Mamas of Invention: Popular Education, Gender and Development among Womens Organizations in Kenya

The purpose of this research was to analyze popular education and leadership development among grassroots women’s organizations in Kenya. This study was based on ethnographic research among women’s organizations in the Nairobi, Taita and Lamu Districts of Kenya from 2007 to 2008. Data were collected through participant observation, focus groups, individual interviews, and document analysis (Cutcher, 2009). Popular education is a field of growing concern among educators, activists, and others who call for non-formal education in the absence of effective schools. The formal education of women and girls has been neglected in Kenya and throughout Africa due to cultural, political, and economic barriers. Tensions have arisen between indigenous, Islamic, colonial, and contemporary educational systems. The Government of Kenya reports a 60% illiteracy rate among adult women. To respond to challenges facing their communities, Kenyan women must be educated and empowered to take action. Women’s organizations are uniquely placed to deliver popular education services. This project analyzes how women’s organizations preserve indigenous knowledge systems and work to educate rural and urban populations. A review of the literature provides an overview of Kenyan women’s studies and the theoretical and practical concerns of popular education pedagogy. The study analyzes how differences of economy, environment and culture affect how women organize in Nairobi and the Coast Province of Kenya. The study describes how women’s groups educate and organize their members to address both practical needs and strategic interests of women, their families and their communities. These projects include: economic development (including business and finance); literacy; agriculture, environment and sustainability; arts and culture; health; religion and spirituality; politics, law and civic education; and peace, justice and non-violence. Finally, the study analyzes how women’s organizations practice the eight core principles of feminist popular education (Walters & Manicom, 1996 & 2012) including: start from where women are; experience and expertise; silence and voice; empowerment; difference; facilitation and control; gender awareness and feminist politics; and space, time and place for learning. Women’s organizations build capacity in communities by raising the consciousness of ordinary citizens and enhancing their skills in problem-solving and collective action. By observing their processes of popular education, I analyzed the contributions of women’s groups to social, political, economic, and environmental change in Kenya. This project was supported with funding from the Fulbright U.S. Student Fellowship Program, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) American Dissertation Fellowships Program and the Ohio University College of Education.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Cultural Studies (Education)

Grantor dc:publisher

Ohio University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Cutcher, Catherine D.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Godwyll, Francis

• African Studies
• Adult Education
• Womens Studies
• Cultural Anthropology
• Educational Sociology
• Education
• Gender Studies
• Multicultural Education
• Popular Education
• Gender and Development
• Women's Organizations
• Kenya
• Women's and Gender Studies
• Ethnography
• Social Movements
• Global and Transnational Feminisms

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1365175132

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:ohiou1365175132