Kenyan Education System Research Articles

The Perceived Discrepancy between the Teaching of Christian Religious Education and Inculcation of Moral Values amongst Secondary Schools Students in Kisumu East District, Kenya.

Previous research and document evidence obtainable in popular media has consistently reported that Kenyan students’ moral standing and general conduct in the wider society does not reflect acquisition and practice of values learnt through the teaching or Christian Religious Education (CRE) at the form four level. This has caused complaints among those stakeholders in education who are concerned that the moral well being of the youth is on a downward trend. This suggests that either the teaching of CRE is defective or the Kenyan education system as a whole does not contain relevant elements that could enable students acquire relevant moral skills. Another possibility could be the existence of a discrepancy between the CRE program objectives and the instructional practices meant to achieve them. From the literature that was reviewed, it was evident that the nature of this discrepancy had not yet been established for effective intervention strategies to be put in place. The purpose of this study was to determine possible reasons for the assumed discrepancy between the stated objectives of teaching CRE in Kenyan secondary schools and current moral standings that does not reflect acquisition of moral skills. Specifically, the study determined whether the methods of instruction employed by the teachers of C.R.E in Kisumu East district secondary schools enabled learners to identify and acquire morals in societal context. Four instruments used in collecting data included: A graphic observation rating scale, a learner’s test, an in-depth interview schedule and documents analysis guides. The study population comprised 3225 students and 48 teachers. Out of the population, 16 teachers and the 343 learners were selected using stratified random sampling technique. The obtained results suggested that teachers rarely used the valuing methods in inculcating moral skills in their students. Another notable finding was that while the CRE syllabus contained relevant elements that could assist students acquire moral skills, it was the implementation of the skills through the teaching methods adopted that was likely responsible for limited valuing skill acquisition. Key words: Objectives, valuing methods and learner identification, acquisition of moral values.

Teaching/Learning Resources and Academic Performance in Mathematics in Secondary Schools in Bondo District of Kenya

The education system in Kenya is evolving steadily even as it is faced with a number of shortcomings which include inadequate teaching/learning resources in secondary schools due to poor planning and corruption. The study looked at the effect of teaching/learning resources on academic performance in secondary school mathematics in Bondo district of Kenya. The research design for this study was descriptive survey design with a total of 405 senior four students as the population of the study. Two hundred and forty two (242) students were randomly selected from nine schools in the three divisions of Bondo districts out of 24 schools. Intact classes were chosen. The schools were stratified into co-educational day, co-educational boarding, boys boarding and girls boarding. One validated research instrument developed for the study was Student Questionnaire on Performance (SPQ) (r = 0.437). Three research questions were answered. The data collected was analyzed using multiple regression analysis. There was a positive correlation among the eight independent variables and the dependent measure – mathematics performance(R= 0.486; F(8,241)=9.014; p

Free Primary Education in Kenya: An Impact Evaluation Using Propensity Score Methods

This paper attempts to evaluate the impact of the free primary education programme in Kenya, which is based on the premise that government intervention can lead to enhanced access to education especially by children from poor parental backgrounds. Primary education system in Kenya has been characterised by high wastage in form of low enrolment, high dropout rates, grade repetition as well as poor transition from primary to secondary schools. This scenario was attributed to high cost of primary education. To reverse these poor trends in educational achievements, the government initiated free primary education programme in January 2003. This paper therefore analyzes the impact of the FPE programme using panel data. Results indicate primary school enrolment rate has improved especially for children hailing from higher income categories; an indication that factors that prevent children from poor backgrounds from attending primary school go beyond the inability to pay school fees. Grade progression in primary schools has slightly dwindled. The results also indicate that there still exist constraints hindering children from poorer households from transiting to secondary school. The free primary education programme was found to be progressive, with the relatively poorer households drawing more benefits from the subsidy.

Functions of code-switching in a multilingual classroom

The language situation in Kenya is complex. The population is comprised of Africans (99.1%), Asians (0.4%), Europeans (0.2%), Arabs (0.2%), and others (0.1%) - (Kenya Statistical Abstract 1995:19). The forty odd indigenous languages spoken in Kenya are classified into three linguistic family groups: the Bantu, the Nilotes and the Cushitic groups (Abdulaziz, 1982). In addition to these there is the official language, English, which is also the medium of instruction at all levels of education, and Kiswahili which was declared the National language in 1974 (Abdulaziz 1982). The status of Kiswahili was further enhanced when it was made a compulsory examinable subject in primary schools, secondary schools and in teacher training institutes in 1985. Thus those who go through the Kenyan education system can speak at least two languages, namely, English, and Kiswahili which are compulsory subjects in the education system. In the majority of the cases, the speakers can also use one local language in addition to Kiswahili and English. This was the case with our respondents, thus the term multilingual speakers.Journal of Language, Technology and Entrepreneurship in Africa Vol. 1 (1) 2007 pp. 34-37

Educational reform in Kenya

Decisions taken without reference to, detailed research on the interaction between the school and its social environment deny the fact that the education system is more a reflection of the crisis than its cause. In addition, the division in the social fabric caused by socio-economic inequalities is accentuating the dysfunctions of the education system, which is seen as responsible for the difficulties encountered by young people looking for paid employment. The changes that the authorities are making to the system aim to regulate and correct the functioning of the markets from which actual remuneration as well as the rewards of status derive. This type of action is a way by which the authorities can demonstrate that they are not unconcerned by inequalities and is also a way of winning popular support for the social contract. Changes in formal education thus depend both on the history of individual relationships and on the ideology by which they are inspired. The historical development of the education system in Kenya shows that changes sometimes lead to pernicious effects and that the failure of the human capital theory has not led to a change in the view of education. If the objective of the 8.4.4 reform is to adapt the education system to changes in society, it will be difficult for it to reduce the social demand for an improvement in the standard of education.

Prevocational subjects in primary schools in the 8-4-4 education system in Kenya

It is argued that education policy in Africa in the last several decades has favoured curriculum change towards practical or vocational subjects. In Kenya this policy started to emerge in the mid-sixties leading to the launching of the 8-4-4 education system in 1985 with the objective of increasing the scope of vocational subjects in the school system at all levels. The article investigates the state of prevocational subjects in the primary school curriculum with a particular focus on the teaching facilities and materials, and whether the subjects provide useful vocational skills as stated in the objectives of the new education system. It is concluded that the teaching of prevocational subjects is hampered by a lack of basic resources, and their teaching has not shifted pupils' inclinations away from academic studies in favour of vocational skills training and practically oriented occupations.

Financing education in Kenya

This article on financing education in Kenya discusses contributions being made by parents, the government, communities and schools towards expenditures of formal education during the period of economic austerity, and identifies new trends in public education finance aimed at helping the Kenyan education system overcome financial constraints. Edmond J. Keller Jr. studied educational finance in Kenya from the time of independence in 1963. In his book published in 198o he noted that ~education costs have steadily increased since independence'. Kyale Mwendwa, in a paper entitled 'Education and Rural Development' estimated that by 1969/7 o, the Ministry of Education's programmes would require KgS. 7 million* annual recurrent expenditure. However, the actual expenditure turned out to be Ks 4 million which was 42.5 per cent higher than estimated. In 1972, the Ministry of Education received 15 per cent of the national budget but eleven years later (in 1983) the portion of the national budget which went to the Ministry of Education was over 3o per cent.