuheki, P.B.; Zeelen, J.; Openjuru, G. L.
Liberalisation of higher education in Uganda meant opening its provision to the private sector, and also running a public-private mix model at public institutions. Consequently, the composition and needs of the student population at universities have changed due to flexibility in provision of study programmes and access routes. Students who had previously been excluded are also joining in increasing numbers. This article uses the feminist frameworks to equality and difference, discourses of integration and exclusion, and the concepts of Othering and Other to unpack equality of access, equity and inclusivity spaces of these new types of students. The aim is to contribute towards a learning agenda that promotes quality and sustainable educational development for all. We draw our findings from the voices of non-traditional students at a public university in Uganda. We validate these with voices of other germane actors to understand better the institutional policy and practice environments available to them. The equal opportunity provision has widened access for NTS but their equity and inclusivity spaces remain inadequately filled. To achieve sustainable inclusive and equitable quality higher education, we suggest a policy, practice and provision environment that promotes a transformative lifelong learning agenda.
Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa: A Social Skills Ecosystem Perspective VET Africa 4.0 Collective.
(Bristol University Press, 2021) McGrath, Simon; Openjuru, George Ladaah; Lotz-Sisitka, Heila; Allais, Stephanie; Zeelen, Jacques; Wedekind, Volker; Ramsarup, Presha
Editor's Preface This is the first volume for the Bristol Studies in Comparative and International Education (building upon the former Bristol Papers series) and one that clearly demonstrates our commitment to ‘critically engage with education and international development from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective’. In content, the book is ground-breaking for the ways in which it challenges traditional, and often northern, conceptualizations of vocational education and training (VET); insists upon analysing both VET and work in broad, relational and inclusive ways; develops and applies original theoretical contributions drawn from political ecology; and moves beyond ‘extractive’ modalities of research in this important arena. In terms of ‘process’, the book has further distinction and originality due to the innovative ways in which the 20 core authors/researchers have combined to form the VET Africa 4.0 Collective and wrestled with the decolonial challenges and dynamics of coproduction and joint authorship within the context of an externally funded international Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) partnership. For those interested in learning from, and advancing, more equitable international research partnerships, this book has much to offer readers across multiple fields and disciplines. The book is structured around three sections, the first of which establishes the historical and theoretical context (Chapters 1–4) while introducing the ‘social ecosystems for skills’ model that underpins the overall framework for the analysis. Section 2 (Chapters 5–8) develops and expands this model through a detailed and critically reflexive examination of the empirical data embedded within four contextually grounded South African and Ugandan VET case studies. Section 3 (Chapter 9) reflects upon the implications of the overall study for future research, policy and practice; and an important and insightful ‘Afterword’ reflects on the collaborative, multilevel research and writing process in ways that deserve close attention. This is a complex and sophisticated analysis with theoretical and empirical depth that provides an invaluable resource for all concerned with the future of VET policy, practice and research worldwide. It is a collective book that reimagines more democratic and relational futures for VET, challenges dominant orthodoxies, engages with the implications of both decolonization and climate resilience for the future of skills development, and interrogates the multiple power dynamics involved in advancing innovative international research partnerships within, and beyond, the VET arena. To cite the authors own words: ‘As university researchers, we must find ways of balancing the immediacy of the funded project and the need for stronger and longer lasting bonds in the locations in which we research, while also forming new, oftentimes nontraditional, relations across our institutions and our related partner networks’ (afterword). For these reasons, it is hard to imagine a more appropriate volume for the launch of our renewed book series with Bristol University Press. I am, therefore, more than pleased to recommend this work to readers interested in the contemporary challenges faced by VET in Africa and worldwide; and, most importantly, to all engaged with the theoretical and epistemological implications of decolonization for interdisciplinary research, comparative studies and international development.
Vocational education and training for African development: a literature review
(Informa-Taylor & Francis, 2019-11-05) McGrath, Simon; Ramsarup, Presha; Zeelen, Jacques; Wedekind, Volker; Allais, Stephanie; Lotz-Sisitka, Heila; Monk, David; Openjuru, George; Russon, Jo-Anna
The SDGs mark the clearest global acceptance yet that the previous approach to development was unsustainable. In VET, UNESCO has responded by developing a clear account of how a transformed VET must be part of a transformative approach to development. It argues that credible, comprehensive skills systems can be built that can support individuals, commu nities, and organisations to generate and maintain enhanced and just livelihood opportunities. However, the major current theoretical approaches to VET are not up to this challenge. In the context of Africa, we seek to address this problem through a presentation of literatures that contribute to the theorization of this new vision. They agree that the world is not made up of atomized individuals guided by a “hidden hand”. Rather, reality is heavily structured within political economies that have emerged out of contestations and compromises in specific historical and geographical spaces. Thus, labor markets and education and training systems have arisen, characterized by inequalities and exclusions. These specific forms profoundly influence individuals’ and communities’ views about the value of different forms of learning and working. However, they do not fully define what individuals dream, think and do. Rather, a transformed and transformative VET for Africa is possible.
When the guns stopped roaring: Acholi ngec ma gwoko lobo
(UTS ePRESS, 2020-05-11) Monk, David; Openjuru, George; Odoch, Martin; Nono, Denis; Ongom, Simon
This article calls attention to the responsibility of universities to transform, through partnership, the community in which they are embedded. The authors suggest that, to find solutions to the various community challenges and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), universities need to engage in partnerships of knowledge co-creation with the community in ways that value local knowledge and experience. The article elaborates on the efforts of Gulu University Centre for Community Based Participatory Research and Lifelong Learning, located in Northern Uganda, to show the potential of co-constructing knowledge for community transformation. The centre is part of the Knowledge for Change (K4C) global consortium, which is a growing network for community-based research. The authors share three research stories of community-based research that reflect distinct challenges faced in Northern Uganda and effective community-engaged solutions. Through an exploration of the Acholi ontology and epistemology of interconnection, the authors demonstrate that local communities have the knowledge and experience to define and address local problem.

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