Evaluating the Effectiveness of Interventions: Practices and Outcomes from Rural Development to Educational Support

[2J203] Perception of teachers and pupils on Equity and Inclusion in rural Kenya

*Mikiko NISHIMURA¹ (1. International Christian University)

Keywords:Primary education, Kenya, equity, inclusion, public-private

Despite the fact that equity and inclusion became one of the top priority agendas in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, major international and domestic policy documents in Kenya remain with less clarity of its meaning and actual practice in reality. Against this background, this prsentation focuses on perception of teachers and pupils to understand actual practice on equity and inclusion in public and private schools in rural Kenya. A case study of four schools was adopted using surveys with 72 teachers and 156 Grade 6 pupils. The results show that teachers in both public and private schools are less aware and often overlook the dynamics within different groups of pupils in their group work than how pupils experience it. Pupils have more nuanced feelings for working with different groups of pupils. Their concerns are primarily related to the socio-economic and disability lines rather than their academic abilities. Public and private schools have differences in teachers’ perception on equity and inclusion, the incidence of bullying, the types of victims of bullying, and the way of handling bullying. There is a need for clearer definition and realistic and strategic options of equity and inclusion in each context to enable these values to be practiced in school setting.