In theory, education will lead to better healthcare, literacy rates, less poverty, increased tolerance for diversity, and increased career opportunities. More education will help ensure a brighter future for generations to come and help set a positive, successful example of development for countries that may still be grappling with issues related to unsuccessful development. Once a country has achieved steady development and stability, participation in the international economy will become easier, trade will become more fair and free, and a positive international reputation attractive to foreign investors will help set that society well on the path of more sophisticated checks and balances, transparency, accountability, and legitimacy. With all of this comes the replacement of the cycle of underdevelopment by the forward motion of progress with hope for fair political participation, equal rights, a vast array of educational and career opportunities, and happy and healthy futures for generations to come. Unfortunately, Sub-Saharan Africa has suffered from an endemic cycle by varying degrees of underdevelopment and resource mismanagement which has prevented most countries from reaching the aforementioned ideal situation. Using three case studies from the region, this research explores the economic background, social background, economic background, political background, historical evolution, education system settings, goals, and post-colonial educational development that has either led to positive growth and self-reliance as is the case with South Africa, continues to baffle Kenyans, or the complete lack thereof causing stagnation and exacerbation of current national social, political, and economic problems as is the case with Nigeria.

This exploratory study was inspired by the author’s voluntary work with streetconnected children and youth in Kenya. It develops an understanding of the experiences of young people leaving the street in two provincial Kenyan towns. Although there has been extensive research concerned with street-connectedness, there has been a limited focus on young people’s transitions away from the street. Participants were identified with the help of three organisations: fifty-three young people, aged 12 -28, participated in semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and visual methods, during two field research visits to Kenya, in 2012 and 2013. The study found that their experiences of leaving the street were influenced by their day-to-day interactions with family, friends and other members of the communities into which they transitioned. These interactions influenced how accepted the young people felt and the extent to which they believed they were supported economically, physically and psychosocially, especially with regards to their relationships with family members. The participants’ interactions with school-based peers and teachers were particularly important in schools and training centres, where they struggled to develop a sense of belonging. Being street-connected is an integral part of the identities constructed by young people after they leave the street and establish places for themselves in their families, schools, local communities, and wider society. Such street-connectedness can be a strength: the resilience and skills developed on the street are useful attributes in adapting to new situations, potentially providing income-generating opportunities later on. However, the stigmatisation and resulting marginalisation they experienced on the street can have lasting effects. Barriers to inclusion experienced on the street influence a young person’s ability to develop a sense of belonging to their new situation after leaving the street. This study makes a conceptual contribution. Street-connectedness begins when a young person first arrives on the street, and continues until what could be years after they leave it. This street-connectedness can be characterised by three liminalities. The first is associated with living in the physical space defined as being on the street: a physical embodiment of liminality. The second, describes the process of being in transition as a young person newly arrived on the street, or having recently left the street: each being a liminal phase. The third liminality is described by an identity-forming social space, associated with being, and having been, street-connected: a liminal identity. This liminal identity, associated with being street-connected, impacts upon young people (re)entering home communities and, in particular, education, and highlights a need to consider and address the effects of these impacts.

The Nandi Hills and Nandi Forests in Nandi County, Kenya are major water catchments for Lake Victoria. However, these resources have faced significant decline and degradation in recent times, thereby impacting the hydrological quality and quantity in the Lake Victoria Basin. This study was informed by the observed degradation of the Nandi Hills and Nandi Forests, epitomized by the receding forest cover, drying up of previously permanent streams, instances of mudslides and rock falls, and downstream flooding. The study therefore sought to interrogate the current institutional environmental and educational arrangements and practices which are pertinent to the sustainable management of the Nandi Hills Forests, the perceptions and understandings of the local population in terms of forest resources and land use, and the information that can be provided by GIS and Remote Sensing data, in order to produce a heuristic for planning community environmental education in the Nandi County. To achieve this, a mixed methodological design which incorporated both qualitative and quantitative data was embraced. The mixed method approaches used in this study were the concurrent triangulation and nested/embedded designs. A four-tier analysis was carried out once all the data had been coded and grouped. The analysis covered three categories of the population in the study area; namely the households, institutions and community groups, and analysis of Landsat images for change detection. The study reveals that there are several state and non-state institutions that are involved in the management of the Nandi Hills Forests and that their efforts have seen an improvement in the perceptions of the local population in terms of the importance of environmental management of the forests. Analysis of the Landsat images has revealed receding natural forest cover. The contribution of informal, local and indigenous knowledge to sustainable management of the Nandi Hills Forest was notable (85 percent of the population attribute their knowledge on forests and forestry to informal knowledge sources). These results informed the development of a heuristic to enable the adoption of strategies using readily accessible, though loosely applicable, information for problem solving in developing and implementing community environmental education practices for effective forest management and conservation practices that are responsive to the needs of the Nandi Forest community.

The method of instruction and the formal curriculum within two Kenyan teacher training colleges were studied in order to discover which messages regarding pedagogical practice are internalized within novice Kenyan primary school teachers and then actualized within their classrooms. An educational connoisseurship approach was utilized to give descriptive, interpretive, evaluative, and thematic insight. Three data streams were collected through interview, observation, and design evaluation in order to establish structural corroboration and internal validity. The study found that the method of instruction by the teacher training college faculty was teacher-centered and utilized lower order cognitive methodology. Though the formal curriculum design was strong, it too promoted lower cognitive processes. These two messages, teacher-centered pedagogies and lower cognitive processes, are being internalized and applied by the novice teachers and maybe affecting the quality of education in Kenyan schools. The results of this study suggest that pedagogical skills promoting higher cognitive levels should be developed through in-service training in Kenyan training colleges and primary schools as a way to improve the quality of education in this country.

The purpose of this study was to explore the practices, perceptions and needs of nurses in relation to their participation in continuing professional development. A quantitative descriptive study was conducted guided by Knowles’ Adult Learning Theory as the conceptual framework. Data collection was done using a structured self-administered questionnaire with a sample of 178 nurses. The findings revealed that the respondents perceived continuing professional development as important. However the study found minimal involvement of nurses during the initial stages of designing continuing professional development programmes and this may lead to incorrect identification of learning needs. Personal, organisational and professional factors were identified as barriers to nurses’ participation in continuing professional development. Preparation of nurses in advance and the use of teaching strategies that recognise past experience and adults as resources were found to increase nurses’ participation in continuing professional development programmes / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to explore the practices, perceptions and needs of nurses in relation to their participation in continuing professional development. A quantitative descriptive study was conducted guided by Knowles’ Adult Learning Theory as the conceptual framework. Data collection was done using a structured self-administered questionnaire with a sample of 178 nurses. The findings revealed that the respondents perceived continuing professional development as important. However the study found minimal involvement of nurses during the initial stages of designing continuing professional development programmes and this may lead to incorrect identification of learning needs. Personal, organisational and professional factors were identified as barriers to nurses’ participation in continuing professional development. Preparation of nurses in advance and the use of teaching strategies that recognise past experience and adults as resources were found to increase nurses’ participation in continuing professional development programmes / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

This thesis presents the findings of an exploration of teacher perceptions and actions to conserve wetlands in Kenya. It reports findings of a case study survey done with 54 primary school teachers from seven of eight Kenyan provinces. The teachers were sampled from a larger group of 242 teachers who participated in an in-service course on wetlands conservation. The in-service course engaged teachers in exploring various aspects of wetlands and how they could enhance their conservation using both formal and non-formal contexts. The survey approach was used in the research and was augmented with a reflective process. Survey tools used were the questionnaires and interviews. The reflective process entailed observation, document analysis, field notes and the researcher’s diary. Research data was analysed in several stages. The study revealed that teachers were users of local wetlands just like other members of their communities. The teachers differed among themselves with respect to their perceptions of the value and threats to their local wetlands. The teachers also differed in their perceptions of community awareness of their local wetlands. The teachers’ perceptions about environmental education and wetlands were not holistic. The teachers recorded various opportunities to foster wetlands conservation in their local contexts at school and the community. These were their fellow teachers, the pupils, the subjects taught, clubs, environmental days and the community. The relative importance of these opportunities differed among the teachers. Many teachers claimed being motivated to promote wetlands conservation using both formal and non-formal contexts. Their motivation was based on diverse aspects of wetlands, education and the in-service training they attended in 1999. However, the intensity of motivation differed for each aspect. For instance, at community level in-service training was a major motivator while the curriculum aspects were not mentioned at all. Teachers reported having involved their pupils and the community in several activities to conserve the local wetlands. These activities seemed to be dominated by theoretical approaches, eco-management activities and visits to wetlands. There was little evidence to indicate the teachers being engaged in addressing the implications for sustainability of the perceived local wetland values and threats. The activities reported also failed to show engagement with local environmental problems as a deliberate proactive process involving exploration, discussion, action taking and reflection. Most of the activities were presented as one off activities rather than as a cyclic continuously improving series of interventions. The overall scenario presented by the teachers is one of inadequacy in addressing the sustainable use of wetlands. Teachers suggested various constraints that affect their realisation of environmental education for wetlands sustainability. The constraints traverse various aspects of the economic, biophysical, political, educational and social aspects of wetlands conservation. The study suggested the need for teachers to treat their contextual and personal conceptions as problematic rather than as simplistic or linear issues and to formulate ways to address them. This study suggests a potential but under-utilised opportunity to promote wetlands sustainability. The overall picture generated by the data in this study is a need to consider wetland training for teachers that integrates the holistic aspects of wetlands as well as the environmental education for sustainability perspectives grounded in local contexts.

No description available.

The overall policy goal of education for the Kenyan Government is the provision of education and training to all Kenyans as it is fundamental to the Government’s overall development strategy. This emphasis means that every Kenyan has the right to education and training no matter his/her socio-economic status. The Government has therefore allocated substantial resources and there has been notable achievements attained, but the sector still faces major challenges related to access, equity, and quality amongst others (Session paper no. 1 2005:2). One of these major challenges to access is the existence and persistence of retrogressive traditional practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM).The first concern of this study is that despite the immense awareness of the dangers on the victims in many aspects in life, and efforts to stamp it out, FGM still persists and thrives in many parts of the country to date. Secondly, there is an ever growing gender disparity in Kuria district, whereby women professionals are hard to come by. Even in the teaching profession which is associated with females in Kenya, there are a negligible number of Kuria female teachers. There is therefore need to liberate these girls from the persistent “senseless genital mutilation” by proper and relevant socialization and empowerment against cultural practices. The Cultural Lag theory of sociologist William F. Ogburn (1964) will be the underlying theoretical perspective of this study to explain the phenomenon, focusing explicitly on the / Sociology / DLITT(SOC)