Abstract: Women play a critical role in agricultural activities, yet their contributions to household food security are often undervalued and under-supported. Despite their central involvement in food production, women are frequently excluded from key decision-making processes related to agriculture and food security. This study investigated the effect of women’s participation in agriculture on sustainable household food security in Baringo County. The research aimed to explore how women’s involvement in agricultural activities impacts food security outcomes at the household level. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design with a mixed methods approach, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data. A sample of 316 registered members of SMART Agriculture and 6 field officers were selected through random and purposive sampling. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and interviews. The findings revealed that a majority of respondents felt women were not sufficiently involved in decision-making regarding household food security, and there was a noticeable gender disparity in contributions to food production. Despite this, many respondents acknowledged the growing role of women in agricultural activities and their positive impact on household food security. The study’s results indicate a strong positive correlation between women’s participation in agriculture and sustainable food security, as demonstrated by a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.684 (p = 0.000). The study concludes that increasing women’s involvement in agriculture significantly enhances food security outcomes, emphasizing the need for policies that promote gender inclusion in agricultural decision-making and community support for women.

Received January 25, 2020; Reviewed March 6, 2020; Accepted April 16, 2020

Abstract: New teachers’ induction approach is taken as an important process for inspiring to join the teaching professionas it offers an introduction to the teaching working conditions and practices, increasing motivation of teachers and enhancing their problem-solving skills. In Rwanda, an induction program for new teachers with a focus on empowerment is being implemented by the Rwanda Education Board in partnership with VVOB –Education for Development and the University of Rwanda –College of Education. The main objective of this paper was to examine the awareness and knowledge of key players on new teacher induction in Rwanda: Key players to this end are: 1. the deans of studies in Teacher Training Centers (TTCs) and; 2.New teacher mentors at TTCs.The data used were collected in April 2018, through questionnaires completed by research participants. The model of new teachers’ induction program by Diane Corcoran and colleagues was used as our conceptual framework. Due to a small sample size of 22 participants, we analyzed our data using the quick impressionistic summary investigative method and opted to present our results into affirmations. The study exposed that the role of New Teacher mentors at TTCs was relatively weak. Besides, our results, revealed that deans of studies had different views about the induction concept. The induction implementation in schools was found to be confronted with both limited knowledge on induction activities for the concerned people and time constraints. However, because of a small sample used for such quantitative study, we have not opted to generalize its findings. The paper ends with recommendations to different concerned stakeholders