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