Gender Characteristics of Secondary School Teachers Using Computers in and Around Kampala City of Uganda

Abstract

This study investigated personal and classroom teaching characteristics ofteachers using computers. The study was an evaluation of characteristics bygender using evidence from secondary schools in and around Kampala City ofUganda. Descriptive characteristics and associations between characteristics bygender; differences between gender characteristics; and prediction of gender ofteacher using the characteristics were investigated. Cross-sectional data werecollected using a self-administered questionnaire. Schools were identified usingsnowball sampling because of the nature of the study population. Respondents ineach school were selected purposively through their head teachers. According tothe study, male respondents were about twice as many as female respondents. Proportions of teachers according to the characteristics varied across gender.Associations between personal characteristics were gender-based. Associationsbetween classroom teaching characteristics were similar across gender andincluded average number of students taught per stream and average number ofstreams taught in a week. Gender differences in classroom characteristics werefound in teaching science subjects and teaching higher classes with maleteachers scoring higher than their female counterparts. The study revealedgender difference in a computer with male teachers scoring higher than femaleteachers. Prediction of gender of a teacher was by teaching a science subject.Policy implications include the fact that the government should encourage morefemale students to study science subjects so as to effectively increase numbers offemale science teachers; and to increase incentives for science teachers. SchoolManagement should encourage female teachers acquire personal computers andto teach science subjects in higher classes. Schools should also reduce teachingloads for teachers adopting and adapting ICT in teaching.  Keywords:   Gender, Classroom Teaching characteristics, Personal characteristics,Correlations, Logit Regression, ANOVA