Browsing by Author "Nandera, Miria"

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Community involvement in teaching and pupils’ numeracy skills development in lower Primary in Nansana municipal council, Wakiso district
(Kyambogo University [unpublished work], 2019-11) Nandera, Miria
Evidence shows that children’s early development of numeracy skills acts as a foundation for future specialization in technical professions. Ugandan children are taught numeracy regularly, but, the country is ranked second in the world with less proficient children in numeracy where Wakiso district has 45.7%. Basing on the Situated Cognition Theory and using a cross-sectional survey research design, this study aimed at establishing whether community involvement in teaching using every day occurring practices and activities develops pupils’ numeracy skills. The objectives were to establish the community involvement practices used to support the development of numeracy skills in pupils; to identify and examine activities that children participate in the community that develop their numeracy skills; and the relationship between pupils’ participation in these activities and their numeracy performance at school. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, focus discussion groups and observations from 193 randomly and purposively selected participants who included 28 teachers, 32 parents, 20 community elders and 113 pupils. Findings of the study indicate that involvement of children in home chores; family business; giving responsibilities, money saving habits and sending children to nearby shops are the practices that develop numeracy skills in pupils. While counting items, buying groceries, cooking, fetching water and washing were the activities pupils participate in. This study also found a statistically significant positive relationship (r = .577, p= .000) between pupils’ participation in activities in the community and their performance in numeracy at school. The study concluded that the numeracy related practices and activities in the community provide opportunities to promote children’s numeracy skills development although parents are not aware of it. It is recommended that Parents be supported to use identified activities to develop children’s specific numeracy skills.
Enhancing teacher capacity building: strategies for scaling success in child to child model
(Policy Brief, 2024) Nandera, Miria; Nantongo, Mary; Iga, Charles; Ejuu, Godfrey
The pivotal role of early childhood teachers in shaping children’s learning and development underscores the need for effective teacher capacity building. This policy brief explores the challenges faced in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Uganda, and presents a successful model for scaling teacher capacity building initiatives.
Scaling Deep the Child to Child Approach to Ease Transition From Pre-primary to Lower Primary in Uganda, Ethiopia and Malawi
(Journal of Education and Development, 2024-07-30) Ejuu, Godfrey; Rucecerwa, Adela; Mayeso, Lazaro; Missaye, Mulatie Mengstie; Nantongo, Mary; Audo, Jesca; Nandera, Miria
Background: Children benefit more from education if they are helped to transit from one level to another. Different strategies are always suggested and sometimes implemented to novel ideas that can promote transition, but with limited effort at scaling. The Child to Child Approach is one such approach that has been used to support the transition of children from pre-primary to early grade primary school. However, limited efforts have been made to support deep scaling, as most focus on just the interventions. Aim: This paper highlights strategies that were used to scale deep the Child to Child approach to support the transition of children from pre-primary to lower primary in selected districts in Uganda, Malawi and Ethiopia. Setting: This paper is based on the current situation where many interventions are being implemented in specific areas but are never scaled in marginalized communities to leverage impact. Methods: A reflective approach, field reports and a desk review were used to collect data. Results: Different strategies are highlighted including identifying and dealing with scaling deep concerns, engagement of relevant stakeholders at community, district and national levels and working with authorities in the area to endorse the approach worked best to settle the deep cultural uncertainties about scaling. Conclusion: Implementers need to identify scaling deep bottlenecks early and work to solve them before embarking on scaling approach. Contribution: This paper contributes to knowledge on what stakeholders who need to scale child to child programmes have to take into consideration for sustainability of their initiatives. Keywords: scaling deep, child to child, early learning, transition, home based