Barbara Trudell & Johnstone Ndunde

Language and Culture Archives

Making Space for Local Knowledge: Community-based Literature and Internationalized Education

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Making Space for Local Knowledge: Community-based Literature and Internationalized Education

Barbara Trudell Johnstone Ndunde

SIL Africa PO Box 44456 Nairobi 00100, Kenya Making Space for Local Knowledge: Community-based Literature and Internationalized Education Barbara Trudell, SIL Africa (Email: [email protected] ) Johnstone Ndunde, SIL Africa (Email: [email protected] )

Summary

The role of local languages in the formal education curriculum in Africa has historically been mea- ger. Centrally determined language-in-education policies typically rely on perceptions of political and economic progress, rather than on the realities of learning and cognition. Linking national unity to linguistic uniformity militates against the development and use of minority languages, to the detriment of the speakers of those languages. The influence of internationalized education further diminishes the space for local knowledge and languages in the curriculum. Where the goals of education are based on internationalized features of development and progress, the unique relevance of local knowledge to local communities is easily ignored.

However, research shows that, when local language and knowledge are given a place in the formal education system, the results include enhanced learning outcomes and greater involvement by the community. One way in which local language and knowledge can be incorporated into the learning process is the development of written pedagogical materials by and for the community of speakers—children, youth and adults.

This paper reports and reflects on just such an experience, a recent collaborative partnership between two NGOs and a local language community, to produce community-oriented literature in Kenya. The features of this initiative are reviewed, with special attention to the perspectives of local participants regarding the process and outcomes. The paper argues that, in a context of internationalized education, community engagement in the formal learning system can reverse trends towards the marginalization of local culture, knowledge and language.

1. Introduction

Education is deeply implicated in the politics of culture. The curriculum is never simply a neutral assemblage of knowledge, somehow appearing in the texts and classrooms of a nation. It is always part of a selective tradition, someone’s selection, some group’s vision of legitimate knowledge (Apple 1993:222).

Local communities across Africa are repositories of extensive cultural and social knowledge – knowledge that is highly relevant to community survival and well-being. The value of this knowledge is well understood within the community, as is the importance of the community’s language for transmitting that knowledge. The pre-colonial situation described by Alidou (2003:197), in which “each group used its own language to educate its children, essentially making education lin- guistically and culturally responsive within each tribal or ethnic setting,” still exists in certain sociocultural contexts.

However, the burgeoning expansion of formal education and the curriculum associated with it, has done much to devalue local knowledge. School subjects, taught in foreign languages, fill the learner’s day; attempting to master them takes up huge human and financial resources. Little wonder that neither children nor their parents have much time to think of the utility and value of the knowledge that shapes their lives and interactions in the community.

Some would say that the place for local knowledge no longer exists, that the Western-generated curriculum of African formal education today is the only knowledge that matters today. However, if asked, community members disagree. This paper describes an initiative to develop supplementary reading materials, for early primary-aged children, generated by parents and teachers in the community. Carried out in the Ukambani 1 region of Kenya, the process, the outcomes, and the re- flections of the participants all provide evidence of the relevance and utility of the local knowledge that exists in African communities – knowledge that constitutes an “untapped resource”(Dei 2008:234) for individual and community well-being.

2. Ethnicity and education in Kenya

The national sociopolitical and curricular environment provides a context in which the availability and use of local-language reading materials can be assessed. Given that curriculum content repro- duces and reflects the priorities and values of those in power (Rizvi and Lingard 2010), it is reason- able to judge curriculum choices against these larger societal perspectives on ethnicity and nation- hood.

The West African nation of Ghana provides some points of comparison. Coe (2005:89) maintains that in the Ghanaian state’s approach to ethnicity, features of indigenous culture and political structures are used to solidify the legitimacy of the state:

The post-colonial government of Ghana has attempted to appropriate the cultural symbols of royalty in traditional kingdoms, in order to flaunt its own power, cement its legitimacy and create a national identity over and above allegiances to traditional chiefs and kingdom- or town-based identities. Coe seems to argue that this identification of the Ghanaian state with indigenous culture is almost assimilationist:

In Ghana the government’s education and cultural policies are aimed at making culture a national property associated with the state. State policies and curricula make cultural practices more organized and systematized (ibid.). Coe notes that the state’s intent is that this appropriation of indigenous culture into national identity be done through the curriculum, among other means. The challenge here is that teachers do not necessarily feel up to the task of teaching cultural matters, for a variety of reasons. Thus,

when cultural matters come up in the classroom, many teachers can neither retain their role as teachers giving school knowledge nor appropriate the role of traditional elders (2005:187). State-sponsored cultural events and competitions actually seem to be the most effective means of transmitting the idea that the nation of Ghana is fully and intentionally multicultural (ibid.). 1Ukambani is the region of Kenya primarily populated by the Kamba people.

2 In Kenya, the state approach to ethnicity is complex with some commonalities with the Ghanaian situation—but some very different aspects as well. Gifford (2009), based on a reading of multiple expert sources on the political history of Kenya, concludes that the notion of formalized ethnic groups or ‘tribes’ was an artifact of the British colonial government system. Colonial rule “helped fix ethnic and local boundaries, defining new arenas of competition for state resources.…Through these processes, ethnic groups became political tribes” (2009:7). Today, Gifford, argues,

Ethnic groups now collide in competition for the increased resources of the state, and political effectiveness is seen as the ability to promote the interests of the primary ethnic community rather than those of the nation (2009:8). The result is a deep-seated ethnic fragmentation, propagated by widespread political and economic favoritism, rather than an appropriation of the political structures and other features of indigenous cultures as in Ghana.

In this context, the Kenyan curriculum as enacted in the classroom is a mix of support and disre- gard for ethnic cultures. The pattern seems to be that supportive policy and official directives exist, but are not implemented with a commensurate degree of support. From early in the history of independent Kenya, issues of culture and national unity have been a curriculum concern. Bunyi 2013:683) notes that the government-appointed Ominde Commission in 1964

raised for itself the question, “What is the contribution that might be made by the curriculum towards the goal of national unity”….In answering the question, the commission looked to changes in the history and geography curricula, greater emphasis on the teaching of Kiswahili, a focus on the arts and crafts and introduction of targeted co-curricular activi- ties. The commission also recommended the revision of the syllabus so as to localize the geography and history content to Africa and to Kenya.

More currently, the Primary Education Syllabus (Kenya Institute of Education 2002) notes that one of the eight national education goals is to “promote respect for and development of Kenya’s rich and varied cultures”:

Education should instill in the youth of Kenya an understanding of past and present cultures and their valid place in contemporary society. The children should be able to blend the best of traditional values with the changed requirements that must follow rapid devel-

opment in order to build a stable and modern society (2002:v). The syllabus’ introduction to the mother tongue subject, one of the principal subjects where culture is addressed, notes:

The culture of a people is expressed in mother tongue. Mother Tongue must be taught positively so that learners can respect their cultural heritage as a basis for appreciating that of other people and make own [sic] contribution when they grow up (2002:150). Probably the most visible marker of attention to local culture in the classroom is policy regarding use of the language associated with that ethnic culture. Kenyan language policy calls for the mother tongue, or “the language of the catchment area,” to be used as the language of instruction in the first three grades of primary school (Kenya Institute of Education 1992:143). The languages not used as medium of instruction (Swahili and English, the national and official languages) are meant to be taught as subjects. The policy intent to give a space to local (ethnic) languages in the

3 curriculum is based partly on notions of national cultural patrimony, and partly on pedagogical argu- ments for effective learning using a language the pupil speaks rather than one he or she doesn’t.

However, actual implementation of this policy is uncommon in Kenyan primary schools, partly ow- ing to a widespread language ideology about the primacy of English in economic, social and political success (Trudell and Piper 2013). Another central reason for this non-compliance has to do with the lack of pedagogical materials available that use or teach the local languages; this paucity of local- language text makes its use very difficult, even for a teacher who recognizes the pedagogical and social value of using the language of the community as a medium of instruction.

Curricular support for ethnic cultural features other than language is even less robust, for several reasons:

Curriculum materials in this subject are almost enrely lacking in the classrooms. The best known (and loved) local-language school textbooks are the Tujifunze Kusoma Kikwetu (TKK) reading series, published by the Kenyan government in 1968 in 15 Kenyan languages (Munene 2014:11; Chakava n.d.). More recently published materials do exist (Kenya Litera ture Bureau 2014), but the government’s practice of textbook distribution in the 1970s and 1980s was replaced in 1988 by a system requiring communities to buy their own textbooks (Rotich 2004:178). This spelled the abandonment of provision of mother-tongue pedagogical materials, since limited funds meant priority on the textbooks that were seen as more imme diately relevant to end-of-primary examinations (carried out in English). Hence, the TKK ma terials are the most likely mother-tongue pedagogical materials to be found, particularly in rural classrooms.

Teachers in many cases are posted to geographic and ethnic regions of the country which are not their own; teaching local culture becomes awkward at best in this situation.

The deep-seated belief, held by parents, teachers and national education authorities alike, is that formal education is intended to teach and promote “global” knowledge, not Kenyan cultural knowledge (Trudell 2007). This belief is directly related to the centrality of the formal education system in the cultural model of the modern society or nation-state, and the deter- mination of the political and cultural leadership of Kenya to be part of the “club” of such nation states (Krücken and Drori 2009:209). In the global vision of education and progress, local culture plays no role at all. This is not to say that Kenyan cultures are not officially recognized or supported at all. Indeed, government institutions such as the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts provide a certain level of support for preserving knowledge of unique cultural features of indigenous Kenyan ethnic groups. The Department of Culture, formed in 1980, has as its mission “to promote, preserve, revitalize and develop Kenya’s diverse cultural heritage for appreciation, national cohesion and for sustainable development.” 2 The National Museums of Kenya (NMK), a state corporation established by an Act of Parliament, is has been mandated to “collect, preserve, study, document and present Kenya’s past and present cultural and natural heritage.” 3 And the Ministry of State for National Heritage

2http://www.minspoca.go.ke/?page_id=297 . Accessed 19 July 2014.

3http://www.museums.or.ke/content/view/125/8/ . Accessed 19 July 2014.

4 and Culture has developed a National Inventory on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (no date) 4 which describes a number of features of Western, Mijikenda (coastal) and Maasai cultures. However, these efforts take a primarily documentary and preservationist approach to Kenyan cultures, rather than treating these cultures as a current and relevant aspect of the lives of Kenyans and of the nation.

3. Curriculum: Space for whom?

The formal education curriculum can be defined as “the planned learning experiences that formal institutions provide to learners, suggesting both different theories of knowledge as well as different purposes for knowing” (LoBianco 2008:116). The question then must be raised as to whose knowledge and whose purposes are shaping curriculum. Is the state the sole arbiter of this decision? If so, on what grounds are certain kinds of knowledge prioritized and others ignored? What voice do parents and local communities have in determining what their children should know? Or, at the other extreme, is it appropriate for the state to hand off this decision entirely to the archi- tects of world society and its accompanying education culture?

In many ways it would appear that international voices have more influence on the curriculum than local voices. In the globalized environment of education today, curriculum choices are linked to “the reconstitution of education as a central arm of national economic policy”, as well as being

4http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/doc/download.php?versionID=21035 . Accessed 19 July 2014.

5 central to the identity that the nation wishes to construct in the global community of nations (Rizvi and Lingard 2010:96). With education being seen as key to the economic competitiveness of the nation in the global economy, international standardized testing has been introduced; the role of the curriculum is then to ensure that the nation’s children can compete globally. The curriculum choices made in this context have little to do with national or local culture realities, but rather with the acquisition of internationally accepted, Western-generated knowledge (including the dominant languages in which that knowledge is conveyed). So it is that a global educational environment is exerting heavy influence on the national curriculum.

Meyer and Benavot (2013:12), in a critical examination of the role of international testing in education governance, note that the shift from national government control over curriculum to control by international market forces has a negative impact on the socializing function of education:

The orientation of public education is changing from what used to be a focus on cultural and civic socialization, to preparation for the workforce. Given that education is at the heart of a nation’s social and civic reproduction, and is crucial for its civic coherence, this is a far-reaching shift indeed. … To the extent that education is sacrificed to economic im- peratives, the civic function is neglected, and the political-democratic fabric of societies is bound to loosen. And the truth is that, at least in Africa, the learning outcomes that result from a curriculum shaped by international market forces are not likely to satisfy parents, communities or the state. The mismatch between international and national norms for learning is evident in the poor results regis- tered by ‘developing’ nations on international examinations such as the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS)—and, in some cases, the subse- quent withdrawal of these nations from engagement with such internationally standardized examinations (Lockheed 2013: 171). Lockheed describes the response of the South African Ministry of Education to the performance of South African students in the 2007 TIMMS as one of “outrage.” Surely such test results, and this sort of national response to national performance on international examinations, indicates the seriousness of the mismatch.

Arguably, language of instruction choice, a core feature of internationalized curriculum, is also a core cause of much of the learning disconnect. Bunyi (2008:17) reports on the performance of Kenyan students on the 1998 SAQMEC criterion-referenced English reading test: “77 percent of Kenyan Standard 6 pupils had not attained the English reading mastery level deemed desirable for successful learning in Standard 7.” Bunyi’s investigation as to why this might be so highlighted the fact that English is not serving Kenyan students, their teachers or their communities:

Classroom ethnographers who have sought to document classroom processes reveal that the use of English as the language of instruction is associated with intellectually unchalleng- ing curriculum and pedagogy. … The teachers in the [rural] school also constantly told me that the children did not learn easily and that they did not understand easily (Bunyi 2008:28). However, language is not the only cultural feature that has been sidelined by internationalized curriculum. African indigenous knowledge of every sort has been marginalized in the curriculum that African states have adopted so readily. Prof. George Sefa Dei, Chair of the Department of So- ciology and Equity Studies at Ontario International School of Education (OISE), University of To- ronto, states it clearly:

6 Both on the continent and in North America, the education that I have received tended to least emphasize the achievements and contributions of African peoples in their own right. This has been a form of education that can only be characterized as ‘non-indigenized education’. It is education imposed on Africa by external forces. It has been an education that has for the most part failed to deeply cultivate self-esteem and pride in peoples of African descent. It was and still is a Eurocentric education, and it continues to distort, misappropri- ate and misinterpret African human condition and reality (2008:231). Dei further argues that externally imposed forms of education fail to recognize African indigenous cultural values, traditions, mythology, thought and history as “a sufficient body of knowledge about the African social reality and the human condition” (2008:232). For Dei, the educational cri- sis in Africa is related to European-dominated educational policies and practices - including curriculum, texts, and pedagogies - that fail to speak to the variety of human experiences, histories and ideas that have shaped and continue to shape human growth and development on the continent (2008:233). The curriculum that has been inherited from the colonial model of education, rather than tapping such local skills and knowledge, devalues and neglects community-level in- structional strategies and practices (2008:234).

Dei argues that “transformational African education must find ways to tap the cultural resource knowledge of local peoples.” He points to the value of locally-generated educational resources for improving African education:

it is common knowledge that local African proverbs, parables, tales, folklore, fables, myths and mythologies contain words of wisdom and important information about society and its peoples and the interactions of culture and nature. These different lines of cultural knowledge have a long history and are connected to the traditions of local communities and their understandings of the social and natural worlds. Such local knowledge systems are significant for implying the intellectual agency of subjects (Dei:239). Dei describes these resources as a means of asserting local voice, “a necessary exercise in resisting domination and colonial imposition” (ibid.).

Benson (2006) makes a related point when she argues that bringing the community language into the school makes the curriculum more accessible to local stakeholders. Taking this argument one step further, bringing community knowledge into the school makes the curriculum itself more re- flective of the values and strengths of the community.

4. The program: Community-based literature development in Ukambani

This conceptual environment of dubious educational outcomes and national ambivalence about ethnicity is the context for a project that aims to provide locally-generated, professionally produced, early grade reading materials in the Kamba language of Kenya. Called the Community- Based Literature Development (CBLD) project, the project is carried out jointly by World Vision Kenya and SIL Africa with the purpose of providing local-language supplementary reading materials for use in the Literacy Boost 5 project in the target communities. Literacy Boost is a project developed by Save the Children, and is carried out in Kenya by Save the Children and World Vision; it aims to improve reading outcomes in young learners through engagement in the home, the class-

5(http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.7084483/k.8F5A/Literacy_Boost.htm ,). Ac- cessed 24 July 2014. 7 room and the community.

Infrastructural support for the CBLD project was provided by World Vision Kenya; SIL Africa provided the project consultants to help guide the community through the project. The CBLD Kamba project was begun in mid-2013; 38 titles were produced, containing a total of 60 stories, in a range of formats including A6, A5 and A4 books, two-sided A4 story sheets, and two-sided A4 comics. The steps of the project included training of Kamba-speaking facilitators, followed by focus groups and writing sessions held in the Kamba-speaking communities. The editing, illustration and layout of the resulting stories were extensive and meticulous, in order that the resulting books might be attractive enough to hold their own in the English- and Swahili-language book market. Several months later, but before the books were distributed, authors were interviewed on their perspectives regarding the production of these Kamba-language story books and what they might mean for the schools and the Kamba-speaking community. These perspectives are examined in detail in section 4.4. In early 2015, several months after the books had been distributed, observations of reading camps were carried out, as well as interviews of teachers connected to the Liter- acy Boost program. Findings are described in section 4.5.

4.1. Materials development

The materials development process was designed with two goals in mind: to produce reading materials that will engage children in minority language-speaking environments and facilitate their learning; and to engage, validate and empower the language community in the process. Regarding the first goal, CBLD project designer Barbara Graham refers to the work of Margaret Meek (1987) to argue that

children learn a great deal about literacy when they are drawn into the story by the way the content reflects their interests and culture, the layout of the words on the page, the way in which illustrations interact with the text, the way their emotions connect with the

8 content, and the extent to which authors and illustrators treat children as readers who ap- preciate the book as a creative product (Graham and Ndunde 2013: 2). The second goal of community engagement led to an emphasis on community involvement in all aspects of the process....The aim was to enable community members to successfully write the kinds of stories mentioned above and knowledgeably critique stories written by others (ibid.). This dual priority played out in the language medium used, the choice of story topics, and the book production itself.

• Language medium . As described above, the connection between language and culture in this community is reciprocal. On one hand, use of the local language engages and mobilizes community members to a degree not possible with English or Swahili; on the other hand, addressing and describing locally relevant knowledge requires use of the local language (a

fact that was emphasized by the authors themselves; see below). For this reason, Kikamba 6 was seen from the start as the central language for implementation. The project implementation team consisted of Kikamba speakers; the focus groups and writing sessions were facilitated by those team members in Kikamba, and all writing was done in Kikamba. Great care was also taken at the editing stage, with the involvement of Kikamba speakers who were also highly educated and highly literate.

• Choice of story topics was another crucial feature of this project. The lack of community input that is typical of pedagogical materials and practices in the formal education system serves to isolate the learning that takes place there from the children’s lived experience outside of school. In the CBLD process, community members were first consultants regarding the story topics, and then authors of those stories. This process allowed a perspective shift, from the notion that reading, books, and the classroom constitute a silo of outside knowledge and language, to the idea that it is possible for the community to engage mean- ingfully in their children’s reading and formal education experience.

In this case, the six story genres chosen by the focus groups were “why” stories, Bible stories, 7 information stories, fantasy stories, adventure stories and moral stories.

Boo producon . To counter local beliefs about the supposed mismatch between local languages and “real” books, a significant project focus was the professional editing, illustration, layout and printing of the CBLD stories. It was intended that the publications be of a quality that would bear scrutiny by national-level examiners, and that the community would be proud to own. To this end, a great deal of project time and resources went into this phase of the project. Profes- sional illustrators, typesetters and editors were engaged. The stories themselves went through three edits; multiple readers looked for errors in spelling, correct placement of text and stories, appropriateness of the illustrations to the culture and the story, and so on. The resulting publications appear so far to be fairly error-free. Though it may seem to be quite a modest goal for a pub- lication, this outcome is challenging to attain in a language context where readers, writers and

6The name of the language spoken by the Kamba people of Kenya.

9 books are not plentiful - and where vocabulary and spellings may not be standardized.

4.2. Why these topics?

The community members’ choice of genres for the stories was significant. The focus group members and authors knew that this material would be aimed at the young children of their community; for the first time they had an opportunity to influence what those children would learn through the medium of written text.

The genres chosen by the focus groups were:

● “Why” stories: these stories focus on why certain things in nature are as they are. Histori- cally, community elders used this format to educate the community regarding important lessons of life, allowing the hearers to learn community values in a way that is natural and easy to remember. When community members who participated in the developing of genres were asked why it was important to have “why” stories, they responded that these stories have existed in their traditional mythology and that it is important for the learners of today to learn these important lessons. For example, the story of why the Ostrich has a long neck illustrates the lesson that one should not trust all friends; in this story format, the lesson is not forgotten easily. The community authors believe that these stories and lessons, informed by the worldview of the ancestors, will help to shape the worldview of the learners in a positive way.

● Bible stories: The Kamba community has a rich history of Chrisan missionary work in their land. Africa Inland Mission missionaries who came from Scotland have had a significant impact on people’s perspectives and religion. The community has adopted the Christian faith and this is reflected in their way of life, the naming of their children, local place-names, and other cultural features. Thus the community members were keen to have Bible stories in their language as part of their literature. These stories represent deep values that the community holds, and they express the high esteem in which they hold their religious faith.

● Informaon stories: Realizing that they are part of a bigger global context, the authors were eager to write books that give information on life skills to children while they are young. Living in communities that have been experienced accidents, HIV/AIDS and other modern challenges prompted the authors to want to give information on these subjects to the children. They hope that this will create awareness for the children as they grow up, regarding the need to make wise, informed choices in life—as well as what to do if and when they find themselves in difficult situations. This hope led to the creation of stories like Kisomo ni iseu (Education is good], a story that tells the reader why people should send their children to school and why learners should take education seriously.

7It should be noted that the Bible story genre chosen reflects the predominantly Christian culture of the Kamba community. In other materials development projects, community choice of religious genres has been overridden by the implementing and/or funding agencies; in this case, World Vision had a broader view and so several stories from the Bible were included.

10 ● Fantasy stories: Tradional Kamba mythology included fantasy stories that could remove the hearers from the present, and take them to a world where anything was possible. Out- side of the boundaries of “real life” situations, the mind is able to wrestle with difficult ideas, overcome barriers and create solutions for problems that exist. This encourages creativity. It was the desire of the writers that fantasy stories would help children improve their creativity, validate their dreams and help them to aim higher in than what they can presently see in their community.

● Adventure stories: The adventure stories are aimed at informing the children about phe- nomena outside their current experience. They include stories like “A journey to Nairobi,” “An encounter with a lion” and others. They describe the experiences of those who step outside the norm, encounter difficulties and eventually triumph to tell the story. Writers wanted to give this challenge to the learners as well.

● Morals/values stories: Morals/values stories represent lessons and cultural values that are held in high esteem in the community. They represent what the culture views as ideal behaviors; those who do not align their behaviors with these values face negative consequences, not only in this life but in the next. Moral stories are intended to help shape children’s behavior, to teach them what is considered good in the community and what is not. They include stories like “The foolishness of the hyena,” a story that teaches that even beneficial things can be harmful if one is greedy. This choice of genres, as much as the stories themselves, indicate the extent to which the Kamba CBLD participants saw themselves and their work as pedagogy that is complementary to the formal school curriculum.

4.3. Author interviews

The semi-structured interviews were carried out in English, Swahili and/or Kamba, depending on the language preference of the author. One of the interviewers, a non-Kamba, had been involved in implementing the CBLD; the other, a Kamba, had not been part of the project implementation. Nine CBLD authors were individually interviewed: four of them were teachers, the other four were community members who were involved in the Literacy Boost project in some way. Their details can be found in Appendix A. The author interview questions can be found in Appendix B. The interviews were conducted over a period of two days, with interviews ranging from 50–90 minutes per interviewee.

4.4. Interview findings

Analysis of the interview data revealed three key themes: writing and reading in Kikamba, cultural relevance, and issues of curriculum and school. 8

4.4.1. Writing in Kikamba

The authors expressed a significant sense of achievement in writing the CBLD stories. Their per-

8The language used in these quotes represents the spoken English of Kamba speakers with a range of educational experience.

11 spectives included a skills component and an affective component.

- The craft of writing in Kikamba: All the respondents spoke positively about the skills they gained in writing Kikamba through the CBLD training and writing process. Some examples: Our stories are good quality, just lie the others we see. … We followed the bigger principles of writing, and this is something that is big for us. (Stephen Mutisya) Test us now - we have become very good writers! (David Mutisya)

The difference they found between the ease of writing in Kikamba and writing in English or Kiswa- hili was clear:

With English you are chancing and really thining what to write, but mother tongue comes out naturally. (Annah Kyama) I don’t have much materials in English or Swahili, but [I have done] a lot and a lot of thining in Kiamba. (David Itute) - The affective side of writing in Kikamba: The authors described the experience of authoring Kikamba children’s books as “an honor” (David Itute), and as doing “the right thing” (Stephen Mutisya). One author (Tabitha Musau) said that the children will “be moved” by the language and culture reflected in the stories. Another said, There is no way [boos from outside the community] can spea to the children lie what we wrote here. (Stephen Mutisya)

The writing process seems to have tapped some deeper meaning for the authors, beyond simply the production of supplemental reading materials for the community’s children.

The authors’ pride in what they had done was evident:

Now our names may even appear in America where the Kamba people are because we have written. The name of this location will be taen high! (Annah Kyama) This sense of accomplishment among the authors seemed enhanced by the relative scarcity of appropriate Kikamba books in the school or community at this time:

There were no Kamba boos in our schools. Children don’t understand a lot when taught in other languages (Patricia Kisavi) We don’t have many Kamba boos, the little [amount of] boos that are there are not so well written in terms of age appropriate so the teachers have to select materials according to age. (Tabitha Musau) The boos that are there in Kamba language were written long time ago and may not reflect the current realities. They are also very few. (Stephen Mutisya)

12 4.4.2. Reading in Kikamba

Where reading is concerned, the authors predicted that the materials will provide the community’s children with enhanced text accessibility, increased attraction to reading, a greater enjoy- ment of reading and of the school experience, and an understanding that books do not have to come from outside the community. On this last point, one author predicted the community’s reali- zation that the prestigious activity of writing can be a local activity:

For now they think that authors are people who come from outside. When they see books written by their people and with issues that they know, they will feel that they are well placed. This will encourage them knowing that they can become also important people in the community. (Benedict Manyi) One frequently mentioned feature of the books was the illustrations; the opinion was that these pictures will enhance understanding of the text and increase the appeal of the books. For example: The books had many pictures that the children can relate to. The children will understand the pictures because they are our pictures from our village. (Patricia Kisavi) Given that one feature of the CBLD program is its attention to the quality, number and cultural accuracy of the illustrations (most of them in color), it is telling that this feature was highlighted so frequently by the authors.

4.4.3. Cultural relevance

The authors had strong opinions about the cultural relevance of both the materials development process and the stories themselves—and about why that relevance matters. The choice of Kikamba as the language medium was part of the relevance. One author noted:

What was impressive is the fact that we went deep into Kikamba. . . . [the children] will be moved by the language. (Tabitha Musau) The beauty and uniqueness of expression possible in Kikamba was highlighted: Writing [Kikamba] to me is like when musicians sit down and write their songs. (David Mutisya) If there is a song, you can’t sing it in the foreign language. (Jacinta Mutuku) There are sayings that won’t come out [in another language]. (David Itute) There are some words, which may not come very clearly in English the way they came out in Kikamba. There are also some language expressions that are not found in English. (Benedict Manyi) The stories have our sayings. They also have our songs and examples from our community. Those elements cannot be found in any other [non-Kikamba] story. (Stephen Mutisya) The cultural uniqueness of the stories themselves was noted. For example: You know we created the stories from within….Stories from elsewhere will not be of very much benefit; [the children] understand their context better. (David Itute) The examples in the stories are unique. (David Mutisya)

13 Stories from outside are okay, but they have the culture of the outside—some of which the locals don’t know. (Annah Kyama) A strong values aspect of the Kikamba stories also became evident, as described in the choice of “moral stories” as a genre. The authors indicated that materials in Kikamba are able to transmit community cultural values to the children; furthermore, the use of these stories in the Literacy Boost project brings this content into the curriculum. [These stories are] teaching them morals, which they will use in their daily life. (Jacinta Mutuku) If there is a moral lesson, it may not come out well in another language because the morals are what that society is familiar with. . . . Now we are preparing children with what we have to face the world. (Stephen Mutisya) If [the children] lose the mother tongue they are losing morals. (Annah Kyama) [The stories] will help the children have manners. (David Itute) I think it’s appropriate to teach children [these topics] because mwacha mila ni mtumwa [whoever abandons his culture is a slave]. (Tabitha Musau) When children read these books they will understand the strengths that they have in the community. (Benedict Manyi) Children today don’t want lies, otherwise they will dislike. It’s important to have something they identify with and something that helps them. (Annah Kyama) Clearly there are Kamba-specific values and ethics, the expression of which does not appear to make the leap from the mother tongue to English or Swahili; or in any case, these values are not being passed on in the English- or Swahili-medium classroom environments. Significantly, adult community members were considered equally to be an audience for the stories, ensuring that this body of shared knowledge and values is maintained in the community. Other people will have interest in reading the books, even those not in school. (David Itute) The issues that we see in the community daily can turn out to be very good stories for others to read. (Benedict Manyi) I think even people with less knowledge [i.e. reading skills] will find them fun to read, and this will boost the reading culture. (Stephen Mutisya) The community has a very special interest to read the stories that we have done. (David Mutisya)

4.4.4. Issues of curriculum and school

Where schooling is concerned, the overwhelming opinion was that these Kikamba supplementary readers provide a window of enhanced success in the formal education system as that system plays out in their communities.

Using Kikamba as a learning medium was seen as a significant aid to children’s school learning, just

14 as using Kiswahili or English was seen as hindering learning: [Using their language] helps them know from within what they are talking about. (Patricia Kisavi) How can children do homework if they don’t even understand the questions? (David Mutisya) Use of the community language is seen to provide children with access to curriculum content as well: Mother tongue makes children want to go to school because they are not shocked from the home environment. (Stephen Mutisya) If children’s foundation in education is an unknown language, they may hate it. (Jacinta Mutuku) Foreign material is good as additional material, but it is not all our children need to know. (Benedict Manyi) The potential provided for parents to engage with the school curriculum and teach their children was also mentioned: Parents who have an interest of teaching their children at home and they are illiterate in Kiswahili will have an opportunity to teach in Kamba language. (David Mutisya) Parents can use [the books] to teach their children. (Tabitha Musau) Parents can borrow these books . . . as they educate their children. (Patricia Kisavi) The presence of the Literacy Boost program in at least one of the communities is seen as a significant complementary benefit as well:

We would like to send these books to many children in the [Literacy Boost] reading camps. . . They are going to be part of our Literacy Boost programs that go beyond the school. … In reading camps, the children are free. They even don’t come with uni- forms so they feel good. (Jacinta Mutuku) In town they may not need [the mother tongue]. But here it is very important. I have seen a lot of change in the learners ever since we started implementing Literacy Boost in the mother tongue. (David Mutisya) Related to this, there was a general sense from the teachers interviewed that the CBLD stories will enhance current attempts to use Kikamba as the medium of instruction in the early grade classroom. Teachers have been using limited TKK materials, and translating English and Swahili textbooks where TKK are inadequate; the CBLD story topics are seen to make an additional, positive pedagogical contribution to the Kikamba-medium curriculum.

4.5. Observations and interviews of users

Approximately five months after the CBLD books were distributed to Literacy Boost reading camps, observational data was gathered in eight of the camps regarding how the books were being used. In addition, semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight Literacy Boost facilitators and four head teachers of the schools; their details can be found in Appendix C. Some children at the reading camps were informally engaged as well, but no notes were kept of these interactions.

15 The data-gathering team consisted of two CBLD implementation team members and two associ- ates from the Literacy Boost project. Three of the four team members were mother-tongue Ki- Kamba speakers. Team members used the KiKamba language to speak to the children at the reading camps; however interviews with the head teachers and reading camp facilitators were conducted in a mix of English and Kiswahili. The interview protocol is found in Appendix D.

4.5.1. Use of the books

In several reading camps, the CBLD books showed signs of wear: for example, in Kandae, Itumba and Kasundu camps. However this was not universally true; for example, in Muthue Primary School some books were just being removed from their bags on the occasion of the observers’ visit.

The CBLD books were designed to be highly accessible to Kamba children: the content and the language were familiar, and the text was levelled for ease of reading. The extent of their use ap- peared to depend on the degree to which teachers and headmasters support the reading camp idea and are promoting use of the books in various ways. Six of the eight reading camps observed were actually located in schools, which led to the books being frequently used in both the camp and classroom contexts. In Kyanyaa Primary School, the books are used by teachers in the upper grades as well as the lower grades. In that same school, the education officer has been encourag- ing reading camp leaders to allow children to take books home to read. Children may sign out a book, return it when finished and take another one.

16 In fact, one of the greatest benefits of the CBLD books is the teaching resource they represent to classroom teachers:

The Kamba books have been so helpful to assist those that are beginning to learn. We even had children in class 5 and 6 who could not read. We began going back to the basics and beginning from Kamba they are now reading very well. (Anne Ngovu, Kyanyaa Primary School) The extent of use also depends on the physical aspects of the books. The more frequently chosen books tended to be the ones with the biggest font sizes, the brightest colors and the largest number of illustrations.

The stories with more pictures are those that the children want most. The only challenge is the comic book because it has very small writings. ( Lena Musya, Kasundu Primary School) Actually, they like the colors in the books and the pictures. They like the orange books more than the rest. (Pius Kithoki, Kiati Primary School) One camp facilitator, herself an ECD (early child development) teacher, described the difference between the reading camp books and the books found in the school itself: The books in the reading camp enable the children to gain fluency and they are better because they have pictures. The ones in the school do not have pictures. (Caroline Mukosyo, Kandae reading camp) The observers noticed that one class 3 student from Kiati Primary School who could not read was still able to construct the story by looking at the pictures.

4.5.2. Impact on reading ability

The Literacy Boost reading camps themselves were credited with building children’s reading ability and their confidence:

There is a difference between those who come to camp and those who do not. Those who come to the camp are more fluent. Those who come to camp are not shy and are able to narrate the simple stories in front of the class. (Caroline Mukosyo, Kandae reading camp) The children are learning how to read faster than usual. When they came to the camp we found that the non-school environment [even though the camp is in the school] was very helpful. They were freer, and they really liked the stories. (Anne Ngovu, Kyanyaa Primary School) Several of the teachers and reading camp staff interviewed felt that the Kamba-language books had an especially significant impact on the reading ability of the children in the reading camps.

When Literacy Boost started we didn’t have the Kamba books. What I know is that at time it was more difficult for children to read. However nowadays it has become very easy for the children to read because the books are in a language they understand. (Anne Ngovu, Kyanyaa Primary School) The reading camps, and the Kamba books in them, are seen to be stimulating the children’s oral language creativity as well as their reading.

17 This program has boosted even the creativity of the children, because now during oral storytelling lessons you can hear that they borrow a lot from the books in this place. (Pius Kithoki, Kiati Primary School) Some felt that the Kamba books were much more helpful in learning to read than the English or Swahili books that were also available at the camps. I have seen children learn to read and begin improving in class and confidence lev- els. I have seen both my [preschool] children and those in lower primary improve their abilities very much. We no longer struggle with Kiswahili in the preschool because we just begin with the stories in Kamba….The [Literacy Boost] program began with English and Kiswahili books that were very hard for the learners. Yes they man- aged to know how to read but with a lot of struggle. Now you can hear that they read with comprehension. In class they even laugh at the funny expressions unlike when done in English. (Pius Kithoki, Kiati Primary School) They are not able to read the English books well and they stammer a lot, but not so with MT. (Loise Bakari, Kiviu Primary School) One reading camp facilitator credited the Kamba books with enhancing the popularity of the camp: In this school it was very difficult for children to read. A good example is David who is a child of a teacher now in class 5. He was not able to read even a single word. When Literacy Boost came, we were able to begin helping him but it was difficult. But when the Kamba books came, we coached him and just like that he picked up reading. Now he reads out very well and also he is able to write. The mother is so happy. As a result the school is asking children to come and be with me on Saturday. The headmaster has been very supportive and now we just think that we need more books. (Kasao Kilati, Itumba Primary School) Several teachers have observed that the Kamba books help the children with their reading in other languages as well:

When children learn in Kikamba, they are very good at picking the reading and transferring it to reading English and Kiswahili. These camps have boosted the ability of our children to read by a very high level. . . . It has made a big difference. Now the children are doing better in the reading to the extent that the head teacher has made it mandatory for the children from this school to go to the reading camps. (Lenah Musya, ECD teacher, Kasundu Primary School) Once they have internalized some of the CBLD stories, they can use the syllables to read in other languages (Caroline Mokosu, Kandae Primary School) These books create a lot of confidence in the young readers. Loise Bakari, Kiviu Pri- mary School) The sociocultural impact that the authors were aiming for seemed to come through as well. As was predicted by the authors (4.4.2 above), the Kamba books made the writing process seem accessible to the children:

The book called unyanya wa ngombe na munyambu [The Friendship of a Cow and a Lion] was written by a former student of this school. This has inspired the children here to want to read more because now they know that they can make it and be 18 writers, but also they know what he is talking about. (Lena Musya, Kasundu Primary School) Kamba cultural features also seemed to be reinforced for the children: The children are very happy when they read the things they know. (Pius Kithoki, Kiati Primary School) The children have begun using their mother tongue [in the context of reading]. Also they are learning about their culture. (Caroline Mukosyo, Kandae reading camp) 4.5.3. Programmatic issues

As noted above, the use and perceived utility of the CBLD books were closely linked to programmatic features of the Literacy Boost program. In general, the establishment of the reading camps was seen as a real contribution to children’s learning; the addition of Kamba-language books to the camp resources was also highly appreciated. This is one of the best interventions we have seen with World Vision. (Kasao Kilati, Itumba Primary school) However, some aspects of the camps themselves seem to be wanting from the point of view of the teachers and facilitators. - Issues of facilitator capacity and commitment. The voluntary aspect of the facilitator role appears to have contributed to some attrition. One facilitator commented that she was now the only one to run the reading camp, since those meant to be working with her lacked the motivation to continue. Her desire to help the children kept her coming regard- less. I am alone handling 90 children (Loise Bakari, Kiviu reading camp) In another case, the lack of a reading camp leader over three camp sessions led parents to forbid their children to attend again. - Location of the reading camps . Two observations were made regarding the location of the reading camps: Some of the camps were at some distance from the facilitator’s home, making it difficult for him or her to run them adequately. The reading camps linked closely to schools seemed to be more used and more effective. - School/parent support . As might be expected, parental support makes a huge difference to the effectiveness of the reading camps. Parents are supporting the teachers to remain with the children in the afternoon so that the children can read the materials (Mr. Nyamai, headmaster, Kasyelia Primary School) For parents who know this thing, they send their children to the camp. They know that when children learn to read in their language they become fluent readers. How- ever some parents have not been supportive. Mrs. Petronila Symbua, Muthue Pri- mary School)

19 Those parents that understand the benefit are those that observe their children closely and many have come to say thank you to us. (Kasao Kilati, Itumba Primary School) The head teacher of Kandae Primary School expressed real appreciation for the program: The children have improved their reading skills. The children are enthusiastic about reading the books. The camp leader is involved with the children and enthusiastic about the program.

5. Discussion

A few important points emerge from these findings.

5.1. At least among the Kamba community, there is culture-specific knowledge that the community considers important to pass on—even in these current times. This knowledge is not simply a matter of folk stories or traditional dress; rather it is deeply connected with Kamba concepts of the social and natural world, and with becoming what the Kamba consider to be good citizens of the community. Perhaps not surprisingly, the authors and the users consider it very important that this cultural knowledge be conveyed in the language of the community.

Expressing this knowledge in written form is an example of what Dei refers to as asserting local voice (Dei 2008:239; quoted above). This is a deeply liberational act, a fact which could account for the strong affective responses of the interviewed authors regarding the writing process itself. That these community members would be asked by outsiders to carry it out, and supported to do so, validates their voice and gives it stature in a way that the current national culture does not. Not only so, but the expression of this culture-specific knowledge, in the language of the community, makes it extremely accessible to the Kamba children.

This point speaks to the currently popular desire to increase the number of titles available in Afri- can languages by borrowing, translating or adapting literature from other cultures. While this practice can indeed provide interesting and instructive reading for learners in local language communities, it cannot take the place of locally-generated texts that express the unique values and knowledge of that community. This is not to say that Kamba values and knowledge are not shared by other ethnic communities in Kenya or Africa; but the assumption that Kamba cultural and social realities do not need to be written for Kamba citizens is a mistaken one.

5.2. Learning and maintaining this cultural knowledge is seen as important for the entire community. Children must be taught it, and adults must not forget it. Few local forums currently exist in this area for reflection on individual and community identity as Kamba, however; the CBLD authors intend that the stories will help provide a context and the content for that sort of discussion. They believe that understanding their own identity and values as a Kamba community provides the security needed to understand and respect other ethnic communities. This knowledge is not part of the formal education system in which the community’s children par- ticipate, despite the culture goals of the national primary syllabus (KIE 2002, quoted above). Space could be made for this local knowledge; however, up until now, the resource materials available and the curriculum expectations militate against inclusion of such local knowledge in the local language medium.

20 Thus, local school staff are caught in a dilemma. They value local knowledge, and they value the use of Kikamba as the medium of instruction, and in these ways they are in alignment with national policy on both. But the implementation of these policies in the community’s classrooms is significantly hindered in two ways:

● the limited pedagogical materials available (and the language they are in). The CBLD authors see these books as helping to remove this hindrance. And indeed, the Kamba- language CBLD materials are finding their way into the classrooms, a phenomenon based in the teachers’ felt need for materials that really speak to children and motivate them to read. ● curricular expectaons which eecvely devalue local knowledge in comparison to curriculum subjects that reflect global values and knowledge. This hindrance is also being addressed in the CBLD project; see point 4 below. 5.3. The formal schooling environment in the Kamba community is not highly conducive to strong learning outcomes, particularly in reading. This fact is what has motivated the implementation of the Literacy Boost program in Kamba schools. The Kamba-language materials, used in the context of the Literacy Boost reading camps, have a significant effect on the children’s ability to read. In- deed, the materials are making their way into the formal classrooms as well, as teachers find them to be helpful resources for classroom learning.

This outcome is not surprising; a great deal of research in Africa and elsewhere indicates that learning is greatly enhanced when it takes place in a language spoken by the learner. The common sense of this fact is behind the language of instruction choices made by countries of the global North, where children routinely learn in their home language; what perhaps is surprising is that research findings are required to legitimize use of the child’s mother tongue in African classrooms.

5.4. Because they contain content considered important for the community’s children to learn, and because teachers see them as useful for classroom learning, text materials such as those generated in the CBLD project could support the dismantling of the “silo” that is the formal school (Trudell 2006: 638). Particularly in rural African communities, the formal education system often presents as an isolated space of non-local knowledge and language; this “silo” effectively prevents the participation of community in the learning of its children, and contributes significantly to the alienation of those children from their knowledge heritage. Breaking down the barriers put into place by choices of language and curriculum content is extremely difficult.

One way in which the CBLD project can help accomplish this has to do with the demystification of written text: the content, the authors, and the community-focused process by which CBLD books are generated. The language and thematic content of the CBLD stories are well known to the reader, and so are readily understood. The enhanced accessibility of the written text lessens the sense of unfamiliarity and intimidation generated by pedagogical materials from elsewhere. This is leading to increased confidence on the part of the reader. Not only so, but children and authors alike are seeing the writing process as something they themselves can do, using the language they know.

The Literacy Boost project, developed by Save the Children and implemented in the Kamba community by World Vision, provides an ideal setting for breaking down the walls of intimidation and poor learning that surround the school in rural Africa today. The project is making space for locally

21 generated reading materials, local knowledge, and the local language to be taken seriously in curriculum content. The fact that the CBLD materials were developed for use in Literacy Boost project contexts is further argument for the potential of literature of this kind to help motivate and support community learners and teachers for success in school.

6. Conclusion

The Kenyan national context surrounding the CBLD project is one where ethnicity is both cele- brated and feared, where millions use indigenous languages daily and yet national systems ignore those same languages, where the values and practices of global culture played out in the national curriculum exist uneasily alongside the uniquely Kenyan values and practices that are learned in the home and community. This is an ideal context in which to explore the de-siloization of formal education, in which deci- sions about what Kenyan children need to know could be shared among Kenyan communities. Cul- tural knowledge could be valued and taught alongside more traditional school subjects. The use of a local language of instruction could serve as a gateway to both learning and community participation in children’s formal education. The CBLD project is a small but promising step towards this future.

22 Appendix A. Authors Interviewed (July 2014)

Name Occupation Location Language of the interview Patricia M. Kisavi Trainer of Trainers (TOT) World Vision Kalawa Swahili/English Kenya – Kalawa ADP Annah M. Kyama Primary school teacher Kiatineni Kikamba Benedict Manyi TOT World Vision Kenya – Kalawa ADP Kalawa Swahili/English

David Itute Muoka Primary school teacher Kiatineni English Tabitha Musau Primary school teacher Kiatineni Kikamba/Swahili/ English David Mutisya TOT World Vision Kenya – Kalawa ADP Kalawa Swahili/English Jacinta Mutuku Primary school teacher Kiatineni Kamba

Stephen Mutisya Youth Representative Kalawa Kiswahili/English

World Vision Kenya- Kalawa ADP

Appendix B. Author interview questions What was your experience of writing the Kamba stories last year? Did anything stand out for you in the writing process? If yes, what was it? Suggest any ways in which you think the books can be used in the community. If the same stories were written by others outside the community and brought in for the children to read, would it make any difference? Explain your answer. Give your assessment of the materials in relation to their appeal to young learners How do the materials compare with other materials in other languages for the same group of learners? Are there any benefits you think your stories will bring to the children and others in Ukam- bani? If yes name them. There are those who say that stories like these ones in the mother language are not important because children should read in English or Kiswahili. Do you agree with them? If not why do you think stories in the mother language are important? How different would this exercise’s be if you were asked to write in Kiswahili or English? Is there anything that your stories highlight that may not be found in other written literature that the people here would understand? If we were to repeat this exercise, what would you suggest we do differently?

23 Appendix C. Literacy Boost reading camps observed and staff interviewed (January 2015)

School/Center Location of the Literacy Head teachers in- Literacy Boost reading Boost reading camp terviewed camp facilitators Kyanyaa Within school library Mrs. Mwando Ms. Anne Ngovu Kasyelia Within school library Mr. Nyamai Ngele Mr. Mike Mbidyo

Kandae Local chief’s office Ms. Sarah Mwamiti Ms. Caroline Mukosyo

Muthue In the school No Ms. Petronila Syombua, Ms. Ciata Mangala Kiati In the school No Mr. Pius Kithoki Itumba In the school Mr. Nguna Mr. Kasao Kilati Kiviu In a local church No Ms. Loise Bakari

Kasundu In the school No Ms. Lena Musya

Appendix D. Facilitator/teacher interview questions What has been your experience in using the Kamba stories in your library/school? Are there any benefits that you see this books bringing to the children of Ukambani and Mu- tomo in particular? What stories do the children really love among the books? What is your opinion of why they love those particular stories? Have you observed any difference between the time you used English books and the time you are using Kamba language? Do you have any other comment about the CBLD materials in your community?

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