Francisca Muema
Education Program Manager, I Choose Life Africa
Bold Question: What if Caregivers were adequately involved in the learning journey of their children?
Path to Metis: Franscisc’s experience of school and learning was memorable and joyful. This was especially because she had a supportive parent and teachers who believed in her potential. When the opportunity to study teaching at Kenyatta University came calling, she went for it wholeheartedly. She hoped to create memorable experiences for other learners as well.
However, when she joined the teaching profession in 2011 as a high school teacher, she quickly realized that some learners would never have the same memorable experiences as she had hoped. Francisca noticed the many hurdles and barriers her students went through that got in the way of them unlocking their full potential. These barriers included unsupportive parents, unfavorable learning environments as well as traumatic childhood experiences.
This propelled her to leave the classroom and join the development world of Education programming, where she would have an opportunity to influence the learner, caregiver, and the entire learning ecosystem for improved learning outcomes.
Since then she has worked in Education Programming, specifically Teacher Professional Development, Functional Literacy, and Numeracy as well as parental involvement in Education. During this time, she has developed a passion for mitigating the impact of low parental involvement on learners.
Francisca has B. Ed from Kenyatta University and is currently undertaking a Masters in Educational Psychology from Pwani University. She works at I Choose Life and has previously worked as a school-based mentor for the Rwanda Education Board and an Instructional Coach for the Tusome program under Women Educational Researchers of Kenya (WERK)
She hopes to create a movement of caregivers advocating for quality education through meaningful engagement in the learning journey as well as establish a community of practice where sensitized caregivers share experiences with other key stakeholders like class teachers, school administrators, and the Ministry of education.
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