- 10.00-11.00: trial lecture.
- 11.30-15.00: public defence.
You can join this event online (oslomet.zoom.us).
Webinar ID: 695 4879 4840
Passcode: 181024
Title of the trial lecture: "How can relevant research and experiences from Uganda and other sub-Saharan countries in vocational education and training, inspire further development in Ugandan hospitality industry education and training drawing on aspects of Ugandan socio-cultural heritage?”
The title of the thesis is "Improving Teachers’ and Trainers’ Instructional Quality for Developing and Strengthening Students’ Competency in Hospitality Training in Uganda”.
The committee consist of
- first opponent, Associate Professor Athman Kyaruzi Ahmad, Department of Agricultural Extension and Community Development, Sokoine university of Agriculture, Tanzania
- second opponent, Professor Emeritus Sigrid Gjøtterud, Department of Educational Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
- chair of the committee, Professor Hedvig Skonhoft Johannesen, Department of Vocational Teacher Education, OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University
The leader of the public defence is Finn Aarsæther, Vice-Dean of Education, Faculty of Education and International Studies, OsloMet.
The main supervisor is Professor Emeritus Arne Ronny Sannerud, OsloMet. The co-supervisors are Professor Emeritus Leikny Øgrim, OsloMet and Dr. Justine Nabaggala, Kyambogo University, Uganda.
Summary
The purpose of this study was to describe ways in which instructional practices used by teachers and trainers in hospitality training develop and strengthen students’ essential and practical skills in vocational institutions and workplaces.
The study was guided by the following questions:
- Which instruction practices are used by teachers and trainers to ensure students’ development of essential and practical skills in Uganda?
- What are the outcomes of the students’ development and strengthening of essential and practical skills due to both the teachers’ and trainers’ use of instructional practices in Uganda?
- To what extent is there a linkage of teaching and training instructional practices between classroom teaching and workplace training in the hospitality industry in Uganda?
- Which learning challenges do students experience during instruction in vocational institutions and workplaces in Uganda?
A qualitative approach that employed a case study design was used for this research study. In-depth semi-structured and group interviews, as well as observations, were used to gather data from academic registrars, heads of department, teachers, trainers and students in the vocational institutions, who were followed up at workplaces during training.
Two vocational institutions and two workplaces were purposively selected to provide detailed data on the phenomenon studied. Theoretical concepts from Engeström’s boundary crossing and epistemic actions were used to analyse the research questions.
Based on the study findings, teachers used some of the instructional practices embedded in the approved NDHM programme, while trainers applied task-based instructional practices to ensure the development and strengthening of students’ essential and practical skills.
Students’ perspectives on the potentially shared outcome of teachers’ and trainers’ use of instructional practices acknowledged the development and strengthening of essential and practical skills but were hampered by several contradictions generated during the instruction process. These contradictions that were primary, secondary and tertiary in nature impeded student learning and students’ development and strengthening of essential and practical skills.
In addition, the teaching and training instructional practices exhibited a linkage in some stages of the epistemic actions, while a few are confronted with numerous challenges. The challenges included students’ minimal participation, exhaustion and neglectful listening during instruction, and inadequate and obsolete tools and equipment, as well as limited materials for effective instruction, and ineffective guiding strategies to promote students’ effective participation.
These distinctive findings revealed a gap between instructional practices used in vocational institutions and workplaces in hospitality training in Uganda. For the successful development and strengthening of students’ essential and practical skills, the need for teacher-trainer collaboration is therefore fundamental, where they must move across boundaries to ensure clear harmonisation of teachers’ and trainers’ instructional practices.
