Advancing Learning Outcomes and Leadership Skills among Children Living in Informal Settlements of Nairobi through Community Participation Endline Report:

Abstract

Education has always been a key priority area for all development agendas and as such is a crucial tenet of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indeed, education is considered one of the most significant human capital investments (Benos & Zotou, 2014). This is because of the vital role education plays in enhancing human capital and global development. For example, educating girls and women results in delayed marriage and childbearing, low fertility, improved child nutrition, better incomes and greater decision making power within relationships (Gakidou, Cowling, Lozano, & Murray, 2010; UNESCO, 2011, 2013). A study of HIV prevalence among young women in South African found that young women who had completed high school were less likely to be infected with HIV compared with those that had not completed high school (Pettifor et al., 2008). Furthermore, some studies also indicate that education is one of the most important factors affecting bed net use and consequently prevalence of malaria. For instance a study in the Democratic Republic of Congo demonstrated that the education level of the family head of household was associated with bed net use among family members in the surveyed villages (Ndjinga & Minakawa, 2010). However, this is only possible if education fosters the right knowledge, skills, attitudes and behavior that conforms to modern demands and realities of countries and different contexts (UNESCO, 2016). The same sentiments on the importance of relevant education also underlies the guiding principle of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016-2025, which emphasizes the establishment of a holistic, inclusive and equitable education as the core of sustainable development.