School users - parents, students, communities - can assess the quality of teaching and learning in schools through formal mechanisms (i.e. publication of examination results, league tables, inspection scores, citizen-led... [ view full abstract ]
School users - parents, students, communities - can assess the quality of teaching and learning in schools through formal mechanisms (i.e. publication of examination results, league tables, inspection scores, citizen-led assessments), or informal mechanisms (i.e. word of mouth, personal perceptions).
Furthermore, users can respond to information on teaching and learning in several ways: they can demand better services and outcomes from school leaders through social accountability; or they can exercise school choice, exiting or entering a school based on its performance. Theory suggests that these responses can incentivise school leaders and teachers to perform well - although there is limited and mixed evidence to suggest this is happening in practice. It is also possible that users access information on school quality but do not act on the information at all.
This paper presents the findings from a large survey of school users (parents, school management committees and students), teachers and leaders from a random sample of 60 secondary schools in rural and urban parts of Uganda. We investigate how secondary school users access information on school quality, what data points they deem as important, and how they respond to this information. By looking at the responses from users across a range of high and low performing schools, we investigate the relationship between access to data, action by users, and school quality.
Overall, the study aims to offer policy recommendations on how best to engage school users in the monitoring of teaching and learning in secondary schools, as a way of improving the quality of education across Uganda.
