gender and teacher pedagogical practices in nairobi informal settlements and kilifi county, kenya...
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Gender and Teacher Pedagogical Practices in
Nairobi Informal Settlements and Kilifi County, Kenya
Gender and Teacher Pedagogical Practices in
Nairobi Informal Settlements and Kilifi County, Kenya
Charity Limboro (PhD)
Introduction
Over time, Kenya has viewed education as key to equitable social-economic development as noted in education commission reports and key policy documents
At individual level, education has been cherished as a route out of poverty for the educated individual and his/her nuclear and extended families
Consequently, there has been notable heavy investment in education that has resulted in increased enrolment in primary education (after the introduction free primary in 2003)
Currently, national enrolment in primary education in Kenya stands at 51% boys and 49% girls
Nevertheless, these national statistics tend to mask regional disparities and especially among the marginalised communities
Introduction Cont’d
A lot of research has been done on gender disparities in education but there is a dearth of knowledge on how teachers engage with boys and girls in the classroom
Introduction Cont’d
Gender-biased pedagogical practices have been identified as a factor that affect girls’ empowerment and the attainment of gender equality
What happens in the teaching and learning processes in the classroom plays a big role in:
Determining how well girls and boys participate in education and;
whether they stay in school and do well in their studies
Why Gender and teacher Pedagogical practices?
Why Gender and teacher Pedagogical practices Cont’d?
Consequently, since teachers are key to the teaching-learning processes, then their understanding of gender responsive pedagogy is critical for effective participation of girls and boys
Research Design Ethnographic – holistic,
contextual
Methodology
Study Locale and Sites
Nairobi
Kilifi
The study was carried out in two counties that were purposefully selected
Sample size
Children Adults Total
Girls Boys Women Men
Key Informant Interviewing
44 0 0 0 44
Supplementary Interviewing
29 6 20 11 66
FGD 54 56 0 0 110
TOTAL 127 62 20 11 220
Table 1: Sample Grid by Research Subjects, Gender and Methods
A variety of methods were used: observations, interviews and selected Participatory Learning and Action (PLA)
Data was recorded both manually and electronically
Verbatim transcripts and researchers notes Data analysis was continuous – every transcript
had analytical questions.
Data Collection Tools, Methods and the Generation of Data
Women Education Researchers of Kenya (WERK) Child Protection Policy and Research Ethics Policy guided field data collection
Consent was sought from the informantsIn respect to confidentiality, the names of all the
research subjects have been kept anonymous
Ethical Considerations
The teachers of classes 2 and 5 who were observed in either mathematics or English lesson used a combination of methods such as lecture, demonstration; and question and answer methods to deliver their lessons.
Teachers in one school gave equal opportunity to boys and girls to participate in learning process. In other schools gender biases in favor of boys was clearly noticeable eg. boys were called by name more frequently than girls
Presentation & Discussions of Findings
Gender bias in the teaching-learning processes
Sitting arrangements favoured boys There were gendered spaces in the classroom Ability grouping Some teachers were insensitive to the needs of
the girls in a classroom situation Language used by teachers was biased e.g the
use of ‘he’ as though to mean both boys and girls Teachers depicted girls as ‘shy’ and boys ‘active
Presentation & Discussions of Findings Cont,d
The few classrooms in the school that displayed wall charts sent gender stereotypical messages e.g: women cooking and winnowing while men were
depicted as teachers, doctors and farmers charts and learning materials depicted gender
neutral messages
Non-Existent or Gender Insensitive Teaching-Learning Materials
There was notable scarcity of textbooks even in core subjects such as Mathematics, English and Kiswahili in all schools
Learners lacked even local learning materials Other teaching aids were used as both learning
materials and tools to instill discipline
Availability of Learning Materials
Teachers were perpetuating gender bias and stereotyping through teaching and learning methodology
Teachers had poor pedagogical skillsThe classroom environment marginalised girls,
Conclusions
Teacher education curricula for both pre-service and in-service must include gender responsive pedagogy so as to address the gender inequality in the social systems.
Teachers must learn to recognise and eliminate gender bias in their interactions with pupils both within and outside the classroom.
Practicing teachers should avoid language that discourages boys and girls from participating in the teaching learning processes
Girls should be encouraged to engage with boys in both classroom and out of class activities
Recommendations