Changing the paradigm of Education through Partnership

ProFuturo team visit by Empieza Por Educar and Teach For Zimbabwe, accompanied by the Teach For Kenya team at the KUPPET headquarters in Nairobi.

In pursuit of addressing the systemic challenges faced in high need schools in Kenya, we partnered with ProFuturo, where we trained our Cohort 1 Fellows by elevating their knowledge on; how to be visionary teacher leaders, how to have a positive classroom culture, and integrating technology in the classroom. Additionally, we began to cascade this knowledge across Nairobi and Homabay County through an in-service Teacher Professional Development Program. This was made possible by the support and solid partnership with ProFuturo, the District Education Sub-County Office in Embakasi, The APBET- Complementary Schools Association of Kenya and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers.

From the successful training of over 600 teachers in Nairobi and Homabay County, Teach For Kenya was selected as the hosting country of the ProFuturo team visit, that was represented by Empieza Por Educar — Teach For Spain and Teach For Zimbabwe. The Empieza Por Educar and Teach For Zimbabwe team visited our partner schools and organizations, where they shared wonderful insights on how we can work together to improve the prospects of disadvantaged children through quality trained teachers.

Empieza Por Educar, Teach For Zimbabwe and Teach For Kenya school visit in Mukuru kwa Njenga

During the visit, we realized that we all have a role to play in bridging education inequity by empowering our teachers. As KUPPET Executive Secretary General, Mr. Akello Misori said,

“We cannot create an impact using old ways in the 21st Century, all teachers require capacity, and renewed retooling to face challenges and successfully implement the curriculum.”

Children in Mukuru kwa Njenga learning using computers.

Mr. Misori added that the ProFuturo Teacher Professional Development Program was timely, because of the new Competency Based Curriculum which was recently introduced in Kenya. Therefore, teachers who were trained in Nairobi and Homabay county, greatly benefited from the program.

Moreover, he highlighted that despite the numerous challenges faced in high need schools, training teachers is a stepping stone towards addressing education inequity in Kenya.

Teach For Kenya Fellow, John Muia having a conversation with the Empieza Por Educar team on how the ProFuturo Training Program has impacted his learners and journey as a teacher leader.

In conclusion, Teach For Kenya Co-founder and CEO, Yukabeth Kidenda said that through partnership, we can to ensure that training programs make an impact in the lives of both teachers and children in underserved communities. In order to achieve this, the following insights were highlighted during the ProFuturo Visit:

• We need to work together to train more teachers with the latest 21st Century skills. As a result, the acquired knowledge will help improve their careers and encourage children to thrive in today’s global economy.
• Secondly, we need to motivate our teachers through continuous evaluation and mentorship. This will create a positive school culture and learning environment for all their learners.
• Lastly, we need to work together to ensure that there is active use and access to learning and teaching resources more so the digital learning devices.

Meet the Author

Clara Omol is the Communications and Marketing Lead at Teach For Kenya. She is passionate about Education and Humanitarian Storytelling.