New Report Reveals Gaps and Opportunities in Kenya and Senegal’s Education Research Landscape

A new in-depth study by ESSA and Southern Hemisphere has revealed critical gaps and opportunities in the education research ecosystems of Kenya and Senegal, offering guidance for funders, policymakers, and academic institutions across the continent.

The study, titled A Deep Dive into the Education Research Landscape in Kenya and Senegal, was initiated in response to ESSA’s 2023 Situational Analysis of Education Research in Sub-Saharan Africa, which identified the need for country-specific insights to inform investment and reform. The new report, released in April 2025, explores who is producing research, what themes are prioritised, and how these align with national education goals—particularly in foundational learning.

Findings: Disparities, Gaps, and Untapped Potential

Kenya has emerged as a regional leader in education research, producing 243 outputs between 2018 and 2023—nine times more than Senegal. This gap reflects not just research capacity but also language barriers and indexing limitations that disadvantage many Francophone countries. The study also shows that while foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) is widely acknowledged as crucial, it remains under-researched—especially numeracy and early childhood education.

While Kenya produced 298 FLN-related outputs, Senegal reported only 115. Gender disparities also persist: Kenya shows gender-balanced authorship (51% female), while 77% of Senegal’s authors are male. Additionally, most FLN research lacks funding transparency, with 89% in Kenya and 65% in Senegal not disclosing their funding sources.

The study finds that collaboration is limited: Kenya’s research is largely domestic, with 85% of studies conducted internally, while Senegal collaborates more internationally, but with little intra-African synergy. Both trends limit cross-border knowledge exchange and regional learning.

A Call to Action: Invest with Context

The report concludes that building a robust African-led education research ecosystem requires tailored, country-level strategies. These should prioritise under-researched themes such as early childhood and vocational education, increase funding visibility, and promote gender equity and intra-African collaboration.

The findings serve as a roadmap for donors, governments, and institutions aiming to make evidence-based decisions that can transform education outcomes across the continent.

This study was conducted by ESSA, in partnership with Southern Hemisphere.

Download the full report here

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