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 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 United Nations has set forth an ambitious vision for education systems around the globe: cultivating life-long learning from early childhood through an individual's civic and work life. Schools must support children and youth in basic learning--including crucial socio-emotional, literacy, and numeracy competencies--to contribute to sustainable…

The constitution of Kenya commits to providing Kenyan youths with access to quality education. Kenya has committed to achieve goal four of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which aims to provide inclusive, equitable and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by the year 2030. An analysis of Kenya…

Citizen-led assessments were developed in the mid-2000s to gather evidence on children's learning outcomes following the rapid increase in primary student enrolment in the developing world. Integral to their philosophy is social accountability and community engagement. While most large-scale assessments focus on test-based accountability to…

While education is considered to be a human right and need, the delivery of secondary education in Kenya has been slow due to a number of bottlenecks that includes: (one), differential trends in access and participation in secondary school education with low participation of the poor and (two), low efficiency and quality of education as indicated…

From the late 1990s, education in East Africa started to be appraised on the basis of enrolment. The universalisation of primary education that started in Uganda in 1997--and peaked in Tanzania in 2002, as well as in Kenya in 2003--was politicised as the epitome of education reform. Yet, alternative voices called for consideration of improving…

There have been current controversial discussions concerning the performance of private primary schools versus public primary schools in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Examination (K.C.P.E.). Lately, the private primary schools appear to be performing better than public primary schools. For example; in the 2003 K.C.P.E. results, more than 31% of…

The Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) carries out large-scale cross-national research studies in member countries in the Southern and Eastern Africa region. It aims to assess the conditions of schooling and performance levels of learners and teachers in the areas of literacy and numeracy. SACMEQ has…

This paper provides a critical appraisal of the influence of examinations oriented approaches on quality education in primary schools in Kenya. The purpose of the study was to determine effects of examination oriented teaching approaches on learning achievement among primary school pupils in Kakamega County, Kenya. It explored the assumptions…

This article attempts to bring to the fore the need for enhanced quality assurance processes in the award of PhDs by Kenyan universities. The findings reveal that quality challenges exist in the institutional processes established for the award of this advanced degree across the universities in the country. It is hoped that the findings will stir…

We take an innovative approach to estimating student mathematics learning in the sixth grade of three African countries. The study reinforces the notion that beyond the quality of the teaching process in classrooms, national contextual factors are important in understanding the contribution that schooling makes to student performance. Our approach…

The global discourse of human capital theory has long dominated educational development commitments. There is a huge body of literature which critiques how this discourse and associated global trends and targets have created a standardised blueprint for how education in low income countries should be carried out. While most attention has been…

Both (a) in-school factors such as over-focus on academic performance, absence of uniform, and corporal punishment, and (b) out-of school factors such as caring for ailing parents, child labor, etc., hinder participation of orphan and vulnerable children (PVC) in Free Primary Education (FOE) system in Nyasa Province, Kenya. In this context Concern…

The article reports a study of factors associated with different levels of examination performance among thirty secondary schools in a district of Kenya. There are very limited data on school effectiveness in developing countries but there is some evidence that resource levels and aspects of teacher quality may be important. The research found…