Theorising Research on Equal Educational Opportunities in Schools: A case study of flood prone areas in Western Kenya By Gloria Erima Wits School of Education.

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Theorising Research on Equal Educational Opportunities in

Schools: A case study of flood prone areas in Western Kenya

ByGloria Erima

Wits School of Education

Edu-Lead Conference 13-15 April 2015

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CENTRAL ARGUMENT

There is little in terms of theory and practical ideas for ameliorating issues of equality of educational opportunities in disaster-prone schools. This research attempts to frame sufficient strategies or frameworks to enhance the attainment of equal educational opportunities in schools that exist in flood-prone areas.

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OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATIONCentral ArgumentBackgroundKey TermsResearch QuestionsProblem StatementConceptual FrameworkMethodologyEthical ConsiderationsSummary

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BACKGROUND

Challenges/Impact of floods:damaged school facilities prolonged disruptions of educationlimited access to learning, Staff and learner attrition

Implications poor performance reduced tendencies to progress beyond

compulsory education cycles wastage indicators - dropping out of

school, repetition. compromised education quality.

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KEY TERMS IN THE CONTEXT OF KENYAEducational inequalities – some indicators:

Indicators Description of Indicator

Learner

Attainment

-The no. of years of education a student has attended and successfully completed.

-refers to the no. of grades completed at both the primary and secondary level.

-refers to the highest degree earned in post-secondary level

Performance in Examinations

High Aggregates, Grade repetition, low/average

performance, %age pass rates,

Staff mobility/attrition

No. of teachers in school

No. of staff leaving the school per year

Ratio of qualified and unqualified teachers Learner attrition

No. of students who permanently/temporarily

transfer every flooding period, dropouts Learner time on task

-Total amount of learner time lost per year

-learner completion of primary and secondary

school,

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

Kenya’s education context:One national curriculumOne national examinationBut a common curriculum ≠ equal education

“equality of input, equality of outcome and the ‘level playing field’ principle, (Duignan, 2012)

Efforts made by govt. are acknowledged but remain inadequate

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The broad research question to be addressed is: What are the effects of floods on equal educational

opportunities in flood-prone schools of western Kenya?

Sub-questions How do schools prepare for flooding and how effective

are those strategies perceived to be? (preparedness) How do schools respond both in the short term and long

term and how are these responses seen as effective? (response)

What recovery programmes have schools put in place to mitigate the flooding scene and how effective are they? (recovery)

 What disaster management approaches can be exploited to increase the education-sector contribution for better natural disaster preparedness? (mitigation)

What impact does the unequal educational opportunity have on the future education achievement and progression?

(modelled around 4 disaster management elements)

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK3 Concepts: Equal Educational Opportunities Equity in Education Disasters and Disaster Management1. Equal Educational Opportunities (EEO)educational needs of all students + those with special needs, are identified and provided for given the resources available, (Caulfield & O’ Shea, 2010)

Dimensions of EEOAccess - the right of acquisition (+inputs) to the common

education culture (Hemelsoet, 2012)

Equity -the principle of fairness (The Education Reform, 2013)

Equality-what is applied, allocated, or distributed equally

existing inequalities in Kenya = a substantial no. of children still out of school

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Floods

Impact on equal

educational opportunitie

s

School preparation

School Response

Schools recovery & Mitigation measures

school facilities and structures;

more learning before floods

Examinations; teacher attrition; learner attainment; loss of learning time;

CurriculumSchool term

dates, funds Disaster

management approaches

• Resource availability

Equal/Unequal educational opportunity

Social injustice

Future education progression

Conceptual Framework

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EQUITY IN EDUCATION

2. Equity in EducationImplies equal access and opportunity irrespective of children’s conditions and circumstances (Azim and Hasan, 2014, p. 432).

Inequity in education:(societal, cultural, socio-economic, environmental or family socio-economic positions).

An appropriate school environment embraces: efficiency and effectiveness. the rightful inputs (adequate staff, learning materials) to ensure

access to quality education (University of Oklahoma Centre for Effective Schools, 2013)

However,

Inequitable for all groups to achieve equally in Kenya,

adjusting learning environment = acknowledging the contributions of all groups

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DISASTERS AND DISASTER MANAGEMENTDisastersserious disruptions that overwhelm the capacity of systems and require special mobilization and organization of resources above those normally available (Seyedin, Ryan and Keshtgar, 2011, p. 77).

Disaster management encompasses all aspects of planning for and responding to disasters (Bonye and Godfred 2011, p. 206)

Disaster management modelleads to a better understanding of the current situation and facilitates the planning process and the comprehensive completion of disaster management plans (Asghar, Alahakoon & Churilov’s 2006 , pg. 1)

Many disaster management models; one common similarity; 4 elements:

(Preparedness, Response, Recovery, Mitigation)

The thesis adopts (Asghar et al,2006) comprehensive disaster management model to explore issues of school preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation

Complex model to be used for analysis of data

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DISASTER MANAGEMENT MODEL

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Floods

Impact on equal

educational opportunitie

s

School preparation

School Response

Schools recovery & Mitigation measures

school facilities and structures;

more learning before floods

Examinations; teacher attrition; learner attainment; loss of learning time;

CurriculumSchool term

dates, funds Disaster

management approaches

• Resource availability

Equal/Unequal educational opportunity

Social injustice

Future education progression

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

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METHODOLOGY Research Design:

mixed methods field research employing the qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data Collection: Interviews - descriptions of feelings of occurrences Questionnaires – survey on frequency Documents (public records – syllabi, tests), photographs (Physical

evidence) to supplement other kinds of data Sample: 4 schools: (2 flood-prone and 2 non-flood schools) Sample Size:

1. Principals of the 4 schools, 2. 1 teacher from the senior management team of each school, 3. Standard eight pupils in the 2 flood-prone schools, 4. 1 parent serving on the School Board of Governors in the 2 flood-

prone schools,5. 1 Quality Assurance officer, 1 Education Officer of the Ministry of

Education at county level. Key questions modeled around the four elements of disaster

management

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ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS Informed Consent – knowledge of content. Confidentiality - holding research data in confidence Anonymity - participants will not be identifiable, use of code

names Right to withdraw

Challenges Potential risk - low Level risk

1. feelings of uneasiness due to the nature of questions especially when reporting on superiors or on sensitive areas.

2. Anonymity could create a gap in researchMitigation Strategies

3. comfortable an environment as possible.

4. travel to the schools , allow participation at convenience

5. flexibility regarding place, date and time

6. assure participants that they do not have to answer to questions they do not wish to respond to.

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GOING BACK TO THE BEGINNING

It is hoped that this research will use a disaster management model to produce data and analysis to enable contribution to the development of a theory to assist in equalising educational opportunities in flood-prone areas.