SHSS Scholarly Articles

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Developing a web explicit research strategy theory in African universities : a cross-comparison of specific regional efforts through an analysis of research web-pages
(Academic and Business Research Institute, 2010-10) Kitawi, Alfred Kirigha; Neema-Abooki, Peter
The research is an analysis of Web explicit research strategies of specific African universities. The sampling was purposive. The African continent was sub-divided into four distinct cardinal regions in order to get a general overview of the whole continent. A further selective sampling was done according to international rankings, as a method for deciding which universities will be mapped. The rankings identified were: Webometrics, Academic Rankings of World Universities and Times Higher Education. Much contemporary analytical work is based on the examination of Internet data, like Google analytics. Premised on this assumption, the research resorted to analyze information available on different research Web-pages. The aim was to conceptualize research strategies currently in place (in the Internet), the respective internal and external factors which influence such strategies, and the corresponding issues that result from it. The model developed can be used by African universities in the development of their own context specific research strategies.
Bridge over troubled water phenomenologizing Filipino College deans’ ethical dilemmas in academic administration
(Sage Journals, 2013-03) Catacutan, Maria Rosario G.; de Guzman, Allan B.
This phenomenological study intends to capture and describe Filipino college deans’ lived experiences of ethical dilemmas as they carry out their work as administrators. Using semi-structured in-depth interviews and following Collaizzi’s method, data was collected and subjected to cool and warm analyses yielding a set of themes and sub-themes that typify what these deans consider to be ethical dilemmas. The resulting ‘Wheel’ of School Leaders’ Ethical Dilemmas depicts the nature of the dilemmas faced by these deans, the critical incidents which trigger the onset of the dilemmas, and the value conflicts that are embedded in them. This article intends to add to the growing body of research on ethical decision making in educational management, particularly on the ethical dilemmas faced by Filipino college deans. At a practical level, the findings of this study provide valuable resource to assist practicing and aspiring deans to be more adept in identifying the moral and ethical dimensions of their work as academic administrators. Finally the findings of this study could serve as a knowledge base for curriculum planners in designing ethics courses offered in educational leadership programs in the Philippines to develop academic leaders’ competencies and skills in ethical decision making.
Impact of e-Learning strategy on students’ academic performance at Strathmore University, Kenya
(Makere University, 2014) Kitawi, Alfred; Neema-Abooki, Peter
This study examined the impact of e-learning strategies on students’ academic performance at Strathmore University. The purpose of the study was to investigate the methodology, ideologies, output and ecology of ICT strategies and their impact on students’ performance. This was done through comparing students’ mean scores on courses deploying ICT in their delivery with those that do not. The findings were that the e-learning strategies adopted at the University positively impacted on students’ academic performance. However, a digital divide in disfavour of poor students is cutting back on the effectiveness of elearning at the University. The paper discusses recommendations towards improvements in deployment of e-learning.
How the process of doctoral enquiry developed my openness and criticality
(2014-04-07) Dean, Catherine
In my recently concluded doctoral enquiry I evaluate and make public nine years of my educational practice at Strathmore University (Kenya). My research focuses on the process of transformation in myself and others through the development of my teaching and learning methods and fostering positive educational relationships with those around me. In this paper I will show how the process of my doctoral research helped me to develop my openness to critical engagement with my own ideas and those of others. This allowed me to identify the deeper values underlying my practice and my relations with students and colleagues. Simultaneously I clarified the historical dimension of the evolution of these values. In this contribution I will highlight some key features that enabled me to evaluate my doctoral research and make it public. I will refer to elements which are normal within this context, but which require one to foster openness to sharing their ideas by interacting with and learning from others. For example, the very first feedback I received from my potential supervisor opened up a totally new horizon for my doctoral enquiry. It also required me to engage in a critically intellectual mind shift to adjust to the proposal. Other contributors to developing my openness and criticality were the process of selfreflection; on-going recourse to student feedback; the transfer paper and oral exam; the use of video and photos to evaluate myself in the classroom; critical analysis of my findings using philosophical and theological perspectives; presentation of my research at various conferences; the oral defence of my final dissertation, etc. My paper will illustrate how I held myself accountable for my doctoral enquiry by evaluating and making it public through openness to and critical engagement with others.
Doing good for its own sake : recasting CSR in the light of Catholic Social Teaching
(2015-02) Catacutan, Maria Rosario G.
This paper argues that the view of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as advanced in management theory and practice is flawed due to its theoretical underpinnings in individualism, a position which upholds the primacy of the individual and provides legitimacy to individuals’ active pursuit of self-interest to the detriment of society. This view, however, significantly diverges from CSR perspectives which prescribe the duty and obligation inherent in every member of society to contribute to the promotion of the common good. This paper therefore suggests the need for an alternative model and presents the view of CSR advanced by Catholic social teaching (CST) as a more comprehensive and coherent framework to correctly articulate the relations between business and society, and the consequent duty of business to contribute toward promotion of the common good. The paper also offers a critique of some CSR practices which it considers unacceptable from the perspective of CST.
Ethical decision-making in academic administration : a qualitative study of college deans’ ethical frameworks
(Springer International Publishing AG, 2015-07-22) Catacutan, Maria Rosario G.; de Guzman, Allan B.
Ethical decision-making in school administration has received considerable attention in educational leadership literature. However, most research has focused on principals working in secondary school settings while studies that explore ethical reasoning processes of academic deans have been significantly few. This qualitative study aims to describe the ethical decision-making processes employed by a select group of Filipino college deans in solving ethical dilemmas using the ethical paradigms proposed in the works of Starratt (Educ Adm Q 27:185–202, 1991) and Shapiro and Stefkovich (Ethical leadership and decision-making in education: applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas, 2005) as frameworks for the analysis. Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews and field text was analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. Findings of this study show that majority of the deans chose to share ethical dilemmas involving students and teachers. The findings also show the ethical frameworks of care, justice, and profession as the dominant paradigms utilized by Filipino deans and their preference for adopting multiple ethical frameworks when making their decisions. Most of the ethical dilemmas which the deans narrated relate to their tasks of academic administration such as monitoring student performance, faculty evaluation and maintaining school discipline. Interestingly, only a few dilemmas involving university administrators were expressed, and dilemmas that refer to broader societal issues usually associated with school administrators’ utilization of the ethic of critique were also significantly left out in the narratives of this study. This paper intends to contribute to current literature by expanding research to administrators working in the context of higher education in the Philippine setting. The findings of this study could serve as knowledge base in designing ethics courses to enhance educational leaders’ ethical decision-making skills. The study also provides useful insights of ethical decisions and reasoning processes employed by academic administrators in resolving real life ethical dilemmas that could be useful at the practical level for aspiring and practicing deans.
Ethical decision-making in academic administration: a qualitative study of college deans’ ethical frameworks
(Springer Netherlands, 2015-09) Catacutan, Maria Rosario G.; de Guzman, Allan B.
Ethical decision-making in school administration has received considerable attention in educational leadership literature. However, most research has focused on principals working in secondary school settings while studies that explore ethical reasoning processes of academic deans have been significantly few. This qualitative study aims to describe the ethical decision-making processes employed by a select group of Filipino college deans in solving ethical dilemmas using the ethical paradigms proposed in the works of Starratt (Educ Adm Q 27:185–202, 1991) and Shapiro and Stefkovich (Ethical leadership and decision-making in education: applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas, 2005) as frameworks for the analysis. Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews and field text was analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. Findings of this study show that majority of the deans chose to share ethical dilemmas involving students and teachers. The findings also show the ethical frameworks of care, justice, and profession as the dominant paradigms utilized by Filipino deans and their preference for adopting multiple ethical frameworks when making their decisions. Most of the ethical dilemmas which the deans narrated relate to their tasks of academic administration such as monitoring student performance, faculty evaluation and maintaining school discipline. Interestingly, only a few dilemmas involving university administrators were expressed, and dilemmas that refer to broader societal issues usually associated with school administrators’ utilization of the ethic of critique were also significantly left out in the narratives of this study. This paper intends to contribute to current literature by expanding research to administrators working in the context of higher education in the Philippine setting. The findings of this study could serve as knowledge base in designing ethics courses to enhance educational leaders’ ethical decision-making skills. The study also provides useful insights of ethical decisions and reasoning processes employed by academic administrators in resolving real life ethical dilemmas that could be useful at the practical level for aspiring and practicing deans.
Moral sensitivity practice in academic deanship: does it really matter?
(Springer Singapore, 2016) Catacutan, Maria Rosario G.; Guzman, Allan B. de
The chapter reports on the findings of a grounded theory study on the moral sensitivity practice of Filipino college deans. It centers on the exposition of a conceptual model which expands the construct of moral sensitivity beyond the initial stage of moral problem recognition and depicts three processes of knowing facts, understanding people, and understanding oneself as fundamental processes to moral sensitivity. A set of seven distinct practices were also identified as subcomponents of moral sensitivity. The chapter concludes by highlighting the level of complexity involved in moral problem identification in real-life settings and the consequent need for developing administrators’ moral sensitivity skills through formal courses in ethics as part of school administrator preparation programs.
The Necessity of the transcendentals when educating in beauty
(Strathmore University, 2018) Kariuki, Esther
Plato held highly the opinion that there is a need to educate in kalon. Though extreme in his thought on how this education should be carried out. His thoughts still hold water. Educating the youth on appreciation of beauty should be done carefully because of its impact on the young. His thoughts are related with the metaphysical connection of transcendentals i.e beauty (pulchrum), goodness (bonum) and truth (verum). The concept of beauty as used in this paper picks its meaning from the metaphysics transcendetals. When we separate these three aspects we end up with ugliness which affects culture and morality in a negative way. This loss of beauty leads to disenchantment and ugliness and modern man loss of faith in beauty. Plato’s ideals for the education of the young in the arts is in ensuring that only the right nurturing reaches them rather than those that morally corrupt the youth.
Ethics as a solution to Corruption : a case study of the construction industry in Kenya
(SOBE Publications, 2018-12) Dindi, Adeline M.; Munala, Gerryshom; Alkizim, Ahamad; Kivaa, Titus; Gichure, Christine Prof.
The construction industry endures a poor reputation and continues to experience ethical problems manifested in collapsed buildings, corrupt deals and a general lack of honesty. In this paper, the authors present results of an investigation into the prevalent ethical problems in the construction industry in Kenya and their impact on projects. A review of literature on corruption shows that emphasis is placed upon putting in place systems and policies for fighting corruption, yet this has not achieved much results. Literature in construction ethics shows that professional codes and ethics are only effective as far as the people are personally ethical. The method of conducting this study was through in-depth interviews of stakeholders to establish prevalent unethical practices in the industry. The authors present the results from a thematic analysis of perceptions of information-rich subjects from different sectors of the industry. The results show that unethical practices such as collusion, kickbacks and supplanting are mostly due to lack of honesty, greed and the desire to get rich quickly. The study concludes that most unethical practices are due to corrupt individual practices and recommends ways of incorporating ethics both at individual and institutional level.
To what extent does personal virtue of project participants affect project management success?
(2019-01) Dindi, Adeline M.; Gichure, Christine Prof.; Alkizim, Ahamad; Munala, Gerryshom; Kivaa, Titus
This paper explored the influence of personal virtue or project participants on the success of construction projects. Literature was reviewed on virtue from the point of view of practice. A survey assessed the success of construction projects and evaluated the personal virtues of project participants, and the two were then analysed and correlated. The findings suggested that there was no significant relationship between project management success and personal virtue of project participants. Based on these findings, moral education for practitioners was recommended to sensitize them on the importance of virtues in work for betterment of the practice.
Improving transition rates of students in informal settlements into higher education : an analysis of the macheo mentoring programme
(UTS ePRESS, 2019-02) Kitawi, Alfred
This research presents a viable way to encourage students in informal settlements to transit from high schools to tertiary institutions by focusing on the case of the Macheo Mentoring Programme of Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya. The aim was to investigate how the Macheo Mentoring Programme contributed to the academic success of final year students, with a focus on subjects and overall performance. Though Macheo has other aims, such as provision of life skills, the research examined mainly academic performance, providing insight to how universities can structure their own high-school mentoring programs, the processes that need to be in place and possible challenges they may experience. The research contributes to the literature on the university’s role in encouraging student participation. Information was gathered from a cross-sectional survey questionnaire of 72 parents and 76 students. Other qualitative information was gathered to provide insight to what could have contributed to students’ success and further augmented quantitative responses. The conclusion was that there is a link between mentorship and students’ success. Though this finding is similar to that of most studies undertaken in the Global North, this study aims to combat the dearth of such research in the Global South. The research indicates implicit connections between the university and community, which can be leveraged if they work together as partners.
Service-based learning as a form of community engagement in achieving student outcomes : the experience of an East African university .
(SUN PReSS, 2022) Kitawi, Alfred Kirigha; Njeru, Beatrice
The modern university is expected to be many conflicting things at the same time: conservative and radical; critical and supportive; competitive and collegial; autonomous and accountable; traditional and innovative; local and international (Watson, 2007). These expectations arise from different stakeholders within the community (with different needs) and from these expectations arise different forms of engagement. Community engagement, whether in the form of service-learning, public scholarship, or community-based research, is a wonderfully complex and situated practice that forces students to rethink their normal patterns of working. Community engagement has the goal of providing faculty, students, and education managers with an additional set of tools to achieve their ends (Butin, 2010). This chapter will explore some of the key concepts around community engagement, particularly service learning as one aspect of this. The background for understanding service-learning as part of a higher education landscape in Africa is also explored to contextualise the research. Using data gathered from 400 students who complete compulsory service-learning work as part of their undergraduate programme at Strathmore University in Kenya, it seeks to answer the following questions: What is the effect of communities’ issues in realising student service-based learning outcomes? What are the dominant community activities students engage in to realize student service-based learning outcomes? What are some of the service-based learning outcomes? Which students’ skills are relevant in achieving service-based learning outcomes? Few studies have presented the effect of service-learning on educational outcomes, including organizational arrangements that facilitate partnerships (Preece & Manicom, 2014). This study examines the effect community service-learning had on this cohort of 400 students who are about to complete their university studies. The outcomes will give insights into effectiveness of service-learning activities and aspects which universities may consider in improving student experiences.
Digital Skills and the Use of Digital Platforms in the Informal Sector: A Case Study Among Jua Kali Artisans in Nairobi in Kenya
(Research and Scientific Innovation Society, 2024) Momanyi, Christopher; Riechi, Andrew Rasugu; Khatete, Ibrahim
Context: For many businesses, one of the key indicators in their management is the adaptation of Information Technology in their operations. In Kenya, there has been a phenomenal growth in access to mobile phones, by June 2023, over 66 million mobile phones were connected to various telecommunication operators of which 58.3% were smart phones constituting 67.1% of internet connections. There are many digital technologies which can be adapted to facilitate the processing, dissemination, and access of information. The modern world has become competitive due to the uptake of Information Technology as one of the main business management skill, with the availability of smart phones and many applications that are easily available and easy to use. One of the main beneficiaries of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is the Jua Kali artisans who are a key player in the Kenyan economy. Entrepreneurial competencies help the growth of businesses along the dimension of innovation. Kenya intends to entrench the use of Information Technology for public service delivery, business, skills, and innovation. The Jua Kali sector cannot be ignored, it contributes more than 80% of the total employment in Kenya. Approach: This research was carried out in the Eastlands of Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected using a questionnaire, an interview and observation schedule. The study used an interview schedule to collect data from Jua Kali artisans carrying out their artisan businesses in the Eastlands of Nairobi and a questionnaire survey to collect data from a sample of identified Nairobi residents who had engaged an artisan to work for them six months prior to the research. Findings: The research established that most Jua Kali artisans acquired their skills in the Jua Kali sector by apprenticeship (86.3%) while a small percentage (12.7%) trained in Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions while a further one percent were trained by their former employers. Most of the artisans had attained the basic formal education qualifications i.e. primary education (27.9%) and secondary education (47.6%). The Chi-square (χ²) test was used to test the relationship between use of the basic social media digital platforms in business management and the formal education attained by artisans owning artisan businesses. Conclusion: At 0.05 level of significance (α) the research established that there is a significant relationship between the adaptation of digital platforms in business management and the formal education attained by the artisans.
How am I using my Christian intellect in developing my living educational theory to facilitate transformational learning in my philosophy students? Methodological Perspectives.
Dean, Catherine
In this paper I will present a brief overview of the research I am carrying out for my doctorate. I will focus more specifically on the methodology which I am using, known as Living Theory. I hope to situate it within the context of research methodology in general, explain it and offer a critical analysis to illustrate why I have chosen this methodology over other possibilities. I look forward to receiving feedback from members of the Strathmore academic community from different fields, to help me further explain and clarify the methodological dimension of my doctoral research.
How can I facilitate the personal development of my students as I live my educational values
Dean, Catherine
The title of our Conference leads me to reflect briefly on how I understand transformative education for development. If we look at development from an African perspective we usually understand this to refer to the socio-economic, political and other forms of development of a country. In this context there would be many ways of implementing innovative education techniques which could foster such development. However, in my experience, it is very difficult to bring about socio-economic development in a country even through education, when we look at the matter in general, third person terms. I am convinced that to foster development in Africa we need to educate our students in transformative, innovative ways, which facilitate personal growth and development. If our educational practice focuses on helping each student to transform themselves personally it is more likely that s/he will be able to bring about further change in our society. For these developments at the personal or social level to be genuine they need to have a solid foundation.
Truth and the media
Dean, Catherine
In Kenya recently, tensions, especially between government and the media, have been reflected in events such as the raiding of The Standard Group offices a few months ago - on 1st March 2006, and the resistance of the President’s security detail to permitting journalists to take photos of the President during the recent youth Forum held in Nairobi in September 2006. Events such as these have given rise to the on-going debate in local media regarding the right to freedom of expression or freedom of press as it is also known and the possible self-regulation of media by journalists themselves through a code of Ethics.In this context, I would like to make some reflections on the art of media communication as related to seeking the truth.
Human Nature and Identity in Muntu Anthropology and Ubuntu Worldview
Gichure, Christine Prof.
“Recent ethnic history of the peoples of Africa, though lacking in written documents, is seen to be very complex, yet rich in spiritual, social and individual experience, much worthy of further analysis research. Many customs and rites, once considered to be strange, are seen today, in the light of ethnological science, as integral parts of various social systems, worthy of study and commanding respect”. These words pronounced three decades ago have been part of the inspiration for this paper. Another source of that inspiration was the work of Henry Oruka, in which he presents what he called ‘Sage Philosophy. Oruka defended his work with the argument that philosophical study of any topic in Africa needs to be approached under one or other of the various philosophical approaches. One such approach is the hermeneutical in which the scholar attempts to cull out the philosophical meaning from African wisdom, often hidden in myths, religions, sayings, songs, and poetry. This paper is an attempt to present human nature and identity in the Muntu Anthropology and Ubuntu worldview which shall be described in the body of the paper.
La ética de la profesión docente : estudio introductorio a la Deontología de la educación.
(EUNSA, ) Gichure, Christine (Prof.)
Este libro introduce un campo de gran importancia pero aun poco explorado.La ética de la profesión docente es un tema del máximo interés teórico y practico, muy particularmente en nuestros días. ?Es docencia una vocación, una profesión, o simplemente un empleo? Que códigos éticos --de deontología profesional--se le deben aplicar al profesor? ?Basta con ellos para comprender plenamente la ética del educador? un mundo como el nuestro, en el que el numero de instituciones educativas es muy elevado y creciente, no puede desatender estas cuestiones. La ética de la profesión docente se ha elaborado desde claves hondas de filosofía de la educación.
Philosophy: 'What Is It All About?'
(Kenyatta University, ) Gichure, Christine Prof.
The number of students enrolling for philosophy courses in our public universities is dwindling. Philosophy, the mother of all intellectual learning, is on the verge of being erased from Kenyan universities' curricula. From discussions with students over a whole decade it has become evident to me that one of the reasons why students fear philosophy is the impression that its main content and purpose is simply the acquisition of prowess in criticality and in the use of modem symbolic or mathematical logic, with the underlying hermeneutics of suspicion, skepticism and intellectual paranoia often associated with philosophical debates. This paper, by tracing the main highlights of the history of philosophy, is intended to avert those fears by underscoring the fact that, while criticality and modem logic are useful aspects for philosophy, the field of philosophy per se is not reduced to them; it has its proper content that is open to every person committed and devoted to the pursuit of truth and its possibility regarding the world and nature, who and what the human being is- his origin, purpose, activity and end- life and death, society and human relations, good and evil. Its proper role is sapiential: the 'love of wisdom.'

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