This article examines the emerging unfair inequality in Kenyan secondary schools through comparative case studies of three secondary schools in western Kenya. Qualitative data were collected through fieldwork over a four-year period, with participant observation and semi- or non-structured interviews, to understand how interactions among schools,…

This article is written within a conceptual space that considers engineering as a heteronomous discipline. In this context, we analyse how the state has intervened in the development of the body of knowledge of engineering discipline in a developing country in a process known as decolonisation and the political dynamism this has created. We take…

Cross-national comparisons represent an avenue for investigating milestones achieved by one region that can help improve standards in another country. This study compares the development of executive functioning in Hungarian and Kenyan preschoolers as they prepare for school readiness. The study's cross-sectional design entailed sampling…

Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a key component of efforts to improve sexual and reproductive outcomes for young people. While many governments have established policies and curricula for CSE, there are no quantitative measures of the quality of their implementation in schools. We describe the construction of a school-level index to…

This article examines why poor urban households utilize low-fee private schools despite the government's pro-poor free primary education program in Kenya. Cross-sectional data collected in 2010 through a demographic surveillance survey is analyzed. Students' parents responded to questions concerning their perceptions of the quality of schooling…

This study explores the influence of modern teaching and learning equipment on improving vocational education quality and employment rates and its long-term effect on Kenya's journey to achieve industrialisation by the year 2030. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. Stratified random sampling was used to sample 172 students.…

Persistence to complete has emerged as a pressing issue facing free primary education (FPE) in Kenya. Only 58% of the students who enroll in FPE complete and this proportion drops as they advance to higher levels. Failure to complete primary school, let alone the higher levels of education is alarming. Besides funding, this study explores the…

The design studio and the associated design review can be regarded as the "signature pedagogy" of architectural education, where students garner the essence of what it means to be an architect. Here, novices are transformed into architects through the acquisition of architectural cultural capital. This paper investigates the design…

This paper makes a critical appraisal of teacher education programmes in achieving curriculum goals. Teacher education refers to the policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school and wider community.…

This study intends to present a bespoke teacher professional development MOOC designed by Teacher Education for Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) team that allows MOOCs to become a viable means offering cost-effective, quality professional teacher development. TESSA is a network of teachers and teacher educators, working to improve classroom teaching in…

This paper estimates the relative effectiveness of private and public primary schools in Kenya using data from 4,433 Grade 6 schoolchildren. Using ordinary least squares as a baseline model, we use the proportion of private schools in a district as an instrument in a Heckman two-stage correction framework, as well as propensity score matching…

The collection of papers presented in this issue of Critical Studies in Education adds to the expansive body of work on teachers and teaching. Collectively, the papers draw our attention to new ways the field is problematising the emerging and evolving conditions that shape the work, lives and identities of teachers. With this editorial…

The quantitative literature on parental reasons of school choice for their elementary school children was systematically reviewed using all major databases. The quality of the studies was assessed through a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Among 3982 references reviewed, 26 studies were included from 14 countries. Although large…

This study aims to understand the role of private secondary schools in rural Kenya under the Free Secondary Education Policy. Data were collected from four private schools over two months in 2018 and 2019. All the schools had experienced instability due to low enrolment, particularly after the policy was implemented in 2018. The decline in the…

Some institutions of higher education in Kenya have adopted e-Learning with the aim of coping with the increased demand for university education and to widen access to university training and education. Though there are advantages that accrue from adopting e-Learning; its implementation and provision has not been smooth sailing. It has had to…