Acting Director, African Studies Program
4137 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15260 USA
University of Pittsburgh (PhD in Social and Comparative Analysis in Education, 2002)
University of Pittsburgh (MS in Library Science, 1995)
Kenyatta University (BA in Education, 1986)
Education Development in Africa
Dr. Lelei is Assistant Director, African Studies Program, University Center for International Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her PhD in 2002 from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Education, Department of Administrative and Policy Studies, with a concentration in International and Development Education. She received her primary, secondary and undergraduate education in Kenya. She was a high school teacher of English and Literature from 1987 until 1990 when she received a British Council Technical Assistance Scholarship to pursue further training in “Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages” (TESOL) at the University of Leeds, England. In 1994 she was awarded a World Bank Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in Library Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Upon completing her master’s education she returned to Kenya where she served briefly as Librarian at Maseno University in 1996 and then moved to work for the British Council in Kenya (1996–1997) as outreach coordinator for a rural education development program in Western Kenya. She worked with rural communities and with schools to provide teaching and learning resources to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged students. She serves as a part-time faculty member teaching African Studies courses in the Department of Africana Studies. She also serves as outreach coordinator working with K-12 teachers promoting African Studies curriculum development in the Pittsburgh Schools.
Dr. Lelei's research focuses on grassroots provision of education in developing countries, particularly Africa, looking at issues of equity, access and opportunity; gender; community participation in education; and education reform. She is passionate about education in Africa and particularly the education of girls and women because she believes that education is a major factor in the empowerment of women in African society and a key to fighting poverty and promoting rural development. She is the author of two book chapters and is currently writing a book based on her dissertation.
Lelei, Macrina C. & Kivuva, Joshua (In Press). The History of Education Development in Kenya. In A. Al-Bataineh and M. A. Nur-Awaleh (Eds.), International Education and Contemporary Education Reforms. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Education.
Lelei, Macrina C. (2005). Girls’ Education in Kenya: Problems and Prospects in Global Context. In Chepyator-Thomson, J.R. (Ed.), African Women and Globalization. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press/The Red Sea Press.
Weidman, John C.; Chapman, David W.; Cohen, Marc; & Lelei, Macrina C. (2004). Access to Education in Five Newly Independent States of Central Asia and Mongolia. In S.P. Heyneman & A. J. DeYoung (Eds.), Challenges for Education in Central Asia (pp. 181-197). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
