The Impact of the Universal Basic Education Program in Addressing Rural Secondary School Drop Outs

The Impact of the Universal Basic Education Program in Addressing Rural Secondary School Drop Outs by Chinwe A. Mordi LL.M, Birmingham City University, United Kingdom, 2012 LL.B, University of Benin, Nigeria, 2008 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Policy and Administration Walden University November 2016 Abstract The Universal Basic Education (UBE) was designed to address the social problem of drop outs in secondary schools, but dropout rates in secondary schools are still at a 42% high in Enugu State, Nigeria. This study sought to understand teachers’ perceptions of the program, the ways the UBE impacted the dropout problem, and what could be done to the UBE program to make it more effective. This study provided an important contribution to the literature, as it examined an often neglected perspective: the input of teachers in the field, as opposed to those of policy planners at the top. The conceptual framework was Elmore’s bottom-up approach to implementation theory, which promotes the use of a backward mapping structure to evaluate a policy/reform implementation and proffers points for future changes. A case study design was employed, using 10 participants and 5 schools across 3 school forms. Interview data were analyzed employing the inductive coding structure to identify themes and patterns. Results indicated that the UBE implementation was only observed in public schools and that no attention was paid to curriculum development. Better planning, implementation, monitoring, and more stakeholder involvement were suggested for higher impacting future reforms. The implication for social change include exposing the factors that surrounded the implementation of the UBE whilst describing the importance of stakeholders in reforms, and how stakeholder involvement could be harnessed to producing better impacting reforms in Nigeria.The Universal Basic Education (UBE) was designed to address the social problem of drop outs in secondary schools, but dropout rates in secondary schools are still at a 42% high in Enugu State, Nigeria. This study sought to understand teachers’ perceptions of the program, the ways the UBE impacted the dropout problem, and what could be done to the UBE program to make it more effective. This study provided an important contribution to the literature, as it examined an often neglected perspective: the input of teachers in the field, as opposed to those of policy planners at the top. The conceptual framework was Elmore’s bottom-up approach to implementation theory, which promotes the use of a backward mapping structure to evaluate a policy/reform implementation and proffers points for future changes. A case study design was employed, using 10 participants and 5 schools across 3 school forms. Interview data were analyzed employing the inductive coding structure to identify themes and patterns. Results indicated that the UBE implementation was only observed in public schools and that no attention was paid to curriculum development. Better planning, implementation, monitoring, and more stakeholder involvement were suggested for higher impacting future reforms. The implication for social change include exposing the factors that surrounded the implementation of the UBE whilst describing the importance of stakeholders in reforms, and how stakeholder involvement could be harnessed to producing better impacting reforms in Nigeria. The Impact of the Universal Basic Education Program in Addressing Rural Secondary School Drop Outs by Chinwe A. Mordi LL.M, Birmingham City University, United Kingdom, 2012 LL.B, University of Benin, Nigeria, 2008 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Policy and Administration Walden University November 2016 Dedication I dedicate this work to my husband, Tochukwu, who has supported and encouraged me in pursuing this doctoral dream. I thank him for constantly motivating me to keep on working at this dream. During this journey, he became my student and my teacher. Thank you for taking care of me. I will always love, cherish, and admire you. I also dedicate this work to Dr. Sheldon Cooper and his colleagues from the Big Bang Theory who made me realize that being a doctor is achievable. Acknowledgments I would like to thank my committee for making my dissertation journey as smooth as possible. Thank you, Dr. Knight and Dr. Fandl for your guidance and patience during this doctoral process. Thank you for addressing my incessant e-mails and concerns. I would also like to appreciate my parents who supported me throughout my academic pursuits and encouraged me when I felt I was stagnant. Thank you for believing in me.