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Context: For many businesses, one of the key indicators in their management is the adaptation of Information Technology in their operations. In Kenya, there has been a phenomenal growth in access to mobile phones, by June 2023, over 66 million mobile phones were connected to various telecommunication operators of which 58.3% were smart phones constituting 67.1% of internet connections. There are many digital technologies which can be adapted to facilitate the processing, dissemination, and...

Low-fee private schools (LFPS) have grown considerably in the developing world as public free primary education has been unable to cater to the poorest children. Bridge International Academies (BIA), one of the largest chains of LFPS, has positioned itself as a solution to issues of access and quality of primary education. Using newspaper articles from Kenya and Uganda, this paper examines public discourse of BIA through the lens of cultural political economy, or how public discourse can...

Low-fee private schools (LFPS) have grown considerably in the developing world as public free primary education has been unable to cater to the poorest children. Bridge International Academies (BIA), one of the largest chains of LFPS, has positioned itself as a solution to issues of access and quality of primary education. Using newspaper articles from Kenya and Uganda, this paper examines public discourse of BIA through the lens of cultural political economy, or how public discourse can...

Citizen-led assessments were developed in the mid-2000s to gather evidence on children's learning outcomes following the rapid increase in primary student enrolment in the developing world. Integral to their philosophy is social accountability and community engagement. While most large-scale assessments focus on test-based accountability to promote policy shifts, citizen-led assessments, utilizing the information-accountability causal chain, theorize that information of low learning...

Scouting is an expanding worldwide youth movement, with more than 16 million members in 169 countries and territories. Its goal is to contribute to the physical, intellectual, social, and spiritual development of young people. Since participation in development is one of the cornerstones of their program, scouts cannot ignore the challenge that literacy represents for them. Properly trained and organized, scouts can undertake literacy and reading promotion programs, and they can help create...

Cosmopolitanism theory was mostly developed separately from the study of multilingualism: while language is central to cosmopolitanism as a practice, only a few scholars focusing on cosmopolitanism have taken a language-centred approach. We further theorise the relationship between cosmopolitanism and translingual practice with our focus on "morality" in relation to the use of the semiotic repertoire. The use of resources of the semiotic repertoire in translingual practice is infused with...

Bilingualism characterizes people in linguistically heterogeneous settlements like Nairobi among other urban centres in Kenya. But the country is also predominantly rural (where you find people of a common language settled in one geographical rural region) in which mother tongues are primary means of communication. Children in lower primary in rural areas should be taught in their mother tongues. The purpose of this study was to find out the use of mother tongues and official languages in...

Bilingualism characterizes people in linguistically heterogeneous settlements like Nairobi among other urban centres in Kenya. But the country is also predominantly rural (where you find people of a common language settled in one geographical rural region) in which mother tongues are primary means of communication. Children in lower primary in rural areas should be taught in their mother tongues. The purpose of this study was to find out the use of mother tongues and official languages in...

Interactive radio instruction has gained attention as a low-cost means of improving the academic achievement of primary school students. The Radio Mathematics Project in Nicaragua and subsequent programs developed by the Learning Technologies for Basic Education (LearnTech) Project illustrate the evolution such programs have undergone as technology and society have changed. The term "interactivity," was used to characterize the simulated conversation of radio broadcasts in which students...

An economics-driven discourse about early literacy (Trudell, 2009) in sub-Saharan African settings often includes a list of reasons for poor levels of literacy that remain mired in deficit thinking or a deficiencies model in which the problem lies within the non-literate people themselves. Meanwhile, the established post-colonial educational structure is held largely blameless and unexamined. This study includes a critical inquiry into literacy education that takes into account constraints...

In recent years, action on sustainability has been highly influential around the globe and many now recognize the importance of individual and social learning for inspiring action and achieving sustainability outcomes. Transformative learning theory has been criticized, however, for insufficient development of the link between learning and action. The purpose of this paper is to deepen our understanding of the learning–action cycle among adult learners in the sustainability context. We...

In recent years, action on sustainability has been highly influential around the globe and many now recognize the importance of individual and social learning for inspiring action and achieving sustainability outcomes. Transformative learning theory has been criticized, however, for insufficient development of the link between learning and action. The purpose of this paper is to deepen our understanding of the learning–action cycle among adult learners in the sustainability context. We...

In recent years, action on sustainability has been highly influential around the globe and many now recognize the importance of individual and social learning for inspiring action and achieving sustainability outcomes. Transformative learning theory has been criticized, however, for insufficient development of the link between learning and action. The purpose of this paper is to deepen our understanding of the learning-action cycle among adult learners in the sustainability context. We...

A research survey was designed to investigate the factor affecting participation of illiterate adults in adult education in Kenya and suggests ways to improve on the literacy levels. From the findings it was established that lack of conducive learning environments for adult learners, unavailability of enough instructional materials, negative attitude towards learning and shortage of professionally trained trainers for adult learners were some of the factors hindering many illiterate adults...

This study examined primary school students' reading motivation and performance on the standardized exam. Participants included 901 seventh and eighth grade students from Kenya. There were 468 females and 433 males. Contrary to previous studies, results showed reading challenge and aesthetics, but not efficacy, predicted reading achievement, indicating reading motivation may not influence achievement similarly across cultures. Gender differences were found in reading achievement but not...

This study examined primary school students' reading motivation and performance on the standardized exam. Participants included 901 seventh and eighth grade students from Kenya. There were 468 females and 433 males. Contrary to previous studies, results showed reading challenge and aesthetics, but not efficacy, predicted reading achievement, indicating reading motivation may not influence achievement similarly across cultures. Gender differences were found in reading achievement but not...

From the late 1990s, education in East Africa started to be appraised on the basis of enrolment. The universalisation of primary education that started in Uganda in 1997 – and peaked in Tanzania in 2002, as well as in Kenya in 2003 – was politicised as the epitome of education reform. Yet, alternative voices called for consideration of improving quality and looking beyond numbers. Uwezo, an East African initiative, aims at contributing to the focus on learning outcomes for children aged 6 to...

From the late 1990s, education in East Africa started to be appraised on the basis of enrolment. The universalisation of primary education that started in Uganda in 1997--and peaked in Tanzania in 2002, as well as in Kenya in 2003--was politicised as the epitome of education reform. Yet, alternative voices called for consideration of improving quality and looking beyond numbers. Uwezo, an East African initiative, aims at contributing to the focus on learning outcomes for children aged 6 to...

The focus of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was the experience of being an adult literacy education student in Kenya. Ten adult literacy education students in three learning centres were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts uncovered sixteen common themes in three broad categories: reasons for participating; effects of literacy in the daily lives of students and challenges students encountered.

To compete internationally, adapt to new technologies, and attain higher levels of efficiency and productivity, a country needs a highly literate populace. However, in Kenya literacy stands at less than 65% of the population. With such a low rate of literacy, most development is hampered. In order for Kenya to make progress in political, social, and economic development, the level of literacy has to be raised. This paper makes an important contribution in the promotion of adult literacy in...