Active teaching & learning practices and students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Arua District

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the degree to which Active Teaching and Learning (ATL) practices influence students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Arua district. The specific objectives of the study were to (1) analyse the levels at which ATL methods, techniques and instructional materials are used in secondary schools in Arua district (2) examine the level of students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Arua district (3) evaluate the influence of ATL on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Arua district. The paper hypothesized that there was no significant influence of ATL practices on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Arua district. A sample of 120 was drawn comprising of head teachers, deputy head teachers, directors of study, subject teachers and students from four Enabel partner secondary schools in Arua district. A mixed method research design was used. Data was collected through use of questionnaire survey, observation guide and focus group discussions. The study revealed that the level to which ATL methods were used at Secondary schools in Arua district was moderate at mean of 3.10 (62%), ATL techniques was very high at Mean 4.39 (88%) and ATL Instructional resources was high at Mean 3.84 (77%). Level of students’ performance was high at mean 3.72 (75%). The influence of ATL practices on students’ academic performance was positive with r – value .634 and Coefficient of Determination (r2) at .401 meaning that ATL practices had influenced students’ academic performance by 40.1% by the study period leaving 59.9% influenced by other factors. The null hypothesis which stated that there was no significant influence of ATL practices on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Arua district was rejected because the P-value of 0.000 was found to be less than the significance level of 0.01. Teachers and other stakeholders should always be innovative in the use of ATL methods, instructional resources and techniques to enhance students’ academic performance.