Abstract:
The purpose of the study was to establish the impact of staff development on pupils’ academic performance in primary schools in Kibalinga Sub-county Mubende District. Specifically, the study established the challenge to staff development, the impact of staff development on pupils’ academic performance, and the ways of strengthening staff development in primary schools. A cross sectional survey design was used to collect data using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection. The researcher intended to find out the performance in schools with developed staff and the performance in schools with no or few trained teachers. This was intended to establish the impact of staff development in the selected schools. Data collected was analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques with the help of SPSS verson 20. This research notes that many teachers in many schools in Kibalinga Sub-county, as per staff list available at District Education Officers office Mubende, are trained and especially the staff at model schools. Many teachers are also undergoing staff development programme like in-service Grade III teachers courses, Grade V upgrading courses, degree courses and Continuous Professional Development courses (CPDs). The study established a strong relationship between budgeting and staff development in schools. The percentages and Chi-square (X2) results of the different respondents reveal that budgeting has a significant relationship with staff development. The majority of the primary schools do not budget for Staff development (i.e. 60%) but 40% of these schools which budget for staff development constitute a reasonable portion that cannot go unnoticed. The study concluded that all schools had teachers who had undergone staff development, irrespective of whether the school budgeted for it or not. Therefore, the researcher observed that staff development programs should be incorporated into the school budget and the district budgets so as to increase the effectiveness of the staff development in Primary School. It also recommends that: Head teachers of primary schools should address themselves properly to Staff development programs by: Incorporating Staff development program into the overall school development plans
