Perceptions of Kenyan teachers regarding children’saccess to primary education in low-income settings : A qualitative study
Abstract: Basic education is a fundamental right for all children and is widely regarded as being essential for escap- ing poverty and achieving socioeconomic progress. Sub-Saharan Africa has 33,8 million primary school- aged children who do not attend school - the highest number worldwide (Roser, 2021), and UNICEF (2021) is highlighting how that is exacerbated by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, more than 90% of children are enrolled in primary schools according to the Kenyan government. This study used descriptive in-depth, semi-structured face-to-face interviews to investigate the perceptions of Kenyan teachers regarding children's access to primary school. Seven teachers were interviewed in this qualitative study using a custom-designed interview script. The study aims to look at the perspectives of LIC teachers on children's access to education. The focus is on understanding both the barriers and facili- tators that children from a low-income country such as Kenya face in accessing education. The ICF-CY was integrated with the Collaborative Problem-Solving approach to search for the promotion of children’s rights. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data was analyzed using the six steps proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). Findings revealed that access to education was more challenging in rural areas. Among the reasons are poor health conditions, vast distances between their homes and the school, additional “hid- den” costs (e.g., school uniforms, examination fees, etc.), and inadequate and insufficient resources. The attitudes of teachers appeared to have an impact on children's academic achievement, and the external support provided (such as government assistance) seemed to be inadequate. Poverty, linked to early mar- riages and teenage pregnancies, was identified as one of the main barriers to education in Kenya. Partici- pants placed the responsibility for a change among all the stakeholders concerned with education (e.g., parents, teachers, and community). A change in the perception on education would result in an increase in the number of children attending primary school and thus, achieving the SDG 4. This study recommends that future studies investigate more what can be done to reduce the found barriers and promote the facili- tators and resources to increase the number of children accessing primary school.
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