The first of two volumes dedicated to this little-explored topic, this volume gathers international perspectives to critically assess how Waldorf education has been perceived and discussed in both public and academic arenas. The book thereby challenges the historical concept of Waldorf education as an international movement championing…

This article presents a design-based research (DBR) methodology to develop a teacher professional development intervention that is aimed at helping teachers become designers of student-centred e-learning activities. The intervention was tested at Gulu University (GU) and Maseno University (MU), and a set of activities and tools, as well as six…

There is a gap in educational research regarding teachers' narratives of teaching in diverse classrooms, especially in East Africa. It is essential to investigate teachers' beliefs and perspectives because these are strong indicators of their planning, instructional decisions, and classroom practices and can also frame their perception of…

While critical thinking is widely regarded as a key outcome of higher education, research has shown that in practice it is only developed when certain conditions are in place, relating to the pedagogical approach, the nature of the curriculum and the level of challenge, amongst other factors. This article reports on findings from a four-year mixed…

The present study compared the learning and experiences of Kenyan teachers randomly assigned to either an online or a blended 12-week intensive teacher professional development program (TPD). The TPD addressed the fundamentals of early literacy development as well as how to use early literacy software to support students learning. TPD outcomes…

For a long time since the banning of corporal punishment, character education is back on the agenda in Kenyan education policy. However, there is much uncertainty on how it should be implemented in schools and there is no one definition of what it means. This is not surprising since there has clearly been a long history of ill-conceived,…

Print-based literacy is no longer sufficient for the global digital age. However, distribution of the resources needed to learn new literacies is unequal. The authors describe a qualitative case study conducted with teachers in Kenya who participated in a professional development series on new literacies and inquiry. The professional development…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to better understand how lesson study (LS) impacts the pedagogy and attitudes of teachers in varied sociocultural contexts. The authors investigated responses of teachers in Kenya and the USA who were new to LS. Design/methodology/approach: Teacher interviews after LS were qualitatively and inductively…

Principals' instructional leadership bolsters and supports teaching and learning. The study aimed to explore the principals' classroom observation practices and their influence on teaching and learning in public secondary schools in Machakos Sub-County, Kenya. Weber's (1996) instructional leadership model served as the foundation for the study.…

Artificial intelligence has produced new teaching and learning solutions that are now undergoing testing in different contexts. In addition to its impact on the education sector, AI is substantially altering labour markets, industrial services, agriculture processes, value chains and the organization of workplaces in particular. Technical and…

Much development has happened in the education sector in African countries. In Kenya, there has been a proliferation of institutions of higher learning. Severe cuts in government funding for public higher education have resulted in the privatization of higher education and the need for adjunct faculty as a way to cut costs. Research suggests that…

This book delves into the role of higher education as a means of sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Contributions from across the region examine the strategies and technological advances available to enable students to deal with an uncertain future and are organised under two key themes: Curriculum and Teaching and Higher Education and…

The school curriculum encapsulates what a progressive society, based on the pluralist values of liberal democracy, believes its future citizens should know and be able to do. In this respect, the curriculum should serve the immediate and long-term needs of all students. However, COVID-19 has uncovered the inequities that have existed in curriculum…

On average, over 45% of the population in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Malawi is under 14 years old, making access to quality education imperative to improve the socioeconomic circumstances for this generation and those to come. However, children in rural areas are confronted with daily challenges, such as extreme poverty, violence (including sexual…

This paper explores factors to increase the likelihood that the implementation of ABRACADABRA, a technology-based approach to teaching and learning literacy, endures and expands beyond the initial research. Started as a pilot study in 12 classrooms, the implementation spread to more than 500 primary classrooms over six years in five areas of…