http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/60 2026-07-16T19:05:41Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10355 Title: Perception of teachers towards the social studies curriculum in public primary schools in Kakamega Municipality, Kakamega County, Kenya Authors: Rotich, Joan Chelangat; Yungungu, Alice M. Abstract: The Social Studies Curriculum helps learners to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an independent world. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of teachers towards the Social Studies Curriculum in Public Primary Schools in Kakamega Municipality in Kakamega County, Kenya. To achieve this purpose, five objectives were addressed and these are; to find out the teachers towards the teaching methods in Social Studies curriculum, to find out the attitudes of teachers towards the scope of Social Studies Curriculum, the availability and use of teaching and learning resources, the time allocation for teaching of Social Studies and the evaluation techniques used in Social Studies curriculum in Kakamega Municipality, Kakamega County. The study was guided by the theory of perception by Burns (1982). The theory explains how an individual put personal meanings to a psychological environment. The research design was descriptive survey. Stratified sampling and simple sampling method were used to obtain the study sample. The research method that was adopted was mixed method s teaching Social Studies Curriculum and head teachers in Kakamega Public Primary Schools in Kakamega Municipality. The data collection instruments were questionnaires for teachers and interview schedules for head s in Vihiga District to help the researcher in identifying any deficiencies in the data collection instruments. Validity of data collection instruments was ascertained by use of research experts at the department of curriculum, retest method was employed to ascertain reliability of data collection instruments. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentage and frequencies with the help of Statistical Package for Social nces (SPSS) Computer Programme. The study established that teachers of Social Studies in public primary schools in Kakamega municipality use more than one teaching method. The perception of teachers towards the Social Studies Curriculum was that they prefer using more than one teaching method and that most of the teachers had positive perception. It was also found that the scope of Social Studies curriculum was wide. Further the study found that akamega municipality were few and that some schools with a few resources did not put them into use. The findings indicated that teachers are not comfortable with the time allocated to the Social Studies curriculum for he content. Most of the teachers use question and answer method, continuous assessment and diagnostic evaluation in assessing learners’ retention. A rising from the study, the study recommend that teachers should attend in-service education appropriate teaching methods to be used, teachers should take part in Social Studies Curriculum planning, they should be updated on the new approaches, be involved in time allocation for various taught subjects, curriculum planners should either reduce the content or increase the time allocation and teachers be consulted in Social Studies curriculum evaluation. The findings are useful to policy makers, curriculum developers and curriculum implementers for improvement of the perception of teachers towards the Social Studies curriculum. The study revealed other areas that might require further studieS 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10354 Title: The voices of elders on the past indigenous foodways and futures in Kenya Authors: Kwapong, Nana Afranaa; Kipkoech, Brian; Korir, Lilian; Hannaford, Matthew J.; Mathewson, Abbie; Kokwon, Costa; Too, Prisca Tanui; Chelanga, James; Chesire, Michael Abstract: Indigenous crops have historically supported resilient food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet their potential remains underutilised and neglected within African food systems. Drawing on oral historical accounts from 79 elders and participatory futures workshops in Bomet and Baringo counties, this paper explores the meanings and values attached to indigenous underutilised crops and how these narratives can inform efforts to revitalise indigenous crops within Kenya’s food systems. Findings reveal that indigenous crops were central to precolonial food systems, contributing to food production, healthy diets, medicinal practices, and cultural ceremonies. However, colonial agricultural restructuring, particularly the promotion of maize and commercial crops, gradually marginalised indigenous crops and transformed local foodways. Despite this, elders’ narratives revealed that indigenous crops persisted, sustained mostly through women’s continued cultivation and elders’ consumption, reflecting resilience and resistance. Their narratives express a strong desire to revive these crops, driven by concerns over nutrition, climate resilience, health, and cultural heritage. Yet, barriers remain, including younger generations’ lack of knowledge and interest, limited market access, and policy neglect. Revitalising indigenous crops requires a decolonial approach that raises awareness of their value while addressing structural barriers to their production. This study contributes to a growing body of literature that seeks to learn from the past to inform sustainable food futures, reimagining indigenous crops in future food systems 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10351 Title: The crisis of governance: politics and ethnic conflict in Kenya Authors: Ndege, Peter O.; Chelanga, James; Singo, Stephen M, Abstract: The most pronounced characteristics of Kenya's governance since independence in 1963 are ethnicity, ethnic conflict and the politics of patronage and clientelism. Today, Kenya is more ethnically divided than it has ever been before in the history of its existence. In the last decade, for instance, ethnic violence erupted in seven of the country's eight provinces, claiming several hundreds of lives and displacing thousands of others. The persistence of ethnic conflicts in Kenya is unsettling. Apart from the fact that these conflicts lead to insecurity and loss of many lives and property, they also cast doubts about the efficacy of governance and a serious uncertainty regarding the prospects of democracy in the country. From an academic point of view the situation calls for a reassessment of existing views about ethnicity and its relations with politics. This research conducts a contextual and empirical analysis of the phenomenon of ethnicity, ethnic conflict and its relations with the processes of governance and constitutional reform. The objectives of this study were to: analyze ethnicity in the context of the political landscape in Kenya, establish links between economic, social, political and ethnic conflicts, examine how ethnic conflicts have been managed, and assess the influence of ethnicity on the ongoing constitutional reform and the debate on the presidential succession. This study gathered primary data through field surveys in areas that have experienced ethnic conflicts since 1990. Field interviews were carried out with respondents selected from victims of ethnic violence, politicians, lawyers, and officials of government, NGOs, churches, and civil societies. The study uses secondary data from relevant published works. The study concludes with an analysis of the implications of ethnicity and ethnic conflicts for the ongoing constitution reform process and draws theoretical and empirical conclusions regarding Kenya's experiences with ethnicity and ethnic conflicts, and recommends what should be done to reconcile competing ethnicity with responsible citizenship for the purpose of enhancing democratic governance. 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10350 Title: Becoming Underutilised: Indigenous Crops and Foodwaysin Colonial Kenya Authors: Hannaford, Matthew J.; Korir, Lilian; Kwapong, Nana Afranaa; Chelanga, James; Chesire, Michael; Kioko, Esther; Kipkoech, Brian; Kokwon, Costa; Maundu, Patrick; Ngumbau, Veronicah; Too, Prisca Tanui Abstract: The material properties of ‘underutilised’ indigenous African crops have gained increasing attention in efforts to combat food insecurity. Understanding the opportunities and barriers to reviving indigenous crops today must begin by making sense of how such foodstuffs became underutilised in the first place. This article traces the transformation of foodways centred around indigenous crops in colonial Kenya (1890s–1963). Drawing on archival evidence and 79 oral histories from Baringo and Bomet counties, it explores how crop materialities, colonial state-making and local resistance shaped patterns of agrarian change that marginalised, but by no means eradicated, indigenous crops and foodways. Although key drivers of change stemmed from interactions between crop materialities and political-economic forces central to settler colonial domination in Kenya, we argue that nutritional knowledges, extreme weather events and pest outbreaks were important contributors to government interventions and local defence of foodways. We conclude by reflecting on the resurgence of indigenous crops. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z