What Kenya's Jua Kali Can Teach Us About Science Education and African American Children

• In Event: Collaborative Science Teaching and Learning Toward Social Transformation and Justice

Abstract

Objectives: In this presentation, the authors draw on their experience in an international, cross-cultural visit to identify similarities and differences in educational systems in both the US and Kenya. One feature of Kenyan society that stood out and became a frequent topic of discussion, was the existence of the Jua Kali or the “informal sector,” which is a largely unregulated segment of the Kenyan economy. The term “jua kali” means “hot sun” and it is so named because Jua Kali entrepreneurs work out of open-air, makeshift structures under the hot sun. Although it is unregulated, the Jua Kali is responsible for 90% of total jobs created in Kenya.

Theoretical framework: This examination is grounded in an understanding that the life conditions (in education and all other areas of human activity) of people of African descent are largely shaped by systemic racism (Steele, 1997; Williams, Chapman, Wong, & Turkheimer, 2012; Wolfe & Spencer, 1996). To understand the educational condition of people of African descent, whether in Kenya or in the US, requires an understanding of the various ways that non-African people (specifically those of European descent) work individually and through established structures to undermine the well-being of African people. This is the theoretical assumption undergirding the present work.

Methods & Data Sources:The present work is theoretical. Although the insights presented and the arguments advanced are grounded to some degree in personal experiences of the authors, these experiences are not intended to meet the methodological rigor required of empirical work. What is more, the personal experiences, insights, and arguments are augmented and informed by extant research, extant theory and national reports.

Results and Conclusions: The Jua Kali provided a helpful starting point for explaining key aspects of Kenya’s social and educational structure. It also proved helpful as the authors sought to critically reflect on science curricula here in the US. The authors specifically identified 3 images of US science curricula that stand in stark contrast to the images typically promulgated. The first image speaks to the relevance of science curriculum in the US. Specifically, science curriculum in the US is structured to be irrelevant. The second image speaks to the efficiency of science curriculum in the US. Specifically, science curriculum in the US is profoundly inefficient. The third image speaks to the end result of science curriculum in the US. Specifically, science curriculum in the US does not yield the results that it promises.

Scholarly Significance: The presentation concludes with implications for practice. Here we seek to begin dialogue that addresses what science teachers can do in the face of curriculum that is inefficient, irrelevant and fails to yield the results it promises. We are especially interested in how this applies to those who teach students of African descent.

Authors

• Jomo W. Mutegi, Old Dominion University

• Lazarus O. Momanyi, Moi University

• Vanessa Gee, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis