Teachers’ Perspectives Regarding the Impacts of the Secondary Education Expansion Policy on Students’ Self-Regulatory Learning Experiences in Tanzania

Authors

Godlove Lawrent, The University of DodomaFollow

Abstract

Since 2004, the Tanzania secondary education sector has witnessed a significant increase in the number of new schools and enrolment rates. At the same time, academic results have indicated an increase in poor student performance. The assumption has been that the expansion policy brought about devastating consequences for student learning. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate the perceptions of teachers in relation to the impacts of the government’s secondary education expansion policy on students, especially their self-regulatory learning. A qualitative case study approach was employed, and interviews were used as data gathering tools. Thirty respondents were purposively drawn from two highly and two poorly performing community secondary schools in Tanzania. Findings revealed that false policy promises in relation to school libraries, students’ housing and students’ learning spaces were obstacles to students in developing their self-regulatory learning habits. For the sake of fostering students’ self-regulatory learning, this paper recommends that it is the responsibility of the government, among other stakeholders, to address all issues pertaining to school infrastructure. The limitation of this study provides a chance to suggest areas which need further investigation.

Keywords

Secondary Education, Self-Regulatory Learning, Expansion Policy, Case Study

Author Bio(s)

Godlove Lawrent is undertaking PhD in Education at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. His research interests focused on professionalism of teachers. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: gl66@students.waikato.ac.nz.

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank teachers in Tanzania for their willingness to participate in my study and provide their feelings and experiences.

Publication Date

4-29-2018

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3236

Recommended APA Citation

Lawrent, G. (2018). Teachers’ Perspectives Regarding the Impacts of the Secondary Education Expansion Policy on Students’ Self-Regulatory Learning Experiences in Tanzania. The Qualitative Report, 23(4), 1001-1012. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3236