Dear reader, 

We write this piece in the midst of a global pandemic – the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).  By 30th June 2020, it was not clear to all countries which is the best way to manage the pandemic.  The observations made so far are that we have to change our habits at the individual level and change ways in which we conduct business as teaching and learning institutions and as business managers.  WHO report indicates that “as of 8:38 am CEST, 30 June 2020, there have been 10,117,687 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 502,278 deaths” ((https://covid19.who.int/, retrieved June 30th, 2020)).  6070 of the confirmed cases and 144 deaths are in Kenya (https://covid19.who.int/region/afro/country/ke).  

Schools closed in March 2020 in most countries both in the global South and North.  The closure changed the school calendar, with teaching and learning moving to online platforms and digital media in selected institutions.  Technology is a major beneficiary given that many institutions are managing their business through the digital platforms; learning institutions included.  World Health Organisation has projected that coronavirus “might never go away” (CNN News, May 13th, 2020, 11 pm); and this means classrooms will transform forever. 

Despite what is happening around us, we are happy to present to you Volume 12 of JASEML which comprises of six chapters presented herein as follows:

  • Chapter 1: Gender Stereotype on Institutional Leadership in Public Secondary Schools in Kajiado County, Kenya by John N. Purdue, Ruth Thinguri, and Anne Muiru.
  • Chapter 2: Implications of Class Size in Teaching Agriculture in Secondary Schools: Kenya’s Challenge in Implementing Competency-Based Curriculum by Mary M. Waiganjo, Patricia W. Wambugu, and Maurice O. Udoto
  • Chapter 3: Bullying in Public Secondary Schools in Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya: Appraisal of Administrative Interventions by Joyce M.A Lugulu and Joseph Katwa.
  • Chapter 4: Influence of Innovative Leadership on the Provision of Holistic Training to Student-Teachers by Lydia Nyambura Kamamia, Ruth Thinguri, and Mary Mugwe.
  • Chapter: Building Hope as an Intervention for Positive Change: An Exploratory Study of the Youth in Kenyan Universities by Mbutitia, F.N and Adeli, S.M

Chapter 1 reports on a study that took place in Kajiado County in Kenya.  The authors investigated the influence of gender stereotypes on institutional leadership in public secondary schools.  Mary M. Waiganjo, Patricia W. Wambugu, and Maurice O. Udoto in Chapter 2 remind educators that teacher-student ratio to a great extent determines academic learners’ performance.  In their paper, they report on a study that was designed to find out the status of class size in agriculture lessons in selected secondary schools in Kenya and their implications in the implementation of the agriculture curriculum. 

Chapter 3 discusses bullying in secondary schools in Uasin Gishu County.  The findings point at the unfortunate approaches used by school managers and which the report describes as contributing factors to bullying in the selected schools.  As we write this editorial piece, we wonder if school managers in Kenya will take a lesson from the guidelines on keeping social and physical distance as measures against the spread of COVID-19 and design rules that will help curb physical bullying in our schools, once we return to normalcy.  Just a thought. 

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed a plethora of challenges both in the nations that have faced several pandemics and the younger nations that are facing a pandemic of this magnitude for the first time.  Lydiah Nyambura Kamamia et al. in Chapter 4 raises issues of leadership in primary school teacher training colleges and argues that innovative leadership in such institutions contributes to the transformation of teacher trainees to effective teachers.  On the same note, it is important to mention that coronavirus has ushered in a new normal that demands innovative leadership in the education sector.  The last chapter by Francisca Mbutitia and Scholastica Adeli reports on a study whose objective was to explore ways of building hope among the youth in universities in Kenya.  Though the study was carried out before the COVID-19 pandemic, the observations shared are relevant today and the education sector should explore ways of building hope in teachers and learners by rethinking the competency-based curriculum within the lessons offered through our experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 Lastly, you are invited to engage with the various chapters.  

Chief Editor

Jennifer Wanjiku Khamasi, EBS, 

Associate Professor, Department of Technology Education,

Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

 

Assistant Editor

Hoseah Kiplagat Kandie, PhD, 

Head of Technology Education Department

University of Eldoret

 

Available online: June 2020
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information. http://www.kaeam.or.ke
©2020 Kenya Association of Educational Administration and Management.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED