Teachers for Teachers
Kakuma Refugee, Kalobeyei Settlement, Kenya
2015-2018
Primary Investigator: Dr. Mary Mendenhall
The Teachers for Teachers initiative in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya supported refugee and Kenyan teachers in their efforts to improve their own teaching practice and student learning in the camp. The Teachers for Teachers model was piloted in 2015 in partnership with UNHCR, Finn Church Aid and the Lutheran World Federation and then scaled up to reach the majority of primary school teachers in the camp (and later Kalobeyei settlement). The initiative drew on the best evidence for developing the expertise, knowledge, and motivation of teachers through training, coaching, and mentoring. It was a multi-layered and staged approach that unfolded over time, giving refugee and national teachers the opportunity to absorb what they have learned in the classroom and to test and adopt new strategies. Teachers for Teachers was one of the Amplify Refugee Education Challenge Award Winners selected by IDEO.org, OpenIDEO, and United Kingdom’s Department for International Development.
Publications and Resources
Teachers' Voices
Explore the stories of teachers in Kakuma Refugee Camp
Guides
Teachers in Crisis Contexts Training for Primary School Teachers (available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic)
Teachers in Crisis Contexts Peer Coaching (available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic)
Articles
Mendenhall, M. (2023). Participatory approaches for strengthening teacher professional development in refugee settings: Successes and limitations.Globalisation, Societies, and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2023.2246401
Mendenhall, M., Cha, J., Falk, D., Bergin, C. & Bowden, L. (2020). Teachers as agents of change: Positive discipline for inclusive classrooms in Kakuma Refugee Camp. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 25(2), pp. 147-165. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1707300
Mendenhall, M. (2019). Teachers for teachers: Advocating for stronger programs and policies for and with refugee teachers in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Studies in Social Justice, 12(2), 356-363. https://doi.org/10.26522/ssj.v12i2.1633
Mendenhall, M., Skinner, M., Collas, S., & French, S. (2018). Expanding teacher support through mobile mentoring in Kakuma Refugee Camp: Benefits and challenges. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 20(2), 9-23. https://doi.org/10.52214/cice.v20i.11549
Mendenhall, M. (2017). Strengthening teacher professional development: Local and global communities of practice in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya (case study). Promising Practices in Refugee Education. UK: Save the Children, UNHCR, Pearson.
Book Chapters
Mendenhall, M., Pacifico, A., & Hu, S. (2019). Teacher professional development in crisis contexts: Teachers’ reflections and stories of change in Kakuma refugee camp. In A.W. Wiseman, L. Damaschke-Deitrick, E. Galegher, & M.F. Park (Eds.). Comparative perspectives on refugee youth education: Dreams and realities in educational systems worldwide (pp. 245-270). Routledge.
Photo Essays
Mendenhall, M., Collas, S., & Falk, D. (2017). Educating the future amidst displacement: refugee teachers in Kakuma Refugee Camp (photo essay). Reconsidering Development, 5(1)
Infographics
- Dr. Mary Mendenhall (Primary Investigator)
- Danielle Falk, (Doctoral Student '23)
- Arianna Pacifico (Doctoral Student '23)
- Jihae Cha (Doctoral Student '21)
- Emily Richardson (Doctoral Student '17)
- Charlotte Bergin (Master's Student '15)
- Peter Bjorklund (Master's Student '15)
- Lauren Bowden (Master's Student '18)
- Sophia Collas (Master's Student '18)
- Sarah French (Master's Student '18)
- Shenshen Hu (Master's Student '17)
- Makala Skinner (Master's Student '18)
- Shezleen Vellani (Master's Student '17)
- UNHCR
- Finn Church Aid
- Lutheran World Federation
- IDEO.org
- European Commision (via UNICEF)
- TC’s Office of International Affairs (seed funding)