A Kenyan Perspective

For David MBae, Headteacher at Chogoria Complex Primary School in Kenya, his visit to Scotland is just one highlight of his school’s partnership with Echline Primary School, South Queensferry.

The two schools started working together in 2000 and are now receiving funding from the DFID Global School Partnerships programme to explore and develop a global dimension to their curriculum.

Working in partnership with Echline Primary School, has helped David realise that developing a global approach to teaching and learning enables both Scottish and Kenyan pupils to comprehend the world in different ways.

We asked David what he thought the most important aspects of his visit to Scotland were. He said:

'During my stay in Scotland I have been overwhelmed by how keen the Scottish children are to learn about the rest of the world. I had the opportunity to visit several schools and found that having a real contact with Scottish learners is quite different from reading from books.’

Of the differences between the Scottish and Kenyan education systems:

‘Learning about each other and comparison of the teaching contents has shown that most of the topics are the same but taught at different levels. Maybe the only difference is on Social Studies and that Scottish Schools are keener on creative arts like drawing, music and drama more than Kenyan schools.

'I found pupils eager to know if Kenyan pupils are happy in the hard circumstances they live in. Scottish children were excited to here that Kenyan pupils are very happy indeed and enjoy living in their country.

‘We also compared normal meals for Kenyan and Scottish families, finding out what is lacking or in excess in each. The children in each of the schools now appreciate the eating of a balanced diet.’

On the Scottish climate!

‘It’s been interesting to compare time and weather in one of our joint projects this year,’ he said. ‘Pupils in Echline Primary School used to think that Chogoria must be terribly hot because it is near the equator but now know it is amongst the coolest areas of Kenya'.

‘I was happy to hear from P7 that they know this is due to the effect of altitude. Chogoria pupils will now find out why Echline is very cold and that it is just about at the sea level like Mombasa, Kenya. Chogoria is 5,000 feet above the sea level.'

After David’s visit to Echline Primary School DGSP Delivery Officer Clementine Robertson said: 'We were delighted that David found his visit to be worthwhile. We very much hope that the ‘Global Dimension’ that DFID Global School Partnerships brings to knowledge, skills, values and attitudes help young people in Scotland and African countries to become global citizens.'

For more information, please visit our web site or contact Clementine Robertson on +44 (0) 131 524 5783 or by e-mail clementine.robertson@britishcouncil.org.