Exploring the Kenya PLAY program: sustaining an education initiative in under-resourced contexts.

• In Event: Scaling Learning Through Play with Technology: Building Sustainable Programs in Low and Middle-Income countries

Proposal

In 2018, the World Bank ranked Kenya as the leading education system on the Continent for education outcomes. The Government of Kenya continues to make investments to improve learning outcomes and build digital infrastructure and digital literacy. To support this effort, the Kenya Tech & Play (KPLAY) Project seeks to leverage play-based learning strategies and digital technologies to improve learning outcomes for pre-primary and primary learners in Kilifi and Kwale counties.

KPLAY is built upon a theory that if teachers in Kenya understand the value of and have access to localized, easy-to-implement Learning through Play with Technology (LtPwT) activities; if they are empowered with the skills and mindsets to embrace and create LTPWT; and if they have support from and are held accountable by local education leaders, school leaders, coaches, peers, parents and communities to use LTPWT; then teachers will integrate LTPWT effectively in the classroom and children in Kenyan primary schools will be able to learn 21st century skills through play.

The KPLAY context study explores the educational and digital environment in which this initiative is situated. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to understand the perceptions of key stakeholders on the opportunities and challenges associated with integrating LtPwT into the Kenyan public education system. Here are the main findings of the context studies.

Perception about the project: The stakeholders interviewed applauded KPLAY as a project that fully complements the Competency Based Curriculum, which promotes interactive and hands-on learning experiences. Nonetheless, stakeholders noted that LtPwT content is relatively new in the country’s education space, and the idea should be approached with a lot of caution.

Lack of adequate classrooms: The stakeholders cited physical infrastructure as a challenge in both Kwale and Kilifi counties. Government officials said that some schools do not have adequate classrooms and where the classrooms are enough, they are in a bad condition. Another big challenge to infuse play in classrooms is a large number of students in their classrooms and limited time to prepare and execute the lessons.

Connectivity issue: Connectivity is one of the biggest challenges. There is currently no system for the government to provide internet access in schools.

Digital literacy: There is no government training on ICT tools for all teachers. It is one thing to have devices in the classroom and another to deliver lessons that actually integrate technology. As KPLAY continues to support the teachers, one of the areas to prioritize in the training and support is training teachers on use of technology in the classroom.

The issue of sustainability: The schools experience a lack of classroom space and yet KPLAY needs an extra classroom to set up a learning lab. Though this challenge has been mitigated by KPLAY providing pushcarts with play lab materials, it is important to empower the schools’ leaders and the community on the various ways of resource mobilization so they are able to sustain such projects through their own means.

Author

• Clara Njerū, Education Design Unlimited