Curriculum Equity Project

Inequities in education are occasioned by a host of variables such as gender, ability, ethnic origin, nationality, household socio-economic conditions, place of residence, parental education, language, and disability. With regards to socio-economic status, Uwezo (2016) report indicates that the counties with the worst learning outcomes were found in areas of low socioeconomic status. For example, in Turkana, Mandera, and Wajir, only 11.4%, 10.1% and 9.9% of children in grade 3 could do class 2 work respectively against a national average of 30.0%. This is in contrast to Nyeri county (which has high socio-economic status) where 51.8% of class 3 pupils could do class 2 work. On average, pupils in urban areas performed slightly better than those from rural areas.

Effective parental engagement as envisioned in the Basic Education Curriculum Framework (BECF) is supposed to provide a useful shift from an emphasis on the relationship between parents and schools, to a focus on the relationship between parents and their children’s learning, thereby catalyzing curricular equity.

Parental involvement over the past decade, indicates that regardless of family income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to earn higher grades and enroll in higher-level programs, be promoted, pass their classes, earn credits, attend school regularly, have better social skills, show improved behavior, adapt well to school and graduate to postsecondary education (Henderson & Map, 2002: 67).

The project has a two-pronged long term goal: first to strengthen the role of parents to participate in and track curriculum reforms in Kenya and secondly to facilitate Regional Educational Learning Initiative (RELI) members to meaningfully plug into the curriculum reform process.

1. Research: Curriculum Equity Project appreciates research as one of the key areas of learning. This is done jointly with other civil society organizations with the aim of at catalyzing a functional relationship between the Ministry of Education and Civil Society Actors in Education to support improve learning outcomes through meaningful collaboration in research on what works in education.

2.Proper Coordination: Curriculum Equity Project together with Regional Educational Learning Initiative (RELI) and other civil society organizations(CSOs) aspire to engage government departments in a coordinated manner to create knowledge of what works best in education in Kenya

3. Inclusion: Curriculum Equity project aims at onboarding parents from excluded communities, bringing down the new curriculum to their level, and through participatory approaches, inform their engagement in their children’s learning at home, at school and in the wider community as a way of improving their learning outcomes and bridging inequities that may emerge with the new curriculum

To ensure success the following approaches are being used.

1. Partnering with the Ministry of Education

2. Working through the communities

3. Ensuring the project meets the needs and aspiration of the people of the identified community

4. Training the identified community members on their roles.

5. Jointly implementing and monitoring the progress of the project

6. Sustaining dialogue and offering support