University chaplains and imams' roles on students' discipline: College of Education and External Studies, Makerere University.

Abstract

Discipline is a process of training or controlling an individual with an aim of making him/her to become compliant. Most successful societies or individuals have been disciplined. The vast enterprise of acquiring the knowledge and skills for professional life is supported by many services, such as, medical, counselling, career guidance, chaplaincy, accommodation and disability services. Chaplaincy, which supports the religious and pastoral needs of students, belongs not on the margins but at the heart of the Universities enterprise (Norman, 2014). Uganda’s Ivory Tower (Makerere University) which is also a nativity of knowledge has on several occasions experienced a crisis of discipline exhibited by some of its students’ conduct amidst the well-established fountains of discipline known as chaplains and Imams. It is on this basis that the study set out to investigate the University Chaplains and Imams’ roles on Improving the Students’ discipline. More specifically, the study was guided by two research hypotheses namely: There is a relationship between the chaplains and Imams’ Ecumenical/Interreligious role on improving the students’ discipline. The second hypothesis is that there is a relationship between the Chaplains and Imams’ Sobriety counseling role on improving the students’ discipline. A mixed method paradigm was used, under which both a cross-sectional survey design and a phenomenology research design were employed. The target population included two hundred (200) students admitted for the College of Education and External studies with all the University Chaplains and Imams. Both probability and non-probability techniques were used. For sampling, stratified random on the students and purposive sampling techniques on the University Chaplains and Imams were applied. Data was collected using questionnaires, interview, and Focus group discussions with the student’s leaders from these respective chaplaincies and university Mosque, which were first subjected to content and external validity checks. Reliability of the quantitative instruments was done and quantitative data was analyzed using frequencies, percentages and Pearson’s Linear Correlation Coefficient Test, qualitative data findings were presented in a narrative form. Findings indicated that the University Chaplains and Imams’ roles significantly correlate with the students’ discipline, and significantly predicted it. However, the sobriety counseling role had a low correlation coefficient meaning that it significantly correlated with the students’ discipline, but its impact was not so strong. The study concluded that university chaplains and Imams have an influence on the students’ discipline, but its influence is only moderate. The few Chaplains and Imams left alone cannot make wonders to bring about a change for the students’ discipline but a need to reinforce their roles since they are part of this complex interdependent society of the University departments. It then recommended that the university should request for more chaplains because of the increased number of the students that are admitted in every academic year. Secondly, the female chaplains should be appointed to those chaplaincies and University Mosque as long as it conforms with those specific creeds. Additionally, other creeds like the Hindu, Pentecostal, Jews to be accorded chaplaincies in the university and the titles may vary such as faith advisers and not strictly chaplains and Imams as it is.