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Children’s lived experience and perceptions of community members’ influence on their schooling: a study in Uganda

INTRODUCTION: Global and national initiatives have successfully increased access to public education in low- and middle-income countries. However, many students in rural regions in these countries have high rates of absenteeism and drop-out, and low levels of academic engagement. Together, these sig...

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Autores principales: Balikoowa, Richard, Ojiambo, Deborah, Emuron, Lydia, Siu, Godfrey, Mbabazi-Mpyangu, Christine, Kikooma, Julius Fred, Mugambwa, Joshua, Nuwagaba, Rachael Daphine, Baluku, Martin M., Onen, David
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10394695/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37539008
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1045737
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author Balikoowa, Richard
Ojiambo, Deborah
Emuron, Lydia
Siu, Godfrey
Mbabazi-Mpyangu, Christine
Kikooma, Julius Fred
Mugambwa, Joshua
Nuwagaba, Rachael Daphine
Baluku, Martin M.
Onen, David
author_facet Balikoowa, Richard
Ojiambo, Deborah
Emuron, Lydia
Siu, Godfrey
Mbabazi-Mpyangu, Christine
Kikooma, Julius Fred
Mugambwa, Joshua
Nuwagaba, Rachael Daphine
Baluku, Martin M.
Onen, David
author_sort Balikoowa, Richard
collection PubMed
description INTRODUCTION: Global and national initiatives have successfully increased access to public education in low- and middle-income countries. However, many students in rural regions in these countries have high rates of absenteeism and drop-out, and low levels of academic engagement. Together, these significantly limit children’s academic performance and achievement. One strategy that addresses these barriers seeks to engage members of the wider local community in schools. Most previous research focuses on adults’ perspectives even though the potential benefit of community engagement is greatest when learners perceive it to be positive. Past research has also focused on community members structured engagement in activities within schools. This research provides a wider exploration of children’s lived experience and perceptions concerning community members’ influence on their schooling and learning. The aim was to gain a rich picture of how primary school students in rural Uganda perceive that community members’ behavior helps or hinders their education. METHODS: Qualitative data from students 10 to 13 years of age were collected through individual interviews that used the draw-and-talk technique (n = 20) and four focus group discussions. RESULTS: Seven broad categories of community members’ actions were perceived to be positive (conflict resolution; supporting students’ physical well-being; encouraging learning and positive behavior; reducing truancy; providing food and financial support; collective community work; and political representation). Four categories of community members’ actions were perceived to have a negative influence (creating barriers to attending school; noise and other distractions; insecurity; and theft and vandalism). DISCUSSION: We conclude that carefully structured community involvement in schooling may improve the emotional and material support that facilitates students’ continued school attendance and their motivation for learning. However, we also identify some limits on the role that local communities may be able to play in overcoming the challenges facing education in low- and middle-income countries.
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spelling pubmed-103946952023-08-03 Children’s lived experience and perceptions of community members’ influence on their schooling: a study in Uganda Balikoowa, Richard Ojiambo, Deborah Emuron, Lydia Siu, Godfrey Mbabazi-Mpyangu, Christine Kikooma, Julius Fred Mugambwa, Joshua Nuwagaba, Rachael Daphine Baluku, Martin M. Onen, David Front Psychol Psychology INTRODUCTION: Global and national initiatives have successfully increased access to public education in low- and middle-income countries. However, many students in rural regions in these countries have high rates of absenteeism and drop-out, and low levels of academic engagement. Together, these significantly limit children’s academic performance and achievement. One strategy that addresses these barriers seeks to engage members of the wider local community in schools. Most previous research focuses on adults’ perspectives even though the potential benefit of community engagement is greatest when learners perceive it to be positive. Past research has also focused on community members structured engagement in activities within schools. This research provides a wider exploration of children’s lived experience and perceptions concerning community members’ influence on their schooling and learning. The aim was to gain a rich picture of how primary school students in rural Uganda perceive that community members’ behavior helps or hinders their education. METHODS: Qualitative data from students 10 to 13 years of age were collected through individual interviews that used the draw-and-talk technique (n = 20) and four focus group discussions. RESULTS: Seven broad categories of community members’ actions were perceived to be positive (conflict resolution; supporting students’ physical well-being; encouraging learning and positive behavior; reducing truancy; providing food and financial support; collective community work; and political representation). Four categories of community members’ actions were perceived to have a negative influence (creating barriers to attending school; noise and other distractions; insecurity; and theft and vandalism). DISCUSSION: We conclude that carefully structured community involvement in schooling may improve the emotional and material support that facilitates students’ continued school attendance and their motivation for learning. However, we also identify some limits on the role that local communities may be able to play in overcoming the challenges facing education in low- and middle-income countries. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-07-19 /pmc/articles/PMC10394695/ /pubmed/37539008 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1045737 Text en Copyright © 2023 Balikoowa, Ojiambo, Emuron, Siu, Mbabazi-Mpyangu, Kikooma, Mugambwa, Nuwagaba, Baluku and Onen. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Balikoowa, Richard
Ojiambo, Deborah
Emuron, Lydia
Siu, Godfrey
Mbabazi-Mpyangu, Christine
Kikooma, Julius Fred
Mugambwa, Joshua
Nuwagaba, Rachael Daphine
Baluku, Martin M.
Onen, David
Children’s lived experience and perceptions of community members’ influence on their schooling: a study in Uganda
title Children’s lived experience and perceptions of community members’ influence on their schooling: a study in Uganda
title_full Children’s lived experience and perceptions of community members’ influence on their schooling: a study in Uganda
title_fullStr Children’s lived experience and perceptions of community members’ influence on their schooling: a study in Uganda
title_full_unstemmed Children’s lived experience and perceptions of community members’ influence on their schooling: a study in Uganda
title_short Children’s lived experience and perceptions of community members’ influence on their schooling: a study in Uganda
title_sort children’s lived experience and perceptions of community members’ influence on their schooling: a study in uganda
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10394695/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37539008
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1045737
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