No description available.

No description available.

The emergence of self-help education phenomenon was analyzed by examining the documents available in the Ministry of Education. The records indicate that self-help education was started in Kenya earlier than 1963, particularly in the Central Province under the name, Kikuyu Independent Schools; and in many locations of Nyanza Province. The largest movement of self-help education started in 1963. Records show that such schools have grown in magnitude and have contributed to the increase in the number of secondary school places in most parts of the country. The government has accepted that Harambe schools have been a blessing to the rural people. The government has encouraged the traditional efforts of self-help in the rural communities of Kenya. Harambe schools have increased in number more than the government schools, They enroll more students than the government schools; however, the quality of education offered in both systems of schools remains unequal. Two major government policies on Harambe schools were investigated, The first one was the take-over of the well-established and mature Harambe schools. Such schools are assimilated into the government school system. They are accorded all the benefits that government schools get. The second policy was assistance to selected Harambe schools. The assistance could be in the form of qualified teachers from government institutions or overseas volunteer teachers. It was indicated in this study that these policies have contributed to the expansion of Harambe schools in the rural communities where children who complete primary education cannot find enough places in government schools. Initiation of such schools is based on the notion that once started, the take-over or government assistance would be available. However, records have shown that most of these type of schools have remained poorly maintained especially in economically poor rural areas. Poor conditions have contributed to low educational standards in these schools. Consequently, the needs of the students and the rural communities are not met. Four issues that affect Harambe schools were selected for analysis and some policy alternatives and action by the government examined. Issues in Harambe schools were those that involve the curricula, governance, personnel, and finance. Harambe schools employ a curriculum that is designed for well-established government schools. Such a curriculum is basically academic, bookish and prepares children to pass the public examination, but it hardly equips them with functional skills. It was demonstrated in this study that students who attend Harambe schools do not benefit from such a curriculum. Governance of Harambe schools is shared between the government and the local communities, parents, and school committees. The question that was asked in this study was: Should the governance of Harambe schools be shared among the different groups? Government exercises indirect control. It regulates the curriculum and requires all students to participate in public examinations. Local communities, parents, and school committees exercise direct control by making school policies, rules, and organization of the operation of such schools. Direct control extends to personnel and finance in Harambe schools. Rural communities contribute cash, labor, and material for establishing Harambe schools. Poor economic resources in many rural areas contribute to the utilization of poorly-qualified staff to teach in Harambe schools. In view of the observations of the issues in Harambe schooling, several policy options and actions by the government were offered as possible means of seeking improvement in the Harambe schools. Alternative policies were specifically confined to the areas of curriculum, governance, personnel, and finance. Many options advanced in the policy alternatives in this study focussed on Harambe schools as an institution of the rural place which must be structured and organized to meet the needs and aspirations of the rural communities. / Ed. D.

Educators in local school systems who have been assigned the task of developing programs for gifted children often experience difficulty deciding what giftedness is. This difficulty stems from the fact that neither researchers nor educators agree as to which of a myriad of abilities actually constitute giftedness. Research literature on cultural differences suggests that a solution to the problem might lie in the development of a definition based on the attitudes and perceptions of the population to whom the definition is to be applied. In light of these suggestions, this study focused on the development of a definition of giftedness based on the attitudes and perceptions of the residents of a rural county in Appalachia. The site specific definition was subsequently compared with the most widely used conventional definition, i.e., the federal definition. A second focal point of the study was the elicitation of a list of respondents' perceptions of means of identifying gifted children and a list of appropriate educational services for these children. Again, the site specific elements were compared with their conventional counterparts. The Renzulli/Hartman Scale for Rating Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students served as a basis of comparison for the identification criteria. The conventional approach to the provision of services was derived from a synthesis of a body of literature describing special educational services for gifted children. The data collection centered around the determination of local attitudes and perceptions. The methodology, the Heuristic Elicitation Methodology, is one that is used by anthropologists and psycholinguists who seek to assess the knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and preferences of specific groups. For the respondents, giftedness is a global concept comprising 18 elements. These elements are perceived as being closely related to each other in that they share a number of common features. The analysis also resulted in 16 items that are attributes of gifted people. Finally, the analysis showed that there are 13 kinds of educational services that are appropriate for gifted children. Some of these gifts/talents, attributes, and services are similar to their conventional counterparts; others are not. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to identify the teaching competencies of adult literacy teachers as perceived by supervisors and teachers of adult literacy in Kenya. The two research questions that guided the survey focused on perceptions that respondents considered to be most important in enabling the literacy teachers to be effective; and commonalities between supervisors' and teachers' perceptions. The questionnaire was the main method of gathering data. The instrument for the study was developed via teachers, supervisors, and administrators who were familiar with adult literacy in Kenya. The research instrument was pilot-tested. From the Department of Adult Education records, a sample of 86 supervisors and 328 teachers was selected. A 67 percent rate of return was attained. The participants of the study ranked the attributes on a 7 point Likert scale according to the degree to which they perceived these attributes to be important for teachers to function effectively in a Kenyan setting. Findings are reported by mean scores and descriptive narrative. The results of the study indicated that the following competencies were critical for effective teacher performance: (a} thorough knowledge of subject matter in: child care and child development, family planning, nutrition, family health and agriculture; (b) keeping class records; (c) making and using lesson plans; (d) being confident while teaching and outside the classroom; (e) not being late for class; (f) ability to work with community leaders and government employees; (g) identifying the students' learning needs; (h} teaching students at their levels of understanding; and (i) encouraging students to participate during the teaching process. Teachers indicated that literacy teachers who believe in students' potential were more likely to be successful in teaching whereas supervisors viewed teacher behavior to be critical in influencing teaching effectiveness. Administrative constraints that need to be improved to enhance teacher effectiveness, and the implications of the findings are discussed. Recommendations on how to improve the teacher training program, and research considerations for further studies in literacy development are made. / Ed. D.

Thesis (DPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This is a study of Theatre for Development (TfD) in Kenya. It is an attempt to map out and describe different manifestations of the practice which would, in a way, act as a critical model for practitioners and other stakeholders. However, this is in no way an attempt to provide a rigid all-purpose theoretical model, but nonetheless to offer ways, through a description of aspects of Theatre for Development, within which and through which social and behavioural transformations in this eclectic field may take place. To this end, case studies of a few indicative and contrasting examples of Theatre for Development will be used to provide a mirror which will enable its practitioners to reflect upon and critique their own practices as a way of achieving optimum effectiveness. The works of Paulo Freire and Augusto Boal provide the study with a theoretical model in which its basic assumptions and arguments are tested and developed. These two authors, whose works are related in many ways, privilege the use of participatory approaches in the process of creating critical consciousness and promoting change in the individual and in society; these are fundamental requirements in any meaningful practice of Theatre for Development. The findings of this study reveal the discursive and eclectic state of the practice of Theatre for Development in Kenya as originating from a multiplicity of factors such as the skills (or lack thereof) of the practitioners, government interference and the prescriptive agenda and demands of the project funding bodies, institutions and agencies as well as the proliferation of NGOs using Theatre for Development but lacking its foundational philosophy and methodology. This study therefore suggests that, for the enterprise to be more effective and efficient there is a serious need to reflect critically on its procedures and methodology in order to improve and guide its operation. These fundamental aspects include collaborative research, codification, interactive participation, and facilitation and intervention, and are not prescriptive matters but descriptive, arrived at through a critical analysis of a number of Theatre for Development activities in Kenya. Ultimately the research process has thus highlighted a number of weaknesses and strengths in the practice of Theatre for Development in Kenya. Because Theatre for Development is a performance event, the study utilised both quantitative and qualitative research methods. This was necessary, because the study depended on a bibliographical review, unstructured interviews and action research, where the researcher participated in Theatre for Development projects, happenings and related activities / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie is ‘n ondersoek na Teater vir Ontwikkelling in Kenya. Dit poog om die verskillende manifestasies van die praktyk te karteer en beskryf waardeur dit, tot ‘n mate, a kritiese model vir praktisyns en aandeelhouers kan dien. Die onderneming is egter op geen wyse ‘n soeke na ‘n rigiede, allesomvattende teoretiese model nie, maar bied tog ‘n beskrywing van aspekte van Teater vir Ontwikkelling waarbinne en waardeur transformasie van sosiale optrede en handeling in hierdie eklektiese veld kan plaasvind. Met dit in gedagte word na ‘n aantal toepaslike en kontrasterende gevallestudies van Teater vir Ontwikkelling gekyk om ‘n perspektief te ontwikkel wat praktisyns in staat sal stel om hulle eie praktyke krities en effektief te kan evalueer. Die werk en geskrifte van Paulo Freire en Augusto Boal verskaf die teoretiese model vir hierdie ondersoek, wat die basiese beginsels en uitgangspunte daarvan in die Afrika-konteks uittoets en ontwikkel. Hierdie skrywers, wie se werke nou verband hou met mekaar, gee voorkeur aan ‘n interaktiewe, deelnemende benaderings tot die ontwikkelling van ‘n kritiese bewussyn en die stimulering van verandering by die individu en in die gemeenskap. Dié benaderings is fundamenteel tot enige sinvolle aanwending van Teater vir Ontwikkelling. Daar is bevind dat die beoefening van Teater vir Ontwikkelling in Kenia uiters eklekties en uiteenlopend van aard is en dat hierdie stand van sake toegeskryf kan word aan ‘n verskeidenheid faktore, insluitend die vaardighede (of tekort aan vaardighede) van praktisyns, inmenging deur die regering, voorskriftelike agendas en vereistes gestel deur borge en befondsingsagentskappe, edm. ‘n Ander faktor is die geweldige toename in nie-regeringsorganisasies (NGO’s) wat van Teater vir Ontwikkelling gebruik maak terwyl hulle nie oor die basiese filosofiese en metodologiese kennis en opleiding beskik nie. Die bevinding is dus dat sodanige programme slegs meer effektief en doeltreffend bedryf kan word indien daar ernstig besin word oor fundamentele prosedures en metodologieë, om aan die verdere bedryf van die program(me) rigting te kan gee en uitkomste te verbeter. Fundamentele aspekte hierby betrek sou insluit spannavorsing, samewerking, kodifisering, interaktiewe deelname, fasilitering en intervensie, wat nie voorskriftelik is nie, maar beskrywend en rigtinggewend van aard, afgelei uit ‘n kritiese ontleding van ‘n aantal Teater vir Ontwikkelling aktiwiteite in Kenia. Die navorsing het dus uiteindelik ‘n aantal sterk- en swakpunte in die praktyk van Teater vir Ontwikkelling in Kenia belig. Omdat Teater vir Ontwikkelling ‘n aanbiedings-gebeurtenis (“performance event”) is, het die ondersoek beide kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetodes gebruik. Dit was nodig omdat die ondersoek gebruik gemaak het van formele literatuurstudie, sowel as ongestruktureerde onderhoude en aksienavorsing, waartydens die navorser self deelgeneem het aan van die Teater vir Ontwikkelling projekte, gebeure en aktiwiteite.

No description available.

The primary objectives in this study were to gain a deep level of understanding of Kenyan women’s experiences of seeking abortion, both safe and unsafe, and to explore how social and legal issues impact their choices and the routes they take to obtain abortion. I explored the contexts and interpreted 49 in-depth narratives of women’s emic experiences of abortion in Mombasa city and the Kilifi district, Kenya, using a qualitative form of inquiry conducted between April and July 2005. Ethical Review Committees granted ethical clearance to this study. This emic work revealed gender inequity consistent with developing feminist theory and thus how women conceive gendered relationships is introduced in this analysis of women's narratives. The findings provide new insights as well as useful confirmatory knowledge, gleaned from detailed empirical evidence within Kenyan women’s social contexts. The women have revealed the evidence through their narratives; such an approach is largely missing in existing abortion literature. The prominent finding is that women do not abort motherhood, but they do abort particular pregnancies to protect motherhood; to avoid a difficult motherhood likely to compromise the quality of care they envisage for their potential and existing children. This includes ensuring the best nurturing environment, paternal and religious identity, social legitimacy. The abortion decision is difficult to make and thoroughly considered. The married women make a consultative decision with their ‘breadwinners’ having the upper hand. Legal barriers cannot bar abortion but entrench inequities in abortion care access, heighten secrecy, stigma, and hamper prompt comprehensive post abortion care seeking. Thus, financial resources, peers, geographical remoteness, and knowledge significantly influence the type of abortion accessed. Consequently, unsafe abortion threatens motherhood of the most vulnerable groups of women. The foremost recommendation is that public health law must ensure healthy, enjoyable, dignified motherhood for the women; hence safe early abortion (first trimester) must become accessible to alleviate existing health care inequities. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Following WWII the British Government reduced its colonies due to rebuilding costs and a waning interest in costly overseas colonies. During this time there were approximately 30,000 white settlers living in Kenya with nearly 5 million Kikuyu and Maasai. Unrest had been building in this area long before the 1950s due to the Briton's perceived lack of interest in the well being of the native populations. Coupled with the recently implemented apartheid movement in South Africa, many natives felt this was the path down which Kenya was headed. By 1952 it was obvious to the British Government that there was great unrest among the Kikuyu population in Kenya. Similar to their posture in the Malayan Emergency, the British had been caught off guard and failed to recognize the scale of the threat Mau Mau posed. On 20 October 1952 a state of emergency was declared in Kenya. Throughout the following eight years several programs were implemented by the British to return the colony to a state of normalcy, including widespread detention, compulsory registration of Kikuyu, livestock seizure, taxes for the additional cost of the insurgency, re-education measures, the use of reformed Mau Mau and local troops to combat the insurgency, and eventually the capture and execution of Mau Mau leader Dedan Kimathi in 1956. The emergency would remain in effect, until 1960, however.

The problem of this study was the needed administrative competencies of administrators in teacher training colleges in Kenya as perceived by administrators and faculty. A questionnaire (Inventory of Administrative Competencies) was mailed to principals, vice-principals, and four faculty members selected at random from sixteen teacher training colleges in Kenya. Ninety-six questionnaires were returned, yielding a return rate of 100 percent. Responses were analyzed using t-tests and one-way analyses of variance utilizing the F-test of the statistical test. A series of post hoc comparisons was made using Duncan's New Multiple Range Test to locate significant differences. Based on the analysis of data, it was concluded that both administrators and faculty considered the desired status of the competency very high. The administrators were performing below the desired status. Size of college was the major factor for the differences in perceptions of the respondents. Years of experience and educational background had little or no effect on the respondents' responses to the questionnaire. The following recommendations were made: A future study should investigate the perceived desired status and present performance ratings assigned to a validated set of competency statements of those levels of administrative activities not included in this study. Such a study would involve school inspectors, provincial education officers, deans of students, and heads of departments. A study should be made to investigate the current methods of evaluating administrative competence in teacher training colleges in Kenya. The results of this study should be analyzed by the Ministry of Education teacher college program developers responsible for conducting administrative workshops or in—service training in Kenya. This study could provide developers with additional information for improving the adequacy and relevance of both pre—service and in-service programs for practicing administrators.