Quality Education for Refugees in Kenya Loise Gichuhi

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 • • • 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 Mac. Kenzie 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 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? 63 Interviews with Teachers, 57 with Pupils School Questionnaire

School Sites in Kenya Nairobi 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 Demographics School # of Pupils % refugee pupils Average class size, observed # of teachers % 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 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