Understanding Teacher Attendance in Embu County, Kenya

In Embu County, Kenya, we undertook research into the prevalence and causes of absent teachers.

The study also researched the community’s awareness and perceptions of the recent governmental reforms to improve teacher attendance, in particular the Teacher Performance Appraisal and Development (TPAD) tool.

Research process

We used a mixed methods approach to our research, which included:

• teacher surveys and interviews with head teachers in 20 schools
• self-reported attendance rates which were triangulated using spot checks
• focus group discussions with parents and other stakeholders

We designed the research in collaboration with local stakeholders and donors, and adapted tools developed by UNICEF Innocenti. This ensured our results could be comparable in a multi-country study on teacher attendance.

Please view NFER’s report on teacher attendance in Embu County, Kenya.