The Pilot
On February 27, 2024, Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa (ALiVE) piloted tools to assess life skills and values among learners aged 6 to 12 years old, in three schools: Kamahindu Primary School in Kiambu, Westlands Primary School in Nairobi and Ngurubani Primary School in Kirinyaga county. Teachers from these schools conducted a pilot test for grade 4, 6 and 8 on problem solving, collaboration and respect. These skills had been integrated into Environmental Activities in grade 3, Science and Social Studies in grade 5, and Integrated Science, Social Studies, Creative Arts and Sports in grade 7. The life skills were assessed, using a tool co-created by teachers in Kenya and experts from the ALiVE Academy.
We see it that whatever is not assessed is not taught. The same way we teach and assess toward improving teaching on regular academic subjects, is the same way we should treat life skills and values. Assessing these core competencies is a complex task, but we must embrace it. Otherwise, we will not be able to know whether our education system is producing what we have promised the society.
Dr, John Mugo
Executive Director of Zizi Afrique Foundation and a Principal Investigator at ALiVE
Additionally, Professor Esther Care, a globally renowned expert in the measurement of core competencies and values, has been the technical lead in ALiVE assessment tool development. She underscored the need to see if learners can apply skills learned within the context of their curriculum studies.
“It is not just about whether they can solve problems in their lives. It is more of how they can apply a particular approach to thinking about materials in social sciences that will help them understand the material better,” Professor Care. The assessments were also expected to show teachers different techniques to ensure learners grasp what is taught in class.
Learning Journeys with Teachers
In November and December 2023, Zizi Afrique convened 18 teachers from 6 counties to learn from Professor Esther Care. The teachers went through 7-module practical learning sessions on the development of tools to assess core competencies and values through face-to-face interactions. Through this process, the teachers developed tools to assess problem-solving, collaboration, and respect, the tools underwent Think-Aloud (Cognitive) laboratories with learners, and revisions were made based on feedback. Zizi Afrique Foundation engaged teachers in the tools co-creation process having identified that teachers are critical curriculum drivers in the learning context, and the consideration that competency-based curriculum provides learners with a platform to showcase academic prowess, life skills and talents.
Children’s brains are like a sponge, which keeps absorbing. They exhibit so much curiosity in their formative stages of life. This is the right time to instil in them life skills and values, otherwise as they grow older, they may be harder to capture and nurture.
Mr. Kennedy Kyeva
Principal at Westlands School
ALiVE is a collaborative initiative that thrives in strategic partnerships. During the pilot, representatives from the Ministry of Education, Kenya National Examination Council, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, teachers, and ALiVE teams from Kenya Uganda and Tanzania were involved the assessment exercise.
BY RAY POLLO
