Transcript quality education for refugees in kenya

Quality
Education
for
Refugees
in Kenya
Loise Gichuhi, Daniel Gakunga, Rosemary Imonje, Caroline Ndirangu
Lesley Bartlett, Sarah Dryden-Peterson, Mary Mendenhall
CIES 2014 |Toronto, Canada | Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Today’s Panel
• Introducing the team
• Situating the study
• Conceptualizing the
problem
• Highlighting the methods
and school sites
• Presenting the findings
• Examining implications and
conclusions
• Opening up the discussion
Introducing the Team & Situating the Study
Mary Mendenhall, Ed.D.
Teachers College, Columbia University
Introducing the Team
University of Nairobi Faculty:
• Daniel Gakunga
• Loise Gichuhi
• Rosemary Imonje
• Caroline Ndirangu
• Grace Nyagah
• Ursulla Okoth
With support from:
• Lesley Bartlett: Teachers College, Columbia University
• Sarah Dryden-Peterson: Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Mary Mendenhall: International Rescue Committee and
Teachers College, Columbia University
• Mary Tangelder: International Rescue Committee
Introducing the Team (cont)
Research Interns
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Madeeha Ansari, Tufts
Josie Bergin, TC
Elaine Christian, TC
Amy Descovich, UPENN
Nyoka Joseph, TC
Astrid Lassila-Smith, TC
Michelle Zhang, Harvard
Shyla Dogan, TC
Amanda Lalley, UPENN
Anna Spector, TC
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Sheri Money, TC
Emily Durkin, Columbia SIPA
MacKenzie Lawrence, TC
Jessica Kovarik, U of Denver
Laura Humphrey, UPENN
Brittney Wilcox, TC
Jihae Cha, TC
Natasha Mansur, TC
Meredith Saucier, TC
Kathleen Denny, TC
Situating the
Study:
Refugees in
Kenya
• Nairobi, Kenya
• Kakuma Refugee
Camp, Turkana
County, Kenya
Situating the Study: Policy Context
• 2010 Kenyan Constitution: right of all children born
and residing in Kenya to education
• Education Bill of 2012: right of a child to access
basic education
• Refugee policy: Shifting support for refugees
• Educational access: Camps vs urban locations
Conceptualizing the Problem:
Quality and Pedagogy
Lesley Bartlett, Ph.D.
Teachers College, Columbia University
Quality and
Pedagogy
Notable shift: “access to
quality education”
Lack of attention to
teaching and learning
experiences of refugees
Focus on teacher instruction
Quality Education
• Shift from inputs to outputs ignores the processes
• UNHCR’s Education Strategy
o quality = outcomes of what children will know and be able to do
o “rigorous and relevant curriculum” with “hard” academic skills and “soft”
skills for human rights and citizenship in “child-friendly learning
environment”
Quality Education (cont)
• INEE Minimum Standards for Education
o a safe and inclusive learner friendly environment;
o competent and well-trained teachers who are knowledgeable in the
subject matter and pedagogy;
o an appropriate context-specific curriculum that is comprehensible and
culturally, linguistically and socially relevant for the learners;
o adequate and relevant materials for teaching and learning;
o participatory methods of instruction and learning processes that respect
the dignity of the learner;
o appropriate class sizes and teacher-pupil ratios; and
o an emphasis on recreation, play, sport and creative activities in addition
to areas such as literacy, numeracy and life skills (INEE, 2010, p. 122).
Learner-Centered
Pedagogy
Learning as active
process of inquiry
Students and teachers as
learners capable of
constructing knowledge
Teachers as facilitators
creating conditions for
students to ‘learn to learn’
and to develop critical,
analytical skills
Guiding Research Question
In what ways are primary schools in
Kakuma and Nairobi developing and
offering quality education for refugee
populations, and what are the challenges
they face in meeting that goal?
Methods and School Sites
Daniel Gakunga, Ph.D.
University of Nairobi
Research Design:
Comparative Case Study
16 Key
Informant
Interviews
63 Interviews
with Teachers,
57 with Pupils
53 Classroom
Observations
Document
Analysis
In what ways are
primary schools in
Kakuma and Nairobi
developing and offering
quality education for
refugee populations,
and what are the
challenges they face in
meeting that goal?
School
Questionnaire
School Sites in Kenya
Nairobi
• Mwiki Primary School
• New Eastleigh Primary
School
• New Kihumbuini
Primary School
• Sud Academy
Kakuma Refugee Camp
• Angelina Jolie Primary
(Boarding) School
• Fuji Primary School
• Lokitaung Primary
School
• Kismayo Community
School
Case Study School Demographics
School
# of
Pupils
%
refugee
pupils
Average
class
size,
observed
# of
teachers
% refugee
teachers
Overall
pupilteacher
ratio
Mean KCPE
score
NAIROBI
New Eastleigh
782
85
45
30
0
26
240.51
New
Kihumbuini
1801
3
n.d.
34
0
53
227.9
Mwiki
2550
6
84
62
0
41
237.8
Sud
155
66
12
14
29
11
257
KAKUMA
Angelina Jolie
247
89
30
14
64
18
283.8
Fuji
2488
99
96.6
23
83
108
220
Kismayo
359
100
40.8
18
33
20
252.98
Lokitaung
1735
100
108
19
79
91
270.9
(Select Data Only, See Handout)
Study Findings
Loise Gichuhi, Ph.D. | Rosemary Imonje, Ph.D.
University of Nairobi
Centrality of
lecture in lesson
presentation
Lecture mixed with factual
comprehension questions
Teachers relied on
factual questions
to check literal
comprehension
Strong emphasis on
definitions and the
memorization of facts
Examples:
What is trade?
We have two forms of trade,
which ones are they?
Lecture and Comprehension:
Rising Intonation
Teacher:
So today I want to talk about mineral?
Students:
Salts.
Teacher:
We have said that mineral salts are present in many
types of food. There are many types of food that
contain mineral?
Salts.
Students:
Teacher:
…and mineral salts are present in small quantities.
They do not provide energy. So examples of
minerals that are needed by our bodies include
calcium, phosphorous, and iron. Our bodies require
different types of minerals. Our body requires
what?
Students:
Iron and phosphorous.
Deficit of pupilinitiated questions
Out of 53 lessons observed,
in only 17 did pupils ask any
questions.
In only 6 of these 17
situations was more than
one question posed.
The questions posed by
pupils were factual or
definitional.
Absence of
conceptual
learning
Scarcity of open-ended,
inferential questions among
teachers
Factors Affecting Instruction
Caroline Ndirangu, Ph.D.
University of Nairobi
Limited Resources
• Low funding
• Overcrowding
• Dearth of teaching and learning materials
Lack of pedagogical
training and
content knowledge
Public schools in Nairobi =
highest levels of trained
teachers
Camp-based schools =
refugee teachers, no training
or 6-month, part time diploma
program
Scarce in-service professional
development
No training in how to support
second or third language
acquisition
Curriculum
Adaptation to needs of
refugees
Relevance of Kenyan
curriculum
Language policy
Kiswahili and English
simultaneously
Nairobi schools: Kenyan
teachers; tuition
Camp schools: teachers
with varying competence in
Swahili and English
Lack of textbooks
Implications
Sarah Dryden-Peterson, Ed.D.
Implications
Instructional approach—
poor quality
Need to increase availability
and quality of teacher
professional development
Deeper content knowledge
Language policy and
pedagogy
Adapt curriculum for greater
relevance
Discussion