CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

School inspection as a form of accountability started being practiced way back in the 18th century (Neave, 1987). In this case, school inspection is a practices that supports the government and the stakeholders on understanding aspects in which the goals of education are attained and aspects that need to be improved in any education institution. In Tanzania school inspectorate department is charged with the responsibility to evaluate school performance in agreed criteria of assessment and report to the education stakeholders. In any development process, education plays an important role in people’s lives as it enlightens man to be able to understand his surroundings and solve problems facing him. In Tanzania there are dierent levels of education, which includes primary, secondary, and university education which all aim at providing knowledge and relevant skills. In fact, education is very important in all aspects of human existence in general and survival in particular (Education and Training Policy MOEC, 1995). It is a process that empowers people to manage their lives and to contribute eectively to all aspects of socio-economic development. High quality and relevant education prepares young people to participate meaningfully in their own development in their immediate communities, country and the world at large.

Therefore, governments all over the world strive to educate the citizen and to a developing country like Tanzania, it is the tool to alleviate poverty as it is stipulated in the Development Vision of 2025 (Education and Training Policy MOEC, 2005). School inspection is widely considered as an essential instrument for quality education that will aid the nation to compete in everchanging world economy. It is the form of evaluation, which involves the measurement, testing and evaluation of educational activities in school systems for the purpose of improving the standards and quality of education programs oered (Ololube, 2014). Like in many countries, in Uganda education is considered to be a key of life as well as a gateway for social and economic development. School inspection is derived from the autocratic management style with the purpose of assessing the work performance of teachers and attitude towards their work (Okumbe, 1999). In many countries including Uganda supervision of education is carried out by the inspectorate department. For example in Uganda, inspection is carried out by the department of Education Standards Agency (ESA). School inspection capacity is the most vital component for teachers’ productivities and teacher education as well as performance.

The key purpose of school inspection is to inform the government about the standards and quality of education provided to the children. Due to the world demand to monitor and supervise the quality of education delivered to the citizens and raise general standards in education, inspection has been embraced as a method that helps to improve quality and shape teachers’ professionalism since they are key implementers of education in the classrooms. (Vanhoof & Van Petegem, 2007; Wilcox, 2000; Lingard & Varjo 2009). Governments need to be answerable for the appropriateness of the educational aims they seek to promote (Davis &White 2001). In many African countries establishment of school inspection services accompanied the introduction of formal public education (Grauwe, 2007). Many of the developing countries expanded the inspection services aer independence. Also, the increased number of schools accompanied with a relatively slower growth in number of supervisor/inspection officers (Grauwe, 2007). Essentially, there are three main premises that are put forward in both developed and developing counties regarding establishment of school inspections as external evaluation in education.

First, it is argued that school inspection is the central frame through which the government can monitor and ensure the quality1 of education provided in the society. Second, it is also argued that there is no way that the governments can ensure the implementation of national goals and objectives in absence of external evaluation as the counter balance of teachers‟ accountability in teaching and learning. Third, it is further argued that for countries to prepare a competitive workforce to meet the challenges emerging due to globalisation processes, school inspection as external control in education is indispensable and inevitable (Wilcox, 2000; Hoyle & Wallace, 2005; Neave, 1987; Davis & White, 2001; Chapman, 2001b; Mathew & Smith, 1995; Learmonth, 2000). Clearly, therefore, inspections are seen as playing essential roles in monitoring quality in teaching and learning.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The Education Ministry assumed that perhaps school inspection was not achieving its goal of supporting and helping schools improve in the educational quality. The government realized that Head teachers were not involved in the preparations of the inspection process; school inspection seemed to have lacked relevant feedback mechanism. Sambirige (2009) found school inspection not only to be threatening and stressful to the teachers but also judgmental in nature. He (Sambirige 2009) in his study added that the District inspectors did not have a constructive feedback mechanism to improve teacher practice in classrooms. This therefore led to a distorted image towards the effectiveness of school inspection and its outcomes especially in contributing to quality development as a school improvement strategy.

External evaluation in education through school inspection by national governments in the world is not new in the education system. It is stated that the first school inspection or school supervision originated from France under Napoleon’s regime at the end of 18th century (Grauwe, 2007). Academic excellence has been on the decline, this appears to be more pronounced in the primary schools. Poor academic performance has constituted a big problem not only for schools but the dynamic Nigeria society.