Agyapong Afrifah, K., & Glalah, M. (2021). Ergonomic Design of University Classroom Furniture: Evaluation of Comfortability and Musculoskeletal Disorders. Archives of Occupational Health, 5(3), 1036–1048. Azmi, I. A. G., Hashim, R. C., & Yusoff, Y. M.

Abstract

School quality assurance is expected to raise the standard of teaching and learning, yet examination results in many Tanzanian public secondary schools remain weak. This study examined strategies to strengthen school quality assurance practices in public secondary schools in Dodoma City, Tanzania. Three subsidiary questions guided the inquiry: which strategies teachers consider most and least promising, what heads of schools apply or recommend at school level and what support they need from the city education office, and what improvements the city school quality assurance office considers necessary. The study followed Total Quality Management Theory and used a convergent parallel mixed-methods design within a pragmatist paradigm. Ninety-three respondents took part: 85 teachers completed a five-point Likert questionnaire, and 07 heads of schools and 01 City School Quality Assurance Officer were interviewed. Questionnaire data were analysed using frequencies, means and standard deviations; interview data were analysed thematically. Teachers rated increased funding highest (M = 4.02, SD = 1.27) and the use of digital tools lowest (M = 3.67, SD = 1.33), although every strategy attracted agreement from at least two-thirds of the sample. Inter-school collaboration produced the widest spread of opinion (SD = 1.43). Heads of schools prioritised staffing, ICT infrastructure and a culture of continuous improvement, and looked to the city education office for on-site capacity building. The quality assurance office identified budget expansion, timely communication of curriculum and policy changes, and follow-up on inspection reports as key priorities. The study concludes that the binding constraints on quality assurance in Dodoma City are resource-related rather than attitudinal, and recommends that school management institutionalise internal classroom observation with clear timetables and documented feedback loops.