Boarding Schools as Colonizing and Oppressive Spaces: Towards Understanding Student Protest and Violence in Kenyan Secondary Schools
Goffman’s theory of total institutions and Fanon’s theory of violence were used to explain student protests and violence in Kenyan seconda.
- Pub. date: December 15, 2020
- Pages: 25-35
- 930 Downloads
- 1171 Views
- 0 Citations
Goffman’s theory of total institutions and Fanon’s theory of violence were used to explain student protests and violence in Kenyan secondary schools. Youth violence around the world is not a new phenomenon. However, the persistence, frequency, and intensity of violence, and their consequences beg for logical explanations and remedies. This study was part of a three-year project facilitated through the Networked Improvement Community partnership for self-study and intervention. Although a holistic approach to research was applied, data for this study were gathered through narrative inquiry. Participants (teachers, principals, and members of the school community) were identified purposively using the snowball process. Data were analyzed through deductive and inductive reasoning. Findings indicate a preponderance of student protest and violence among students in boarding schools. Student violence was a response to the devaluing and oppressive environment in boarding schools which resembled total institutions, and students exercising democratic rights to protest. The paper argues that school authorities could mitigate violent protests by providing formal political means of representation and democratic decision-making; creating new spaces for negotiation and peaceful protest; listening to the voices of students; and engaging in dialogue to create a common vision and mission.
Keywords: Student protest and violence, Networked Improvement Community, secondary schools.
0
References
Amutabi, M. N. (2002). Crisis and student protest in universities in Kenya: Examining the role of student in national leadership and the democratization process. African Studies Review, 45(20), 157-178.
Chabal, P., & Daloz, J. (1999). Africa works: Disorder as political instrument. University Press.
Cooper, E. (2014). Students, arson, and protest politics in Kenya: School fires as political action. African Affairs, 113(453), 586-600.
Cooper, E. (2016, November 24). A burning question: Why are Kenyan students setting fire to their schools? The conversation. https://theconversation.com/a-burning-question-why-are-kenyan-students-setting-fire-to-their-schools-69153
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.). Pearson.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Fanon, F. (1963). The wretched of the earth. Grove Weidenfeld.
Freire, P. (2003). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum.
Furlong, M., & Morrison, G. (2000). The school in school violence: Definitions and facts. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 82(2), 71-82.
Furlong, M. J., & Morrison, G. M. (1994). Introduction to miniseries: School violence and safety in perspective. School Psychology Review, 23(2), 139-150.
Furman, G. S., & Shields, C. M. (2005). How can educational leaders promote and support social justice and democratic communities in schools? (pp. 119-137). In W. A. Firestone & C. Reihl (Eds.). A new agenda for research in educational leadership. Teachers College Press.
Guadalupe, F., & Edling S. (2017), Children's Rights and Violence: A Case analysis at a Swedish boarding school. Childhood, 24(1), 51-67.
Goffman, E. (1958). Characteristics of total institutions. In R. T. Cannan, J. O. Cole & L. C. Kolb (Eds.), Symposium on preventive and social psychiatry (pp. 43-93). Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
Herber, C., & Trafford, B. (1999). Democratic management and school effectiveness in two countries: A case of pupil participation. Educational Management Administration Leadership, 27, 45-54.
Hocker, J. L., & Wilmot, W. W. (2014). Interpersonal conflict (9th.ed.). McGraw Hill.
Hooks, B. (1994). Teaching to transgress. Education as the practice of freedom. Routledge.
Jagero, N. (2012). A comparative evaluation of direct private cost in day and boarding schools after the introduction of free secondary education in the Kenyan schools. Review of Arts and Humanities, 1(5), 31-41.
Jones, K., & Fowles, A. J. (2008). Total institutions. In J. Johnson & J. Desouza (Eds.), Understanding health and social care: An introductory reader (pp. 103-106). Sage Publications.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage Publications.
Kibui, A., Kibera, L., & Bradshaw, G. 2014. Conflict Management as a tool for restoring discipline in Kenyan Public Secondary Schools. International Journal of Scientific Research and Innovative Technology, 1(3), 1-10.
Krek, J. (2020). Structural reasons for school violence and education strategies. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 10(2), 145-173.
Malenya, F. L. (2013). Rebel with cause: Trivial but potent students’ grievances in Kenyan Secondary schools. In S. Oni (Ed.), Challenges and prospects in African education systems (pp. 619- 627). Trafford Publishing.
Martinot, S. (n.d). The coloniality of power: Notes toward de-colonization. Open Computing Facility. https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~marto/coloniality.htm
McMahon, S. D., Peist, E., Davis, J. O., McConnell. E., Reaves, S., Reddy, L. A., Anderman, E. M., & Espelage, D.L. (2020). Addressing violence against teachers: A social-ecological analysis of teachers' perspectives. Psychology in Schools, 57(7), 1040-1056.
National Crime Research Centre. (2017). Rapid assessment of arson in secondary schools in Kenya – July – August 2016. http://crimeresearch.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rapid-Assessment-of-Arsons-in-Secondary-Schools-in-Kenya-2016.pdf
Oduor, A., & Kajilwa, G. (2016, July 28). Six reasons believed to be fueling the school fires. https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000210022/six-reasons-believed-to-be-fuelling-the-school-fires
Ojiambo, P. O. (2017). Kenyan youth education in colonial and post-colonial times: Joseph Kamiru Gikubu’s impact. Palgrave Macmillan.
Opere, O. A., Kamere, I., & Wawire, V. (2019) School violence as a cause of non-peaceful coexistence in public secondary schools in Nairobi, Kenya. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 7, 130-145. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2019.79010
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.) Sage Publications.
Quijano, A. (2000). Coloniality of power, Eurocentrism, and Latin America. Nepantla: Views from the South, 1(3), 533-580.
Quijano, A. (2007). Coloniality and modernity/rationality. Cultural Studies, 21(2), 168-178.
Republic of Kenya (2005). Sessional paper No. 1 of 2005: A policy framework for educational training and research. Government Printers.
Republic of Kenya. (1991). Report of the presidential committee on students’ unrest and indiscipline in Kenya secondary schools. Nairobi.
Republic of Kenya, (2001). Report of the task force on students discipline and unrest in secondary schools. Jomo Kenyatta Foundation.
Serrat, O. (2009). The five Whys technique. Cornell University. https://shorturl.at/yzEW3
Sifuna, D. N. (1990). Development of education in Africa: The Kenya experience. Initiative Publishers.
Student protest. (1969). AAUP Bulletin, 55(3), 309-326. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40223829
Sugut, W. K., & Mugasia, F. A. (2014). School factors associated with student violence in secondary schools in Nandi South District, Kenya. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(1), 123-132.
Wamocha, L.M., Nasongo J., W., & Injendi J. (2012). Intervention measures in conflict management in boarding secondary schools in western province, Kenya. Current Research Journal of Social Sciences, 4(2), 103-108.
Wanzala, O. (2017, March 2). Chilling details of bullying, torture at Alliance High School. Nairobi News. https://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/life/chilling-details-bullying-torture-alliance-high-school-photos.