This presentation was made at a one-day workshop organized by the Ministry of Education (Kenya) in collaboration with the Women Educational Researchers of Kenya (WERK) and UNICEF Kenya Country Office. The main objective of the workshop was to deliberate on the strategies of adapting the Think Equal program in Kenya and its subsequent fit into the national curriculum reform process. The presentation was made by the Director of Jaslika, who is also a member of the Global Think Equal Advisory Committee and the founding chair of WERK. The workshop was held in a Nairobi Hotel on 31st August 2017
Think Equal - A Model for Value-based Education in the Early Years
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2. Think Equal: A model for Value-based-
Education in the Early Years
National Study on Value-based Education
3. • Respect for self, others, diversity
• Peace, tolerance, equality
• Independence, Autonomy, Self-Regulation
• Sense of Community, Part of a Greater Whole, Responsibility
• Communication skills: Self-expression, Co-operation,
Empathetic skills, Conflict Resolution
• Exploration, Creation, Unique Ability, Self Determination, Self-
Actualisation
• Critical thinking, Creative Thinking, Metacognition, Reflection
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Values & Life Skills in Think Equal
4. • Child –centred pedagogy
• Growth comes from activity and
experiential learning
• 0-8 years crucial for the development of
human beings
• The range and quality of activities
experienced by children leads to multiple
outcomes
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Underlying assumptions
Commissioned by WERK, also housing Think Equal
Constitutional values as benchmark for assessing presence or absence of positive values in policies, curriculum and school culture and practices
Whole child, whole school approach
Multi-method study: Both breath (approx13,000 participated as respondents, informants, discussants, stakeholders) + depth: 25 school-based case studies supplemented by media review, stakeholder consultations, literature/document review
Identified value influencers in and out of the classroom/school
Discovered multiple disconnects between theory and practice in and out of the classroom
Many examples of contradiction of constitutional values and community & school practices
Overall conclusions:
Culture of values and ethics largely missing
Vicious cycle: Negative role modelling, socialization perpetuated internalization of negative values: Disrespect for others/diversity (respect confused with blind obedience, fear), stereotyping, labelling and discrimination (explicit and implicit) frustrating goals of equality (gender, ethnic, religious, differently abled) frustrating constitutional goals of tolerance,equality and peace
One key recommendation by Study participants identified the critical importance of starting to inculcate values and equipping children with life skills from the early years.
This is where Think Equal comes in. The Think Equal curriculum is Value Driven, and aligned with the values (and psychosocial life skills) recommended by the national study on VbE. I
Metacognition: awareness and understanding of ones own thought processes
Curriculum organised around 6 core tenets which lead to activities, which in turn lead to direct outcomes and competencies
Child centred---begins with the child as an empowered being, ripport then to gain understandingch in potential, strong, powerful, competent
Story telling and play as powerful tools for social learning
Recognises that learning is mediated by teacher in the school context, learning constructed within the environments
Direct learning---qualified teaching staff respond to needs of child
