Quality Quality EducatioEducatio

n for n for Refugees Refugees in Kenyain 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 Introducing the Team & Situating the StudyStudy

Mary Mendenhall, Ed.D.Teachers College, Columbia University

Introducing the TeamIntroducing the Team

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

University of Nairobi Faculty:•Daniel Gakunga•Loise Gichuhi•Rosemary Imonje•Caroline Ndirangu•Grace Nyagah•Ursulla Okoth

Introducing the Team Introducing the Team (cont)(cont)

• 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

• 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

Research InternsResearch Interns

Situating the Situating the Study: Study:

Refugees in Refugees in KenyaKenya

•Nairobi, Kenya

•Kakuma Refugee

Camp, Turkana County,

Kenya

Situating the Study: Policy Situating the Study: Policy ContextContext

• 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:Conceptualizing the Problem:Quality and PedagogyQuality and Pedagogy

Lesley Bartlett, Ph.D.Teachers College, Columbia University

Quality and Quality and PedagogyPedagogy

Notable shift: “access to

quality education”

Lack of attention to

teaching and learning

experiences of refugees

Focus on teacher

instruction

Quality EducationQuality Education• Shift from inputs to outputs ignores the processes

• UNHCR’s Education Strategyo 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 Quality Education (cont)(cont)

• INEE Minimum Standards for Educationo 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; ando 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-Learner-Centered Centered PedagogyPedagogy

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 Guiding Research QuestionQuestion

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 SitesMethods and School Sites

Daniel Gakunga, Ph.D.University of Nairobi

Research Design: Research Design: Comparative Case Comparative Case

StudyStudy

School Sites in KenyaSchool Sites in KenyaNairobi Kakuma Refugee Camp

• Mwiki Primary School• New Eastleigh Primary

School• New Kihumbuini

Primary School• Sud Academy

• Angelina Jolie Primary (Boarding) School

• Fuji Primary School • Lokitaung Primary

School• Kismayo Community

School

Case Study School Case Study School DemographicsDemographics

School# of

Pupils

% refuge

e pupils

Average class size,

observed

# of teacher

s

% refugee teachers

Overall pupil-

teacher 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 FindingsStudy 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: Lecture and Comprehension: Rising IntonationRising 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?

Students: Salts.

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 pupil-initiated questionsOut 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

CurriculumAdaptation 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

ImplicationsImplications

Sarah Dryden-Peterson, Ed.D.

ImplicationsImplications

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

DiscussionDiscussion