The Influence of Mentoring on Teacher Effectiveness in Teaching in Government -Aided Secondary Schools in the Acholi Sub-Region

The study investigates the extent to which mentoring services improve on teachers’ instructional processes in government aided secondary schools. Teacher effectiveness requires concerted effort and interventions to change the way teachers conduct their teaching. The research used cross sectional survey and mixed methods. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. Data was collected from 462 secondary school teachers and school administrators and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-Square frequency. The results showed that: teachers use varieties of reference text books in preparing their notes (M = 4.45), however, up-to-date textbooks are not many in the school, teachers use instructional materials in teaching learning process (M = 4.28) and teachers involved students in learning process (M = 4.41). However, teachers are not always willing to make schemes of work unless they are pressurized. Some teachers have forgotten lesson planning in their subject areas and do not use varieties of generic teaching methods. The study concludes that mentoring has influence on teacher effectiveness in government aided secondary schools but teachers are not adequately interested in mentoring that is why teachers use poor methods of teaching thus poor performance among students because they do not attend mentoring services effectively. The study suggests that the Ministry of Education and Sports should be empowered to regularly organize appropriate training for teachers and school administrators to scale-up teachers’ awareness and skills in mentoring to help improve on teachers’ instructional processes in government aided secondary schools. Keywords : Teacher Effectiveness, teaching, mentoring, government aided secondary schools. DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-23-13 Publication date : August 31 st 2019

delivery, stimulating interest in the subject and motivating students to learn more effectively and efficiently ( Susan & Yang, 2006a). In the Acholi sub-region, it is believed that there are inadequate professional opportunities that make teachers effective in their teaching in government aided secondary schools. Teachers' behaviours such as dodging lessons, being late, making excuses and being lazy are indications of perhaps inadequate practices of mentoring that make teachers ineffective in teaching (MOES 2012b). The demand for quality education in schools means teachers have to continuously receive mentoring regularly. The study investigates the extent to which mentoring services improve on teachers' instructional processes in government aided secondary schools. Could it be possible that the government aided secondary school teacher effectiveness in the Acholi sub-region be improved on by mentoring.

Problem Statement
Quality education entirely depends on teachers' effectiveness. Education being the fundamental requisite for one to profoundly contribute to such development, requires quality teaching. However, it has been realized that teachers do not respond to mentoring services in government aided secondary schools as an intervention to help improve on their instructional strategies. They have resisted mentoring services yet their teaching process still remains ineffective. The behaviours of teachers indicate that mentoring is resisted in the Acholi sub-region government aided secondary schools, as they say, "We did mentoring before and it did not work: we do not have time and resources" (MOES 2003). In a comparative study, Hansman (2010) observed that there are instances where mentees actively resist the advice and encouragement given to them by mentors. Kuyini, (2013) asserted that weaknesses are evidenced in the link that has been made between poor quality teaching and poor students performance. It is realized that little attention is given to mentoring process and yet it is a strategy that is acclaimed for developing teaching skills of teachers and improves the teachers' teaching skills.

Research Objectives
This study was guided by the following specific objectives i) To explore the influence of mentoring on teachers' preparations to teach in government aided secondary schools ii) To examine the influence of mentoring on teachers' lesson delivery process in government aided secondary schools iii) To assess the influence of mentoring services on teaching quality in government aided secondary schools 1.3. Hypothesis: Mentoring has no influence on teacher effectiveness in teaching in government -aided secondary schools in the Acholi Sub -Region.

Literature Reviewed
This study was grounded in the conceptual framework of Bandura's social cognitive theory, Vygotsky sociocultural theory, and Knowles's adult learning theory.
A study conducted by Patrinos, (2013) reported a shocking level of teacher absenteeism that exists in the developing world. The report by MOES, (2012a) continued to point out that, in Uganda, where absenteeism rate is 27%, many secondary school teachers who were present were not actually teaching. The teachers sit in the classroom or under the tree conversing while learners are left alone in the classes. In a comparative study, (Hannon 2009) observes that tardiness and absenteeism is prevalent in secondary schools because of large numbers and lack of appreciation for education by both teachers and students. While the two studies reveal a relationship between low teacher effectiveness and mentoring, they have not considered an important aspect of this study which is motivation. Absenteeism is a creation of unhappiness; teachers might have not been motivated. Teachers can change the trend of behaviour through mentoring, absence of mentoring in schools causes laziness. This makes teaching ineffective.
Mentoring teachers is often mentioned as an effective strategy for improving teachers' skills and likelihood that they will remain teaching effectively ( Blank & Kershaw, 2009;Davey & Ham, 2009). (Grossman & Davis, 2012) noted that, to best support teachers and improve their instructional effectiveness, schools need to make sure that the mentoring they provide is good and fit for each teacher's individual background, needs and school context. Mentoring support for teachers is necessary in improving teacher effectiveness. The researcher wanted to find out whether mentors influence mentees and give the support that helps them to improve on their teaching. ( Doppen, 2007) explained that teacher education has been found to contribute to change in teacher beliefs about teaching and learning and to enable prospective teachers to develop teaching repertoires. ( Edwards & Siegel, 2006) pointed out the need to expose teachers to intensive preparations to enable them to work effectively with diverse learners in schools. Mentoring is seen as an effective method for supporting novice teachers ( Stock & Duncan, 2010) and their instructional practices ( Stanulis & Floden, 2009b).There is no study that talked about mentoring services helping experienced teachers.

Methodology and Materials.
The study used cross-sectional survey design. It was both qualitative and quantitative. Survey questionnaires, interviews and document analysis were the appropriate ways to collect data. The study area was Acholi-sub-region which comprises of eight districts both urban and rural. The study focused on Government aided secondary schools of which Gulu district has 9, Omoro 6, Kitgum 8, Pader 7, Agago 6, Amuru 4, Nwoya 4 and Lamwo has 4 schools respectively. Of the 48 schools,42 were selected using use (Krejcie and Morgan 1970) table of sampling. The total population was 462.Respondents were sampled using stratified random sampling and purposive sampling techniques. self-report techniques were used, that included structured questionnaires survey, interviews and documentary analysis. The questionnaires were 5 point Likert scale rated as strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, strongly disagree. Other information was collected using interview items and documents analysis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-Square and frequency of responses within themes were generated.

Findings of the Study
Regarding the question on the influence of mentoring on teacher preparation to teach as an evidence of teacher effectiveness in teaching, descriptive statistics on teacher rating was presented in Teachers descriptive statistics about the use of textbooks in preparing notes suggests that teachers use varieties of reference books in preparing their notes (M = 4.45). It was further reported that teachers use varieties of reference textbooks in preparing lesson notes. However, it was found that some teachers use pamphlets in preparing notes which do not give quality content to the learners. Another finding for example reported the issue of textbooks thus, up-to-date textbooks are not many in our school and therefore we face scarcity of priorities to choose from when making lesson plans. Present day teachers require modern materials if they are to match the changing times The textbooks are critical for teachers if they are to prepare standard schemes of work and ultimately lesson plans. The study suggests that teachers effectively use syllabus in preparing schemes of work regularly (M = 4.41). On the idea of teachers' use of syllabus for preparing schemes of work, It was aptly reported that very few teachers use syllabus for preparation of schemes of work, yet the syllabus is very important in preparation. It was continuously reported that at worse, the syllabus books are not available to cater for all teachers in the school. For example, one of the deputy head teachers reported thus; The syllabus is the bedrock for preparing schemes of work. It allows teachers to teach learners well and in an orderly manner. Teachers descriptive statistics about teachers' preparation of quality schemes of work as evidence of teacher effectiveness suggest that teacher preparation of scheme of work to teach effectively was (M = 4.25), yet another one on scheme of work teachers prepare are regularly checked and endorsed by the school administration suggested that teachers prepare schemes of work which are regularly checked and endorsed by school administration (M = 4.23).The null hypothesis that Mentoring has no influence on teacher effectiveness in teaching in governmentaided secondary schools has been rejected. Mentoring has influence on teacher effectiveness.
Through qualitative approach, findings indicated one of the head teachers reported that our teachers' preparations are very good in terms of quality. Another head teacher reported that teachers regularly prepare schemes of work. For instance, one of the head teachers in the sampled schools reported thus; to ensure proper teacher preparation, schemes of work are mandatory for all teachers. It is a must for a teacher to possess a scheme of work. I am professionally convinced that it is a good guiding tool for teachers. However, one director of studies argued that; in their school some teachers do prepare schemes of work but others do not. He further reported that in the past teachers used not to prepare schemes of work but now as a result of mentoring teachers regularly prepare schemes of work. One of the Deputy head teachers reported that some teachers are not willing to prepare schemes of work. While another, director of studies reported thus: surprisingly, there are teachers who are not always willing to make schemes of work unless they are pressurized. There are cases in other schools where teachers have even forgotten how to prepare schemes of work. The purpose of checking and endorsing schemes of work is to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses so that head teachers, deputy head teachers and directors of studies find area of mentoring.
One of the head teachers reported that sometimes we are made to believe that with clear schemes of work there is no need of lesson plan. One deputy head teachers reported that one can systematically teach learners without lesson plans from the schemes of work. The Deputy head teachers said; lesson plan is a slow method of teaching there is no need for a teacher to draw lesson plans. Teachers mostly used schemes of work and lesson notes, most teachers have forgotten lesson plan. It was further reported by one head teacher that teachers are lazy in preparing lesson plans in government aided secondary schools. Whereas one of the directors of studies reported that, many of the teachers rarely draw lesson plans and majority of them have forgotten lesson planning in their subject areas. This implies that lesson plan as an important teaching tool has an impact on the quality of teaching learning process however, most teachers do not have the interest to prepare lesson plan. Mentoring services help to improve the teachers' skills of lesson preparations making meaningful and purposeful lesson plan preparations.
This implies that mentoring has influence on teachers' preparation but teachers do not attend to mentoring services and this does not make teachers' preparation to be effective. This is an indication that there is need for mentoring to help teachers prepare for teaching effectively. Thus, it was in order to relate the influence of mentoring on teacher preparation to lesson delivery as an aspect of teacher effectiveness as presented in table 2 Table 2: suggests that teachers strongly agreed to the view that (M = 4.28) they use instructional materials in teaching learning process. Teachers descriptive statistics suggests that teachers use various activities in teaching learning process (M = 4.18). Teachers strongly agreed (M = 4.18) that their lesson delivery is effective as a result of mentoring services. It was evidenced that teachers deliver their lessons fairly effectively as a result of mentoring services in government aided secondary schools. The head teachers, deputy head teachers and directors of studies were asked about the use of instructional materials. One of the head teachers reported that teachers hardly use instructional materials in teaching because they do not prepare or gather them. while one of the directors of studies reported thus; teachers use instructional materials once in a while; they do not use it on daily basis even in subjects that demand its usage in every lesson being conducted. Yet, instructional materials are essential for practical subjects This implies that some schools still conduct practical lessons without the relevant materials required for students' learning.
On teachers use of learner centred approach in teaching learning process, teachers suggest that they use learner centred approach in learning teaching process (M = 4.28). The null hypothesis that mentoring has no influence on teacher effectiveness in teaching in government -aided secondary schools was therefore rejected. Mentoring has significant influence on teachers' lesson delivery in secondary schools.
From the findings, one deputy head teacher reported that teachers generally use generic teaching methods in many governments aided secondary schools. While one head teacher argued that, teachers do not use varieties of generic teaching methods, they rely on lecture, talk and chalk methods. Teaching methods are many and our teachers are not very conversant with them, however, sometimes some teachers use methods that lead learners to discover the content themselves. When head teachers were asked on the use of learner centred approach in teaching -learning process, most of the head teachers contradicted that teachers do not use learner centred approach, they use teacher centred approach where learners are not given opportunities to participate actively. For example, one of them reported thus, teachers require more skills through mentoring to become more effective and efficient in using learner centred approach in teaching process. This implies that mentoring has influence on teachers' lesson delivery but teachers do not attend to mentoring services thus teachers rarely use learner centred approach in teaching because they were not fully supported on the right ways of using learners centred approach in teaching in government aided secondary schools. Thus, it was logical to relate effective lesson delivery to teaching quality as a result of mentoring as presented in Table 3: suggests that teachers strongly agreed to all items about the influence of mentoring on teachers' teaching quality. However, the teachers strongly agreed (M = 4.41) to the statement that teachers involve students in learning process. Although the majority of head teachers, deputy head teachers and directors of studies acknowledged the importance of teachers' involvement of learners in learning process, some of them expressed dissatisfaction with the way teachers, involve the learners in the learning process. For example, head teachers reported that, many teachers find it hard to involve learners in learning process because they use teacher centred approach in the teaching. Our teachers do not have the skills of involving learners in the learning process, they use methods that do not encourage learners' self-creativities, innovativeness and experiences in learning process. These responses indicate that the way head teachers, deputy head teachers, directors of studies and teachers carry out mentoring services but it has little effect in building teachers' skills in involving learners in the learning process in government aided secondary schools.
Another item which was also strongly agreed upon (M = 4.36) was that teachers regularly assess learners in their subject areas. This implies that involving learners in the learning process and assessing learners learning is probably one way of increasing teachers teaching effectiveness which is due to mentoring services. The null hypothesis that mentoring has no influence on teacher effectiveness in teaching in Government -Aided Secondary schools was therefore rejected. This implies that mentoring has influence on teachers' teaching quality but teachers do not attend to mentoring services thus teachers do not adequately involve learners in the teaching learning process in government aided secondary schools. Mentoring has significant influence on teacher effectiveness in teaching, however, teachers do not attend to mentors regularly.

Discussion of the Findings
On the influence of mentoring on teachers' preparations to teach as an evidence of teacher effectiveness. The study findings revealed that preparation of scheme of work to teach was effectively done, the schemes of work teachers prepare are regularly checked and endorsed by the school administration as a result of mentoring. Surprisingly, there are teachers who are not always willing to make schemes of work unless they are pressurized. There are cases where teachers have even forgotten how to prepare schemes of work. This is in line with Ritchie,( 2012) schemes of work were inadequate, lessons poorly prepared and there was no continuous assessment, support supervision was irregular and ineffective. Findings revealed that mentoring were carried out on beginning teachers' retention, no study on mentoring that help teachers on their pedagogical knowledge for teaching across the dimension. Teachers indicated that they did not receive mentoring that helped them develop their pedagogical knowledge for teaching across the dimension Abd-El-Khalic, ( 2015). Therefore, what remains is on how mentoring help teachers in improving teaching methods in government aided secondary schools in Uganda and their influence on the teaching performance of the teachers. The researcher noted that the idea of rare scheming and endorsement of schemes of work originated by teachers could be attributed to the fact that administrators tend to relax on critical issues that are far reaching in schools.
The findings showed that teachers strongly agreed that they effectively use syllabus in preparing schemes of work regularly. The syllabus is the bedrock for preparing schemes of work. It allows teachers to teach learners well and in an orderly manner. However, there is inadequate use of syllabus in preparing schemes of work and at worst, the syllabus books are not available to for cater all teachers. In a similar report Edwards, Carr & Siegel, (2006) pointed out the need to expose teachers to intensive preparations to enable them to work effectively with diverse learners in schools. Researchers noted that to become an effective teacher, there is need to attend more rigorously to mentoring services that will guide the teachers in preparing effectively.
Findings revealed that teachers rarely draw lesson plans and argue that with clear schemes of work there is no need of lesson plan, it is a slow method of teaching. In line with Strong, ( 2005) it is noted that through collegial exchanges and collaborative lesson planning experiences, mentors also engage teachers in reflective conversations about how the instructional practices lead to student learning, creating a bridge to instructional effectiveness. Teachers mostly used schemes of work and lesson notes, most teachers have forgotten lesson planning.
This implied that a lesson plan as an important teaching tool has an impact on the quality of the teaching learning process however, most teachers do not have the interest to prepare lesson plan. Mentoring services help to improve the teachers' skills of lesson preparations thus making meaningful and purposeful lesson plan preparations. Conversely, the impact of poor teaching on students' academic gains is alarming, even two years of ineffective teaching in a row can cause students to lose significant ground in their achievements Strong, (2005). Teacher preparation programmes and schools are accountable for improvements in student achievement and are under scrutiny to provide professionals that can live up to these expectations.
The study findings showed that teachers use varieties of reference books in preparing their lesson notes. However, some teachers use pamphlets in preparing notes which do not give quality content to the learners. Upto-date textbooks are not many in the schools and therefore teachers face scarcity of priorities to choose from when making lesson plans. In the same line Darling-Hammond, (2000) observed that many people believe that anyone who has sufficient knowledge of a subject can teach it well, he further argues that the acquisition of subject matter knowledge is very crucial to teachers. The researcher observed that textbooks are critical for teachers if they are to prepare standard schemes of work and ultimately lesson plans. There is need for effective teacher to get information from the most recent publications to teach learners effectively. In relation, Doppen, (2007) confirmed that teachers preparation can have a favourable influence on the beliefs teachers hold about teaching and learning. This implied that teachers' preparation to teach can be effective if they follow the mentor's advice in using the most recent textbooks for teaching. This was an indication that mentoring helps teachers to prepare for teaching effectively.
On the issues of the influence of mentoring on teacher lesson delivery as an evidence of teacher effectiveness in teaching: Findings showed that teachers strongly agreed that they use instructional materials in teaching learning process as result of mentoring. However, the study findings contradicted that teachers hardly use instructional materials in teaching because they do not prepare or gather them. In support of this, Wasiche, (2006) noted that inadequacy of instructional resources has been cited as one of the major causes of poor teaching techniques. It is a good practice to use instructional materials. In a related study, Thungu et al, (2008),argued that instructional materials meet the needs of learners, fulfill the requirements of the subjects and facilitate the teaching and learning process. The findings confirmed that the majority of teachers do not produce and use instructional materials. This is in agreement with Effiong et al., (2015) who observed that in spite of the importance of instructional materials to academic performance of students, it is observed that most students complain of being taught principles that seem to be abstract in nature. The researcher observed that there is need for teachers to attend mentoring programmes to help them improve on their teaching process. This implied that some schools still conduct practical lessons without the relevant materials required for students' learning.
The findings of study showed that teachers effectively select and use generic teaching methods in teaching learning process in government aided secondary schools. Teachers strongly agreed that they use learner centred approach in learning teaching process. The findings contradict that teachers do not use learner centred approach, they use teacher centred approach where learners are not given opportunities to participate actively. Teachers require more skills through mentoring to become more effective and efficient in using learner centred approach in the teaching process. This was in line with Ko, Sammons, & Bakkum, (2016) who noted that teachers should adopt a student-centred approach and lucid teaching objectives, appropriate teaching strategies and resources to promote class interaction and help students to construct knowledge. In relation to the above Mustafa & Cullingford,( 2008) reported that inadequate training affects teacher's choice of instructional methods including deficiencies in the ways teachers are prepared. Therefore, what remains is how mentoring helps teachers in improving teaching methods in government aided secondary schools in Uganda and their influence on the teaching performance of the teachers, the teachers teaching methods remain poor as noted by Kuyini, (2013) that the assertion of weaknesses is evidenced in the link that has been made between poor quality teaching and poor students' performance. There is a link between inadequate professional skills and an ineffective teacher. This implied that teachers rarely use learner centred approach in teaching because they were not fully guided on the right ways of using learners centred approach in teaching in government aided secondary schools.
The findings revealed that teachers use various activities in the teaching learning process. These activities range from individual to group activities to help learners conceptualize the learned content. In connection to the findings, Ko, Sammons & Bakkum, (2016) explained that schools should strive for student autonomy in the learning process by encouraging them to actively engage in sharing, collaboration and exploration, thus enabling them to enjoy learning, enhance their effectiveness in communication and develop their creativity and sense of commitment. Researcher observes that learning activities help learners to discover their strengths and weaknesses in the content areas. Mentoring guides teachers in planning learning activities in the class. This implied that mentoring services are important in making teachers teach effectively in government aided secondary schools because planning learning activities is part of lesson delivery in schools.
Findings of the study revealed that teachers strongly agreed that their teaching quality has improved as a result of mentoring services in the schools because teachers involve learners effectively in the learning process especially in practical subjects. Although the majority of respondents acknowledged the importance of involving learners in learning process as a result of mentoring, some of them expressed dissatisfaction with the way teachers involve the learners in the learning process. They said, many teachers find it hard to involve learners in learning process because they use teacher centred approach in teaching. They do not have the skills of involving learners in learning process, they use teaching methods that do not encourage learners' self-creativities, innovativeness and experiences in learning process. In a similar study, Darling-Hammond, ( 2000) argued that the acquisitions of subject matter knowledge is very crucial to formation of teachers, but it needs to be supplemented by pedagogical strategies relevant to teaching a given subject to particular kind of learners.
Mentoring guides teachers in improving their teaching methodologies on daily basis. This is confirmed by Cook, (2012) who reported that teacher mentoring foster a relationship of ongoing support, collaboration and the development of knowledge and skills that translate into improved teaching strategies. The researcher agrees with the assertions that teacher mentoring fosters relationship as Vygotsky, Bandura and Knowles also observed in their theories that, to combine, develop, maintain and sustain a successful teacher mentoring programmes, mentors helps improve teacher effectiveness in government aided secondary schools. This implies that involving learners in learning process is one way of increasing teachers teaching effectiveness as a result of mentoring services in government aided secondary schools. The study suggests that Ministry of Education and Sports should be empowered to regularly organize appropriate training for teachers and school administrators to scale-up teachers' awareness and skills in mentoring to help improve on teachers' instructional processes in government aided secondary schools.

Conclusion
In the study, it was revealed that mentoring is essential in the teaching learning process. Mentoring influence teacher effectiveness in government aided secondary schools, however, teachers are not interested in mentoring services. Teachers do not take keen interests in mentors' activities, they resist mentoring process and do their teaching in the same way. Some teachers do not have knowledge on mentoring. This is why teachers do not teach effectively and students performance remain poor. The study suggests that Ministry of Education and Sports should be empowered to regularly organize appropriate training for teachers and school administrators to scale-up teachers' awareness and skills in mentoring to help improve on teachers' instructional processes in government aided secondary schools.