Analysis of education quality in selected private international academies in Tanzania.

This study was about analysis of education quality in selected private primary "International Academies in Tanzania". It was carried out in Dar es Salaam on school teachers and parents with children in these schools. The purpose of the study was to carry out an empirical investigation about quality of education in private primary schools with particular reference to what is written in literature about quality education in primary schools, the real situation in these schools the perception of parents on the quality of education provided to their children and the willingness of parents to pay. The researcher formulated three null hypothesis to guide her in this study. "There is no difference between the actual services provided in these schools and the indicators of provision of quality education as reviewed in literature" There is no difference between parents perception on quality of education provided in these schools and the perceptions of the schools' management. There is no difference between parents perceptions of school quality and their readiness to pay. Data collection instruments were in form of questionnaires, systematic observation and interviews. Two hundred questionnaires were given out to school teachers and parents. One hundred and fifty (80%) were collected for analysis. Chi-square test was used the main method of analysis. Percentages, likelihood ratio test and z-statistic tests were also computed. Basing on these findings, the researcher could not come to the conclusion that the so called "International Academies" Primary School provide quality education to children. This is because despite that the researcher used the fifteen factors in the conceptual framework of the factors that determined education quality as illustrated in figure l, but the pupil outcomes were not determined by the study as there are no pupils yet who have graduated from these schools. The factors the researcher used in the study were supporting inputs, school climate, enabling conditions and teaching/learning process. The pupils outcomes were not dealt with as no pupils have yet graduated from any of these schools and because of this the researcher can not conclude that these schools do provide quality of education as the major indicators of quality (i.e. pupil outcomes) were not dealt with. Also the fifteen factors used by researcher in the framework are potential contributors to school quality, not guarantors of quality in any setting which means that these "International Academies" private primary schools but that does not mean these schools provide quality education to children; what is important in provision of quality education to children is how the factors interact in a school. Furthermore, there are still some problems that need to be solved in order for these school to excel in their provision of quality education. Some recommendations were made to help to improve the current situation and to have more and better knowledge of these schools.