Uhusiano Design for learning

Kenya’s post-colonial education system, like many in Sub-Saharan Africa, has endured many challenges. High enrollment in primary schools is often coupled with low completion rates in secondary and postsecondary education. In this article we examine some of the processes that may lead to the disempowerment and disenfranchisement of youth in Kenyan schools, and report on a new approach that we call “Uhusiano Design for Learning”. Uhusiano Design focuses on three aspects of learner-centered pedagogy: multiple teachers (which creates an egalitarian sense of togetherness among participants), hands-on learning, and confidence. Longitudinal data from a non-formal education implementation of Uhusiano Design indicates that the strategies and approaches may support traditionally marginalized learners in and out of Kenya’s formal education system.