Exploring the Knowledge, Skills and Experiences of Mothers of Children With Dyslexia in Kenya

Abstract

This study situated the knowledge, skills, and experiences of mothers of children with dyslexia in Kenya. It explores the untold narratives of mothering children with dyslexia in Kenya. The literature review indicates that mothers' central role in caring for dyslexic children cannot be understated. More specifically, mothers are fundamental actors in their children's educational processes, and therefore, their knowledge, skills, and experiences are critical. However, their contributions are rarely considered in policy interventions and, therefore, they remain invisible from mainstream dyslexia discourse and literature in Kenya. The study explored the mothers’ first- hand experiences to gain insights of their profiles, skills and knowledge potential. The objectives were to characterize and profile the identities of the mothers, assess their skill and knowledge potential and analyse the implications of the key issues they raised on Specific Education Needs Policy, research programming in Kenya. Ten mothers were purposefully selected from a Nairobi-based social support group. A feminist framework was used to identify, reframe, and situate women as the starting point as owners and producers of their knowledge. Maternal and feminist theories of education and sociology were explored. A qualitative ethnographic technique was used to accrue significant comprehension of individual and collective action in the groups’ environment and narratives of the mothers were derived from in-depth interviews. Ten key informants, who included five teachers, four government officials and a nongovernmental organization officer, were also interviewed. The evidence was interpreted using Hynes' Ethnography of Communication and the ABC of Gender Analysis. This was followed by thematic data analysis using NVivo software version 12.0. The study revealed that mothers juggled multiple overlapping identities and roles. It also showed that mothers have knowledge, skills, and lived realities that enable them to support their children sufficiently. The study contributes to African Feminist theory, and epistemology which place the experiences and knowledge of mothers as foundational to understanding effective interventions for African children with dyslexia. Thus, mothers' knowledge should be acknowledged as a critical contribution to mainstream dyslexia discourse and African feminist epistemology.