Representing school arson in Kenya : an analysis of newspaper reporting

CITATION: Oburu, H., Coetzee, B. & Swartz, L. 2020. Representing school arson in Kenya: An analysis of newspaper reporting. Global Media and Communication, 16(3):293–311. doi:10.1177/1742766520946472The original publication is available at https://journals.sagepub.com/home/gmcArson is a recurrent problem in Kenyan secondary schools. Although school violence – notably gun violence – has received significant attention, there has been less academic attention paid to school arson, especially in Africa. This study explores how newspaper reports in Kenya framed school arson and links these framings to broader questions about the understanding and production of Kenyan identity. A thematic analysis of 334 newspaper reports revealed multiple understandings of school arson. Print media discourse afforded journalists an opportunity to make a commentary on the post-colonial globalized Kenyan society. We discuss the implications of this for understanding post-colonial media in Africa.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1742766520946472Publishers versio

Social representations of the burning of Boys Secondary Schools in Kenya in 2016

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2020.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: School arson, predominantly the burning of dormitories in boarding secondary schools in Kenya, is a recurrent problem. In 2016, the school fires crisis seemed to reach a new height. A total of 239 schools experienced arson. Most of these schools were boys’ secondary schools. Discussions on school fires are often carried out in the print media, and the fires have been a subject of four government taskforce investigations, with little or no effect on the recurrence. Most of what is written about school fires in Kenya, through government reports, print media, and (for the 2016 school fires) social media, is based on the views of people outside the school system and whose views are not based on lived experiences. Using social representations theory, the aim of this exploratory, inductive study was to explore understandings of school arson in government reports, print and social media, and also by investigating the views of insiders to the school system (students, parents and teachers). A library search was used to source documents (government reports and newspaper articles) and simple search and real-time tracking for social media posts. Extreme case sampling was used to select four boys’ schools and purposive sampling to select focus group participants (32 teachers, 32 students and 32 parents) from the four schools. A thematic analysis of secondary data and focus group discussions revealed that school arson is a complex phenomenon with multiple understandings and that, so far, the discourse had been dominated by the ‘outsider’ views. However, the discourse across data sets extended beyond the specifics of school arson and revealed an overarching underlying concern: the loss of African culture due to Western influences and international conventions that clash with the reality of the cultural context, and a quest for a constructed authentic Kenyan identity in the postcolonial context. I discuss the implications of these understandings both for further work on school fires and for broader considerations regarding the future of education in Kenya.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Brandstigting by skole, spesifiek die afbrand van hoërskoolkoshuise in Kenia, is ’n herhalende probleem. In 2016 wou dit voorkom asof die krisis rondom skoolbrande ’n nuwe hoogtepunt bereik. Altesaam 239 skole het brandstigting beleef. Die meeste van hierdie skole was hoërskole vir seuns. Terwyl debatte oor skoolbrande gereeld in die gedrukte media gevoer word, en die brande die onderwerp van vier ondersoeke deur regeringstaakgroepe was, het dit weinig of geen uitwerking nie op die herhalende voorkoms daarvan gehad. Die meeste geskrewe materiaal oor skoolbrande in Kenia, onder meer in regeringsverslae, die gedrukte media en (vir die 2016-skoolbrande) op sosiale media, is gebaseer op die sienings van mense buite die skolestelsel, wie se siening nie op geleefde ervarings berus nie. Die doel van hierdie verkennende induktiewe studie is om sosiale verteenwoordigingsteorie te gebruik om die insigte rondom skoolbrandstigting in regeringsverslae, die gedrukte media en op sosiale media te ondersoek, asook om die siening van diegene binne die skolestelsel (studente, ouers en onderwysers) noukeurig na te vors. ’n Biblioteeksoektog is gebruik om dokumente (regeringsverslae en koerantartikels) te bekom, terwyl eenvoudige soektogte en intydse naspeuring vir sosiale media-inskrywings gebruik is. Ekstremegeval-steekproefneming is gebruik om vier seunskole te kies, terwyl doelgerigte steekproefneming gebruik is om fokusgroepdeelnemers (32 onderwysers, 32 studente en 32 ouers) uit die vier skole te kies. ’n Tematiese ontleding van sekondêre data en fokusgroepbesprekings het dit aan die lig gebring dat brandstigting ’n komplekse verskynsel is, dat dit op veelvuldige wyses verstaan word, en dat die diskoers tot dusver deur ‘buitestaanders’ oorheers is. Die diskoers oor datastelle heen strek egter verder as die besonderhede van skoolbrandstigting en toon ’n oorkoepelende onderliggende kommer: die verlies aan Afrika-kultuur weens Westerse invloede en internasionale konvensies wat met die realiteit van die kulturele konteks bots, sowel as ’n soeke na ’n gekonstrueerde outentieke Keniaanse identiteit in die postkoloniale konteks. Ek bespreek die implikasies van hierdie insigte vir verdere werk op die gebied van skoolbrande, asook vir breër oorwegings rakende die toekoms van die onderwys in Kenia.Doctora

Attitudes towards vaccines and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19: a cross-sectional analysis - implications for public health communications in Australia

Objective To examine SARS-CoV-2 vaccine confidence, attitudes and intentions in Australian adults as part of the iCARE Study. Design and setting Cross-sectional online survey conducted when free COVID-19 vaccinations first became available in Australia in February 2021. Participants Total of 1166 Australians from general population aged 18-90 years (mean 52, SD of 19). Main outcome measures Primary outcome: responses to question € If a vaccine for COVID-19 were available today, what is the likelihood that you would get vaccinated?'. Secondary outcome: analyses of putative drivers of uptake, including vaccine confidence, socioeconomic status and sources of trust, derived from multiple survey questions. Results Seventy-eight per cent reported being likely to receive a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Higher SARS-CoV-2 vaccine intentions were associated with: increasing age (OR: 2.01 (95% CI 1.77 to 2.77)), being male (1.37 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.72)), residing in least disadvantaged area quintile (2.27 (95% CI 1.53 to 3.37)) and a self-perceived high risk of getting COVID-19 (1.52 (95% CI 1.08 to 2.14)). However, 72% did not believe they were at a high risk of getting COVID-19. Findings regarding vaccines in general were similar except there were no sex differences. For both the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and vaccines in general, there were no differences in intentions to vaccinate as a function of education level, perceived income level and rurality. Knowing that the vaccine is safe and effective and that getting vaccinated will protect others, trusting the company that made it and vaccination recommended by a doctor were reported to influence a large proportion of the study cohort to uptake the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Seventy-eight per cent reported the intent to continue engaging in virus-protecting behaviours (mask wearing, social distancing, etc) postvaccine. Conclusions Most Australians are likely to receive a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Key influencing factors identified (eg, knowing vaccine is safe and effective, and doctor's recommendation to get vaccinated) can inform public health messaging to enhance vaccination rates