Wholesome Education For The Girl Child In Kenya: An Assessment Of The Teaching And Learning Spaces In Selected Counties

Abstract

This study looked at Wholesome Education for the Girl Child in Kenya: An Assessment of the Teaching and Learning Spaces in Selected Counties. The study focused on the two settings where teaching and learning occur; the family and the school, with the goal of evaluating wholesome education for the girl child in Kenya. I conducted the study in Nairobi and Taita Taveta Counties, which represent urban and rural environments. A set of objectives served as the study‟s direction: Identify the indicators for wholesome education, evaluate the use of teaching and learning spaces in the education of the girl child in Taita Taveta and Nairobi Counties, to examine the relationship between the accepted indicators for wholesome education for the girl child and the actual situation on the ground in Kenya, and finally to look at the potential solutions to obstacles to the implementation of wholesome education for the girl child in Kenya. The literature was examined to highlight various educational models, especially those that have been characterized as being suitably designed to enabled healthful educational for kids. The study adopts some diverse theories, applying functionalism by Emile Durkheim, Conflict by Basil Bernstein, Interaction by Pierre Bourch, and Empowerment by Freire. Additionally, the study makes use of a combination of research techniques, including a cross-section description survey design and a naturalistic design, as well as particularly tailored and adapted questionnaire, cognitive mapping, and focused group discussions. The study‟s respondents were chosen using probability and non-probability sampling; probability was presented by random sampling and non-probability sampling. The respondents were chosen using both probability, while non-probability was presented by purposive and snow-ball sampling. Data from teachers, pupils and parents, was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20, and the responses from interviews and focused group discussions were analyzed through a content analysis approach. The findings reveal the majority of the participants were concerned about the issues affecting girl children‟s learning spaces both in Taita Taveta and Nairobi Counties. These respondents were concerned about what seems to be unbalanced/dysfunctional use of space where in Nairobi County the school space appears to take over the home space, leaving no time for girls to become familiar with the activities that can only be learned in the home space, and Taita Taveta County the home space tends to overshadow the school space, leaving little time for girls‟ school work. Thus, both in urban and rural regions, there is a shortage of high quality and equitable use of the teaching and learning spaces