Instructors’ Perceptions of Authentic Learning in the Pedagogical Approaches of Postsecondary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case for Uganda

• Author / Creator

  Muganga, Lawrence

• The literature has demonstrated a need to not only examine instances of student-centered learning in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) but also discuss associated instructional approaches from the perspective of instructors. The purpose of this study was to gain further understanding about Ugandan postsecondary instructors’ perceptions of their pedagogical approaches, including the implementation of student-centered instructional methodologies, such as authentic learning (AL) and Indigenous African Education (IAE) for postsecondary schools in Uganda. Based on the study purpose, the following research questions guided this study:

  1. What are instructors’ perceptions of their experiences with postsecondary pedagogical approaches or instructional methodologies implemented in their university?
  2. What are instructors’ perceptions of their experiences with the degree to which AL is important, implemented, and supported at the university level?
  3. What are instructors’ perceptions of the IAE pedagogy and how they relate it to their current postsecondary instructional methodologies?
  4. How do instructors perceive the way in which teaching and learning in Ugandan postsecondary education can undergo improvement? Using a qualitative research framework with a multiple case study design, this investigation explored the research questions to give meaning and shape to the data. Six active university instructors were recruited from Uganda’s Makerere University and provided 60-minute semi-structured interviews with guided questions as well as follow-up interviews and classroom observations. The interview data underwent transcription and narration to facilitate the development of themes relating to postsecondary pedagogical methods. The remainder of the thesis presented and compared the narratives through a cross-thematic analysis, with the final chapter providing implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research before a brief conclusion.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Teacher-centered Learning
  • Indigenous African Education
  • Authentic Education
  • Postsecondary Education
  • Higher Education
  • Lecture Method
  • Teaching and Learning
  • Real-life Learning
  • Pedagogy
  • Real-world learning
  • Interactive Learning
  • Student-centered Learning
  • Authentic Learning

• Graduation date

  Fall 2018

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3S17T810

• License

  Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.