J. D. Chesswas
Encyclopedia
John Douglas Chesswas (born 1919) is a British
author, linguist and policy advisor. He was a pioneer in the development of Luganda language
orthography
, and worked as a leading educational evaluation
theorist for programmes in the developing world.
Chesswas was employed by the Luganda Language Board as a teacher of Luganda when, in 1949, the Government for the Uganda Protectorate began to offer free courses in Luganda to any officer wishing to take up the study. Recognising the lack of teachers in the language, Chesswas took the opportunity to publish a text book for stations where no teachers of the language were available. Chesswas cites Sir Apolo Kagwa
's Engero z’Abaganda and Michael B. Nsimbi
's Olulimi Olugand as his major sources, and acknowledges Nsimbi as his primary aid in developing the text.
With Nsimbi, Chesswas went on to produce An explanation of the Standard Orthography of Luganda; first written for The Eagle Press in 1958, and published as a book in 1963, with second, third and fourth (1985) editions.
, and finally as Officer in Charge of the Educational Planning Unit within the Ministry of Education. He was subsequently appointed to the staff of the International Institute of Educational Planners, where, as a theorist in the field of educational evaluation, he authored a number of important books and articles, collaborating with other notable theorists such as Raymond Lyons, Jacques Hallak and John Vaizey.
Chesswas's works include:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author, linguist and policy advisor. He was a pioneer in the development of Luganda language
Luganda language
Ganda, or Luganda , is the major language of Uganda, spoken by over sixteen million Ganda and other people mainly in Southern Uganda, including the capital Kampala. It belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger–Congo language family...
orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
, and worked as a leading educational evaluation
Educational evaluation
Educational evaluation is the evaluation process of characterizing and appraising some aspect/s of an educational process.Q. 3 Discuss the role of standards and criteria in educational evaluation...
theorist for programmes in the developing world.
Orthography of Luganda
Chesswas is the author of The Essentials of Luganda (1954); the third (1963) and fourth (1967) editions of which are commonly used as a text book for courses in Luganda language.Chesswas was employed by the Luganda Language Board as a teacher of Luganda when, in 1949, the Government for the Uganda Protectorate began to offer free courses in Luganda to any officer wishing to take up the study. Recognising the lack of teachers in the language, Chesswas took the opportunity to publish a text book for stations where no teachers of the language were available. Chesswas cites Sir Apolo Kagwa
Apolo Kagwa
Sir Apolo Kagwa KCMG MBE is considered Buganda's first and foremost ethnographer. He was appointed prime minister of the Kingdom of Buganda by King Mwanga II in 1890, and served in that capacity until 1926...
's Engero z’Abaganda and Michael B. Nsimbi
Michael B. Nsimbi
Dr. Michael Bazzebulala Nsimbi, MBE, , considered the Father of Ganda literature, was a pioneer of Luganda language, culture and written forms....
's Olulimi Olugand as his major sources, and acknowledges Nsimbi as his primary aid in developing the text.
With Nsimbi, Chesswas went on to produce An explanation of the Standard Orthography of Luganda; first written for The Eagle Press in 1958, and published as a book in 1963, with second, third and fourth (1985) editions.
Educational Evaluation
Chesswas spent 19 years in the education service of Uganda, predominantly as Provincial Education Officer, BugandaBuganda
Buganda is a subnational kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Ganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda, comprising all of Uganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala, with the exception of the disputed eastern Kayunga District...
, and finally as Officer in Charge of the Educational Planning Unit within the Ministry of Education. He was subsequently appointed to the staff of the International Institute of Educational Planners, where, as a theorist in the field of educational evaluation, he authored a number of important books and articles, collaborating with other notable theorists such as Raymond Lyons, Jacques Hallak and John Vaizey.
Chesswas's works include:
- Changing the existing educational system: some basic implications for the educational planner (1966)
- Educational planning and development in Uganda (1966)
- Productivity and the teacher (1967)
- Educational structures in English-speaking developing countries in AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
(1967) - The Costing of educational plans (1967), with John Vaizey
- Methodologies of educational planning for developing countries (1968)
- Are there really too many teachers? (1970)
- Planning and implementation of educational development within governmental and educational administration: Uganda (1970)
- TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
: factors influencing change in teachers' basic salaries (1972) - Uganda: behaviour of non-teacher recurring expenditure (1972), with Jacques Hallak
- Educational development: PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
(1974) - Planning the distribution of primary educational services: Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
- (mission) 10–21 March 1975 - Prospects for educational development: BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
- (mission) (1977), with Everard, Kimmins & Taylor