Teaching in Conflict-affected Settings During the COVID-19 Health Pandemic in Kenya

• In Event: Compounding Crises: Impact of COVID-19 on Teachers and Teaching in Conflict-Affected Settings Part II

Proposal

Many pastoralist communities in Kenya have engaged in cattle rustling that has resulted in violent ethnic conflicts for decades. The causes of the violence can be attributed to: attempts to impose attackers’ culture, ethnic identity, ideologies and beliefs on others; efforts to obstruct the provision of education, particularly for girls in some regions; motivations to weaken the public’s confidence in the government; and/or acts of retaliation for killings, profiteering, and small weapon proliferation These are profound and deeply embedded issues with serious implications for the community's livelihoods, displacements, and access to quality education, all of which have been disrupted and exacerbated by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused some teachers to want to transfer to other regions or leave the profession entirely. Understanding the perceptions and experiences of teachers in crisis and pandemic-affected settings, as well as the impact on teaching and learning, is critical not only for the government's security policy but also for the hiring and management of teachers to ensure educational continuity and sustainability.
This article seeks to answer the following question amid the dual challenges of violent conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic: What are teachers' perspectives and experiences of the impact of violent conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic on educational quality? Based on a qualitative design, an exponential discriminative snowball sampling strategy was used to select two groups: 15 practicing teachers teaching in violent regions and 8 teacher-trainees from violent conflict zones. This qualitative study uses participant interview data to assess their perceptions and experiences of teaching in crisis and pandemic-affected settings, as well as the impact on teaching and learning. Teaching in pre-COVID-19 violent conflict environments was difficult, and COVID-19 only exacerbated the situation. Teachers in these settings were confronted with a double pandemic: violent conflict and COVID-19.

The findings highlight the specific difficulties that the teachers in this study faced in completing their work and remaining in the profession. Although there is a lot of interconnectedness in identified themes, the findings are divided into seven thematic groups: lack of technology and telecommunications infrastructure; curfews and school closures both exacerbated and mitigated insecurities; gaps left by teacher attrition; psychosocial impact on teachers’ well-being; non-local teachers’ struggles; and the distinct needs of teachers working in conflict-affected settings. The findings of the study are critical for understanding teachers' experiences and perceptions in shaping policy and mitigating security strategies that can help the government resolve perennial teacher shortages and improve education quality in crisis and pandemic-affected settings. The study has the potential to scale up and includes more teacher voices in shaping the discourse on teaching and learning in conflict settings.

Author

• Loise Gichuhi, University of Nairobi