Journal writing as a tool of qualitative assessment in a Kenyan higher education context

Abstract

Current public university teaching in Kenya often takes the form of lecture and laboratory demonstration. Lecturing commonly portrays the teacher at the podium with students on the other side unquestioningly consuming the teacher's words. This physical divide symbolizes the authoritative teacher centered approach entrenched in a binary position of them/us. This paper is reports an action research project performed at a Kenyan university. The author used journal writing to institute a culture that engaged and nurtured students’ voices and experiences, and gave meaning to the relationships between students’ lives and school knowledge. Excerpts from student journal writings reveal their initial reluctance, then enjoyment of the journal writing process. The author finds the journal is an effective tool for providing feedback to improve and assesses the practice of learning and teaching.