In Uganda, university teachers are recruited on the strength of their class of degree rather than pedagogical content knowledge and skill. Given the frequent changes in technology with resultant paradigm shifts from teacher to learner-centered education and competence-based approaches, increasing demand of accountability from society, and demand for quality, among others, university teaching can no longer be left to subject expertise alone. Effective teaching and quality graduates requires university teachers to possess a combination of content and pedagogical knowledge. Using data collected through an interview guide and end-of-workshop evaluation questionnaire for a four-year training period (2006 -2010), this article focused on the lessons learnt from a series of pedagogical training workshops offered by Makerere University management to her teaching staff. Findings show that the main training needs among the teaching staff include assessment and grading of students, managing large classes, and using ICT in teaching and learning. Overall, the staff appreciated the workshop methodology, the coteaching approach and the sharing of experiences. However, there were concerns about the timing of the trainings and inability to implement what is learned due to institutional constraints. The study underpins the importance of undertaking needs assessment before designing any staff training program. Rather than claim that addressing individual training needs will improve quality, staff pedagogical training should be combined with institutional changes so that institutional constraints that hinder utilization of knowledge and skills acquired during training are concurrently addressed. In addition, training approaches should transcend the deficit model of continuous professional development commonly used to the use of a variety of models including the cascaded model. Through the cascade model the capacity of academic staff could be built, these would continue to learn from each other, thereby developing a critical mass at faculty or academic unit level.

The study examined inspection practices in secondary schools in Western Uganda. Towards achieving this objective, a Concurrent Triangulation Mixed Methods Design, involving questionnaire survey and interview, with a total of 399 participants in the categories of teachers, head teachers, school inspectors from 36 secondary schools in four districts of Western Uganda, was adopted. Quantitative data to test the resultant hypothesis were analysed using Chi Square Goodness of Fit Test while qualitative data were analysed using Qualitative Content Analysis. The study revealed that inspection practices in secondary schools were perceived as largely ineffective. The study concluded that despite the value attached to school inspection in the theoretical, political, and institutional and policy debates, inspectors continue to think and act according to the traditional notions of school inspection as evidenced by practices hinged on control. The major implication of the study is that understanding the practices before, during and after school inspection will allow policy makers, inspectors, teachers and headteachers to design better practices and benefit from them. The study also proposes a theoretical model for effective school inspection that requires further research and measurement to determine its validity so that lessons can be learnt that can assist inspectors in the future.

Despite the importance of early childhood education in improving academic achievements in subsequent years and also in social development, it remains out of reach for majority of children in developing countries. This leaves informal education as the main preparation children in rural areas receive before entry into primary schools. This paper focuses on contributions of informal early childhood education to pupils learning in lower primary schools. Data was drawn from a three-year longitudinal study of children who had benefitted from the informal early childhood education provided by a nongovernmental organization (LABE), in Uganda. Findings show that attendance of informal home based learning improves pupils' performance in literacy and numeracy by primary three. Children who attend the informal early childhood education performed better than those who start school direct from home. Informal early childhood education also increases children readiness for schools and helps them cope better with school. The paper recommends adaptation of the LABE model in rural areas with inadequate formal ECCE provisions. In addition, for improved supervision, linking HLC and primary schools is critical.

With the frequent changes in education environment caused by dynamic economy, politics, and global trends among others, primary teacher education should keep abreast with these trends. However, in Uganda this has not been the case. While government designs new curriculum for primary schools, the changes in teacher education curriculum seem to be slower. Teacher educators are not familiar with the new trends in education such as ICT in teaching and learning, gender, learner centered education etc. The teaching materials are not easily available in the teacher training colleges because of shortages of funds. The study sought to: analyse the curriculum of Primary Teacher Education (PTE) since 1990, assess the challenges Primary Teacher Colleges (PTC) experience in the preparation of quality teachers and analyse the extent to which PTE curriculum is responding to the new trends in primary education. Using mainly interviews and focus group discussion, this paper explored the relationship between teacher preparation and quality of teachers produced. Findings showed that the curriculum of the teacher training colleges is not tailored to the requirements of the primary curriculum. In addition PTE faces many challenges that affect the preparation of teachers. Key words: primary teacher education, primary school curriculum, quality education.

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.