REVIEW OF QUALITY ASSURANCE PRACTICES ON EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES IN PUBLIC TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING COLLEGES IN UGANDA

Abstract

Uganda’s public Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges lack a fully coordinated Quality Assurance (QA) system, and results vary. The main objective of the study was to review the QA practices on educational outcomes in public TVET colleges in Uganda. The study was guided by the Institutional and Human Capital theories because of their importance in education and training inputs, processes and outputs. The study adopted a pragmatic approach and employed a mixed methodology and design, to collect data from five engineering technology-based TVET colleges, and ten companies. 378 respondents completed the questionnaires, and 120 participated in interviews and focus group discussions. Purposive, rotary and systematic sampling techniques were used to select participants. Quantitative and qualitative data was analysed using SPSS version 25, and NVIVO software for thematic analysis respectively. Validity, reliability, and research ethical considerations were adhered to. The findings revealed that management practices, instructional and teaching practices, and industry involvement associate with better educational outcomes. Trainees’ learning experiences were mixed across respondent groups. Regression models explained about 63–67% of the variation in educational outcomes. The study concludes that effective leadership, instruction and teaching quality, and college industry links is associated with better completion, skills and assessment performance in these colleges. The study recommends, enhanced collaborative and participatory engagements with college stakeholders; strong partnerships that involve industry in all aspects of instruction and learning; establishing effective quality assurance mechanisms and frameworks at colleges; and a complete national QA framework in the Ugandan TVET system.