Browsing by Author "Mary Kagoire Ocheng"

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Experiences of Mid-Level Administrators in Ugandan Universities: A Study of Multiple Role Conflicts
(East African Nature and Science Organisation, 2025-06-20) Faith Mbabazi; Wilson Eduan; Mary Kagoire Ocheng; Stella Amero Eduan
This qualitative study explores the experiences of mid-level administrators in Ugandan public universities, focusing on role conflicts arising from their multiple responsibilities. Grounded in Role Conflict Theory, the research explores time-based, strain-based, and behaviour-based conflicts among 20 administrators at Makerere and Kyambogo Universities. The study was guided by the following research questions: What are the strain-based experiences of mid-level administrators regarding their workload? How do time-based constraints affect their workplace responsibilities? What behavioural challenges arise when executing multiple roles? This qualitative study adopted a constructivist approach, focusing on participants' lived experiences (Creswell, 2014). It targeted mid-level administrators (e.g., deans, bursars, heads of sections, etc.) due to their multifaceted roles. Twenty participants were purposively selected for their expertise. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews, conducted face-to-face and online during the COVID-19 lockdown. Interviews were audio-recorded, with brief notes for follow-up. Pseudonyms ensured confidentiality. Thematic analysis categorized data into time-based, strain-based, and behavior-based themes, aligned with Role Conflict Theory. Findings reveal that extended work hours, heavy workloads, and challenges in switching roles lead to stress, burnout, and work-life imbalances. Gender, marital status, and age influence these experiences, with female and younger administrators reporting higher strain. The study recommends enhanced training and resource support to mitigate role conflicts. Implications for university administration and future research are discussed.
Institutional Mediation and Teacher Engagement: A Contextual Model for ELearning Uptake in Uganda's Universal Secondary Education Schools
(East African Nature & Science Organisation, 2025-09-17) Nantagya Grace Ssebanakitta; Joel Yawe Masagazi; Mary Kagoire Ocheng; Kyakulumbye Stephen
This study, titled "Institutional Mediation and Teacher Engagement: A Contextual Model for E-Learning Uptake in Uganda's Universal Secondary Education Schools," investigates the strategies employed by teachers to overcome barriers to e-learning adoption within low-resource educational settings. Specifically, it explores how teachers in Kampala-based USE schools adapt to infrastructural, institutional, and pedagogical challenges, and proposes a contextual model to guide future integration efforts. Guided by the overarching objective to identify teacher-led strategies for navigating e-learning challenges, the study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, combining quantitative data from 393 teachers and qualitative insights from 10 headteachers across all USE schools in Kampala City. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, with rigorous procedures to ensure validity, trustworthiness, and triangulation. The findings reveal that teachers employed a combination of personal, peer-based, and institutionally facilitated strategies, including the use of personal devices, offline content sharing, peer mentorship, rotational scheduling, and community-supported ICT resource mobilization. Despite their creativity and adaptability, these coping mechanisms were often fragmented, inconsistent, and dependent on individual initiative rather than system-wide planning. Qualitative insights underscored the critical role of empathetic leadership, flexible budgeting, and informal CPD structures in supporting these grassroots innovations. Drawing on Constructivism, Connectivism, Technology-Mediated Learning Theory (TMLT), and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the study developed the Institutionally Mediated E-Learning Uptake Model (IMELUM). This model highlights the dynamic interplay between infrastructural readiness, leadership support, teacher competence, and institutional culture as key mediators of sustainable e-learning engagement. The study concludes that while teacher-led coping strategies are commendable, they are insufficient without systemic institutional support, strategic policy alignment, and sustained investment. It recommends formalizing grassroots innovations into national digital education frameworks, strengthening school-level professional development, and incentivizing collaborative partnerships. Suggested directions for further research include: evaluating the long-term impact of peer mentorship on e-learning competence, assessing the role of institutional leadership in sustaining digital transformation, and investigating scalable funding models for ICT integration in secondary schools.
Role Conflict and Burnout among Administrators in Higher Institutions of Education in Uganda
(East African Nature and Science Organisation, 2023-10-16) Faith Mbabazi; Wilson Eduan; Mary Kagoire Ocheng
The purpose of this study was to find out the relationship between role conflict and burnout among administrators in higher education institutions in Uganda. There have been a number of studies on academicians in universities, but not much research has been done on administrators, especially in Uganda. The respondents included midlevel administrators such as deans, directors, heads of department, heads of sections, academic registrars, librarians, directors of services and human resource officers. This was a survey research design carried out on administrators in universities. The questionnaire, which was a combination of role conflict questions and Maslach burnout inventory, was administered to the administrators who had been randomly selected from universities. The findings indicated that role conflict was not a predictor of burnout dimensions of emotional exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy; however, coupled with demographics, the results changed, and there was a positive significant relationship, especially with age on emotional exhaustion. It was recommended that university top administrators should be interested in the mental state of their staff because, as earlier noted, emotional exhaustion was the most significant burnout dimension predicted by role conflicts
The ‘Self’ of Hearing-Impaired Learners and their Transition from Primary to Post-Primary Education in Uganda
(East African Nature & Science Organization, 2024-08-12) Bonaventure Wasswa Ssebyanzi; Mary Kagoire Ocheng
In Uganda, post-primary education is one of the milestones in a child’s education. It is characterized by many challenges, particularly faced by learners with hearing impairments attempting to transition from primary to post-primary level. The transition has long been recognized as one of the most challenging issues for learners with hearing impairments, yet it has not been resolved by impeccable empirical scrutiny. This quagmire prompted the researcher to use a phenomenological investigation to explore the significant self-concepts affecting the learners’ transition from primary to post-primary studies. Interviews and group discussions with randomly selected learners who had joined and those who had failed to proceed to post-primary schools were involved. Also, corroborative views and opinions were obtained from preferred teachers and parents in interviews and discussions. It was discovered that the transition of learners with impaired hearing from primary to post-primary level was substantially influenced by family socioeconomic status, gender, age, health, and the learner’s cultural issues – validating the applicability of Schlossberg’s Theory of Transition to provide person-centered answers to transition deterrents, inhibiting the learners from joining and or staying in postprimary schools. It was recommended that self-advocacy training at the primary level be enhanced to help learners develop the skills they need for confidence growth in their abilities before, during and after the transition to post-primary educational institutions.