Browsing by Author "Dassan, Fidel"

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    Assessing primary school teachers’ professional suitability for the teaching profession in Tanzania
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2018) Dassan, Fidel
    The purpose of this study was to assess primary school teachers’ professional suitability for the teaching profession in Tanzania. The motive for undertaking the study was provoked by the fact that primary school teachers have for long been implicated in absenteeism, poor academic performance of learners, turnover and unethical behaviours. The researcher’s assumption therefore was that there was a need to conduct a study to assess primary school teachers’ professional suitability for the teaching profession. The study had five objectives, namely to: (i) assess primary school teachers’ professional suitability for the teaching profession (ii) assess teachers’ personality types (iii) explore the relationship between teachers’ personality types and their career interests, (iv) explore the relationship between teachers’ personality types and their professional suitability for the teaching profession, and (v) investigate the strength of Holland’s personality types in explaining teachers’ professional suitability for the teaching profession when other intervening variables such as teaching experience, housing provision, timing of promotion, and in-service training are controlled for. The study employed a quantitative approach to study a random sample of 365 primary school teachers and 2190 pupils selected from 67 primary schools in four selected regions. Data were collected using the Self-Directed Search scale (SDS), the Teacher Professional Suitability Scale (TPSS), and the Teacher Classroom Observation Protocol (TCOP). The findings revealed that most primary school teachers were suitable for the teaching profession. Again, the dominant personality types among teachers were Social, followed by Enterprising and Artistic. Moreover, the study found very strong positive and significant correlations between specific personality types and specific careers that are placed under each personality type as categorized by Holland. Likewise, the findings showed very weak negative but significant correlations (r=-.125 and r=-.178) between artistic and social personality types, respectively, and teachers’ professional suitability when professional suitability was measured by TPSS. Furthermore, the findings revealed that there were almost no correlations between personality types and teachers’ professional suitability when professional suitability was measured by TCOP. The findings from direct logistic regression analysis showed further that none of the determinant variables explained teachers’ professional suitability when professional suitability was measured by TPSS. In contrast, the findings revealed that teaching experience, timely promotion and Social personality type were the strong predictors of teachers’ professional suitability when professional suitability was measured using TCOP. In the light of the findings, the study recommends among others a need to assess teachers using Holland’s SDS and recruit those with Social, Enterprising and Artistic personality types to the teaching profession. Again, the study recommends a need to promote teachers on time as one way of making them not give up on the teaching profession. The study also suggested areas for future research on career choice.