“Untie our hands”: Teachers’ and parents’ social representations of school arson in Kenya

Abstract

School arson, primarily burning down dormitories in boarding schools, is common in Kenya, leading to intense discussions among opinion makers such as government officials and newspaper columnists. Publications thus far have not reported the views of teachers and parents. This paper explores teachers’ and parents’ understandings of school arson through an inductive thematic analysis of focus group discussions held with 32 parents and 32 teachers in Kenya. Discussions focussed on the broad issues of contemporary Kenyan society rather than on the specific incidents of arson in particular schools. A central concern was the perceived role of international practices in undermining effective African parenting and disciplining strategies, with a broader commentary on what it means to be Kenyan, or an African, in the current postcolonial context.