Co-Creating for Change

The Faculty of Education at the University of Nairobi (UoN) hosted a webinar on Supporting Holistic & Actionable Research in Education (SHARE): Co-Creating for Change: Learning Becomes Service to Justice.

UoN is the Local Implementing Partner of an inter-University, inter-Faculty and inter-Disciplinary project titled Supporting Holistic & Actionable Research in Education (SHARE) - Co-Creating for Change: Learning Becomes Service to Justice. 

SHARE is being implemented from January 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023 as three separate but related studies namely: Language of Instruction Transition in Education Systems (LITES) study and; Higher Education Institutions Generating Holistic and Transformative Solutions (HEIGHTS) studies, that is: HEIGHTS - Innovation Ecosystem (HEIGHTS - IE) HEIGHTS - Financial Sustainability (HEIGHTS - FS).

 The studies are being undertaken concurrently and include an ecosystem diagnostic process (Phases 1 &2); field research design and implementation (Phase 3) and capacity building.

The LITES panel consisted of Dr. TJ D’Agostino, Aimee Lyons and Prof. Hellen Inyenga who spoke on the purpose, innovative nature and anticipated outcomes of the study.

They brought to light that the main purpose of LITES is to diagnose the health of the evidence ecosystem for informing decision making and to engage key stakeholders early in and throughout the process. In addition, LITES aims to fill the evidence gap of LMICs regarding how to design and implement a strong language of instruction transition policy and the various factors that enable or impede success of these efforts.

The innovative part of LITES is that it is a mixed method study which incorporates a lot of diverse approaches to ensuring a child transitions well into the next level of their life. This study aims to keep the child as the main focus of the study.

The results of LITES are aimed to reflect the results of the diagnostics of the ecosystem.

Sarah Nanjala, a Master of Global Affairs fellow at the University of Notre Dame, spoke on the HEIGHTS-IE study by sharing that the main purpose of HEIGHTS is to provide evidence-informed strategies to strengthen higher education institutions (HEI) engagements in innovation ecosystems within Kenya. HEIGHTS aims to connect, innovate, fund, advocate, celebrate, convene, train and share knowledge.

She stated that the Hoffecker Model, which is a triple Helix model was used to describe the dynamics between the government and higher education institutions. This model is actor-based where they engage with each other around a shared purpose. The actors are described primarily by their role in the ecosystem.

In addition, HEIGHTS strengthens the local system by focusing on the following; human capital development, entrepreneurship, research and development and policy environment.

The HEIGHTS-FS panel consisted of Andrea McMerty-Brummer and Dr. Peterson Obara Magutu.

Dr. Peterson states that HEIGHTS-FS study focuses on the Kenyan society is important as it will provide lessons that speak more broadly but not exclusively to the challenges faced by other low income countries in Africa.

He adds that the HEIGHTS-FS study is innovative in that its operations are effective as the system produces valued, efficient, cost-effective and equitable results.

Tom Purekal, who heads the Innovation and Practice Division within the University of Notre Dame’s Pulte Institution for Global Development, spoke on Domain Ecosystems and Capacity Strengthening. He states that within each SHARE country the main focus is on Education Systems, Domain-Specific Systems (DSS) and Evidence Ecosystems.

He added that the final objective of the ecosystem diagnostics is to develop a diagnostic system mapping for DSS and its evidence ecosystem in order to inform SHARE’s research activities and strengthen a culture of evidence-based decision making.

The HEIGHTS-IE panel consisted of Prof. John Nzioka Muthama, Prof. Judith Mbau and Sarah Nanjala.

Also present during the webinar was Associate Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Enterprise, Prof. Margaret Hutchinson, Faculty of Education Chair, Prof. Raphael Nyonge, the Associate Dean Faculty of Education Prof. Jeremiah M. Kalai who represented the Dean Faculty of Education, Chair DECTPS, Dr. Boniface Ngaruiya, the Webinar moderator, Dr. Julius Ssentongo and Dr. Ruth Kahiga member of DECTPS.