CW-Department of Educational Management Policy & Curriculum Studies

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21st Century Students’ Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes: Implication for Teacher Education Reform
(Kenyatta University, 2015) Mwebi, Bosire Monari
The world in which today’s students will graduate is fundamentally different from the world in which we grew up. Unlike before, education must prepare students for the world where opportunities for success require the ability to compete and possess 21st century skills. Global education reform movements identify the 21st century students graduating skills to include global awareness, civic, business, financial, entrepreneurial, health, and environment literacy. They also require students to develop skills of creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration, information, media, and technology skills. This paper explores ways Canadian education systems have responded to the needs of 21st century. Education reform in Canada in many aspects reflects reform processes occurring globally. Canada provinces have continued to target their energy and resources to significantly increase student learning and achievement levels. Education reforms have identified competencies or statements describing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes expected of all students who graduate from their public school system. Achievement of these competencies will prepare students to continue to learn throughout their lives. These 21st century competencies identified in Canadian education include critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation, social and cultural responsibility, global and environmental awareness, communication, digital literacy, lifelong learning, self-direction, collaboration, leadership, and aesthetic expression. The implications of these 21st students’ competencies on education reforms are discussed.
Addressing Curriculum Implementation for Improved Learning Outcomes in Primary Schools in Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Kisirkoi, F. K.
Education in Kenya requires rethinking as the country prepares to face the demands of transformations of the 21st century. The first general objective of primary education in Kenya is that primary education should provide the learner with opportunities to acquire literacy, numeracy, creativity and communication skills. There is evidence from research that the objective has not been fully met. A number of learners go through the primary school course without acquiring the basic literacy skills which negates the focus of the country to develop a knowledge based economy. This paper is based on a study whose first objective was to find out the teaching learning approaches employed in the primary classroom. The methodology adopted was survey research design. A total of 490 primary school teachers from five counties across the country were purposively sampled for the study; 70 were observed while teaching and 420 filled in a questionnaire. A total of 93% of the teachers observed while teaching used teacher-centred teaching learning approaches with little learner involvement. The majority, 61.4% of those who filled in the questionnaire indicated that they used teacher centred teaching learning approaches. Only 11% of the 70 teachers observed in class were rated ‘good’ in use of teaching learning resources. It was found that teaching and learning approaches employed in the classroom by most teachers was teacher-centred and encouraged rote learning, hence was faulty and required redress. It was recommended that there should be sustained school based teacher professional development activities specifically addressing pedagogy for improved curriculum implementation.
Are Qualified Teachers Really of Good Quality? Rethinking Teacher Quality in Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Munyaka, L. W.
Despite general agreement about the importance of high-quality teachers, researchers, policy makers, and the public are unable to reach consensus on specific characteristics of secondary school teachers contributing to desirable educational outcomes. Policy makers are left with many questions surrounding what counts as a quality teacher—information that could be valuable in guiding policies regarding whom to hire, whom to reward, and how best to distribute teachers across schools and classrooms. Answers to these questions have potentially important implications for the efficiency and equity of public education for sustainable development. Failure by policy makers to define teacher characteristics linked to desirable education outcomes will be detrimental to educational quality trends in Kenya. This paper explores what the most important teacher characteristics are with special focus on qualification, subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge
Assessment of Policies and Plans on Disaster Management for Computer-Based Information Systems in Selected University Libraries in Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Njoroge, R. W.; Wambiri, D.; Ogeta, N.
This study was carried out at a time when the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in higher education institutions had become a key issue for service delivery. The need to provide access to information for learning, teaching and research had necessitated academic libraries to incorporate Information Technology (IT) to facilitate efficient and effective operations in libraries. This therefore, calls for development of policies and plans that provide direction on actions geared towards protection of the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of the electronic data held within the organization’s system. The study aimed to find out the availability of disaster management policies and plans for Computer-based Information Systems (CBIS) in academic libraries as well as assess issues addressed by the available policies and plans. The study was carried out in selected academic libraries in Kenya which included two public and two private chartered universities within Nairobi County and its neighboring counties. Data was collected using interviews and document reviews. Analysis, interpretation and presentation were done using qualitative methods. The study revealed that most (3 out of 4) of the institutions studied had not developed policies and plans that addressed disaster management for CBIS. The study recommends development of disaster management policies and plans that guide on disaster management for CBIS in libraries. Further research was recommended on impact of lack of disaster management policies and plans for CBIS in libraries.
Being young, Kenyan and gendered: the outcomes of schooling and transitions to adulthood in poor urban and rural settings
(2009-09) Chege, Fatuma N.; Arnot, M.; Wainaina, Paul K.
This paper which is derived from findings of the Education, Youth, Gender and Citizenship (YGC) project1 foregrounds the experiences and outcomes of schooling as constructed through the voices of young female and male Kenyan youth aged between 18 and 25 years who lived in conditions of relative material poverty in one of the urban communities of the study2. Using qualitative data mainly from interviews, the paper demonstrates how young men and women from impoverished families and communities constructed the outcomes of their schooling, demonstrating the realities of how they negotiated their daily lives and experiences that were build upon some broken promise from a formal education that had failed to deliver them –and their families- out of the cycle of poverty. The expressed need to transform their lives by break out of the cycle of poverty while at the same retaining a sense of belonging to their families and local communities - ‘home and family’ – formed the dominant discourse in the voices of the young women and men –most of who seemed eager to project and be heard. The study findings capture articulations of the value attached to formal education as a communal and individual investment even when the experience of schooling was itself portrayed as a failure in delivering the economic expectations of this young generation of hopeful Kenyan women and men. The explicit difference between young people’s educational aspirations and expectations of schooling vis-àvis the realities of its outcomes as experienced in their daily lives provided the young people a point of departure in interrogating other non-economic benefits of schooling – which in one way or another enhanced their well-being and made them different from the non-schooled peers. Findings demonstrated that the level of schooling –primary and secondary- influenced the articulation of non-economic (social and human development) outcomes of schooling. Gender also seemed to influenced the manner in which the social and human development outcomes of schooling were played out among the youth with the young men presenting themselves as community focused in terms of seeking ways to transforming their environments while the young women were keen in changing their own lives and of their offspring. Thus, the route for escaping poverty was constructed differently between the women and the men while articulation of the means of escape was considerably more concretised among the youth with secondary education. It is in this context that this paper interrogates the implications of different levels of schooling among young Kenyan women and men who live in poor urban settlements.
Beyond Access: the Role of Non Formal Schools in Provision of Quality Primary Education in Urban Informal Settlements in Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Kaugi, E.; Bunyi, G.
During the past several years, Kenya has implemented policies that focused on expansion of education through improving access. One of such policies that have had great impact is the policy for alternative provision of basic education and training, which introduced an alternative mode of primary education delivery through non-formal schools. As a result the country has made significant progress in improving access to primary education, especially for poor children from urban informal settlements. Since the Dakar framework for action (2000) committed nations to provision of quality primary education and all nations were asked to improve all aspects of education quality. This research study sought to evaluate three aspects of quality of education provided by Non-formal schools in Nairobi’s informal settlements, namely; 1) the quality of learning environments 2) quality of educational processes; and 3) the quality of educational outcomes. Study findings showed that non-formal schools experience considerable shortage of physical facilities and instructional materials and a majority of teachers in the non-formal schools were untrained. The quality of outcome in the non-formal schools was good as demonstrated in fairly good performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education. The paper concludes with recommendations on how provision of education through non-formal schools can be improved.
Bridging the Digital Divide in Secondary Schools in Kenya: A Critical Analysis of Personal Characteristics of Principals, Teachers and Students on Readiness to Adopt E-Learning in Secondary Schools in Kitui County
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Mulwa, A. S.; Kyalo, D. N.; Matula, D. P.; Ndaita, J.
The paper is based on a study carried out to establish the influence of personal characteristics of the principals, teachers and students on the readiness to adopt e-learning in public secondary schools in Kitui County, Kenya. The study was guided by three objectives and three hypotheses related to the objectives. The objectives were: to establish the extent to which principals’ personal characteristics influence the readiness to adopt e-learning in secondary schools in Kitui District; to determine the extent to which teachers’ personal characteristics influence the readiness to adopt e-learning in secondary schools in Kitui District; and to establish the influence of students’ personal characteristics on readiness to adopt e-earning in secondary schools. Cross–sectional survey research design was adopted for the study. The target population included principals, teachers and students from public secondary schools in Kitui District, which had a Form Three class as at January, 2010. A sample of 66 principals, 66 teachers and 347 students was selected from 66 public secondary schools out of a total of 80 schools to represent teachers and learners; and to serve as a basis for analysis of their main characteristics and their contribution to the readiness of the institutions to adopt e-learning. Data was collected using questionnaires and an observation schedule. The resultant information was analyzed by employing the quantitative approach which involved descriptive and inferential statistical procedures. The study established that the readiness to adopt e-learning in secondary schools is influenced by the personal characteristics of principals, teachers and students. Level of education of both the principals and teachers had the greatest influence on the readiness to adopt e-learning, while the most influential personal characteristic of students was the type of school they attended. The study recommends that the government should plan to address the issue of e-learning infrastructure by availing e-learning equipment, enhancing connection to reliable sources of power, improving connectivity to various internet services and augmenting human resource capacity by organizing training programmes for principals, teachers and students.
Bullying in Kenyan Schools: Causes, Impact and Possible Intervention Strategies
(Kenyatta University, 2014) Mweru, Maureen
Challenges and Opportunities for International Higher Education Collaboration for Africa’s Sustainable Development
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Nagao, M.; Mutisya, E.
This paper argues that the role of higher education in Africa’s sustainable development is crucial and concerted efforts should be made to promote universities’ international collaboration to enhance this role. Most African universities today, however, lack resources, capacities and institutional basis even to maintain their existing operation, and the international collaboration they have sought with industrialized country donors and universities have not helped redress this situation either. This is in essence because the collaboration is skewed towards benefitting partner universities in industrialized countries, with the uneven movements of students and faculty members in favour of these countries. Given the global shift in development discourse and international cooperation, seriously-disposed universities in these countries would respond positively by instituting internal reforms to encourage intra-university and international collaboration thus increasing their contribution to sustainable development. This is because stakeholder collaboration for knowledge mobilization to solve practical problems is the essence of sustainable development effort. Higher education institutions have a key role to play in this respect as they are in a position to create knowledge through research, to distribute knowledge through education and training, to utilize knowledge through public outreach service, and combining all these functions in an integrated manner to assume leadership for the promotion of sustainable development. This paper argues for the promotion of international collaboration of African universities for sustainable development.
Challenges Encountered by Field Supervisors of Kenyan University Students’ Undertaking Practicum Attachment
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Ogola, L. K.; VanLeeuwen, C.; Muriithi, J.; Weeks, L. E.
There is little published research that explores or documents the practicum supervision experience of field supervisors of university students in Kenya. Practicum provides students with an opportunity for experiential learning and hands-on work experience during their university education. The aim of this study was to identify the challenges encountered by field supervisors of students during practicum in organizations dealing with community issues. Fifteen organizations that had hosted third year students from the Department of Community Resource Management and Extension at Kenyatta University during their practicum attachment were sampled using purposive sampling. Data was collected using fifteen key informant interviews with field supervisors. Data was analyzed using NVivo software for qualitative analysis. Thematic analysis resulted in the identification of key themes related to clarity of learning objectives of the practicum and the supervision challenges encountered by field supervisors during practicum. Key findings indicate that the supervisors largely lacked a clear understanding of practicum expectations and the academic preparation of students in the Community Resource Management & Extension program. The main supervision challenge fundamentally revolved around orientation of students to community-based field work as they endeavored to link theory to practice. It is anticipated that a greater understanding of the challenges that field supervisors face could be utilized to enhance the practicum experience of university students through additional support provided to the host organizations. Consequently, the students will be more likely to optimize the intended benefits of the attachment as a result of the host organizations enhancing the quality of field-based learning.
Citizenship education and political engagement: voices of Kenyan youth from Nyeri and Nairobi
(2005-09) Chege, Fatuma N.; Wawire, V. K.; Arnot, Madeleine; Wainaina, Paul K.
Education plays a major role in equipping individuals with skills that enable them to participate fully as citizens in society. This paper interrogates this in the context of the nature of political engagement for schooled young persons living in impoverished rural and urban settings in Kenya. Using qualitative methods that include focused group discussions and interviews, young people are given a chance to express their views on how education has enabled them to enact their citizenship. They discuss their political identifications, their rights as citizens, and the failure to achieve these, the effects of schooling on their feelings of belonging and inclusion and the perceived potential of second chance education in helping them move forward. The findings indicate that while the Kenyan education system is designed to shape young people’s civic consciousness, varying schooling experiences based on socio-cultural and geographical divides determine the level to which they are able to enjoy their citizenship rights and see possibilities of achieving full citizenship. Young people voice concerns to government which centre on unemployment, security and the importance of listening to young people, which if addressed would improve the civic education outcomes of young people living in impoverished communities. The expressed faith in a perceived necessary link between education and the attainment of full citizenship creates a running theme in the discourse shaping discussions with the youth.
Collaborazioni fra imprese e università: strumenti di orientamento in Kenya e Italia (Partnerships between businesses and universities’ guidance tools in Kenya and Italy)
(2012) Nyerere, J.K.A.; Friso, V.
Vari studi hanno dimostrato che la capacita di una persona di sapersi orientare alI'intemo del proprio contesto e una reale competenza strategica e sempre piu necessaria in questo periodo storico. Le politiche mondiali si stanno cercando di dotare di strumenti che possano aiutare le persone ad orientarsi nel processo di realizzazione della propria identita. Spazi di orientamento spesso si configurano come luoghi in cui diverse entita dialogano creando reti abitabili dalle persone. In questi spazi si collocano anche quei rapporti tra universita ed enti territoriali quali aziende ed istituzioni che vengono creati per aiutare gli studenti in quel passaggio fondamentale in cui incontrano il mondo dellavoro ed in esso vanno ad inserirsi. Le universita e Ie imprese sono chiamate a continuare a migliorare i loro rapporti in quanto questo e di vitale importanza non solo per offrire esperienze e opportunita di lavoro agli studenti, alI'intemo delle quali possono orientare le loro scelte, ma anche perche l'universita potrebbe avere la possibilita di aggiomare continuamente i principi di business nell'insegnamento, mentre le imprese, a loro volta, potrebbero trarre vantaggio dalla ricerca e dalle competenze dei laureati. I recenti cambiamenti significativi nell'industria stanno alzando il livello di collaborazione commerciale tra settore privato e le universita, mettendo in evidenza un cambiamento culturale nel campo dell'istruzione superiore. L'articolo si propone di presentare i maggiori strumenti di dialogo presenti presso due universita di due Paesi molto diversi. Da una parte I'Universita di Padova quale universita di un paese europeo e la Kenyatta University quale universita di un Paese in via di sviluppo. Studies have shown that a person's ability to orient himself/herself within a particular context is through a real strategic competence which is increasingly necessary in the current age. The governments are trying to provide tools that can help people to navigate in the process of realization of own identity. Guidance's spaces are often places where different entities interact through healthy networking. In these are also relationships between universities and authorities such as companies and institutions. Universities must continue to improve their relationships with enterprise as this is vital not only so universities could provide work experience and job opportunities for their students, but also so business principles would inform teaching while enterprise, in turn, could benefit from research and competent graduate employees. Recent significant changes in industry are raising the level of collaboration between commercial private sector and universities, bringing out a cultural shift in higher education. This article aims to present the major means of dialogue between universities of two very different countries the University of Padua, Italy, a developed country and Kenyatta University,
Competency-Based Education in Kenya: Contending With the Imperatives for Successful Implementation
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Bunyi, G.
It is now official; in response to the challenge of providing quality education for sustainable development, Kenya is switching from objectives-based curriculum to competency-based curriculum (CBC). The Cabinet Secretary for education has been saying this loud and clear. Surprisingly, however, the Cabinet Secretary’s pronouncements have generated little, if any, discussion among education scholars or lay people. My objective in this paper is to open up discussion on this curriculum reform that is now underway. Proponents of competency-based education (CBE) argue that by focusing on competencies or what learners can do with the education they have received, competency based education is better suited to ensuring that education responds to the needs of society (and therefore of the Kenyan society as articulated in Kenya Vision 2030). Developing a competency-based curriculum therefore entails clearly identifying the competencies that learners will be required to attain at different points of their education. In this paper takes a historical perspective to CBE and demonstrate that (i) CBE has been around for a long time in countries such as the US and Canada and that its precursors are what pertains in Kenya today, (ii) while seemingly entailing not so radical curriculum change, CBE has far-reaching policy, practice and cost implications and therefore constitutes an educational reform in the league of educational reforms such as the 8:4:4 reforms of the 1980s. More importantly the paper discusses the policy and practice implications as well as the principles of successful implementation of curriculum innovations that we will need to pay attention to as we embark on CBE in Kenya.
Constraints Facing the Implementation of Inclusive Education: A Case of Selected Secondary Schools in Kericho County
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Chepkwony, Alfred K. A.
The National Special Needs Education Policy Framework in Kenya stipulates that there shall be elimination of disparities and enhancement of equity and equality for all learners, especially through the inclusion of learners with special needs in the education system. This paper is based on a study that sought to find out the constraints facing the implementation of inclusive education in selected secondary schools. The study was guided by the following objectives: to describe -personnel-related constraints facing implementation of inclusive education, and to identify- constraints facing availability of resources in inclusive settings. A case study design of two selected inclusive secondary schools in Kericho County was used. Respondents included two Principals, teachers, resource teachers, and Educational Assessment Resource Centre officers. Interviews were conducted with administrators, teachers and educational assessment resource team. Two methods of data analysis were used: domain and thematic analysis. Domain analysis involved analysis of language of participants in the cultural context of their respective inclusive schools. The study concluded that inclusive education is constrained by shortage of personnel and inadequacy of specialized material resources to be used in the teaching of learners with special needs. The researcher recommends that for the learning environment to be conducive, schools must take initiative to improve on physical facilities to be sensitive to learners with SNE. In addition, policy makers should create awareness and do sensitization to remove socio-cultural attitudes and accordingly Re-Engineer Education for Sustainable Development.
The Development of Talent Academies in Kenya Educational System
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Mbii, M.; Kyalo, C.
Talent is considered to be an exceptional natural ability to attain goals. Talent academies challenge young people who have been identified as having particular talents to develop the talents through innovative approaches. Based on a literature review, this paper focuses on the development of talent academies in Kenya where the idea is being implemented on a pilot basis. The paper provides an overview of the methods used to identify gifted students, the competence of teachers, the programs offered and the challenges faced by the talent academies. Among the review findings are that classroom teachers are called upon to nominate students for gifted and talented programmes, headteachers have been trained in workshops, conferences on how to manage the talented youth, the curriculum offered is on sports’ careers with peace education and life skills. The challenges identified include lack of proper structures to identify and nurture talent both in and out of school and lack of proper performing arts equipment to host meaningful competitions as well as to train talent.
Devolution of Basic Education: Could it be the Panacea to Education Marginalization of ASAL Regions of Kenya?
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Kashu, P.
The provision of basic education in the ASAL regions of Kenya continues to face numerous challenges in spite of the government efforts to provide basic education to all its citizens. Since independence, national plans and solutions have largely failed to provide adequate solutions to challenges of education in ASAL regions. Net enrolment rations in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools remain far below those of the national level. The regions have few educational facilities, low access, retention, completion and transition rates. They have high teacher shortage and currently teachers from other regions of Kenya are not willing to work in some ASAL regions due to problems of insecurity. In 2010, a new constitution was enacted which provided for the devolution of many roles of the national government to the county governments. The provision of pre-primary education, village polytechnics and home crafts was devolved to the county governments. The objective of this paper is to explore whether devolution of education could solve many problems of education inequalities and marginalization in the ASAL regions.
Disparities in Access to Literacy Predictors among Primary School Children in Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2003) Bunyi, G.; Mumo, Kamau D.
Doing Gender and Feminist Research in Developing Countries: The African Context
(2011) Chege, Fatuma N.
E learning: A solution or a problem in improvement education accessibility among people living with disabilities?
(Kenyatta University, 2015-05) Mutinda, J. S.
One of the millennium development goals was to achieve education for all (EFA) by the year 2015. This, however, has not been achieved yet. Adoption of E-learning is one of the avenues for attainment of this goal. Unfortunately, digital and knowledge divide (among other obstacles) have hindered effective implementation of E-learning. This paper, which is based on a literature review, explores how e-learning platforms developers have or have not considered the needs of people living with disabilities in the design of such platforms. Research has shown that E-learning platforms designers have tried to increase accessibility among people with disabilities in a number of ways. The paper discusses the extent to which these platforms have offered solutions to barriers to access among these groups and the problems which are yet to be addressed. The paper concludes by proposing use of artificial intelligence systems in providing an integral solution to these problems.
E-Learning policy making processes: an evidence based application at Kenyatta University Marsabit Distance Learning Centre
(2014-05-20) Gatimu, Kiranga
The paper discuses evidence‐base approach to policy making in general and e‐learning in particular. E‐learning is understood as a subset of distance education both in theory and in practice. The discussion considers the functions of a policy in general and in e‐learning as a tool for enhancing managerial decision making. From the discussions, merits and demerits the theoretical issues of evidence‐based approach to policymaking are considered. Even so, evidence‐based policy process closes the gap, which sometimes becomes apparent between what is known on the one hand, and what is practiced on the other. Moreover, evidence‐based approach potentially avoids or at least minimizes the chances of policy failures on e‐learning programmes. The on‐going Kenyatta University e‐learning Marsabit Project targeting female teachers is used to illustrate how evidence‐based policy orientation is helping to detect and correct e‐learning policy at micro‐level. In many ways, The Marsabit Project is evidence‐led. In many in many respects, this has evolutionary characteristics that are turning out to be very different from the mainstream of Kenyatta University’s e‐learning policy and practice. Key words Evidence‐ based approach, e‐learning, policy functions.

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