Transformative Pedagogy as a Way of Mitigating School Violence in Public Secondary Schools in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The prevalence of school violence (SV) in public secondary schools in Kenya has resulted into injuries, loss of property and sometimes death. Penalties meted out on students ranging from fines on students, suspension or expulsion of students from school has been introduced in vain. Several commissions of inquiry have also been put in place to address this issue but not much has been achieved. Violence negatively affects students hence the need to identify ways of mitigating school violence. This study argues that to a large extent, school violence in public secondary schools is due to either the absence or limited use of transformative pedagogy (TP) which provides the learners with an opportunity for critical thinking, enables behavioural change and the inculcation of values hence the attainment of peaceful coexistence amongst students. Using Mezirow’s Transformative learning theory, the study adopted a Mixed Method Research methodology in which data was drawn from 426 respondents comprising 341 students and 85 teachers in 22 public secondary schools in Nairobi County, 28 Key informants and 7 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Data analysis was done using SPSS and N-vivo analysis techniques. The study found out that discussion groups and role play were the major learner centred teaching approaches used in the schools. The paper concluded that effective use of transformative pedagogical approaches positively influences behaviour change in students hence the attainment of a non-violent school community. The study recommended a review of the secondary school curriculum to adopt transformative teaching approaches as opposed to teacher centred learning.