Empowering Collaboration: Insights into Teacher Collaboration in West Kenya

This paper analyzes teacher collaboration challenges in Kenya's education system during the transition from the 8-4-4 to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). Research was conducted in Kisumu, Kenya, by researchers from Pennsylvania State University using a mix of remote surveys, interviews, and in-field research, including a co-design workshop and small group discussions with teachers in public, private, Alternative Provision of Basic Education and Training (APBET), and international schools. The research revealed significant challenges faced by teachers, encompassing inadequate training, limited resources for the new curriculum, and high student-to-teacher ratios, with the intensity of the issues varying across different school types. A key focus was observing the culture of teacher collaboration, including the sharing methods, information types, comfort levels, and the current collaboration drawbacks. Data from online surveys provided demographic insights and preliminary collaboration trends, while group discussions during in-field school visits explored teachers' resource acquisition, information-sharing, and comfort in collaboration. The findings indicated teachers share a strong inclination toward collaboration, primarily using tools like WhatsApp and in-person interactions. However, the limitations of these methods, such as unorganized content and limited accessibility, hinder effective collaboration. The co-design workshop further clarified teachers' problems and the necessity for more organized, accessible, and efficient digital collaboration methods that echo teachers' unanimous suggestions for an online platform to facilitate better resource sharing, lesson planning, and community building. The insights also emphasize the importance of enhancing educational collaboration through digital innovation, tailored to Kenya's technology infrastructure. It lays the groundwork for developing educational technology solutions vital for fulfilling the evolving needs of Kenyan education.