The implementation of school mapping and micro planning among public primary schools in Temeke municipality, Tanzania

The study assessed the implementation of SM and MP among public primary schools during PEDP I & II in Temeke Municipality, Tanzania. The study had four objectives which were to investigate how environmental forces (external and internal) influenced the implementation of SM and MP among public primary schools during PEDP 1 & II; explore the flow of school inputs (human resources; physical resources and financial resources) for implementing SM and MP initiatives among public primary schools during PEDP I & II; examine the actual practices in schools that facilitated students’ learning through the implementation of SM and MP in public primary schools during PEDP I & II; identify the constraints in the implementation of SM and MP of public primary schools during PEDP I & II and the strategies used to overcome them. The approach used in the study was qualitative employing multiple case studies design. The respondents of the study were 92 while the selected public primary schools were 10. The respondents selected were primary school teachers, head teachers, school committee members and education officers at ward and educational level. Methods of data collection were semi-structured interview, focus group discussion, observation and documentary review. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The study revealed four major findings. Firstly, the implementation of SM and MP of public primary schools during PEDP I & II was influenced positively and negatively by environmental forces which were advantageous and a threat to the public primary schools. Secondly, the implementation of SM and MP among public primary schools was marked by inadequate flow of school inputs namely human resources, physical resources and financial resources Thirdly, the actual practices in public primary schools that facilitated students’ learning through the implementation of SM and MP during PEDP I & II were the use of birth certificates and affidavit/clinic cards, cooperating with the parents, using attendance registers, suing the parents of the regular absentees, insistence on teachers’ commitment and collegiality, remedial classes, revision, speed tests and exams, provision of seminars to teachers, the use of different teaching and learning methods, regular internal inspection, mobilization of financial contributions and monitoring of pupils progress. Finally, the constraints in the implementation of SM and MP among public primary schools during PEDP I & II were financial, political, cultural and environmental, while the strategies used to overcome the constraints included the involvement of stakeholders, capacity building, donor support and the use of double shift schooling. The study concluded that the implementation of SM and MP in public primary schools is vital because it discloses the actual reality of education existing at the local level in terms of environmental forces, imbalance in the school inputs, the practices of pupils and schools as well as the constraints and strategies for overcoming them. Therefore, it is recommended that SM and MP of public primary schools should be viewed as essential tools for decentralizing education to the grassroots level.