Innovative Teaching Methods to Improve Literacy in Emergencies

Across the African continent, education actors often lack locally generated evidence on how effective teaching practices and culturally relevant reading materials can strengthen literacy for children affected by poverty, conflict, and displacement. This evidence gap makes it more difficult to design and scale education programs that respond to the realities of fragile contexts. 

To address this challenge, in 2024 and 2025, the Canadian NGO CODE commissioned a series of research studies in partnership with Global Affairs Canada. The programme awarded 20 research grants to African academics to conduct locally led studies on literacy education in crisis settings. This research component generated practical, transferable evidence from fragile contexts across sub-Saharan Africa. 

This webinar brings together four research studies across Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana, exploring how innovative teaching methods can support children’s academic progress and well-being in emergency settings. The studies explore a wide range of innovations, including:

• Using the Translanguaging Instructional Approach to teach reading comprehension for students in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya
• Using an improvised mobile science kit to enhance scientific literacy among Grade 4 learners in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya
• Phonological awareness instruction for improved literacy outcomes in IDP schools in Nigeria
• Flexible and community-driven education during ongoing violent conflict in Bawku, Ghana

SPEAKERS

Dr. Colomba Kaburi Muriungi, Professor of African Literature, Chuka University, Kenya

Colomba is a specialist of gender studies, literacy and children's literature. She has mentored several researchers in these areas, published extensively in her areas of specialization and presented her work in several conferences. She has also done extensive field research, specifically in aspects of sexual reproductive literacy in education and access to education in relation to gender and other marginalized groups. Colomba has worked at various positions at the university; she has been dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) at Chuka University and she is currently the Director Quality Assurance. She holds a B. Ed (Arts) from Kenyatta University, Nairobi, and an MA and PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Dr. Ezekiel Nyambega Omwenga, Senior Lecturer, Kisii University, Kenya

Dr Ezekiel Nyambega Omwenga is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Media at Kisii University, Kenya. He is a distinguished scholar specialising in Educational Communication Technology, Curriculum, and Instruction, a field in which he earned his PhD from Moi University in 2015. With a rich academic foundation from Kenyatta University—including a Master of Education and a Bachelor of Education (Science)—Dr. Omwenga is a leading voice in modern pedagogy. He actively drives the implementation of Kenya's Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) through advanced training and mentorship. His pioneering research focuses on educational technology, virtual laboratories, computer simulations, and inclusive higher education. Notably, he authored a fundamental handbook on Backward Instructional Course Design for teacher training. Dr. Omwenga's research has earned international recognition, including a 2025–2026 CODE research grant to enhance learners' scientific literacy through mobile science laboratories in the Kakuma Refugee Camp, and he is extensively published in international journals. 

Dr. Gabriel Egbe, Professor of Applied Linguistics, Veritas University, Nigeria

Professor Egbe is a Professor of Applied English Linguistics in the Department of English and Literary Studies, Veritas University, Abuja, Nigeria with research interest in early grade reading and digital literacy instruction. He has conducted research in areas of strengthening and improving instruction for struggling readers. He is currently involved in reading and literacy research to improve educational gains in disruptive contexts. He is the current regional chair of the Network of Pan African Literacy Associations (NePALA), and an affiliate of the International Literacy Association.

Dr. Wisdom Kwaku Agbevanu, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Educational Planning and Administration, University of Cape Coast Ghana

Dr. Wisdom Kwaku Agbevanu is a senior research fellow in educational planning and research at the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration, a UNESCO Category II centre at the University of Cape Coast. He holds a Ph.D. with a focus on qualitative research methods and school-built environments from the University of Cape Coast. His scholarly pursuits are underpinned by an examination of gender structures and practices in education, equity in educational planning and policy, educational leadership development, and the experiential dimensions of school environments. Currently, Dr. Agbevanu is a member of the Ministry of Education’s Education Sector Research Group. He is also spearheading the consolidation and harmonisation of the Ministry of Education’s draft policies.