The ethical impact of liberalism on educational institutions : A Comparative study of urban and rural secondary schools in Ugnada.

Abstract

This thesis is on a study that aimed at finding out the impact of liberalism on the ethical management of secondary schools. The study was guided by the need to find out the indicators of liberalism, the impact of liberalism on the management of secondary schools and how liberalism can be ethically upheld in secondary schools. The study was conducted in four rural secondary school in Tororo and four urban secondary schools in Kampala districts

The study involved 168 respondents (38 females and 130 males: eight headteachers, forty teachers and one hundred and twenty students. The study used self-administered questionnaires and an interview guide for data collection. The data collected was presented in frequency counts and score tables with varying percentages calculated. Interpretations and conclusions were made according to the number of occurrences on each item.

The study findings revealed that there were no other significant differences on how liberalism influenced the management of secondary schools in the rural and urban secondary schools. The study findings revealed that liberalism is upheld in the visited secondary schools. It was revealed to be inhibited in the social, academic, co-curricular, political/leadership and administrative, as well as religious aspects. Its impact on the management of secondary schools, was however both negative and positive in nature, both in the urban and rural schools. It was concluded from the study findings that; (i) Secondary schools in Tororo and Kampala districts uphold liberalism and it is manifested in various forms: academic freedom, social and political freedoms. (ii) The perception of liberalism among students is influenced by the geographical setting (urban or rural) of their respective schools. (iii) Upholding liberalism in secondary schools leads to a sense of satisfaction among the students and the staff members, thereby resulting into administrative effectiveness and better organisational performance. (iv) Liberalism is and can be of great value to institutional performance only when the beneficiaries recognise the ethical standards in their pursuits to enjoy the liberal tendencies. It was recommended from the study findings that; (i) There is urgent need for the government especially the Ministry of Education and Sports to design proper policy guidelines that can stipulate how libertarianism can be upheld in institutions of learning. (ii) There is need for the school managers and stakeholders of education to always recognise the interests of all the parties, thereby ensuring effective decision making in the management of secondary schools. (iii) There is need to always utilise the school’s stipulated rules and regulations, if institutional efficiency, is to be maintained.