The aim of the study was to assess the impact of parental socioeconomic status (SES) on students' academic achievement in secondary schools. Two research objectives guided the study. They are: How does parents' occupation, income, level of education and home environment affect students' academic achievement in secondary schools? To what extent does parental involvement in education of their children enhance academic achievement? The study employed a qualitative research approach informed by a case study research design. A purposive sampling technique was used to obtain 60 informants drawn from amongst parents, teachers and students. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focused group discussions. Data were analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis.The study found that majority of the students from the selected secondary schools are from low SES. The study established that there is a close relationship between SES and academic achievement. The study further found that majority of the parents are not involved in the learning of their children as well as in the school improvement programmes. The study recommends that the government should review the policy of cost sharing and make it free to o-level students especially to low SES students. In addition, schools should have professional guidance and counsellors to help students with problems to reduce the gap between low and high SES.

A cross-sectional survey was opted to investigate the determinants of academic performance among undergraduate students at Mkwawa University College of Education in Tanzania. A random sample of 304 first year students in the academic year 2014/2015 was selected for the survey. The study used secondary sets of data including students' academic performance in terms of Grade Point Average, entry points, grades of communication skills, and background information which included participants' age, sex and degree programmes. The data were analysed quantitatively using SPSS version 20. The results show a positive and significant relationship between entry points and final academic performance: r = .201, n=304, p < .05. This means that higher levels of entry points are associated with higher scores of students' academic performance. Also, there was a positive correlation between performance in communication skills and students' academic performance: r = .451, n=244, p < .05. However, gender did not have any significant impact to either final academic performance or communication skills scores. Furthermore, the analysis from one-way between groups analysis of variance showed that the choice of degree programme has significant impact on students' final academic performance. With regard to scores in communication skills, no significant difference was found in respect of students' degree programme. This study concludes that academic performance in higher learning institutions is partly determined by how well students achieve at pre-university level, personal determination and social-economic factors. Recommendations for both theory and practice are given for considerations.

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The global statistics show that more than 2.2 billion people are either faced with vision impairment or blindness. Visual impairment has been shown to affect young people’s emotional and psychological well-being, and has a profound effect on education attainment. This study assessed the levels of self-esteem of students with visual impairments in regular secondary schools in Tanzania. This was a cross-sectional research study. Self-esteem of students with visual impairment was studied in a group of 55 students included in two regular secondary schools enrolling students with visual impairments in Ruvuma and Iringa regions in Tanzania mainland. A set of self-esteem aspects was used to construct the outcome variable. Levels of self-esteem of students were obtained using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The findings show 7.3% and 92.7% of students with visual impairments constitutes low and high self-esteem respectively. Levels of self-esteem for students with visual impairments were independent of students’ class ( p = .440), sex ( p = .528) and type of disability ( p = .169). Intrinsic self-esteem is more advocated among students with visual impairments in regular secondary schools in Tanzania. Further study on the relationship between levels of self-esteem and students’ performance needs to be addressed. Self-esteem was self-reported by students without any means of confirmation of the responses. This may have affected the estimated prevalence levels of students’ self-esteem.

Tanzania has been implementing several educational development plans and programmes at primary and secondary education levels. These plans and programmes aim at realizing the goal of education for all and therefore making primary education and ordinary secondary education universal. The implementation of these plans and programmes reflects a substantial need for educators and professionals in special education who can be able to handle pupils in inclusive and special classrooms and schools. The aim of the present study was to explore the participants' motives for participating in a B.Ed. Special Education programme and the perceived outcomes of the programme in terms of professional development. The study focused on two core issues: motives and perceived outcomes. A case study approach was adopted. Questionnaires and interviews were administered in three phases between January 2007 and February 2009 to a group of 35 educators participating in a B.Ed. Special Education programme.Findings of the study revealed that participants expressed a number of motives and outcomes related to job, degree and career, student and community support, and personal growth. The findings further confirm that the participants' motives and outcomes were closely related. The findings serve as a starting point for discussing the phenomenon of professional development in special education in Tanzania. Furthermore, the study findings underline that the motives for participating in the programme were complex, interactive and dynamic, thus emphasis on a singular explanation is naïve and insufficient.