An exploratory investigation into the factors related to EdTech use among Kenyan girls

Abstract

This paper contributes to the scarce literature on factors affecting EdTech use in households. These factors were considered through exploratory mixed-methods analyses of cross-sectional data on Kenyan girls and caregivers, captured during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quantitative analysis of the child dataset (n = 544) suggested the importance of both structural factors-such as technology hardware availability-and non-structural factors-including caregiver permission. Findings were supported by a thematic analysis of interview data from girls' caregivers (n = 58), which emphasised the role they play in girls' use of EdTech. Interviews also highlighted numerous caregiver concerns with EdTech, related to the relevance and rigour of educational content, the possibility of children accessing age-inappropriate material and child health (especially eyesight). Policy makers could alleviate these concerns by providing guidance on EdTech use and clearly signalling their approval of verified initiatives.

Learners and caregivers barriers and attitudes to SMS-based mobile learning in Kenya

“…Furthermore, while children face some barriers to use -principally, accessing a mobile phone -no significant differences were found in relation to gender. This suggests that non-structural factors, such as caregivers' permission, which were shown to be barriers for Kenyan girls in the study by Watson et al (2023) and in the study of Khlaif et al (2020) in Afghanistan for example, may also be experienced by boys. As recommended by Watson et al (2023), this finding suggests that raising awareness among caregivers of the educational potential of mobile phone usage would be beneficial to learners generally.…”

“…This suggests that non-structural factors, such as caregivers' permission, which were shown to be barriers for Kenyan girls in the study by Watson et al (2023) and in the study of Khlaif et al (2020) in Afghanistan for example, may also be experienced by boys. As recommended by Watson et al (2023), this finding suggests that raising awareness among caregivers of the educational potential of mobile phone usage would be beneficial to learners generally. This finding also reinforces the importance of considering intersectionality as well as socio-cultural and attitudinal norms when designing educational technology interventions, which was illustrated by Myers et al (2023).…”

“…For example, in a study of low-tech educational delivery during the pandemic, Amenya et al (2021) reported that girls in more rural Arid and Semi Arid Lands (ASAL) within Kenya often experienced a higher level of chores or other household members were prioritised in terms of usage of radios and televisions, which created barriers to engagement. Watson et al (2023) provide a detailed analysis of the barriers to engagement with educational technology faced by girls in Kenya. Through interviews with caregivers, quantitative and qualitative data were collected in order to understand household demographic factors and attitudes towards girls' use of technology for education at home.…”

“…'Caregiver permission' clearly emerged as the most influential factor for access. Four themes were identified in the qualitative analysis: "the risks to the child posed by EdTech (risks); the dependability of EdTech content (rigour); the convenience of EdTech learning (convenience) and the opportunity that EdTech presented for colearning (co-learning)" (Watson et al, 2023(Watson et al, , p.1016. The sample was deemed to be representative of Kenyan households, due to its comparability with the Demographic and Health Surveys' Malaria Indicator Survey (Watson et al, 2023).…”

“…Four themes were identified in the qualitative analysis: "the risks to the child posed by EdTech (risks); the dependability of EdTech content (rigour); the convenience of EdTech learning (convenience) and the opportunity that EdTech presented for colearning (co-learning)" (Watson et al, 2023(Watson et al, , p.1016. The sample was deemed to be representative of Kenyan households, due to its comparability with the Demographic and Health Surveys' Malaria Indicator Survey (Watson et al, 2023). Given that households in the sample have good levels of ownership of devices, and caregiver permission is the main barrier, they conclude that it would be useful to raise awareness about the potential benefits for girls' use of technology alongside the risks.…”