Charles Ochieng

Prof. Charles Ochieng’ Ong’ondo is the Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). He was appointed on September, 25th, 2020. KICD is a State Corporation established by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development Act 2013. The core mandate of KICD is to develop research-based curricula and curriculum support materials for basic and tertiary education and training in Kenya, except at the University level. The Institute’s vision is to be a centre of excellence in transformative and globally competitive curricula. In doing this, KICD is guided by the desire of nurturing every learner’s potential through a Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

Prof. Charles Ochieng’ Ong’ondo is an Associate Professor in Teacher Education. He is a Commonwealth Academic Fellow and Scholar who holds a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Research Methodology (University Warwick, UK), a PhD in English Language Teacher Education (the University of Leeds, UK), an M.Phil. Degree in English Language Education (Moi University, Kenya), a B.Ed. Degree in English and Literature (Moi University), and a Diploma in Education (Siriba Teachers College – Kenya).

His academic interests are Research Methodology (with a special interest in Qualitative research); Teacher Education (with keen attention to the Practicum); English Language Pedagogy (at School, Tertiary and University levels); Training of Trainers; Curriculum/Programme/Course Design and Evaluation; Academic Writing and Organizational Communication.

Before he joined KICD, Prof. Ong’ondo was a Teacher Educator in English Language Teacher Education in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Media (CIEM) in the School of Education at Moi University – Kenya. He has worked at Moi University for Sixteen years – rising from the level of Assistant Lecturer in 2004, through the ranks of Lecturer and Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor. Prior to joining the university as a lecturer, Charles had had Thirteen years’ experience as a teacher of

English Language and Literature in English at secondary school level in Kenya.

While at Moi University, Prof. Ong’ondo served as the Executive Director of the African Network for Internationalization of Education (ANIE) for more than three years. ANIE is a Pan-African organization committed to the advancement of high-quality research, advocacy, capacity building, information sharing, and transnational networking on the internationalization of education with a prime focus on Africa. ANIE aims to enable African educational institutions and development stakeholders to take optimal advantage of the opportunities presented by internationalization. ANIE has its Secretariat at the Margaret Thatcher Library, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya Prof. Ong’ondo also served as the Head of the Department of Communication Studies, for Six years (2011-2017) and School Examinations and Timetables Coordinator (2009-2011). He also served as acting dean of the School of Information Sciences and School of Human Resource Development on a number of occasions. While serving in these capacities and in his role as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer, he participated in the development and review of curricula and academic programmes.

Prof. has supervised to completion of 15 PhD students and 20 M.Sc. students and also examined more than 30 theses. He also served as an external examiner for a number of Universities in Kenya and other countries in Africa.

He has (alone and jointly) published widely (Seven books, Six book chapters and more than 30 journal articles in refereed journals) in English Language Teacher Education, Research Methodology and Communication Studies. One of his co-authored books – Qualitative research: an introduction to principles and techniques – is being used as a reference by many postgraduate students in Universities in Kenya and beyond: He also serves as a reviewer for a number of international journals.

Prof. has been a principal researcher in multi-national and international educational research on Building PhD Capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa funded by British Council and German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Strengthening Education Mentoring Systems in Africa (SEMESA) from 2015 to 2017, funded by Agha- Khan Foundation. He has also been a research consultant for institutions outside the University, for nationwide studies which have been successfully concluded and presented to the relevant organizations. These include a Pilot study on Community Service Learning (CSL) in Kenya (KICD, 2018/2019). Needs analysis for curriculum reform in Teacher Education in Kenya (KICD, 2017); and Needs Analysis for Curriculum Reform in Kenya (KICD, 2016); Use of ethnic stereotypes and coded language in Kenya by National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC, 2012); He has also facilitated several research and leadership workshops at Moi University and in a number of Universities in Kenya.

He is a member of the African Network for Internationalization of Education (ANIE), International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL), Language Association of Eastern Africa (LAEA) and founder member and official – Kenya Association of English Language Educators and Researchers (ASELER). He is also a member of the Kenya Association of Educational Administration and Management (KAEAM). He has organized, attended and officiated in and presented papers in a number of international conferences, seminars and workshops.