ABSTRACT

The study, investigated the quality of education provided in Catholic secondary schools in Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo areas. It was guided by four specific objectives;( i) to investigate the visions and missions of Catholic schools and their observance of Vatican II and post -Vatican II vision on Catholic Education, (ii) to investigate leadership and management practices operating in selected Catholic schools, (iii) to examine roles of extra-curricular activities in preparing graduates for self-reliant life and (iv) to determine influence of teachers on motivating learners to learn. Descriptive survey design was employed in this study as it sought to generalize the findings. The study took place in three different secondary schools owned by the Catholic Church whereby 3 school heads, 28 teachers and 85 students were involved as a sample. Data were collected through closed and open-ended questionnaire, unstructured interview and documentary review.  Quantitative data were collected from open-ended questionnaire and were analyzed through descriptive statistics techniques and presented in tables and figures whereas qualitative data collected from interviews were coded and thematically analyzed. The study found that, moral issues are heavily observed in the sampled schools and 80 percent of the participants agreed with the statement that teachers participated in supervising student-learning activities by 100 percent. It was also found that 72 of the respondents agreed that they receive strong support from parents when needed. Furthermore, the findings indicated that extracurricular activities, included sports and games, religious periods, debate, manual works like gardening, cooking and recycling of garbage. Most of these, prepare learners for life after school. The study concluded that Catholic secondary schools continue to maintain their status in developing students spiritually, mentally and physically. The problem comes in academic development. Here it was observed that school vision and mission are observed and school heads monitor activities in a coordination with teachers and parents. Some teachers were doing the minimum to help talented and weak students because they thought that they were paid less than the heavy work they were doing in the schools. If pay was raised, they might put more time to promote learning through supervising science, drama, debates and other stimulating extra curricula activities. This extra effort could enable students to benefit much more than they were performing now. The study recommends that School management should make sure that school vision and mission are integrated and motivating teachers in terms of salary and other remuneration. It was observed that teachers are not well paid, therefore they might work less effectively despite presence of good working environment including availability of up-to-date teaching and learning materials. School rules should not deny students to nurture their talents. Catholic schools tend to have very strict rules, making it tough for most students’ freedom to relax. It is therefore recommended that rules should be adjusted and allows students to learn without intimidation. More playgrounds have to be added to allow every student to participate in sports and games. This also applies to other extracurricular activities to unfold the hidden curriculum and facilitate effective implementation of the official curriculum.