Chesire Faith, Ochieng Marlyn, Mugisha Michael, Ssenyonga Ronald, Oxman Matt, Nsangi Allen, Semakula Daniel, Nyirazinyoye Laetitia, Lewin Simon, Sewankambo Nelson K, Kaseje Margaret, Oxman Andrew D, Rosenbaum Sarah
Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Tropical Institute of Community Health and Development, Kisumu, Kenya.
Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2022 Oct 6;8(1):227. doi: 10.1186/s40814-022-01183-0.
Good health decisions depend on one's ability to think critically about health claims and make informed health choices. Young people can learn these skills through school-based interventions, but learning resources need to be low-cost and built around lessons that can fit into existing curricula. As a first step to developing and evaluating digital learning resources that are feasible to use in Kenyan secondary schools, we conducted a context analysis to explore interest in critical thinking for health, map where critical thinking about health best fits in the curriculum, explore conditions for introducing new learning resources, and describe the information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure available for teaching and learning.
We employed a qualitative descriptive approach. We interviewed 15 key informants, carried out two focus group discussions, observed ICT conditions in five secondary schools, reviewed seven documents, and conducted an online catalog of ICT infrastructure in all schools (n=250) in Kisumu County. Participants included national curriculum developers, national ICT officers, teachers, and national examiners. We used a framework analysis approach to analyze data and report findings.
Although critical thinking is a core competence in the curriculum, critical thinking about health is not currently taught in Kenyan secondary schools. Teachers, health officials, and curriculum developers recognized the importance of teaching critical thinking about health in secondary schools. Stakeholders agreed that Informed Health Choices learning resources could be embedded in nine subjects. The National Institute of Curriculum Development regulates resources for learning; the development of new resources requires collaboration and approval from this body. Most schools do not use ICT for teaching, and for those few that do, the use is limited. Implementation of Kenya's ICT policy framework for schools faces several challenges which include inadequate ICT infrastructure, poor internet connectivity, and teachers' lack of training and experience.
Teaching critical thinking about health is possible within the current Kenyan lower secondary school curriculum, but the learning resources will need to be designed for inclusion in and across existing subjects. The National ICT Plan and Vision for 2030 provides an opportunity for scale-up and integration of technology in teaching and learning environments, which can enable future use of digital resources in schools. However, given the current ICT condition in schools in the country, digital learning resources should be designed to function with limited ICT infrastructure, unstable Internet access, and for use by teachers with low levels of experience using digital technology.
良好的健康决策取决于个人对健康声明进行批判性思考并做出明智健康选择的能力。年轻人可以通过学校干预来学习这些技能，但学习资源需要低成本且围绕能够融入现有课程的课程内容来构建。作为开发和评估可在肯尼亚中学实际使用的数字学习资源的第一步，我们进行了一项背景分析，以探究对健康批判性思维的兴趣，确定健康批判性思维在课程中的最佳契合点，探索引入新学习资源的条件，并描述可用于教学的信息通信技术（ICT）基础设施。
我们采用了定性描述方法。我们采访了15名关键信息提供者，进行了两次焦点小组讨论，观察了五所中学的ICT状况，查阅了七份文件，并编制了基苏木县所有学校（n = 250）的ICT基础设施在线目录。参与者包括国家课程开发者、国家ICT官员、教师和国家考官。我们使用框架分析方法来分析数据并报告研究结果。
尽管批判性思维是课程中的一项核心能力，但肯尼亚中学目前并未教授健康方面的批判性思维。教师、卫生官员和课程开发者认识到在中学教授健康批判性思维的重要性。利益相关者一致认为，《明智的健康选择》学习资源可以融入九个学科。国家课程开发研究所负责规范学习资源；新资源的开发需要该机构的合作与批准。大多数学校不使用ICT进行教学，而少数使用的学校，其使用也很有限。肯尼亚学校ICT政策框架的实施面临若干挑战，包括ICT基础设施不足、互联网连接不佳以及教师缺乏培训和经验。
在肯尼亚当前的初中课程中教授健康批判性思维是可行的，但学习资源需要设计成能够融入并贯穿现有学科。《2030年国家ICT计划与愿景》为在教学环境中扩大技术规模和整合提供了机会，这可以使未来学校能够使用数字资源。然而，鉴于该国学校目前的ICT状况，数字学习资源应设计为在有限的ICT基础设施、不稳定的互联网接入条件下运行，并供使用数字技术经验较少的教师使用。
