The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Changing Role of the School in Society: A Case Study of Kenyan Schools

• In Event: An International Study of the Cultural and Spatial Politics of Education During the COVID Pandemic

Abstract

Schools have traditionally been centers of gaining knowledge. They have been institutions in which students are taught what the society perceives to be appropriate knowledge, skills, and dispositions to prepare them to be productive citizens upon completion of schooling. However, the Covid-19 pandemic, with its concomitant challenges, has redefined the role of the school in society. This paper explores ways in which Covid-19 has impacted Kenya’s teaching and learning environment academically and administratively. The 6-month protracted school closure in Kenya, from March 15, 2021 (Ministry of Health, 2020) to October 6, 2021, has had a huge impact on the academic and psycho-social well-being of learners (See Jelimo, 2020).

This paper examines how students have either thrived or faced challenges during the school closures and the factors that precipitated these varying sets of circumstances. The paper then moves further to see how upon re-opening, schools adjusted to the return of students given the challenges or successes the latter faced during school closures. The paper explores whether and how the role of the principal and the teachers changed in this perceived “new normal” with students coming back with varied psycho-social and emotional status. In addition, Kenya’s Ministry of Education has instituted directives that minimize interactions between the school, the home and the community in an effort to stem the spread of the virus (Ministry of Education, 2020). Thus, another focus of the paper is to explore how these directives have altered, if at all, the relationship between the school, home, and community. The cultural and spatial politics framework will be used in the discussion and interpretation of this paper’s findings to contextualize and understand the changing role of schools in Kenya society.


References
Jelimo, C. (2020, September 1). Impact of Covid-19 on the right to education in Kenya. Right to Education. https://www.right-to-education.org/blog/impact-covid-19-right-education-kenya

Ministry of Education. (2020). Guidelines on health and safety protocols for reopening of basic education institutions amid covid-19 pandemic. https://education.go.ke/images/COVID- 19_GUIDELINES.pdf

Ministry of Health. (2020). First case of coronavirus disease confirmed in Kenya. https://www.health.go.ke/first-case-of-coronavirus-disease-confirmed-in-kenya/

Author

• Lucy A. Wakiaga, Tangaza University College