Evidence based impact of school inspection on teaching and learning in primary school education in Tanzania

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of school inspection on teaching and learning in primary school education in Tanzania. The study was carried out in Mbeya region and data was collected qualitatively from 59 participants where 6 were head teachers, 44 classroom teachers, 8 school inspectors, and a District Education Officer (DEO). Data was collected through open-ended questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions, and documentary analysis. The findings indicate that school inspectors gave some advice to teachers on how to teach and help the pupils with learning difficulties. However, it was found that school inspectors did not regularly visit the classroom for lesson observations to identify the strengths and weaknesses of teachers for the improvement of teaching and learning. The findings also indicate that school inspectors focused on the professional documents when evaluating the teachers’ work performance without classroom observation and helping teachers on how to teach the difficult topics that could be the added value of the school inspection. It was further found that school inspectors’ working conditions were poor as they lacked allowances to facilitate their school visits and they lacked a means of transport. It is argued in this paper that for teachers to grow professionally and improve the quality of teaching and learning in primary schools, school inspectors need to carry out classroom observations and be trained based on the subject matter. Nevertheless, improvement of the school inspectors’ work conditions and provision of a means of transport to the school inspectorate department is equally important