http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/7 2026-06-28T05:36:57Z 2026-06-28T05:36:57Z Wanyonyi, Michelle Nekoye Khaemba, Ongeti Masinde, Robert http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10277 2026-06-26T12:09:33Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

English language teachers’ competence in integrating information and communication technology in secondary school teaching in Kenya Wanyonyi, Michelle Nekoye; Khaemba, Ongeti; Masinde, Robert The integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become a critical component of effective teaching and learning in contemporary education systems. This study examined the competence of English language teachers in integrating ICT in secondary school teaching in Kenya with a view to enhancing the achievement of curriculum goals. The study was conducted in Kimilili Sub-county, Bungoma County, Kenya, and adopted a descriptive phenomenological cross-sectional research design within a mixed-methods approach. The target population comprised 272 teachers of English and approximately 6,800 Form Three learners drawn from 34 public secondary schools. Data were collected using questionnaires, focus group discussions, and face-to-face interviews and analysed descriptively according to emerging themes. The findings revealed that teachers acquired ICT competence through pre-service teacher training, in-service courses, workshops, seminars, and peer interactions. Workshops and seminars were reported by 80% of the teachers as the primary avenues for ICT skills acquisition. Despite the availability of ICT resources such as mobile phones, laptops, desktop computers, projectors, and tablets in most schools, only a small proportion of teachers demonstrated adequate competence in integrating ICT into classroom pedagogy. Many teachers reported limited confidence in using ICT and perceived ICT integration as difficult and time-consuming. Inadequate infrastructure, limited technical support, insufficient training opportunities, unreliable internet connectivity, and inadequate institutional support further constrained effective ICT integration. Conversely, learners generally expressed positive attitudes towards ICT-supported learning activities. The study concludes that teachers’ competence significantly influences the successful integration of ICT in English language teaching. It recommends continuous professional development programmes, improved ICT infrastructure, enhanced technical support services, and increased investment in teacher capacity building to promote effective and sustainable ICT integration in secondary school education.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Obatsa, Sarah Mburia-Mwalili, Adel JaureguiIII, Salvador Wagner, Karla D. Atwoli, Lukoye Odhiambo, Francesca Lewis-Kulzer, Jayne Goodrich, Suzanne Wools-Kaloustian, Kara Syvertsen, Jennifer L. http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10276 2026-06-26T12:13:38Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Social relationships, mental health, and stigma: A qualitative study of social networks and HIV disclosure in Western Kenya Obatsa, Sarah; Mburia-Mwalili, Adel; JaureguiIII, Salvador; Wagner, Karla D.; Atwoli, Lukoye; Odhiambo, Francesca; Lewis-Kulzer, Jayne; Goodrich, Suzanne; Wools-Kaloustian, Kara; Syvertsen, Jennifer L. The disclosure of one’s HIV-positive status is a personal decision that can play an important role in engagement in HIV treatment and care. Social network approaches situate individuals within broader webs of social connections that influence health and wellbeing and thus hold the potential to elucidate key social factors shaping the process of disclosure. As part of a larger clinical study examining how substance use and mental health shape HIV outcomes, we recruited 61 individuals newly diagnosed with HIV at two clinics in Western Kenya to participate in an egocentric social networks study. We conducted a survey that generated a visual network map to guide a subsequent qualitative interview about experiences being diagnosed and living with HIV. We thematically analyzed the qualitative data and visual network maps to examine the social contexts and patterns of HIV disclosure, with the goal of identifying supportive contexts of disclosure. The mean age was 36.7 years (range: 20–62); women were significantly younger than men and more likely to self-report a mental health issue. Typically, participants disclosed their HIV-positive status to a small number of close, trusted alters in their network, including intimate partners, siblings and other family members, and friends. The need for mental health support in the wake of a new diagnosis, especially among women, encouraged disclosure. Across nearly all stories, stigma was a powerful deterrent to sharing one’s status, and multiple people noted prior disclosure to others not named in their current networks because their relationships were negatively impacted. Our study shows how the intersection of social relationships, mental health, and stigma is critical in understanding decision-making processes around disclosure. Selective disclosure typically improved participants’ wellbeing while stigma precluded disclosure and exacerbated distress. Our study offers suggestions for social network interventions to support people living with HIV/AIDS.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Dingili, Rodgers Mugera, Erick http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10275 2026-06-26T07:42:50Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Classroom assessment: interrogating teachers’ assessment practices and competence Dingili, Rodgers; Mugera, Erick Introduction: Curricular reforms call for a paradigm shift in the way teachers conduct assessment. This paper is a report of a study that was carried out in the year 2024 interrogating teachers’ assessment practices and competence in classroom assessment. Methods: The study adopted a qualitative research methodology and a multiple case study research design. The target population consisted of teachers at grade four in Turkana county, Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to select nine public schools to participate in the study. One teacher in every school was selected through convenience sampling method. A total of nine teachers participated in the study. Data was generated using interviews and analyses inductively through the grounded method of analysis. Results and discussion: The study established that; class exercises, oral questions and observations were the frequently used assessment practices. In relation to teacher competence in assessment, it was found that teachers expertly applied theoretical-assessment techniques. In few instances where they used varied assessment tools, integrated and authentic assessment techniques, the assessment process remained unstandardized, unrecorded and unreported. There is thus need for lengthy CBC training so as teachers familiarize with requisite assessment skills for effective classroom assessment. This study thus informs teacher preparation programs at pre-service and in-service levels.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Churu, Harrison Kamau, Solomon Ng'etich, Wilson Magiroi, Keziah http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10274 2026-06-26T07:39:50Z 2025-06-01T00:00:00Z

Gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures have varying effects on soil macrofauna abundance and diversity in semi-arid lands Churu, Harrison; Kamau, Solomon; Ng'etich, Wilson; Magiroi, Keziah One of the most features of land degradation is soil erosion, which at its extreme, causes formation of gullies. Nonetheless, there is limited understanding on how such gullies, their management or rehabilitation measures inuence soil macrofauna, despite being a critical component of soil ecosystems. Thus, this study evaluated the inuence of gully erosion mitigation and rehabilitation measures on soil macrofauna abundance, diversity and species richness in semi-arid lands with severe degradation and where restoration efforts are being put in place. Soil macrofauna were sampled across two categories of lands under mitigation (terracing) and rehabilitation (sand-damming) efforts in croplands and pasturelands. These were compared with lands where no mitigation or rehabilitative measures were taken up. Therefore, the combinations were as follows: (i) terraced croplands, (ii) unterraced croplands, (iii) terraced pasturelands, (iv) unterraced pasturelands, (v) sand dams, and (vi) degraded lands. Soil samples were also collected in these lands for chemical analysis. Results showed degraded lands to be characterized by low organic C, available P and total N (less than 9.9 g kg−1, 4.7 mg kg−1 and 2.8 g kg−1, respectively) indicative of chemical degradation. Land degradation signicantly reduced total earthworm abundance by more than 80 % when compared with pastureland and croplands. Specic genera were also affected negatively, with abundance of Lumbricus sp. reducing by up to 6 times in degraded lands compared with terraced croplands which had 65 individuals m−2, and by more than 9 times compared with that of terraced pasturelands that had 97 individuals m−2. Beetles also showed similar differences to that of earthworms, with greater abundance in pasturelands than in degraded lands. On the contrary, termites were more abundant in the degraded lands, with an average of 306 individuals m−2 which was more than four times the abundance reported in sand dams and close to 50 % more than that reported in pasturelands. Terracing and sand-damming increased soil macrofauna diversity by more than 21 %, to more than 1.3 units compared with that of degraded lands with 0.99 units. In summary, our study shows that gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures positively affects the most sensitive soil macrofauna groups (earthworms and beetles), which are often used as bioindicators of soil health. Thus, installation of these measures can be a starting point towards restoration and increasing the resilience of these fragile ecosystems

2025-06-01T00:00:00Z