A comparative analysis civic competence between arts and science secondary school graduates in Zanzibar

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Date
2001
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
Zanzibar, being part of the United Republic of Tanzania embraced liberalism in 1990s. This meant a shift from one party system and state controlled economy, which provided little freedom and democracy, into a liberal and multiparty system. All social institutions, including the school were made to change to respond to the newly introduced system. The task of the school was to prepare the young to live in the new system, hence the insistence on democracy, human rights, and good governance. It is in this regard that this study sought to examine and compare the knowledge on human rights and responsibilities of citizen’s good governance and economic and political issues possessed by ex-secondary school students as aspects of their civic competence. The study dealt with ex-secondary school students who completed their secondary education in three secondary schools namely Fidel Castro secondary school, Lumumba secondary school and Institute of Languages, between 1995- 1999. Data were collected through questionnaires and focused group interviews. The findings suggest that these ex-secondary school students possessed low level of understanding of human rights and good governance, but higher level of understanding of social and political issues and higher participation in communal activities as they related to their society. The findings, however, suggest that arts ex-secondary school students had higher understanding of human rights and higher participation in communal activities than science ex-secondary school students. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the males and the employed ex-secondary school students had higher level of participation in communal activities and of understanding of human rights than the females and the unemployed. The observed differences in civic competence seem to be the result of subject specialization culture and level of exposure to new information. Further research is recommended using a wider sample that covers a wider area.
Description
Available in print form, East Africana Collection, Dr. Wilbert Chagula Library, Class mark (THS EAF LB1026.6.T34I8)
Keywords
Competance based on education, Comparative analysis, Arts and science students, Secondary education, Zanzibar
Citation
Juma, Khamis Abdullah (2001) A comparative analysis civic competence between arts and science secondary school graduates in Zanzibar, Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam