Global Leadership Training Programme in Africa 20142019
Activity Report of Field Research

Examining the Roles of School Management Committees and Parent Teacher Associations
on How They Influence the Level of Parental Involvement in Ugandan Primary Education
Takumi Kobayashi1

I.

Summary<English Summary>Decentralized education policy is considered to be one of the special characteristics in Ugandan
primary education. The Uganda Education Act 2008, indicates to allows citizens to increase their
participation in education and give them a stronger voice in service delivery (MoES 2008). It has mandated
the School Management Committee (SMC) as the legal governance body at school level. Their role is toconduct financial management, infrastructure development, and ensuring the discipline of learners. Anotherimportant role for the SMC is to become a linkage between school and parents, to allow the parents tobecome involved in school education. In addition, the Education Act has outlawed the Parent-Teacher
Associations (PTAs) which were the representative body of the parents. Prior, the Education Act, the PTA
originally had influence towards the management of school education, especially before the Universal
Primary Education (UPE) policy was introduced in 1997, which has abolished tuition fees in primaryeducation. They had solicited money from parents of children to compensate the lack of government funds
towards primary schools.
Despite the aim to engage more parents to contribute towards children’s education, prior researches
indicate that there are impediments towards parental involvement. Studies have shown that the outlaw of
PTAs hinders parental responsiveness to school issues (World Bank 2013). Other studies show that parents
do not understand other ways to participate in school education besides financially contributing towards
schools (Marphatia et al. 2010). Moreover, there are issues related to the lack of capacity of SMCs toenhance parental involvement in school education.
This study will examine the roles of SMCs and PTAs on how they influence the level of parental
involvement in Ugandan primary education. It will try to capture how the SMCs and PTAs collaborate witheach other to enhance parental involvement. In addition, the study will look at how the parents actuallycontribute to the school affairs.
Field research was conducted from August 31st to October 3rd 2019, at Wakiso and Bushenyi
districts. The researcher has visited 4 schools in each district and distributed questionnaires towards
SMC/PTA members and parents. Interviews towards government officials were also conducted to capture
their points of view.

1

Kobe University, Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Department of Regional Cooperation Policy Studies
Host University: Makerere University, Uganda, August 31-October 3, 2019.
1

<Japanese Summary>
教育政策の地方分権化はウガンダの初等教育政策の中で重要な特徴の一つである。2008 年に発行されたウガンダ教育法では、学校教育に対する市民の声を強め、それらのアクターが積極的に参加できるよう定められている（MoES 2008）。また、この教育法では、学校運営委員会（SMC）に対して法的な権限を正式に与えている。学校運営委員会の役割は財政管理、学校インフラの維持・発展、学習者の規律性を保つこととなっている。さらに、学校運営委員会の重要な役割は、学校教育に対して親が積極的に携わるように学校と親の間の仲介組織として機能することである。
そして、この教育法では学校運営委員会の法的強化に対し、元々親の代表組織であった PTA は非合法化されたのである。2008 年に新たに実施された教育法よりも前では PTA が学校教育の運営に対して大きな影響力を持っていた。特に初等教育無償化政策（UPE）が行われる以前は PTA が中心となって、学校に子どもを通わせている親からお金を徴収するような役割を担っていたのである。
しかし、教育法で学校教育に対する親の積極的な参加を促しているのにも関わらず、実際の親の参加は不活発であると先行研究は述べている。例として、過去の調査では PTA が非合法化されたことにより、親の参加が削がれてしまったと分析している（World Bank 2013）。また、他の研究では、親が金銭的な貢献以外の方法でどのように学校教育に携わっていけばいいのかわからないと分析しているものもある(Marphatia et al. 2010)。これからの問題は、学校運営委員会が本来果たすべき役割を行えていないために引き起こされてしまうとも考えられている。
本調査では、ウガンダの初等教育における学校運営委員会と PTA の役割に着目し、それらの組織が親の学校教育に対する参加に対してどのような影響を与えているのか、見ていくことが目標である。その際に、本調査では、学校運営委員会と PTA がどのように協働し、親の参加を促そうとしているのかも着
目していく。加えて、質問票調査を通じて、親が実際にどのように学校教育の運営に携わっているのか、見ていく。
今回の調査は、8 月 31 日から 10 月 3 日にかけてウガンダのワキソ県とブシェニ県に行われた。調査では、各地区の中で 4 校ずつ訪問し、学校運営員会メンバー、PTA メンバー、親に対して質問票調査が行われた。また、初等教育政策に関わっている政府役人に対するインタビューも実施された。

2

II. Research Activity
1. Introduction(1) Background and Problem Statement
Decentralized education policy is considered to be one of the special characteristics in Ugandan
primary education. The decentralization policy allows the local government to implement educational
services towards the children. Moreover, the Ugandan Education Act launched in 2008, has claimed on
giving citizens a stronger voice in education service delivery to enhance the community and parental
participation in school education (MoES 2008; World Bank 2013).
The decentralization policy implemented in Uganda is based on the School Based Management(SBM) theory. According to Caldwell, the definition of SBM would be the decentralization of school
authority from central governments to the school level (Caldwell 2005). This approach aims to allow
citizens to increase their choice and participation in education, and give their voice in service delivery.
Therefore, community and parental participation in school education would be an important factor toenhance educational quality and efficiency (World Bank 2007).
In addition, the Universal Primary Education (UPE) policy is another important education policy
implemented by the Ugandan government. The objective of the UPE policy was to increase access, equity
and quality of primary education in Uganda. Because of the abolition of tuition fees due to the introductionof UPE policy, the enrollment of children has rapidly increased (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Trends in Primary Education Enrollment Growth by Gender

Source: Created by author, based on UNESCO UIS Stats (2019)

Regarding the financing of education, direct costs of education heavily depended on private
resources, which were paid more than 80% from students’ families prior the UPE policy (Byamugisha &Nishimura 2015). However, after the UPE policy, tuition fees and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)
charges for primary education were abolished (ODI 2005).
There are mainly two organizations that deeply engage in the promotion of community and parental
participation in Ugandan primary school education. Firstly, is the School Management Committee (SMC).
The SMC mainly has the regarding four roles which are; 1) financial management, 2) infrastructuredevelopment and maintenance, 3) ensuring the discipline of learners and 4) school-level conflict resolution(MoES 2008). The SMCs are obligated to contribute on establishing a linkage with parents and3communities to ensure that all stakeholders work in harmonious good relationships with the wholecommunity (Oloka 2017 & World Bank 2013).
Secondly, is the Parental-Teacher Association (PTA). Prior the Universal Primary Education policy,
the PTAs solicited money from parents of children. The PTA had an important role in school financing
because of the lack of funds from governments. This meant that the government-run schools werepredominantly funded by the PTAs (Ssekamwa 1997; Dauda 2004). However, after the UPE policy, thePTA charges for primary education was abolished and the 2008 Education Act had outlawed the PTA. Thishas happened because the government has intended to give the SMC more authority in school management.
Despite the aim to engage more parents to contribute towards children’s education, prior researches
indicate that there are impediments towards parental involvement. Studies have shown that the outlaw of
PTAs hinders parental responsiveness to school issues. Other studies show that parents do not understandother ways to participate in school education besides financially contributing towards schools. Moreover,there are issues related to the lack of capacity of SMCs to enhance parental involvement towards school
education.
Prior researches that do an in-depth investigation on the roles of PTA, are based on research before
the PTAs were outlawed by the 2008 Uganda Education Act (Dauda 2004). Thus, there is no research about
the PTA’s role in school management and how the organization’s characteristics have change before andafter the 2008 Uganda Education Act. Moreover, many previous studies in Uganda on parental involvement
focus on its impacts (both positive and negative) on students’ academic performance (Kisembo 2014; Ocan
2017; Oloka 2017). However, little is known about the specific roles of SMCs and PTAs, and what kind of
relationships they have with each other when promoting the involvement of parents.

(2) Research Questions and Research Objective
The research questions written below would be based on the problem statement above. It will
mainly be consisted by two research questions, which focus on the roles of SMCs and PTAs.
RQ 1) What are the roles of SMCs and PTAs in school affairs and enhancing parental involvement in school
education in Ugandan primary education?
RQ 1.1) How do the SMCs and PTAs collaborate with each other to do school management and enhanceparental involvement in Ugandan primary education?
RQ 1.2) What are the parent’s perception towards SMC’s and PTA’s role?
RQ 1.3) What are the policy expectations and assumptions for enhancing parental participation in school
education by SMCs and PTAs?
RQ 2.) How do the parents who do not belong to the PTA, contribute towards the school affairs and theirchildren’s education?
RQ 2.1) How do the parents (who are not PTA members) collaborate with the SMCs and PTAs?
RQ 2.2) What are the differences between PTA executive members and non-executive members,
regarding the level of participation in school operations and providing a voice in governance?
The objective of this study will examine the roles of SMCs and PTAs on how they influence thelevel of parental involvement in Ugandan primary education. It will try to capture how the SMCs and PTAs
collaborate with each other to enhance parental involvement. In addition, the study will look at how theparents actually contribute to the school affairs.
42. Study Area
Field research was conducted in Wakiso and Bushenyi districts in Uganda from August 31st 2019
to October 3rd. Wakiso district is located in an area surrounding the capital city Kampala. According to
the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the population of Wakiso district is 1,997,418 (UBOS 2017). Bushenyi
district is located in the west side of Uganda. The population of the district is 234,443 (UBOS 2017). The
geographical area of each district is indicated on the map below (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Map of the Study Area (Source: Created by the author)

Regarding the educational status of each of the districts, the overall primary education level pupil
enrollment in Wakiso and Bushenyi districts is 304,222 and 64,124 respectively. For the gross enrollment
rate (GER) in Wakiso and Bushenyi districts, it is 77% and 114%, respectively. Regarding the pupil
classroom ratio (PCR) in Wakiso and Bushenyi districts, it is 53 and 41 respectively, while the pupil-teacher
ratio (PTR) is 73 and 53 respectively. These are data from government-aided schools (MoES 2017). (Figure
3)5Figure 3: GER, NER, PCR and PTR in Wakiso and Bushenyi District

Source: Created by author, based on Ministry of Education and Sports (2017).

The total number of schools in Wakiso and Bushenyi districts is 1,392 and 217 schools respectively. In
addition, the number of government schools in Wakiso and Bushenyi is 257 and 71 schools respectively,
meaning that the percentage of government schools in both districts are 18% and 67% respectively (MoES
2017). This indicates that the majority of the primary schools in Wakiso district are private schools.
Regarding the education outcomes of the two districts, the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE)
result is an important indicator that implies the educational quality in primary schools. Regarding the pie
chart, Division 1-4 indicates the level of grade in the pupil’s test, while Division 1 is the best and Division
4 is the border line for passing the PLE. Division U means that the pupils failed the test, while Division X
means that the pupil was absent for the PLE (Figure 4).
Figure 4: PLE Results for Wakiso and Bushenyi District

Created by author, based on (UNEB 2018)

The pie graph indicates that both of the districts have almost the same percentage for pupils who passed thePLE (Division1-Division 4). However, Wakiso has more Division 1 pupils out of the share of total pupils
than Bushenyi, while Bushenyi has more pupils in percentage for Division 1 and Division 2 levels.
In conclusion, Wakiso and Bushenyi districts were selected to understand the similarities anddifferences between them, regarding how the SMC and PTA works. Regarding education, the two districts
are considered as one of the model districts in Uganda. This study aims to capture how the SMCs/PTAs
and parents engage towards primary school education in areas that have relevantly high education quality
6

in Uganda. In addition, Bushenyi district has one of the most active parents that engage towards children’s
education and the researcher aims to examine how and why the parents actually get involved in education.
The researcher has also visited two schools each from rural and urban areas in each district, to understandthe differences between the two areas.

3. Methodology
This study would be a qualitative research, meaning that it will use the triangulation method.
Regarding document review, the researcher is planning to read government documents and otherinternational organization’s project documents related to primary education, that were not possible to beobtained in Japan or through the internet. Another important document that was obtained was the minutesof the SMC/PTA meetings. These minutes provide all of the records that were discussed during the meetings,
and will give an in-depth understanding for the researcher. In addition, the financial statement was obtainedin some schools that record the financial contribution of parents in each school. Furthermore, posters thatindicate the names of the SMC/PTA members, PLE results and so on were obtained during the field research.
For observation, the researcher has observed the classrooms and facilities of the school, to understand thecurrent situation of the school. Regarding interviews, it involved in giving questionnaires toward SMC/PTA
members and parents, while interviews were conducted towards the Ministry of Education and Sports
officials in the central and district levels.
The research method that would be taken to answer each research question is summarized on thetable below (Table 1).
Table 1: Summary of Research Methods

The researcher has visited 8 schools in total during this field research. In each of the districts, 4
schools (2 schools each from the rural and urban areas) were selected, that were provided from the District
Education Officers (DEO) in Wakiso and Bushenyi districts. All of the 8 schools visited were governmentaided schools where they receive Universal Primary Education (UPE) grants from the government. The
detailed information of the number of members and parents that were interviewed are listed on the tablebelow (Table 2).

7

Table 2: Summary of Visited Schools and Number of Interviewed People

Regarding the interview with the Ministry of Education and Sports government officials, the researcher hasinterviewed the senior education officer of the basic education department at the central level. For Wakiso
district, the researcher interviewed the District Inspector of Schools (DIS) and for Bushenyi district, theDistrict Education Officer (DEO) was interviewed. The DEO works as an officer appointed by thegovernment to assist in the administration of education services, while the DIS works under the DEO to be
in charge of quality control in education services (MoES 2008). The questions were based on asking theroles of SMCs/PTAs and their relationship with each other. In addition, the researcher asked how the parents
are involved in the government official’s point of view.
The researcher has conducted research by first obtaining the introduction letter that was provided
by the supervisor at Makerere University. Afterwards, the researcher visited each district office and used
the introduction letter to receive permission for field research from the District Education Officer (DEO).
Phone numbers of headteachers were received in that process, which allowed the researcher to mobilize
SMC/PTA members and parents to participate in the questionnaire and interview. The interviewed people
participated voluntary for the researcher’s questionnaire and interview. Regarding the interview towards
government officials, the researcher used the letter of introduction to make appointments to meet them.
Each interview was conducted for around 30-45 minutes.

4. Research Findings
Throughout the field research, the researcher has clarified the roles of SMCs/PTAs and parents in
Uganda primary education, and the issues that have occurred in that process. Preliminary findings of the
field research are listed below.
⚫

The roles of SMCs

The questionnaires towards the SMC members, asked their roles in school management based on
the Education Act 2008. The majority of the members understood about their roles properly. This was afinding that contrasts with the reports that indicate the lack of understanding about their roles in school
management (World Bank 2013; Oloka 2017). In addition, the SMCs were trying their best to sensitize
parents that were not really interested in their children’s education.

8

One SMC member said:
We encourage the parents. For example, especially for the very weak parents, who do not do theirwork. Some members of the SMC support them. We do one-on-one visit and directly talk with theparents who are not supportive. We see them and find a way to help the children(Male member of SMC, interviewed by the researcher on 9/20/2019).
Photo 1: Water tank provided by NGO
Another important role for the SMC was to mobilize
more money by lobbying towards NGOs and receiving
support from them, such as constructing school facilities(Photo 1). Many of the members insisted that the UPE grants
from the government are not enough and they need to receive
support from other donors too.
However, there are issues that SMCs are stretching themeaning of their roles. During the interview, one of theparents insisted that SMCs sent pupils away from school
because their parents did not pay the school fees. This role isnot stated in the Education Act, meaning that this action taken by the SMC is unofficial.

⚫

The roles of PTAs
The main role of the PTAs was to represent the parents’ opinion and financially contribute to schoolaffairs. Regarding the representation of parent’s opinion, most of the schools had a system that the PTA
first gathers to discuss about the issues and plans for the school. Afterwards, they hand in the proposal to
the SMCs. Regarding the financial contribution of the PTAs, all of the PTAs in Wakiso and Bushenyi,
gathered funds from parents in the school by explaining to them why the money is necessary and hold PTA
general meetings to negotiate with parents about how much they should actually pay. This financial role isextremely important for the school because the PTA compensate the lack of money of the school budget.
Regardless of the UPE policy, the UPE grants provided by the government are not sufficient. Therefore,
the PTA has a major influence on the school affairs. For instance, in one school, the PTA funds were morethan 3 times the UPE grants they receive from the government (Table 3).
Table 3: Total UPE grants and PTA funds for School H in term 3 on 2018

UPE Grant (Released)

PTA Fund (Collected)

1,534,000 UGX

5,556,200 UGX

Note: UGX: Uganda Shillings⚫

The relationship between SMCs and PTAs
In both Wakiso and Bushenyi districts, many of the school’s SMCs and PTAs work hand in hand andhave a good relationship with each other. For most of the schools, the PTA proposes an issue as arepresentative of parents and hand it to the SMC. Meetings are held between the SMC and PTA, and if the
proposal was accepted, it is the SMC’s role to actually implement a certain project. The research indicatedthat if the PTA is more active, the parents give further advise towards the school to improve the quality ofschool education.
9

However, there are issues in the relationship between the SMCs and PTAs. According to government
officials, some schools have conflicts between the two organizations, when the PTA has too much power
against the school management affairs. As indicated above, the PTAs are the main contributors for thefinancial affairs of UPE primary school. This allows the PTA to have a say towards school education eventhough they are not the legalized body of the education service delivery.
The roles of parents
Photo 2: Classroom built by parents
The researcher has found out thatmost of the parents that wereinterviewed are trying their best to get
involved in school education.
Especially the parents who were inside
the PTA organization, were obviously
more active than parents who did notbelong to the PTA. The active parents
were trying to engage other parents bysensitizing them. The parents’ mainrole in being involved in school
education was to participate in school
meetings that were informed by the SMCs and PTAs. Another major role of the parents was to financiallycontribute towards school education, by compensating the lack of UPE funds in the school. The parents pay
the money through the PTA. Furthermore, some parents volunteered to make additional school buildings
to compensate the lack of classrooms (Photo 2). This building has allowed more pupils to enroll in theschool.
However, according to the interview from parents, the majority of the parents still have passive
attitudes towards school education. The main reasons were the poverty of the family, lack of understanding
from parents and illiteracy of parents.
●

One PTA member has said
Due to the status of education, there is a lack of participation from parents. Especially the woman
feels the difficulty. They cannot produce enough which can generate enough incomes to get
involved in education for their children(Male member of PTA Committee, interviewed by the researcher on 9/24/2019).
In addition, many of the parents think that because of the UPE policy, school education is completely free.
This consideration by parents makes them think that paying the school fees is unnecessary. However, thereality is that there is not enough money to maintain school affairs and it is essential for them to pay those
fees.

10

5. Discussions
The research findings written above mainly revealed the roles of SMCs, PTAs, and parents in
Ugandan primary education. One of the important findings is that the PTA has a major influence on theschool management affairs and the SMC organization itself. Without the PTA, the Ugandan primary school
would not work out financially, and they are also the main actors of engaging parents to the school. While
the Education Act 2008 outlawed the PTA and mandated the SMC as the legal body of education service
delivery, it is obvious that the PTA has the power to manage the schools. It may be important for thegovernment to take into account this fact and officially state the roles of SMCs and PTAs in the education
law. This is because of some of the roles of SMC and PTA overlap, which may cause confusion andconflicts between the two organizations. In addition, it is also important to keep in mind about the socioeconomic status of the parents in the area. The interview towards parents revealed that families who arevulnerable have difficulty in being involved in school education. Furthermore, parents who themselves did
not receive education, have a tendency to undervalue the importance of education for their children. It isvital for the SMCs and PTAs to try to sensitize these parents and also support them financially to allow thechildren to go to school.

6. Conclusions
From the perspective from SDGs, this research contributes to Goal #4, “Ensure inclusive andequitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” and Goal #16, “Promote
peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build
effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. Regarding both of the goals, it is importantto first have comprehensive involvement towards the whole community in the school. The parents who are
actively involved in school education are usually members of the School Management Committees and
PTA meaning that they have higher socio-economic status than normal parents. It would be important for
those people to try to sensitize the other parents to get more engaged in school education. Throughout thefield research, many of the respondents insisted that the PTA has a major role in attracting parents. It might
be important to empower the PTA in all of the schools in Uganda to compensate the SMC’s legal role tomanage school affairs. Furthermore, it would be vital to collect the opinions from weaker families to take
into account about their considerations and reflect it towards the school level policy in each primary school.
In addition, engaging more parents to school has a possibility of increasing children to go to school.
In some schools, parents have volunteered to build new classrooms to accommodate more children aroundthe community. During the interview, many parents implied that they would like to send their children to aschool that has good infrastructure and high-quality education. The parents could become an important
stakeholder to contribute to this and it would be necessary for them to get involved more in school education.
In conclusion, this research has revealed the roles of SMCs, PTAs, and parents towards school
education in primary schools at Wakiso and Bushenyi districts. Throughout the field research, theresearcher has found out the contribution of these actors and the issues inside them. However, this report
itself has only presented the preliminary findings from the field research. The researcher is planning toconduct a more in-depth analysis of the data that was collected by reviewing the minutes of the SMC andPTA meetings, and doing furthermore literature review to have a thorough understanding of the situationof parental involvement towards primary education.

11

Acknowledgements

My deepest gratitude goes to Dr. Osamu Saito, Dr. Natsuko Imai, and Ms. Rieko Sato who haveorganized this excellent Global Leadership Training Programme in Africa. I really appreciate the United
Nations University for giving me the opportunity to conduct my field research in Uganda. Without theirthorough support, it would have been very difficult to accomplish it. I would also like to express gratitude
towards my supervisor at Makerere University, Dr. James Wokadala, for his generous support and valuableadvice throughout the whole period of the programme. Furthermore, my appreciation goes to Mr. John
Tumwine, and Mr. Nichilas for supporting me during my field research at the primary schools. Lastly myappreciation goes to my academic advisor in Kobe University, Prof. Keiichi Ogawa for his kind andcontinuous support.

12References
●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●
●
●

Caldwell, B.J. (2005). School-based Management: Education Policies Series. The International
Institute for Education Planning and the International Academy of Education. Paris and Brussels: The
International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and The International Academy of Education(IAE)
Dauda, C. (2004). The Importance of De Facto Decentralization in Primary Education in Sub-SaharanAfrica: PTAs and Local Accountability in Uganda. Journal of Planning Education and Research. 2840.
Kisembo, F. (2014). The Impact of Community Participation on Academic Performance in Uganda’s
Primary Education: A Case Study of School Management Committees and Parent-Teacher
Associations in Kayunga District. Master’s Thesis. University of Bergen
Marphatia, A.A., Edge, K., Legault, E. & Archer, D. (2010). Politics of participation: Parental support
for children's learning and school governance in Burundi, Malawi, Senegal and Uganda. Improving
learning outcomes in Primary schools (ILOPS) Project. Research Report on Parental Participation.
London, United Kingdom: Action AidOcan, B. (2017). Impact of Community Level Engagement in Primary Education: A Case Study ofOyam District, Northern Uganda, Uganda, East Africa. Master’s Thesis. SIT Graduate Institute.
Oloka, F. (2017). Assessment of the Role of School Management Committees on the Academic
Achievement of Learners in Universal Primary Education School in Bugiri District. Master’s Thesis.
Uganda Technology and Management University.
Oversea Development Institution (ODI). (2005). Universal Primary Education: Uganda. London,
United Kingdom: Oversea Development Institution (ODI).
Ssekamwa, J.C. (1997). History and Development of Education in Uganda. Kampala, Uganda:
Fountain Publishers.
Uganda Bureau of Statistics (2017). The National Population and Housing Census 2014 – Area
Specific Profile Series, Kampala, Uganda.
Uganda Ministry of Education and Sports. (2008). Guidelines On: Planning, Roles and Responsibilities
of Stakeholders in the Implementation of Universal Primary Education (UPE) for District and Urban
Councils. Kampala. Uganda: Ministry of Education and Sports.
Uganda Ministry of Education and Sports. (2008). Uganda Education Act 2008. Kampala. Uganda:
Ministry of Education and Sports.
Uganda Ministry of Education and Sports (2017). Education Abstract 2017. Kampala. Uganda:
Ministry of Education and Sports.
UNESCO. (2019). UIS Stat. Paris, France: UNESCO Retrieved from http://data.uis.unesco.org/#
World Bank. (2007). What is School Based Management? Washington D.C.: World Bank.
World Bank. (2013). Improving Learning in Uganda Vol.Ⅲ School-Based Management: Policy andFunctionality. Washington D.C.: World Bank.

13

III. Reflection to the GLTP in Africa
One of the reasons that I have gone on to master’s program is because I am pursuing to work in thedevelopment area and contribute towards the improvement of developing country’s education in the future.
To achieve this goal, I truly think that it would be important to understand about the local people’s point ofview. As a researcher, I would like to solve the educational issues in developing countries by not relying
only on secondary data, but collecting information at the field and have a sense of ownership to solve theissues. For these reasons, I have applied for the GLTP, because I thought this program would give me theopportunity to achieve my future goal. The program was very attractive since I could receive academic andfinancial support throughout my field research in Uganda.
During my field research in Uganda, I was able to visit 8 government-aided primary schools in
Wakiso and Bushenyi districts. In order to visit and conduct my research at those schools, I had to visit the
district education office to receive permission from them. This experience was also valuable for me because
I could have hands-on experience on how to make appointments in Uganda and understand what I should
be careful when making appointments. At the end of my stay in Uganda, I was able to go to the office andnegotiate by myself with the government officers who work at the Ministry of Education and Sports.
Conducting interviews with the local people was also a valuable experience for me because I haverealized what I should be careful when asking for translation and also how I should ask the questions so thepeople can understand what I was asking for. It is very important to listen to them carefully and keep eye
contact with them so they can feel comfortable when answering to my questions. In addition, I was able tovisit two areas in Uganda and understand the differences between them, because of support from Dr. James
Wokodala and his research assistants. This has allowed me to broaden my understanding of Uganda bylooking at many types of primary schools.
I was also able to interview government officials which were a great experience too, because I havegained an understanding about how they implement the policies at the national level and district level. By
reviewing the National Development Plan and the Education Act 2008, I have gained a comprehensive
view of how the education service is delivered in Uganda.
The challenges I have felt during my field research in Uganda was unexpected troubles I had during
the research. One of the troubles I had was revising my questionnaires after I have already visited someschools in Wakiso district. At first, I felt really anxious about it, but I tried to think positively about what I
can do in the remaining time. As a master’s student that has just started doing field research, there weremany difficulties and limitation related to my knowledge and experience, but this field research experiencegave me the opportunity to think calmly and consider what I should do to improve the situation when somekind of problem happens. This experience has helped me in Japan too, whenever I face difficulties inmanaging my course work and thesis out of the busy schedule.
Furthermore, networking and coordination skills were difficult to obtain because there were culturalbarriers that were hard for me to accept, especially at the beginning of my research. The way of getting
appointments, their perceptions towards time or contacting them were totally different from Japan, so I had
some trouble at first. However, I always focused on communicating with them deeply so I wouldn’t feel
too stressed out about it. It is always important to understand the local people’s culture and try to adapt tothe environment.
Based on the experiences that I have written, I would like to use this field research experience tofirst enhance my thesis’s quality. It is important for me to organize the valuable data I have obtained in thefield research and conduct an in-depth analysis of it. I am planning to present my findings in academic
conferences, and I am hoping that my research can contribute towards the improvement of primary14

education in Uganda. In addition, I would like to share my data and analysis with my supervisor in Uganda
and also disseminate my findings to the local Ugandan people too if possible. One of my goals is to become
an education specialist in the developing field, so I assume that these research skills are very important for
my future career.
Furthermore, my goal is to work for developing countries, so I would like to use this experience as abasis to accomplish that. I believe that hands-on experience in developing countries would be a key toobtain a job in those areas. Thus, I would like to emphasize the experience that I acquired as a participant
in the GLTP. Based on the things that I have learned during the GLTP, I would like to challenge myself tomore difficult opportunities such as applying for international organizations in the near future.
Lastly, I would like to send a message towards the students who may go to Africa for field research,“Research helps people”. This is a message that I have received from my research assistant in Uganda. I
felt that this message is really important and that you have to think about this when you study about
international cooperation. I am just a beginner in research, but in my humble opinion, I think that you haveto always keep in mind about the people who you are trying to help. That is why I recommend anyone who
is interesting in doing research in Africa, to actually go to the field to have an in-depth understanding of thearea.

Photo 3: Interview at primary school withhead teacher and SMC member

Photo 4: Interview towards SMC members

Photo 5: Photo with my assistant

Photo 6: Having dinner with my assistant15