ASSESSING TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON COMBINED PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL STRUCTURES: A CASE STUDY OF NAMALUNGU COMBINED SCHOOL IN SENANGA DISTRICT, WESTERN PROVINCE

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find measures that can be employed to mitigate the challenges faced by combined schools. The objectives of the study were: to determine the attitudes of teachers toward the introduction of combined primary-secondary structure at Namalangu combined school, to establish the challenges of the combined primary-secondary structure at Namalangu combined school and to propose measures that can be employed to mitigate the challenges faced by combined schools. The study employed a case study design. It adopted purposive sampling to select teachers to take part in the study. To select the learners, random sampling was used. It used questionnaire, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and observation to collect data. The findings of the study demonstrated that the major challenges faced by combined schools include: inadequate learning and teaching resources, limited school infrastructure and pupil congestion, the challenge of some learners with poor reading & communication skills, sexual harrasment of girls, shortage of qualified and specialized teachers, the challenge of most teachers not upgraded and confirmed and inadequate funds or government grant.