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Educational research has linked parental participation in children�s schooling with a wide range of children�s academic outcomes. Parental involvement involves time and resource commitment towards children�s academic performance. This paper extracts data from a cross-sectional survey involving 2,669 grade six students attending public and private primary schools serving households located in Iganga�Mayuge health and demographic surveillance system in rural Eastern Uganda. The paper adopts...

This paper examines effects of life-skills, mentoring, and counseling education intervention implemented among primary school attending girls aged between 10 and 19 years, living in Nairobi slums. We hypothesized that interaction between the intervention and aspiration, self-confidence and interest in schooling, mediates the impact of risky behavior on academic performance. This quasi-experimental study had two treatment arms of 538 girls and one comparison with 272 girls. The first...

This study investigates the activities of a village-based literacy centre in Kenya and explores the benefits of community development activities on women's well-being in Africa. Through the analysis of the stories of two Maasai women who had experienced adult literacy learning, the author discovered that: (1) the literacy instructor had inadequate in-service teacher training support from the government; (2) these women were using a space generated by collaborative informal learning through...

Research in sub-Saharan Africa investigating the effect of mother tongue (MT) literacy instruction at medium scale is limited. A randomized controlled trial of MT literacy instruction was implemented in 2013 and 2014 as part of the Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative in Kenya. We compare the effect of two treatment groups--the base PRIMR program teaching literacy in English and Kiswahili and the PRIMR-MT program, which taught literacy in English, Kiswahili, and mother tongue--in two...

Research in sub-Saharan Africa investigating the effect of mother tongue (MT) literacy instruction at medium scale is limited. A randomized controlled trial of MT literacy instruction was implemented in 2013 and 2014 as part of the Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative in Kenya. We compare the effect of two treatment groups--the base PRIMR program teaching literacy in English and Kiswahili and the PRIMR-MT program, which taught literacy in English, Kiswahili, and mother tongue--in two...

The study was aimed at investigating the students' ability to use technology for distance education with specific reference to the University of Nairobi's External Degree Program. To achieve this, one specific objective was formulated: To find out the student teacher's readiness to accept and utilize technology for learning purposes in relation to their work experience. The study design used was cross- sectional survey with a well -constructed questionnaire. The study population was 500...

The study was aimed at investigating the students' ability to use technology for distance education with specific reference to the University of Nairobi's External Degree Program. To achieve this, one specific objective was formulated: To find out the student teacher's readiness to accept and utilize technology for learning purposes in relation to their work experience. The study design used was cross-sectional survey with a well-constructed questionnaire. The study population was 500...

Worldwide, women representation in management and leadership positions is marginal. Despite immense academic advancement by women, few of them do advance to management positions. In Kenya, women make up a critical portion of human resource base. However, they are grossly underrepresented at leadership positions. This situation is reflected in school leadership positions as well, including headship of schools. Unless the gender gaps in management and leadership positions are addressed, the...

We use the 2007 SACMEQ data to make traditional “upwardly biased” estimates of teacher and classroom resource correlates of 6th grade student achievement in Swaziland, Kenya, and South Africa using an OLS model, and a “less biased causal” approach using a student fixed effects model. Our fixed effects model exploits the fact that most students in all three countries have different teachers for reading and mathematics. Each student is therefore subject to the “treatment” of different teacher...

We use the 2007 SACMEQ data to make traditional “upwardly biased” estimates of teacher and classroom resource correlates of 6th grade student achievement in Swaziland, Kenya, and South Africa using an OLS model, and a “less biased causal” approach using a student fixed effects model. Our fixed effects model exploits the fact that most students in all three countries have different teachers for reading and mathematics. Each student is therefore subject to the “treatment” of different teacher...

Initial access to school is nearly universal in Kenya, but many children who enroll drop out before completing primary school. In this mixed-methods study, we use quantitative data from a randomized control trial involving 2666 upper primary-grade students, as well as qualitative data from interviews with 41 schoolchildren, dropouts, and parents, to examine dropout. Poorer baseline performance on literacy and numeracy assessments predicted a higher risk of dropout. Interviews revealed that...

In 2014, UNICEF commissioned a review of language policy and education quality in the 21 countries of UNICEF’s Eastern and Southern Africa Region. This paper examines findings from the review, related to the role of English and local languages in current education practice in the region. National language policies and implementation practices are examined, as is the mismatch between the two. The evident widespread use of English as the language of instruction in primary classrooms of Eastern...

The research explores the impact of interactive, multimedia literacy software (ABRA) on the reading skills of early elementary students in Kenya. Twelve grade two English teachers and their students from six schools were randomly divided in half: an experimental group (N = 180) where ABRA was part of their English Language instruction and a control group (N = 174) where regular instruction was used. After the pre-test student data were collected, a three-day initial training and planning...

The research explores the impact of interactive, multimedia literacy software (ABRA) on the reading skills of early elementary students in Kenya. Twelve grade two English teachers and their students from six schools were randomly divided in half: an experimental group (N = 180) where ABRA was part of their English Language instruction and a control group (N = 174) where regular instruction was used. After the pre-test student data were collected, a three-day initial training and planning...

The research explores the impact of interactive, multimedia literacy software (ABRA) on the reading skills of early elementary students in Kenya. Twelve grade two English teachers and their students from six schools were randomly divided in half: an experimental group ( N = 180) where ABRA was part of their English Language instruction and a control group ( N = 174) where regular instruction was used. After the pre-test student data were collected, a three-day initial training and planning...

While the impressive school participation impacts of Universal Primary Education policies in Sub-Saharan Africa are widely recognized, attempts to measure learning gains from schooling remain minimal. Utilizing a unique international test score dataset, we measure and explain grade six reading and math learning outcomes in Kenya. By comparing competences between public and private schools before and after the introduction of free primary education, we find large achievement declines and...

Education policymakers are investing in information and communications technology (ICT) without a research base on how ICT improves outcomes. There is limited research on the effects of different types of ICT investments on outcomes. The Kenya Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) study implemented a randomized controlled trial comparing the effects and cost of three interventions -- e-readers for students, tablets for teachers, and the base PRIMR program with tablets for instructional...

The article offers information on the programme Inspiring Readers for schools in Africa by the library development charity Book Aid International. It mentions that the aim of the programme was to bring book libraries into the classrooms of primary schools, reaching around a quarter of a million children. It states that the new programme begins in 2016 in Kenya and Cameroon, to improve the reading opportunities for a quarter of a million children.

The purpose of this study was to compare the influence of management styles of head teacher's on pupils' performance in private and public primary schools in Nakuru municipality at Kenya Certificate of Primary Education level. The population comprised of teachers and head teachers in public primary schools. The study adopted the ex post facto survey research design and used a sample size of 70 primary schools in which 70 Head teachers and 70 teachers were interviewed. The respondents were...

Despite shrinking newsrooms, we have more journalism choices, in part because of freelance journalists. Freelancing creates workers who are particularly adaptive and creative; skills educators want to instill in students. I interviewed and surveyed more than 50 freelance journalists in several countries, including Turkey, Egypt, Colombia, Israel, Canada, Kenya, France, Germany, and the United States. While the basic skills of good journalism do not change, it is valuable to recognize and...