Teacher Competency and Engagement in Primary Schools, in Jinja City, Uganda

Abstract

High teacher engagement is linked to effective teaching assistance and teacher-student collaboration, which creates the supportive social environment necessary for students' positive academic attitudes. The study examined the relationship between teacher competency and teacher engagement The study was guided by the cross-sectional research design. The study participants comprised of 408 primary school teachers of northern division in Jinja city covering nineteen primary schools. The simple random sampling was used to select 196 primary school teachers selected from the 408 teachers who teach in primary schools in northern divisions found in the Jinja City. The findings indicate the relationship between teacher competence and engagement. The three elements of planning, development and results were examined in studying teacher competence. The hypothesis derived from the objective was that teacher competency insignificantly predicted engagement. The hypothesis was accepted because the link between teacher competence and engagement was negative and insignificant. The study concluded that Teacher competency does not necessary enhance their engagement especially when teachers efficiently incorporate ICTs in teaching, present the minimum content of subject matter tailored to the learner’s knowledge, present content following a clear and logical framework, inform learners of the competencies expected to be acquired, provide learners with scientific information that allows them to gain a better and deeper understanding of subject matter and foster research and critical spirit in learners. The study recommended that in order to enhance teacher engagement there is need for teachers to efficiently incorporate ICTs in teaching, present the minimum content of subject matter tailored to the learner’s knowledge, present content following a clear and logical framework, inform learners of the competencies expected to be acquired, provide learners with scientific information that allows them to gain a better and deeper understanding of subject matter and foster research and critical spirit in learners.. Keywords: Teacher Competency, teacher engagement, academic competency, academic performance.