Challenges facing the teaching of history and government A case of secondary schools in Wareng District, Kenya.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the challenges of teaching history and government in Kenyan secondary schools as experienced by teachers in Wareng district. The study sought to establish the challenges associated with the availability and use of instructional materials, instructional methods, attitude towards the subject and managerial support to the teachers of History and Government. This study was based on the theory of implementation of curriculum innovations advanced by Gross et al (1971) and Fullan (1991). They argue that the degree to which a curriculum is implemented is a function of the extent to which five conditions are present during the process of implementation that is attitude of the implementers, support provided by management staff, availability of facilities, the content of curriculum and the competencies needed to carry out the process of implementation. The study adopted a descriptive design. The population for the study comprised of History and Government teachers of the secondary schools that participated in the study. Simple and stratified random sampling techniques were used to select a sample of 120 respondents. Questionnaires, interview and observation schedules were used to collect data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. These comprised of frequencies and percentages. Data collected was presented in form of tables, charts and graphs. The findings of the study showed that there are challenges in the teaching and learning of History and Government at the secondary school level in Kenya. These challenges are associated with the attitude towards the subject, instructional methods, availability and use of instructional materials and managerial support. Based on these findings, the researcher recommends the need to improve instructional approaches by History and Government teachers. The teachers need to use various and appropriate teaching methods and instructional materials, in order to develop positive attitudes of learners towards the subject. In addition, there is need for professional managerial support to the teaching of history and government in secondary schools. The findings of this study are intended to benefit the school management, teaching staff, educational planners and other stake-holders.