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School closures induced by COVID-19 placed heightened emphasis on alternative ways to measure learning besides in-person exams. We leverage the administration of phone-based assessments (PBAs) measuring numeracy and literacy for primary school children in Kenya, along with in-person standardized tests administered to the same students prior to school shutdowns, to assess the validity of PBAs. Compared to repeated in-person assessments, PBAs did not severely misclassify students' relative...

Crime and violence are serious issues in informal settlements around the world. To date, there is a dearth of evidence about the causes of and effective strategies for reducing and preventing violence and crime in informal settlements in cities in the Global South. Additionally, women's voices are often absent from research focused on violence and crime prevention and reduction in informal settlements. The purpose of this study, therefore, was (1) to identify potential causes of violence and...

A mixed-methods study investigated the relationship between teachers within urban Title I elementary schools (e.g., high versus low performing) and their mathematics problem-solving beliefs in six constructs ("perseverance," "procedural," "conceptual," "importance," "effort," and "usefulness"). The 181 teachers of students in third to fifth grades in 26 schools (93% response rate) took the 36-item "Indiana Mathematics Belief Scale," and 11 were interviewed. Descriptive and inferential...

Research has shown that the development of cognitive and social skills in preschool predicts school readiness in kindergarten. However, most longitudinal studies are short-term, tracking children's development only through the early elementary school years. This study aims to investigate the long-term impact of preschool predictors, intelligence, and mothers' education on grade six school performance. This study presents the results of an eight-year-long longitudinal study. The sample...

Using a longitudinal data set, this paper examines to what extent school-entry (N = 553; mean age 6.32 years) early mathematics and literacy skills predict students' later achievement in a lower-middle-income country, Kenya. Controlling for socioeconomic status, intervention status, rural versus urban settings and parental literacy, the findings reveal that school-entry mathematics skills were significantly predictive of students' end of Grade 2 mathematics and reading achievement in English...

One of the major aims of vision 2030 is to ensure Kenya becomes a middle-income economy through industrialization. In the year 2017, Competence-Based Education (CBE) was introduced to produce school graduates with self-efficacy, self-reliance, effective communication, problem-solving, innovation, and digital literacy competencies. However, for students to acquire the competencies, quality teacher training is significant. This study sought to determine how teachers are trained for teaching...

Literature on STEM education outcome in the tertiary context has pursued the construct of non-cognitive attributes distinctly from that of entrepreneurship skills and pedagogical competencies, notwithstanding the inferred indications that the three can be adapted in an integrated model to enhance positive outcomes. This study established that there is a range of approaches seeking to optimize positive learning outcomes in tertiary level institutions. This paper argues that there is need to...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, all lecturers had to replace their physical classroom teaching mode with online learning, albeit with challenges experienced by students and lecturers. Drawing upon Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, this study attempted to unearth Indonesian students’ learning culture by analysing written reflections on their learning experiences. Twenty EFL (English as a foreign language) students enrolled in the English Academic Writing courses at an Islamic university in...

The paper utilized a document analysis technique and qualitative interviews to provide a comprehensive understanding of the "Free SHS" policy in Ghana, which remains illusory to many Ghanaian students. First, a preliminary study which involved analysis of prior literature (n = 12) on the policy was conducted. Interviews involving ten teachers from Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), and five private school teachers were conducted to validate the findings from the preliminary...

Rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in Sub-Saharan Africa are among the highest of any region in the world. Empirical studies on the effectiveness of IPV-prevention programs in Africa, though few, suggest that successful programs have emphasized community-level engagement and attitudinal change around gender roles. This study explored the relationship between adult women's participation in an all-women's soccer league and IPV in rural Kenya. Nikumbuke Project is a health-...

This article reports on a pilot research project conducted in nine countries of Africa and Asia on some aspects of the impact that teaching literacy to adults has had on the lives of some adult literacy facilitators (ALFs). The small-scale enquiry was implemented by a team of twelve researchers in nine countries (Afghanistan, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia). All of the nineteen ALFs interviewed felt that the experience of teaching literacy to adults, even...

Globally, the extensive damage caused by violent conflicts with subsequent social and economic costs have posed a real concern that needs to be urgently addressed. The provision of quality education is a force that can be utilized to curb constant conflicts within society. The purpose of the study was to establish the effect of the educational attainment and unemployment on youth engagement in conflicts in Machakos County. The study was carried out in Machakos County and targeted the youth...

In recent years, the government of Kenya has implemented programs with the hope of moving the country to middle-income status. The government has implemented the Digital Literacy Programme, distributing tablets to schools across the country, and also a new curriculum, promoting innovative teaching that includes digital literacy, learner-centered teaching, and relevance to students' lives. Our purpose in this research was to explore culturally sustaining teaching methods in line with the...

This paper explores factors to increase the likelihood that the implementation of ABRACADABRA, a technology-based approach to teaching and learning literacy, endures and expands beyond the initial research. Started as a pilot study in 12 classrooms, the implementation spread to more than 500 primary classrooms over six years in five areas of Kenya. Drawing from research about scalability and sustainability of educational interventions and value-expectancy-cost theory, an exploratory survey...

In recent times, the Kenyan education sector has experienced increased cases of students' indiscipline in schools. However, the potential of homeschooling as a possible solution to such indiscipline has not been explored. Whereas critics of homeschooling posit that homeschooled children are inferior academically, proponents of this form of learning don't think so. Therefore, this research compared the academic learning outcomes of homeschooled children and children in conventional school...

Accelerated learning programs (ALP) around the world are helping disadvantaged, over-age, out-of-school children and youth catch up to their more advantaged peers. The Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach applies principles of formative assessments and level-wise grouping and learning to ensure children lagging in the foundational literacy and numeracy competencies catch up within a relatively short period, usually 30-50 days. This article discusses the implementation of ALP in Kenya:...

Information Communication Technology (ICT) enhances accessibility, efficiency, and quality of education. This study aimed to examine the status of ICT resources in teaching and learning in public primary special schools in Nairobi County, Kenya. Questionnaires, interviews, observation schedules, and manuals for document analysis were used to collect data from respondents. Research shows that most special schools have regular ICT resources provided by digital literacy programs (DLP), such as...

The present study examines experiences of mentor teachers and their teacher colleagues following three days of professional development training for early literacy instruction and a literacy software program (ABRA). Four Kenyan teacher-mentors were interviewed and 34 teachers were surveyed. Training included program specific and curriculum integration content. Thematic analysis of interviews yielded six themes, which identified perceived barriers and facilitators to adoption and integration...

Background. Primary school learners in Vihiga County have been recording a lower mean score in English language examinations than their counterparts in neighbouring counties, with the score being lower in comprehension passage than in grammar sections. Few previous studies conducted in Kenya have investigated the issue from the instructional dimension, thereby limiting stakeholders' understanding of the issue and delaying appropriate interventions. Aim. To determine how the deployment of...

A contentious debate in academic as well as policy circles relates to the growth in private schooling in the Global South. While proponents highlight the superior learning outcomes of pupils in private schools, others have argued that this is merely a reflection of the more advantaged family background of private school pupils, rather than an effect of private schooling itself. We contribute to this debate by providing estimates derived from household fixed-effect models, which control for...