The influence of the Kenya Institute of Special Education Alumni Network on its Alma Mater, 1986–2019

Abstract

Professional advocacy, resource mobilisation, feedback, mentoring and community involvement are all ways in which alumni can have an impact on the development, stability and relevance of educational institutions. This study sought to determine the influence of Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) alumni on the institute between 1986 and 2019. An interpretivist historical research design was used, and the research was guided by Policy Historiography Theory and Conflict Theory. Data were collected from oral interviews, institutional records and archival materials as primary data, while secondary data provided scholarly context. Twelve research participants, comprising former students, tutors, KISE officials and education officials, were selected through purposive and snowball sampling. The methods applied in ordering and evaluating evidence were internal and external criticism, qualitative content analysis of the evidence according to themes, and triangulation between oral and documentary evidence. Results indicated that KISE alumni influenced their home institution through mobilisation to secure recognition and special duty allowances, field-based feedback, development of less expensive assistive or rehabilitative technology, indigenous technology development, advocacy to preserve KISE's institutional autonomy, and community-based rehabilitation and disability awareness. The alumni network also served as a decentralised source of information reporting new needs from schools and Educational Assessment and Resource Centres (EARCs), enabling the institute to respond to conditions such as autism and other learning needs. The study found that although KISE alumni shared their training with others, they were not merely passive recipients of it but were an essential professional, political and knowledge network that helped reinforce the institutional relevance and survival of KISE. It suggests formalising strategies for alumni involvement in curriculum review, professional advocacy, innovation, research feedback and institutional governance, while at the same time safeguarding KISE's specialised mandate.