CW-Department of Educational Foundations

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Browsing CW-Department of Educational Foundations by Author "Chege, Fatuma N."

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    Communities defining their identities of poverty – “we are poor but we are notsopoor…”
    (CICE SEMINAR SERIES – TOKYO, JAPAN, 2015) Chege, Fatuma N.; Ndiritu, John
    This paper presents findings from the Kenya RECOUP project on Community Scoping and Household Census. It provides basic characteristics of wealth indicators of the research communities, households and constituent families thus yielding a reasonably accurate profiles and understandings of the research communities within the four RECOUP research sites located in Nyeri, Nairobi and Kiambu counties. Both conceptually and methodologically, household censuses and community scopings were used to generate not only the patterns of material conditions and livelihood indicators but also the self-definitions of the communities‟ individual and communal identities based on gender, educational levels and certification, age, family size, habitation, occupation, and family wealth, among others (see household census tool, Appendix 1). Notably, while the concept of poverty has often been associated with absence from benefits accruing from economic and material goods, it was noteworthy how the research communities re-defined poverty in ways that reflected broader, more socio-culturally reflective conceptions that transcend material well-being. Again, while there tendency to link types and levels of school education with financial/economic benefits for individuals and communities exists; the community study revealed that this may not be so in their contexts and lived realities. There was a notable contrast in the way the research communities conceptualised extreme poverty in the context of what emerged as their conceptions of human well-being. However, because education has come to be associated with the eradication of poverty and the enhancement of human well-being – the co-existence of well-being and material poverty becomes difficult to distinguish for many people. This paper pursues constructions of communities‟ self-identities based on articulations that bear cultural insights. The often uni-dimensional concept of poverty as deprivation of material well-being emerges in this study as limiting in both scope and meaning as it tends to lose sight of social and cultural values of good life that are not definable in economic or material terms
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    Feminist research and boys’ schooling: gender equality and construction of African masculinities: an example of study of Africa-Asia Univeristy dialogue network.
    (2011-10) Chege, Fatuma N.; Sakurai, R.
    Issues of gender equality and gender equity in education have been controversial for decades, and various studies have explored the problem from comparative as well as focused approaches. The Africa-Asia University Dialogue for Education Development (AA Dialogue) Network, an inter-university network of 28 universities (16 African and 12 Asian universities), is an officially accredited UNESCO-UNITWIN program, committed to conducting such studies following a common theme and framework. Participating universities are grouped into three themes that are key for EFA goals; A) Gender and Equity; B) Quality of Education and Educational Policy; and C) Teacher Professional Development. Many of our Gender and Equity group research explore access and retention among girls and women at the various educational levels (primary to tertiary) but few studies address gender in the context of disability, traditional cultures, or boys’ education. All AA Dialogue studies are guided by a human rights approach to equality and equity as well as the Education for All goal number 2: access and completion of primary education with a good quality, and the Millennium Development Goal 3 gender equity at all levels of education. In this symposium, we are presenting one example study from Kenya that explores potential/actual effects feminist research on boys’ education especially under girl-oriented programmes and policies. In Kenya, a few studies in the last decade are suggesting that, in specific educational subjects, the schooling of Kenyan boys is gradually deteriorating with a comparatively greater margin vis-à-vis that of the girls (Uwezo, Kenya 2010). Further, observations in some primary schools reveal that girls are becoming explicitly more confident than boys in engaging with schooling by quantitatively and qualitatively occupying comparatively greater learning spaces (UNICEF, 2008). It is under this context that this paper explores the basis of these emerging trends considering an argument that suggests that ‘as schools become increasingly feminised spaces, boys tend to develop their identities within restrictive concepts of masculinity rather than with schooling’ (Sewell, 2003; Bailey, 2003; Figuroa, 2000). Thus, this paper re-contextualises feminist research –theorising and methodology - by locating boys and men at the centre of feminist research alongside girls and women while concurrently underscoring the often elusive fact that it is by addressing the interests of both women and men as well as girls and boys that gender research becomes relevant in the acceleration of the attainment of the targets outlined in the EFA goals and the MDGs.
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    Gender security, gendered violence and social justice: the rights of protection through the education of urban youth in African Cities
    (2015) Arnot, Madeleine; Oduro, Georgina; Swartz, Sharlene; Chege, Fatuma N.; Wainaina, Paul K.; Hayford, Leslie C.
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    Preventing violence against women students everywhere
    (2012-09) Chege, Fatuma N.
    This paper addresses issues of violence against women and girls with spec ial reference to tertiary institutions and drawing examples particularly from university colleges and campuses. In the discussions, various forms of VAWG are flagged out to demonstrate the nature and contexts within which they occur. The paper acknowledges that while male in the same institutions may experience comparable gender - based violence from women or other men, research has shown that p roportionately more women than men suffer this kind of violence and that its consequences results in relatively greater devastating effects for women. Within tertiary institutions, it is arguable that the relatively free atmosphere that has minimal restric tion on dating, partying and mating presents unprecedented risks which most women students tend to take for granted and which their male peers also take advantage of to practice masculinities characterised by pervasive sexual violence such as rape, harassm ent, stalking and verbalised sexual abuse. Social constructionist theory guides the discussion s leading to recommendations for preventive measures which locate education , awareness creation and skills - building as the fundamental drivers of policy - directed strategies aimed at preventing violence before it occurs to demand second order responses.