TEACHER EXPERIENCE AS DETERMINANTS OF STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SCIENCE SUBJECTS IN UGANDA CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION EXAMINATIONS IN BUIKWE DISTRICT, UGANDA

This study investigated Teacher Experience as determinants of students’ academic performance in science subjects in Uganda certificate of education examinations in Buikwe district, Uganda. The overall performance of science subjects in Buikwe district has been below average (Uganda National Examination Board, 2018). The low achievement and dismal performance of students in the UC.E Science examinations has been a concern to stakeholders. The study was guided by Convergent parallel mixed methods design specifically a cross-sectional survey and phenomenological survey. The target population included all head teachers, head of departments, science teachers, students in public and private secondary schools, and all Secondary Science and Mathematics regional trainers in Buikwe district. Both Probability and non-probability sampling were used. Simple random sampling was used to select 110 Science teachers, 375 students were selected using cluster random sampling while 28 head teachers were selected through census purposive sampling and expert sampling was used to select regional trainers. Data was collected using questionnaires, interview, focused group discussions and document analysis guide and were subjected to both content and face validity. Cronbach alpha technique determined reliability of quantitative instruments. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 for descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequencies and percentages were used to summarize data while Chi-square Test for associations was used to test hypotheses. The qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis and findings presented in narrative form. The key findings indicated that there was a significant relationship between teacher experience and students’ academic performance in science subjects. The study found that science teachers who do part timing have little time for students, the infectiveness, poor teaching methodologies, negative attitude among students, and lack of text books and well equipped laboratories in some schools contributed to poor performance. The study recommended that MOES needs to organize seminars and equip science teachers with the required skills to teach science subjects. The government needs to abolish part time teaching and invest in building a robust school inspection system and improve teacher quality through staff development. Article visualizations