Dear reader,
We write this piece in the midst of a global pandemic – the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). By 30th June 2020, it was not clear to all countries which is the best way to manage the pandemic. The observations made so far are that we have to change our habits at the individual level and change ways in which we conduct business as teaching and learning institutions and as business managers. WHO report indicates that “as of 8:38 am CEST, 30 June 2020, there have been 10,117,687 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 502,278 deaths” ((https://covid19.who.int/, retrieved June 30th, 2020)). 6070 of the confirmed cases and 144 deaths are in Kenya (https://covid19.who.int/region/afro/country/ke).
Schools closed in March 2020 in most countries both in the global South and North. The closure changed the school calendar, with teaching and learning moving to online platforms and digital media in selected institutions. Technology is a major beneficiary given that many institutions are managing their business through the digital platforms; learning institutions included. World Health Organisation has projected that coronavirus “might never go away” (CNN News, May 13th, 2020, 11 pm); and this means classrooms will transform forever.
Despite what is happening around us, we are happy to present to you Volume 12 of JASEML which comprises of six chapters presented herein as follows:
- Chapter 1: Gender Stereotype on Institutional Leadership in Public Secondary Schools in Kajiado County, Kenya by John N. Purdue, Ruth Thinguri, and Anne Muiru.
- Chapter 2: Implications of Class Size in Teaching Agriculture in Secondary Schools: Kenya’s Challenge in Implementing Competency-Based Curriculum by Mary M. Waiganjo, Patricia W. Wambugu, and Maurice O. Udoto
- Chapter 3: Bullying in Public Secondary Schools in Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya: Appraisal of Administrative Interventions by Joyce M.A Lugulu and Joseph Katwa.
- Chapter 4: Influence of Innovative Leadership on the Provision of Holistic Training to Student-Teachers by Lydia Nyambura Kamamia, Ruth Thinguri, and Mary Mugwe.
- Chapter: Building Hope as an Intervention for Positive Change: An Exploratory Study of the Youth in Kenyan Universities by Mbutitia, F.N and Adeli, S.M
Chapter 1 reports on a study that took place in Kajiado County in Kenya. The authors investigated the influence of gender stereotypes on institutional leadership in public secondary schools. Mary M. Waiganjo, Patricia W. Wambugu, and Maurice O. Udoto in Chapter 2 remind educators that teacher-student ratio to a great extent determines academic learners’ performance. In their paper, they report on a study that was designed to find out the status of class size in agriculture lessons in selected secondary schools in Kenya and their implications in the implementation of the agriculture curriculum.
Chapter 3 discusses bullying in secondary schools in Uasin Gishu County. The findings point at the unfortunate approaches used by school managers and which the report describes as contributing factors to bullying in the selected schools. As we write this editorial piece, we wonder if school managers in Kenya will take a lesson from the guidelines on keeping social and physical distance as measures against the spread of COVID-19 and design rules that will help curb physical bullying in our schools, once we return to normalcy. Just a thought.
Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed a plethora of challenges both in the nations that have faced several pandemics and the younger nations that are facing a pandemic of this magnitude for the first time. Lydiah Nyambura Kamamia et al. in Chapter 4 raises issues of leadership in primary school teacher training colleges and argues that innovative leadership in such institutions contributes to the transformation of teacher trainees to effective teachers. On the same note, it is important to mention that coronavirus has ushered in a new normal that demands innovative leadership in the education sector. The last chapter by Francisca Mbutitia and Scholastica Adeli reports on a study whose objective was to explore ways of building hope among the youth in universities in Kenya. Though the study was carried out before the COVID-19 pandemic, the observations shared are relevant today and the education sector should explore ways of building hope in teachers and learners by rethinking the competency-based curriculum within the lessons offered through our experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lastly, you are invited to engage with the various chapters.
Chief Editor
Jennifer Wanjiku Khamasi, EBS,
Associate Professor, Department of Technology Education,
Dedan Kimathi University of Technology
Assistant Editor
Hoseah Kiplagat Kandie, PhD,
Head of Technology Education Department
University of Eldoret
Available online: June 2020
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information. http://www.kaeam.or.ke
©2020 Kenya Association of Educational Administration and Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Mbutitia, F.N and Adeli, S.M
Abstract
Youth represents the most valuable and abundant asset Kenya has. Nevertheless, the youth face persistent risks and challenges, among them unemployment. The search for social and economic justice, especially among youth, is worrying and this formed the background of this study. The main objective of the study was to build hope among the youth in the universities. The study adopted a qualitative research approach with a convergent parallel research design. The sample was made up of 60 university students drawn from five different schools. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used. Interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) were the methods used to collect data, which was coded and consequently themes generated. We established that hope plays an important role in managing people’s life’s difficulties and promoting positive change within the individual and community. Kenya’s social, economic, and political environments must inspire hope in youth by providing an enabling environment to all. We, therefore, recommend the establishment of “Hope Champions clubs” among the youth especially in institutions of higher learning. The assumption is that the participants will be able to foster hope by behaving in a hopeful manner.
Keywords: Hope, youth, exploratory study, Hope Champions club
Contact Author: Dr. Franscisca N. Mbutitia, Moi University, Faculty of Education
To cite this article: Mbutitia, F. N. & Adeli, S. M. (2020). Building Hope as an Intervention for Positive Change: An Exploratory Study of the Youth in Kenyan Universities., Journal of African Studies in Educational Management and Leadership Vol: 12, p41-53
Full Version
Available online: June 2020
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information. http://www.kaeam.or.ke
©2020 Kenya Association of Educational Administration and Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Joyce M.A Lugulu & Joseph Katwa
Abstract
The Global School-based Health Survey 2017 ranks Kenya among the top countries in the world with a high prevalence of secondary school bullying (UNESCO, 2017). This study considered current administrative interventions that address bullying in schools. The study adopted a qualitative design with an ex-post-facto strategy. The objectives of the study were to: analyse whether the current bullying interventions in public secondary schools reduce the vice, and examine whether students are equipped with self-skills to handle bullies. Census sampling was used to identify respondents of different public secondary schools in Uasin-Gishu County. Data was collected through questionnaires, document analysis, Focused Group Discussion, and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings indicate that the current administrative interventions do not discourage the behavior, but facilitates its spreads; thus entrenching the culture in the schools. In addition, findings revealed that there are no ongoing programmes in schools to equip students with the skills to handle bullies. We recommend that bullies be held responsible for their actions i.e. violation of others’ rights; prefects should be restricted to detecting and reporting of students’ misbehavior, and all students should be equipped with skills for self-defense in order to handle bullies. We concluded that failure to hold bullies accountable for their actions by school authorities can transform them into a generation of entitled adults, who think they are untouchable and above the law.
Keywords: Bullying, School management appraisal, Interventions
Contact author: Joyce M.A. Lugulu, School of Medicine, Moi University
To cite this article: Lugulu, Joyce, M. A. & Katwa Joseph (2020). Bullying in Public Secondary Schools in Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya: Appraisal of Administrative Interventions, Journal of African Studies in Educational Management and Leadership Vol: 12, p41-53
Available online: June 2020
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information. http://www.kaeam.or.ke
©2020 Kenya Association of Educational Administration and Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Lydiah Nyambura Kamamia, Ruth Thinguri and Mary Mugwe
Abstract
In Kenya today, teacher training is an emerging issue. The greater demand for well-trained teachers justifies the need for more effective, life-changing training. This study established the extent to which influence of leadership innovativeness provides holistic training on student-teachers in public primary teachers training colleges (PTTCs) in Eastern Region of Kenya. The study adopted a mixed-method and an explanatory design. A total of 633 respondents participated in the study. A semi-structured questionnaire, structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Qualitative data were thematically done in accordance with leadership innovativeness influence and holistic training. Chi-Square Test was used and established associations between the independent and dependent variables. The authors concluded that, if principals in teacher training colleges adopted leadership innovativeness influence, holistic training in public PTTCs would be supported and implemented. Teachers would be adequately trained and capable of transforming the learners.
Keywords: Leadership, innovativeness, holistic training, influence, PTTCs (Primary Teachers Training Colleges).
Corresponding Author: Lydia Nyambura Kamamia, Mount Kenya University
To cite this article: Kamamia, Lydia, N., Thinguri Ruth & Mugwe Mary (2020). Influence of Innovative Leadership on the Provision of Holistic Training to Student-Teachers, Journal of African Studies in Educational Management and Leadership Vol: 12, p54-73
Available online: June 2020
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information. http://www.kaeam.or.ke
©2020 Kenya Association of Educational Administration and Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Mary M. Waiganjo, Patricia W. Wambugu, and Maurice O. Udoto
Abstract
Class size is an important consideration in classroom teaching as it influences the choice of classroom activities. Classroom activities, define how a teacher interacts with learners, and are key in determining the quality of learning. Class size has increased over time in Kenya due to an increase in population and the implementation of educational reforms geared towards ensuring that all children acquire basic education. The students’ performance in agriculture at national examinations has been of concern prompting research to find out the reasons why. This study sort to find out the status of class size in agriculture lessons in Kenyan secondary schools and its implications in the implementation of the agriculture curriculum. A survey involving 151 agriculture teachers was done and data collected using questionnaires, focus group discussions, and classroom observations. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study were that the increasing class size has forced agriculture teachers to lean more towards teacher-centered teaching approaches which do not enable learners to acquire the requisite competencies. As Kenya implements the Competency-Based Curriculum, it is prudent to consider class size as one of the factors that will determine the success of the timely educational reforms.
Keywords: Class size, Competency-Based Curriculum, agriculture, teaching approach, secondary school
Contact author: Mary M. Waiganjo, Department of Agricultural Education & Extension, Egerton University
To cite this article: Waiganjo, Mary, M. & Wambugu, Patricia, W. & Udoto Maurice O. (2020). Implications of Class Size in Teaching Agriculture in Secondary Schools: Kenya’s Challenge in Implementing Competency-Based Curriculum, Journal of African Studies in Educational Management and Leadership Vol: 12, 2020, p24-40
Available online: June 2020
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information. http://www.kaeam.or.ke
©2020 Kenya Association of Educational Administration and Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED