Author: THE CONVERSATION

The “birds and the bees”. The “facts of life”. Whatever you call it, many parents dread discussing sex and sexuality with their teenagers. They may be embarrassed, or worried that they don’t understand some concepts. In some countries, cultural norms may mean it’s considered inappropriate for adults and adolescents to talk about sex. However, these are conversations worth having. A large body of research has shown that teens who openly discuss sex and sexuality with their parents reduce their risky sexual behaviour, leading to improved reproductive health. It’s also important to remember that this won’t be a one-off discussion. Adolescents undergo constant development, facing new questions…

Parents play a crucial role in supporting their children’s learning. Their involvement lays the foundation for success both inside and outside the classroom. This makes a parent’s consistent support and nurturing important at every stage of formal schooling, and even before that. The key lies in creating a supportive and encouraging environment at home. In the school environment, teachers tend to be instructional leaders. This means they often focus on the classroom process of teaching and learning. Together, however, parents and teachers can help boost a child’s learning by sharing educational responsibilities at home and in school. Teachers often favour traditional…

A majority of the world’s population has experienced a decline in press freedom in recent years, according to a UN report. In east Africa, the results are mixed and debatable. In Rwanda, both international press freedom rankings and journalists on the ground say press freedom has increased over the past 10 years. In neighbouring Uganda, both international rankings and local journalists say media freedom has declined. In Kenya, rankings reflect declining freedom over the past decade, but reporters acknowledge they have more freedom than their counterparts in Uganda and Rwanda. In our roles as associate professors in journalism and mass communication, we interviewed and…