Evaluating the Nature and Challenges to Pastoral Care in Catholic Sponsored Schools in Nakuru Municipality, Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Catholic Church sponsored schools have generally exhibited great academic performance all over Kenya. However, there are a number of challenges facing these Schools which have not been studied and documented. The purpose of this paper is therefore to share the findings of the Nature and Pastoral Care challenges facing Catholic Church- sponsored schools in Nakuru Municipality in Nakuru County. The objectives of the paper are; to establish the nature of Pastoral Care in Catholic Church-sponsored schools in Nakuru Municipality and to assess the challenges to proper Pastoral Care in Catholic managed schools in the Nakuru Municipality. The paper is justified by a lack of existing literature on the challenges facing these schools. The paper is guided by the theory of abundant life attributed to Jesus Christ and deprivation theory propounded by John Bowlby (2007). This paper uses qualitative research method incorporating interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions to collect data. A sampled population of 216 including teachers, prefects, principals and a group of students for focused group discussions are selected purposively for this paper. The data collected is analyzed descriptively. The findings and recommendations of this paper are hopefully helpful to the policy makers oneducation both state and non-state actors.