Border pedagogy, social reproduction and structures of feeling: Explaining success in a slum school, Apollo School, Nairobi, Kenya

Slums in Kenya house some of the most disadvantaged populations in terms of schooling and economic marginalization. Apollo, a school which has consistently attained high scores in grade eight centralized examinations for almost three decades, is, however, situated in Nairobi slums. Its continued outstanding performance defies commonplace expectations that low income students cannot excel in academics. This study examines how the school has contested the ideology of failure that is normally associated with schooling in the slums. While my research does not question the importance of facilities in learning, it offers another way of looking at resource-based models in perceptions of successful education. My study establishes that Apollo is a battleground where both the ideologies of failure and success are in contestation. First, it examines the assumptions of what success in education in Kenya means. It assembles the politics of community needs in education and examines Apollo's attempts to respond to them. I find that the assumption that one needs formal schooling in order to get ahead in Kenya is a strong motivating force for the parents, teachers and students. Second, I explore the perceptions of Apollo population about their physical and social location vis-a-vis their chances of achieving success in education. The way the teachers and students interpellate their position in slum ideology promotes strategies that advance the success ideology. Their positive interpellation provides a counternarrative to slum habitation and its associated ideology of failure. Third, my study investigates the underside of the success ideology. The practical process of attaining exemplary performance demands not only charismatic leadership but also unwavering discipline, strong work ethics, somewhat structured pedagogy and relentless commitment from the teachers and students. Fourth, I examine the success ideology in linguistic practice. Language is used by Apollo teachers and students to position themselves as major actors in the creation and maintenance of success and construction of Apollo school as a space where success prevails. Fifth, the study situates the success ideology within broader socio-political and cultural discourses that negotiate inequality. The success ideology is embedded in contested socio-political and economic terrains in education, language and culture.