Redesigning Research Methodology Lifts School Attendance from 25% to 60%
School Attendance
Enrolment Increase
The Engagement
The Situation
The study set out to measure how climate change was affecting school attendance among autistic learners in Kiambu County, Kenya. The original design relied solely on quantitative survey data. Midway through fieldwork, it became clear that this approach could not capture the full, varied reality of the learners' day-to-day classroom experience.
The Challenge
A purely numerical dataset risked masking the specific, individual barriers autistic learners faced in getting to school and staying in the classroom. Stakeholders, including the county government, needed evidence compelling enough to justify intervention, not just a set of percentages. The project timeline offered little room to redesign methodology without risking delivery.
Strategic Approach
Proposed and secured buy-in for a shift to a mixed-methods design, combining the existing quantitative survey with qualitative fieldwork.
Directed the collection of photographic and video documentation to capture the learners' day-to-day classroom and travel conditions directly.
Synthesised the combined evidence into findings built around two clear patterns: weather-driven attendance drops and drought-driven feeding pressures on families.
The Results
Quantifiable Outcomes
- School attendance rose from 25% to 60% over a one-year period.
- Enrolment across integrated schools in Kiambu County increased from 9% to 25%.
- Findings were verified through official school attendance and enrolment registers.
Qualitative Achievements
- The county government introduced transportation services after visual evidence showed attendance dropping on poor-weather and extreme-heat days.
- A school feeding programme was recommended and adopted after documentation showed families were keeping children home during prolonged drought to ensure they were fed.
- The mixed-methods evidence base directly shaped county-level policy action rather than sitting in a report.
“Quantitative data alone would have described the problem. Combining it with visual, human evidence is what actually moved a government to act on it.”
Tools & Competencies
Tools Used
Microsoft Project
Used to build the Gantt charts and milestone tracking system that kept the mixed-methods fieldwork on schedule.
Microsoft 365
Used to draft the research proposals, budgets and final reports delivered to the county government and study stakeholders.
Google Workspace
Used to collaborate on and organise the qualitative photographic and video documentation gathered in the field.
This project confirmed that methodology decisions made mid-project, when justified by the realities on the ground, can be the difference between a study that gets read and a study that gets acted on. It remains one of the clearest examples in my career of research design directly driving policy change.