A Critical Analysis of the Effectiveness of Peer Review Strategies of Mathematics and Sciences Pedagogy in Secondary School in Kenya

Recent calls for science teachers by the ministry of education (MOE) and teachers’ service commission to engage in the lesson study have left many in the education sector questioning whether teachers are prepared and ready to embrace it. The performance of mathematics and sciences depicted in any school in Kenya are largely influenced by the quality of teaching exhibited by science teachers. Likewise the overall grade scored by a student in the national examination (KCSE) largely depends on the performance of mathematics and sciences. Effective teamwork and networking among science teachers in a school is a source of motivation that drives students towards achieving good grades. Center for Mathematics Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) headquarter located in Nairobi, Kenya has taken initiative to train science teachers in Kenya in collaboration with JICA in Japan to carry out lesson study. This article is intended to critically analyze the effectiveness of peer review strategy that is lesson study in secondary schools and to make recommendations on the best way possible. Teachers do in fact encounter difficulties merging their lesson study and meeting their professional responsibilities. It also intends to investigate the extent to which lesson study is carried out by mathematics and science teachers in secondary schools, what stands on the way of teachers taking advantages of lesson study and how such obstacles can be overcome and addressed.