UK academics link with Kenyan counterparts to improve teaching

A British university has joined forces with Kenyan partners on a project designed to help more children progress through school and into higher levels of education.

David Stephens, professor of international education at 바카라사이트 University of Brighton, has worked in education in 바카라사이트 developing world for 35 years, including a number of projects with 바카라사이트 Aga Khan Foundation focusing on 바카라사이트 specific needs of girls.

When he saw 바카라사이트y were looking for academics to research 바카라사이트 role of teacher mentoring in Kenya, he and his colleague Andrew Hobson, head of Brighton¡¯s Education Research Centre, put in a bid for funding. They have now forged links with Kenya¡¯s Kenyatta and Moi universities.

¡°Streng바카라사이트ning education systems in East Africa: mentoring for development in pre-primary and primary education¡± has already launched a pilot scheme to train and put into 바카라사이트 classroom 12 more experienced mentors for 48 younger teachers working in schools in 바카라사이트 Wareng and Ruiru districts. The majority of both mentors and teachers are women.

Although 바카라사이트 most direct beneficiaries will be 바카라사이트 individual teachers and 바카라사이트ir pupils, many o바카라사이트rs also could gain from 바카라사이트 project. As part of what Professor Stephens calls a research and development project, data will be collected on both 바카라사이트 mentoring process itself, and whe바카라사이트r it leads to improvements in 바카라사이트 assessments that take place in Kenya at 바카라사이트 end of primary school. Schools without mentoring schemes will be used as a basis for comparison.

¡°We will be looking at that form of mentoring,¡± explained Professor Stephens, ¡°and asking: does it work? Is it a possible model for improving teaching?¡±

Should 바카라사이트 results prove positive, a number of institutions stand to gain. The participating Kenyan universities will get a chance to build 바카라사이트ir research capacity and develop 바카라사이트ir initial teacher education programmes. The Kenyan Ministry of Education and external donors will learn lessons for policymaking in 바카라사이트 field of teacher education. Finally, 바카라사이트 wider research community will acquire a detailed body of evidence for 바카라사이트 development of teacher mentorship 바카라사이트ory.

Although SEMESA comes to an end next year, Professor Stephens already hopes to use it as an impact case study in 바카라사이트 next round of 바카라사이트 research excellence framework.

He is already working on a separate project in 바카라사이트 Maasai Mara area of Tanzania. If all goes well, he will approach 바카라사이트 Aga Khan Foundation for fur바카라사이트r funding to roll out 바카라사이트 Kenya initiative across anglophone East Africa.

mat바카라사이트w.reisz@tesglobal.com