1. What should be the first step when designing an intervention for a community problem in your Kenyan school or village?
Ask the county government to design the project for you
Choose the most popular project on social media
Conduct a needs assessment to understand the root causes and community priorities
Buy materials first and decide later
Explanation:
A needs assessment gathers local information and identifies root causes so the intervention matches real community needs and resources.
2. Which set of criteria best describes SMART objectives used when designing an intervention?
Simple, Massive, Ambitious, Regional, Timeless
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound
Standardized, Mandatory, Adjusted, Resource-based, Tested
Social, Moral, Actionable, Relational, Tangible
Explanation:
SMART objectives are clear and measurable, helping teams in Kenya plan realistic actions and track progress within a set time.
3. Who should be involved when planning and implementing a community intervention in a Kenyan context?
Only outside consultants from the capital
Only the project leader and donors
Community members, school staff, local leaders and other stakeholders
Only students, without adults
Explanation:
Including local stakeholders ensures the intervention is relevant, acceptable and more likely to be sustained by the community.
4. Why is it important to pilot test an intervention on a small scale before expanding it?
To test feasibility, identify problems early and make adjustments before scaling up
To spend the whole budget quickly
To replace community input with expert opinion
To avoid monitoring later
Explanation:
Piloting helps spot practical issues in Kenyan schools or villages and allows teams to improve the design before full implementation.
5. What is baseline data in action research?
Information collected before the intervention to measure change later
National averages unrelated to the local community
Information gathered only after the project ends
Ideas written on a planning board
Explanation:
Baseline data shows the starting point so you can compare results after the intervention to know if it made a difference.
6. Which of these is a good indicator to measure improved handwashing behaviour among pupils in a Kenyan school?
Number of latrines not necessarily used
Total rainfall this term
Percentage of pupils observed washing hands with soap after using the latrine
Number of posters put up about hygiene
Explanation:
This indicator measures the actual behaviour change you want, rather than outputs or unrelated data like rainfall.
7. What is an important ethical step when carrying out an intervention involving 15-year-old students in Kenya?
Only ask the headteacher and ignore parents
Publish students' full names and photos without permission
Obtain parental/guardian consent and the student's assent before participation
Include students without telling their parents
Explanation:
Research ethics require parental consent and the young person's agreement (assent) to protect minors and respect families in Kenya.
8. What is the main difference between monitoring and evaluation in an intervention?
Monitoring counts money spent; evaluation ignores outcomes
Monitoring is continuous tracking during the project; evaluation is a periodic assessment of results and impact
Monitoring happens only after the project ends; evaluation happens daily
Monitoring and evaluation are the same thing and always done once
Explanation:
Monitoring helps manage activities as they happen, while evaluation looks at whether objectives were met and what effects the intervention had.
9. Why is preparing a budget important when planning an intervention in your county or school?
To avoid talking to suppliers
To increase the project's complexity unnecessarily
To estimate costs, allocate resources and make sure activities are affordable and realistic
To hide expenses from the community
Explanation:
A clear budget helps plan what can be done with available funds and avoids surprises during implementation.
10. What does sustainability planning mean for a community project in Kenya?
Stopping activities right after the donor leaves
Hiring foreigners to run the project permanently
Relying only on donors forever
Making sure the community can maintain benefits after external support ends
Explanation:
Sustainability means building local capacity and ownership so the project continues to help people when external funding stops.
11. Which feedback mechanism would best help a school project learn from community members in a Kenyan village?
Sending only one text message to the chief and ignoring others
Publishing a long report that nobody reads
Holding regular community meetings where people can share opinions and suggest changes
Posting a single notice and never asking for opinions again
Explanation:
Face-to-face meetings allow diverse community voices to be heard and help adapt the intervention to local needs.
12. When selecting people to take part in a survey about a school intervention, what is best practice?
Select random people from a different county
Choose a representative sample of the target group so results reflect the wider community
Only survey the teachers who are easiest to reach
Only include students who are top performers
Explanation:
A representative sample ensures the findings are meaningful and useful for decision-making about the intervention.
13. What is the role of reflection in action research for students implementing a community project?
To stop activities immediately without discussion
To blame others for problems without learning
To review what worked and what didn't, so the team can learn and make improvements
To write long essays for no practical purpose
Explanation:
Reflection helps students and community members adapt actions based on evidence and experience, improving future results.
14. When should an intervention be adapted during its implementation?
When monitoring data or community feedback show it is not achieving desired results
Never; changes show weakness
Only if the donor threatens to withdraw funding
Only after the project has ended
Explanation:
Adapting based on data and feedback improves relevance and effectiveness in the local Kenyan context.
15. What is the purpose of conducting a risk assessment before implementing a community activity?
To increase the number of risks on paper
To identify potential harms and plan ways to reduce them for participants and the community
To ignore safety and focus only on outputs
To shift blame to community members
Explanation:
Risk assessments protect people and help planners prepare measures to prevent or respond to problems during the project.
16. Which data collection method is especially useful for exploring people's opinions and experiences in a village meeting?
Focus group discussion where several people talk together about the topic
Measuring only the height of school buildings
Counting cars on a highway
Laboratory testing of soil samples
Explanation:
Focus groups let participants discuss views and reveal ideas that may not appear in individual surveys or observations.
17. How can you measure whether a youth life-skills training intervention improved students' skills?
Use pre- and post-training assessments or tests that measure the same skills before and after
Only listen to rumours about the training
Count the number of brochures handed out
Measure the size of the classroom
Explanation:
Comparing assessments before and after training shows actual changes in skills attributable to the intervention.
18. What makes an indicator 'good' when monitoring a school sanitation project?
It measures something unrelated to sanitation
It requires expensive and unavailable technology
It is measurable, relevant to the objective and easy to collect in the local context
It is vague and cannot be counted
Explanation:
Good indicators give clear, practical data that reflect progress and can be collected with available resources.
19. Why is stakeholder mapping useful when designing an intervention for a community health issue?
It helps identify who influences the issue, who will be affected, and who should be engaged in the project
It increases paperwork without benefit
It is only used to exclude people from decision-making
It replaces community meetings
Explanation:
Mapping reveals allies, opponents and those with resources or authority so the project engages the right people at the right time.
20. For research involving 15-year-old students, what consent process is appropriate in most ethical guidelines?
Only get permission from the class prefect
No consent is needed for school projects
Obtain parental or guardian consent and also get the student's own assent
Allow the student to decide alone without informing parents
Explanation:
Minors need parental permission and their own agreement to participate; this protects their rights and follows ethical practice.
21. If a small school-based sanitation project works well in one village, what is the best step for scaling up in nearby areas?
Adapt the project to each new community and pilot it with local partners while monitoring results
Copy it exactly everywhere without checking local differences
Stop the project because one success is enough
Send the same posters to every village and expect the same outcome
Explanation:
Successful scaling requires adapting to local context, testing, and working with local partners to ensure relevance and sustainability.
22. What does a Gantt chart help a student project team plan?
Only the list of materials without dates
Which people to exclude from meetings
The timeline and sequence of activities showing when tasks start and finish
How to spend money secretly
Explanation:
A Gantt chart visually schedules tasks and helps teams coordinate work and meet deadlines during implementation.
23. Why is good documentation important during and after an intervention?
It records actions and results so the team can learn, report and share lessons with others
It makes the project slow and secretive
It hides problems so donors are not informed
It is done only to fill school folders with no use
Explanation:
Clear records support learning, accountability and help others replicate or improve the intervention in Kenya or beyond.
24. How does strong community ownership affect a local intervention?
It improves the chances the community will maintain and support the project after external help ends
It makes the community dependent on outsiders forever
It guarantees immediate national funding
It removes responsibility from local leaders
Explanation:
When the community feels ownership, they are more likely to continue activities, look after facilities and adapt the project locally.
25. What is a simple way to ensure cultural sensitivity when introducing a new practice in a Kenyan community?
Ignore local customs and enforce the new practice immediately
Rely solely on outside experts from another country
Use only written instructions in English without translation
Engage local leaders and community members, listen to their views and adapt the activity to respect traditions
Explanation:
Working with local leaders and adapting to cultural norms increases acceptance and reduces conflict, making the intervention more effective.