Pub Date : 2021-11-02DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2022.2150977
R. Makombe, Oliver Nyambi
Abstract This article critically examines how selected schools in Qwaqwa (a remote town in the eastern Free State province of South Africa) imagine and “image” schooling through mission and vision statements, mottos, and emblems. We use the word “image” to refer to the way in which schools often use images to represent particular views about schooling and what it entails. Visual architecture of schools in the forms of vision and mission statements, mottos, and emblems communicate specific ways of thinking about schooling that resonate with the cultures and beliefs of the communities where the schools are located. Therefore, a critical analysis of such symbolic representations can reveal philosophies and views about schooling held and promoted not only by schools but also by the communities in which they are located. How do specific communities come to associate education with certain symbols, catchphrases, and idiomatic expressions? Is there a correlation between the ways of imagining and imaging schooling and the sociocultural and ecological landscape of the surrounding communities? The article is based on empirical data collected from 20 primary schools in Qwaqwa. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews administered to 10 principals and 10 members of school governing bodies of selected schools. We also took photographs of visions and missions, mottos, and emblems of selected schools, which we later coded and themed for content analysis. Findings of the study revealed that schools in Qwaqwa viewed education as a public good and as a tool for individual and community development.
{"title":"Images and Imaginings of Schooling: Missions, Visions, Emblems and Mottos of Schools in Qwaqwa","authors":"R. Makombe, Oliver Nyambi","doi":"10.1080/18146627.2022.2150977","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2022.2150977","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article critically examines how selected schools in Qwaqwa (a remote town in the eastern Free State province of South Africa) imagine and “image” schooling through mission and vision statements, mottos, and emblems. We use the word “image” to refer to the way in which schools often use images to represent particular views about schooling and what it entails. Visual architecture of schools in the forms of vision and mission statements, mottos, and emblems communicate specific ways of thinking about schooling that resonate with the cultures and beliefs of the communities where the schools are located. Therefore, a critical analysis of such symbolic representations can reveal philosophies and views about schooling held and promoted not only by schools but also by the communities in which they are located. How do specific communities come to associate education with certain symbols, catchphrases, and idiomatic expressions? Is there a correlation between the ways of imagining and imaging schooling and the sociocultural and ecological landscape of the surrounding communities? The article is based on empirical data collected from 20 primary schools in Qwaqwa. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews administered to 10 principals and 10 members of school governing bodies of selected schools. We also took photographs of visions and missions, mottos, and emblems of selected schools, which we later coded and themed for content analysis. Findings of the study revealed that schools in Qwaqwa viewed education as a public good and as a tool for individual and community development.","PeriodicalId":44749,"journal":{"name":"Africa Education Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49190530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-02DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2022.2150240
Sylvester Dombo, Joseph Mujere
Abstract The Zimbabwean crisis, which began around 2000, had serious ramifications for the teaching of history in the country, especially in high schools. This study investigated the impact of Zimbabwe’s economic and political crisis on the production of syllabi for teaching history at high schools. It analyses the hurried changes in the secondary school history syllabi which saw the subject being declared a compulsory subject for all students. In the high schools, history was at the centre of an ideological struggle as the government sought to teach the students “patriotic history.” However, others have seen this as a cheap propaganda tool meant to brainwash and hoodwink students into supporting the ZANU-PF regime that presided over the political, social, and economic crisis bedevilling the country. This article, therefore, unpacks the changes in syllabi for schools and analyse how this impacted on the teaching of history in the country. A comparative analysis of the content of the successive syllabi was carried out to flesh out the inclusions and exclusions in the new syllabi. The syllabi compared are 2160, 2166, and 2167 for the ordinary level certificate.
{"title":"Zimbabwe’s Political Crisis and the Production of Syllabi for Teaching History in High Schools","authors":"Sylvester Dombo, Joseph Mujere","doi":"10.1080/18146627.2022.2150240","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2022.2150240","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Zimbabwean crisis, which began around 2000, had serious ramifications for the teaching of history in the country, especially in high schools. This study investigated the impact of Zimbabwe’s economic and political crisis on the production of syllabi for teaching history at high schools. It analyses the hurried changes in the secondary school history syllabi which saw the subject being declared a compulsory subject for all students. In the high schools, history was at the centre of an ideological struggle as the government sought to teach the students “patriotic history.” However, others have seen this as a cheap propaganda tool meant to brainwash and hoodwink students into supporting the ZANU-PF regime that presided over the political, social, and economic crisis bedevilling the country. This article, therefore, unpacks the changes in syllabi for schools and analyse how this impacted on the teaching of history in the country. A comparative analysis of the content of the successive syllabi was carried out to flesh out the inclusions and exclusions in the new syllabi. The syllabi compared are 2160, 2166, and 2167 for the ordinary level certificate.","PeriodicalId":44749,"journal":{"name":"Africa Education Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47859146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-02DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2022.2151926
Bukola Oyinloye
Abstract Positive interactions and relationships between parents and teachers have the potential to deepen parents’ involvement in children’s learning. However, not much is known about the scope of the interactions between parents and teachers in rural public primary schools in Africa. Specifically, little is known about the spaces in which parents and teachers relate and inter-act; who participates in these interactions; and the types of relationships which underpin or emerge from such interactions. This article explores the natural (i.e., not interventionist or programme-driven) interactions and relationships between parents and teachers in North Central Nigeria. The findings draw from a two-phased ethnographic study of parental involvement in two rural schools and communities with parents of upper level primary children and the teachers and head teachers of the children. The main methods were partly structured interviews and participant observations while thematic analysis was used to identify themes around which narratives were represented. The findings revealed affective, economic, and official relationships between parents, teachers, and head teachers within and outside schools, though to a limited extent in one of the school-communities where there was significant instability of school leadership. Importantly, these relationships were embedded within the religious, social, and cultural ways of life in both communities. The study underscores the criticality of school heads for parent-teacher relationships, and for realising the promises of parental involvement in schooling.
{"title":"Reframing Parent-Teacher Relationships in Rural African Schools","authors":"Bukola Oyinloye","doi":"10.1080/18146627.2022.2151926","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2022.2151926","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Positive interactions and relationships between parents and teachers have the potential to deepen parents’ involvement in children’s learning. However, not much is known about the scope of the interactions between parents and teachers in rural public primary schools in Africa. Specifically, little is known about the spaces in which parents and teachers relate and inter-act; who participates in these interactions; and the types of relationships which underpin or emerge from such interactions. This article explores the natural (i.e., not interventionist or programme-driven) interactions and relationships between parents and teachers in North Central Nigeria. The findings draw from a two-phased ethnographic study of parental involvement in two rural schools and communities with parents of upper level primary children and the teachers and head teachers of the children. The main methods were partly structured interviews and participant observations while thematic analysis was used to identify themes around which narratives were represented. The findings revealed affective, economic, and official relationships between parents, teachers, and head teachers within and outside schools, though to a limited extent in one of the school-communities where there was significant instability of school leadership. Importantly, these relationships were embedded within the religious, social, and cultural ways of life in both communities. The study underscores the criticality of school heads for parent-teacher relationships, and for realising the promises of parental involvement in schooling.","PeriodicalId":44749,"journal":{"name":"Africa Education Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46331346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-02DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2022.2158351
Christopher Mensah, Collins R. Nunyonameh, Sampson Wireko-Gyebi, Gloria Sabbah
Abstract Bullying in basic and secondary schools has received considerable research attention; empirical investigation of the phenomenon among university students has, however, been overlooked. There is a paucity of such studies in African universities. This study examined the prevalence and forms of bullying in a Ghanaian technical university, as well as victims’ characteristics. Four hundred and eighty-eight students completed self-administered questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Mann Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The prevalence of bullying was high. Verbal and sexual harassment were commonly reported. Vulnerability to bullying was high among female students. This study adds to the scanty literature on the phenomenon in university settings. University administrators must confront bullying by instituting and subjecting faculty to disciplinary procedures and must punish culprits to create a congenial and non-threatening environment for academic work in universities.
{"title":"Faculty Bullying Tendencies: Evidence from a Ghanaian Technical University","authors":"Christopher Mensah, Collins R. Nunyonameh, Sampson Wireko-Gyebi, Gloria Sabbah","doi":"10.1080/18146627.2022.2158351","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2022.2158351","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Bullying in basic and secondary schools has received considerable research attention; empirical investigation of the phenomenon among university students has, however, been overlooked. There is a paucity of such studies in African universities. This study examined the prevalence and forms of bullying in a Ghanaian technical university, as well as victims’ characteristics. Four hundred and eighty-eight students completed self-administered questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Mann Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The prevalence of bullying was high. Verbal and sexual harassment were commonly reported. Vulnerability to bullying was high among female students. This study adds to the scanty literature on the phenomenon in university settings. University administrators must confront bullying by instituting and subjecting faculty to disciplinary procedures and must punish culprits to create a congenial and non-threatening environment for academic work in universities.","PeriodicalId":44749,"journal":{"name":"Africa Education Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47185071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-02DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2022.2153067
Carina Kleynhans, J. Roberson, A. Nesamvuni, Prince Masondo
Abstract Diversity influences students’ learning experience and their ability to learn. Gender is one of the characteristics of student diversity that could affect students’ attitudes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences manifest in men and women students’ experience of collaborative learning. An existing questionnaire was used to collect data from 186 Hospitality Financial Management 1 students (2016) who participated in collaborative learning classes. Data were analysed using the chi-squared test for independence to determine the relationship between gender and the components of collaborative learning. The results indicated that the majority of men and women students were satisfied with the collaborative learning experience. There was a statistically significant difference between men and women students on the statements “Collaborative learning activities made an important contribution to my learning” and “It is easy to organise and distribute tasks and responsibilities among collaborative learning members.” Significantly more women students (17.65%) disagreed that it had contributed to their learning than men students (4.29%). The findings can be interpreted as meaning that although there were differences in how men students experienced collaborative learning compared with women students, these differences were limited and the general tendency between these groups were similar.
{"title":"The Relationship between Gender and the Collaborative Learning Experience of University of Technology Students","authors":"Carina Kleynhans, J. Roberson, A. Nesamvuni, Prince Masondo","doi":"10.1080/18146627.2022.2153067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2022.2153067","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Diversity influences students’ learning experience and their ability to learn. Gender is one of the characteristics of student diversity that could affect students’ attitudes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences manifest in men and women students’ experience of collaborative learning. An existing questionnaire was used to collect data from 186 Hospitality Financial Management 1 students (2016) who participated in collaborative learning classes. Data were analysed using the chi-squared test for independence to determine the relationship between gender and the components of collaborative learning. The results indicated that the majority of men and women students were satisfied with the collaborative learning experience. There was a statistically significant difference between men and women students on the statements “Collaborative learning activities made an important contribution to my learning” and “It is easy to organise and distribute tasks and responsibilities among collaborative learning members.” Significantly more women students (17.65%) disagreed that it had contributed to their learning than men students (4.29%). The findings can be interpreted as meaning that although there were differences in how men students experienced collaborative learning compared with women students, these differences were limited and the general tendency between these groups were similar.","PeriodicalId":44749,"journal":{"name":"Africa Education Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44989102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-02DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2022.2157741
Veronica Ochonogor, J. Seroto
Abstract Many youths complain about mistaken career choices even at the point of graduating from higher education institutions in spite of career advice provided by the school and the government. This article investigated the impact that home factors and parental characteristics have on learners’ career choices in a secondary school in Mamelodi East, Tshwane District, South Africa. The study made use of a qualitative design. Data were collected from a purposive sample of eight black grade 11 learners and five parents by means of focus group and individual semi-structured interviews. The data collected were analysed using Atlas-ti with appropriate coding that gave rise to five themes. Two of the themes, home factors and parental characteristics, are discussed. The findings show that, irrespective of parental socio-economic status and educational levels, parents derived satisfaction from motivating and assisting their children with the view to improving their future career options. Many learners, however, were ill-informed of the range of career choices available when they made decisions about their educational and occupational future since their parents lacked appropriate information necessary to advise them.
{"title":"The Influence of Home Factors and Parental Characteristics on Learners’ Career Choices in a South African Secondary School","authors":"Veronica Ochonogor, J. Seroto","doi":"10.1080/18146627.2022.2157741","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2022.2157741","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Many youths complain about mistaken career choices even at the point of graduating from higher education institutions in spite of career advice provided by the school and the government. This article investigated the impact that home factors and parental characteristics have on learners’ career choices in a secondary school in Mamelodi East, Tshwane District, South Africa. The study made use of a qualitative design. Data were collected from a purposive sample of eight black grade 11 learners and five parents by means of focus group and individual semi-structured interviews. The data collected were analysed using Atlas-ti with appropriate coding that gave rise to five themes. Two of the themes, home factors and parental characteristics, are discussed. The findings show that, irrespective of parental socio-economic status and educational levels, parents derived satisfaction from motivating and assisting their children with the view to improving their future career options. Many learners, however, were ill-informed of the range of career choices available when they made decisions about their educational and occupational future since their parents lacked appropriate information necessary to advise them.","PeriodicalId":44749,"journal":{"name":"Africa Education Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47912559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-02DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2022.2150243
E. Adedeji, I. Mabawonku
Abstract Effective use of information resources by lecturers is one of the determinants of university education outcomes. To function optimally, lecturers utilise digitised information resources in their duties. University libraries are saddled with the responsibility of organising and providing lecturers’ needed information resources. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of digitised library information resources availability on the use of information resources by lecturers in six federal universities in Southern Nigeria. Instruments used for data collection were the DLIRA (r = 0.73) and UIR (r = 0.64) scales. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, the Pearson product moment correlation, and multiple regressions at .05 level of significance. The results showed that digitised library information resources availability on the use of information resources influenced the use of information resources by lecturers in the federal universities in Southern Nigeria. Thus, there is a need for the management of university libraries to intensify efforts at converting most of the paper-based resources to digitised formats for increased use of library resources by lecturers.
{"title":"Availability and Use of Digitised Library Information Resources by Lecturers in Federal University Libraries in Southern Nigeria","authors":"E. Adedeji, I. Mabawonku","doi":"10.1080/18146627.2022.2150243","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2022.2150243","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Effective use of information resources by lecturers is one of the determinants of university education outcomes. To function optimally, lecturers utilise digitised information resources in their duties. University libraries are saddled with the responsibility of organising and providing lecturers’ needed information resources. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of digitised library information resources availability on the use of information resources by lecturers in six federal universities in Southern Nigeria. Instruments used for data collection were the DLIRA (r = 0.73) and UIR (r = 0.64) scales. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, the Pearson product moment correlation, and multiple regressions at .05 level of significance. The results showed that digitised library information resources availability on the use of information resources influenced the use of information resources by lecturers in the federal universities in Southern Nigeria. Thus, there is a need for the management of university libraries to intensify efforts at converting most of the paper-based resources to digitised formats for increased use of library resources by lecturers.","PeriodicalId":44749,"journal":{"name":"Africa Education Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41799341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-02DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2022.2157742
Julian Moodliar, Deepa Gopal
Abstract Responding constructively to unexpected events during a lesson is a particularly challenging facet of teaching. This study aimed to investigate how a secondary school mathematics teacher responded to learners’ unexpected or unplanned offers in the teaching of algebra. A total of three sequential lessons were video recorded and the quality of the teacher’s responses to unexpected learner questions was analysed. The first author then conducted a video-stimulated recall (VSR) interview with the teacher to understand her rationale and decision making in response to the contingent incidents identified within her lessons. The results indicate that the teacher did acknowledge unexpected learners’ offers but failed to probe or interrogate the learners’ thinking “in the moment.” Another key finding was that the reflection-oriented questions during the VSR interview proved fruitful in assisting the teacher to reflect on how she responded to unexpected learners’ offers. We note that the teacher was able to articulate a justification for her actions associated with “deliberate reflection” and that she was able to envisage alternatives to how she responded to unplanned moments related to “critical reflection.” The teacher acknowledged the lesson’s potential limitations after responding to reflection-orientated questions during the VSR interview.
{"title":"Failing to Capitalise on Contingent Events: An Investigation into a Secondary Mathematics Teacher’s Responses to Triggers of Contingency During the Teaching of Algebra","authors":"Julian Moodliar, Deepa Gopal","doi":"10.1080/18146627.2022.2157742","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2022.2157742","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Responding constructively to unexpected events during a lesson is a particularly challenging facet of teaching. This study aimed to investigate how a secondary school mathematics teacher responded to learners’ unexpected or unplanned offers in the teaching of algebra. A total of three sequential lessons were video recorded and the quality of the teacher’s responses to unexpected learner questions was analysed. The first author then conducted a video-stimulated recall (VSR) interview with the teacher to understand her rationale and decision making in response to the contingent incidents identified within her lessons. The results indicate that the teacher did acknowledge unexpected learners’ offers but failed to probe or interrogate the learners’ thinking “in the moment.” Another key finding was that the reflection-oriented questions during the VSR interview proved fruitful in assisting the teacher to reflect on how she responded to unexpected learners’ offers. We note that the teacher was able to articulate a justification for her actions associated with “deliberate reflection” and that she was able to envisage alternatives to how she responded to unplanned moments related to “critical reflection.” The teacher acknowledged the lesson’s potential limitations after responding to reflection-orientated questions during the VSR interview.","PeriodicalId":44749,"journal":{"name":"Africa Education Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46055935","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-04DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2022.2147559
D. Orwenjo
Abstract While there are many factors involved in delivering quality basic education, language is clearly the key to communication and understanding in the classroom. It is also a linguistic and societal reality that many developing countries are characterised by individual as well as societal multilingualism, yet a majority of multilingual societies in Africa continue to experience and even propagate a paradoxical situation in which a single foreign language is allowed to dominate in the education sector. For most African countries and other previously colonised countries all over the world, this has always been blamed on the colonial legacy. Ridiculously, because some of these countries detached themselves from their colonial masters more than half a century ago, yet have done little to correct the situation. In Kenya, for instance, the newly independent nation asserted the hegemony of English over local languages in its first post-independence education commission (Republic of Kenya 1964, 24). This paper argues the case for a paradigm shift in Kenya’s language in education policy through the introduction of multi/bilingual instruction in the school system. By deconstructing and interrogating the current policy that places English at the hegemonic pedagogical pedestal, the paper concludes that such a policy has been hinged on the perceived future benefits of English medium of instruction. Grounding its arguments on the notions of linguistic human rights and linguistic pluralism, the paper advocates for a radical shift in Kenya’s current language in education policy to an inclusion of other Kenyan languages including Sheng as one of the languages of instruction and communication within Kenyan school classrooms.
{"title":"Beyond English: Multilingualism and Education in Kenya","authors":"D. Orwenjo","doi":"10.1080/18146627.2022.2147559","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2022.2147559","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract While there are many factors involved in delivering quality basic education, language is clearly the key to communication and understanding in the classroom. It is also a linguistic and societal reality that many developing countries are characterised by individual as well as societal multilingualism, yet a majority of multilingual societies in Africa continue to experience and even propagate a paradoxical situation in which a single foreign language is allowed to dominate in the education sector. For most African countries and other previously colonised countries all over the world, this has always been blamed on the colonial legacy. Ridiculously, because some of these countries detached themselves from their colonial masters more than half a century ago, yet have done little to correct the situation. In Kenya, for instance, the newly independent nation asserted the hegemony of English over local languages in its first post-independence education commission (Republic of Kenya 1964, 24). This paper argues the case for a paradigm shift in Kenya’s language in education policy through the introduction of multi/bilingual instruction in the school system. By deconstructing and interrogating the current policy that places English at the hegemonic pedagogical pedestal, the paper concludes that such a policy has been hinged on the perceived future benefits of English medium of instruction. Grounding its arguments on the notions of linguistic human rights and linguistic pluralism, the paper advocates for a radical shift in Kenya’s current language in education policy to an inclusion of other Kenyan languages including Sheng as one of the languages of instruction and communication within Kenyan school classrooms.","PeriodicalId":44749,"journal":{"name":"Africa Education Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46106193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-04DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2022.2151925
Jennifer Sewall, Julie A. Tippens, Helen M. Miamidian, D. Nyaoro
Abstract Urban refugees’ educational access and achievement is shaped by structural and social factors at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels. We draw on data from structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, and brief interviews in Nairobi, Kenya with refugee learners, caregivers, schoolteachers and administrators, and nongovernmental organisation (NGO) staff who work in refugee education to identify factors related to “learning out-of-place.” Determinants of education for refugees included structural and systems-level factors (e.g., national refugee-hosting policies, education system differences between countries of origin and Kenya), school and community factors (e.g., school types and resources, experiences of discrimination), and household and individual factors (e.g., living conditions, parental involvement in education, exposure to trauma, language proficiency). Education is a key strategy to integrate refugees into the social and economic fabric of host communities; as such, it is crucial to identify and address the various factors that affect refugees’ ability to obtain an education in countries of first asylum.
{"title":"Social and Structural Determinants of Urban Refugee Education in a Kenyan Context","authors":"Jennifer Sewall, Julie A. Tippens, Helen M. Miamidian, D. Nyaoro","doi":"10.1080/18146627.2022.2151925","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2022.2151925","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Urban refugees’ educational access and achievement is shaped by structural and social factors at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels. We draw on data from structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, and brief interviews in Nairobi, Kenya with refugee learners, caregivers, schoolteachers and administrators, and nongovernmental organisation (NGO) staff who work in refugee education to identify factors related to “learning out-of-place.” Determinants of education for refugees included structural and systems-level factors (e.g., national refugee-hosting policies, education system differences between countries of origin and Kenya), school and community factors (e.g., school types and resources, experiences of discrimination), and household and individual factors (e.g., living conditions, parental involvement in education, exposure to trauma, language proficiency). Education is a key strategy to integrate refugees into the social and economic fabric of host communities; as such, it is crucial to identify and address the various factors that affect refugees’ ability to obtain an education in countries of first asylum.","PeriodicalId":44749,"journal":{"name":"Africa Education Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46839555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：