Browsing by Author "Machera, Joachim"

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    The impact of schools-based sporting activities on the academic performance of primary schools in Tanzania: a case of musoma municipality
    (University of Dar es Salaam,, 2012) Machera, Joachim
    This study examined the impact of school-based sporting activities on academic performance of primary schools in Tanzania with reference to Musoma Municipality in Mara region. Specifically, the study assessed and compared pupils’ standard seven national examination results in a period of five years before and five years after banning of sport tournaments; examined pupils’ attendance and dropout rates in school five years before and five years after banning of sport tournaments; and examined the relationship between pupils’ physical fitness levels and their class academic performance relative to two consecutive annual examination results. A descriptive survey design that combines qualitative and quantitative research approaches was employed for the study, whereby purposive and random sampling procedures were used to select a sample of 112 participants. Semi-structured interviews, documentary review, focus group discussions, and physical fitness tests were used to collect the data. The findings of the study revealed that the academic performance five years before banning of sports tournaments was higher relative to the situation five years after banning them. Also, the study discovered that the rate of pupils’ attendance in school was higher in all five years before banning of school-based sport tournaments than during five years after banning the tournaments. Similarly, pupils’ dropout rate five years before banning of sport tournaments was lower relative to the five years after banning of sport tournaments. Moreover, the study indicated that pupils who are physically fit are likely to have better academic performance in school relative to pupils who are physically unfit. The study recommended on educating educational practitioners and the community on the importance of school-based sporting activities in education and for the overall development of children. Also, children should have a legal right, be entitled to participating in school sports and recreational activities, while school sport facilities should not be used for other non-sport-related programmes. Moreover, the study recommended that school-based sport tournaments should best be held during pupils’ school vacations in order to give the pupils more space for classroom instruction hours. A similar study is recommended for a wider area and wider constituency in order to ascertain the situation on the impact of school-based sporting activities on academic performance of primary schools.