Locating the concept of education in Kalenjin Kamuratanet

Abstract

African cultural practices and traditions provided individuals with socially mediated contexts of behaviour adaptation and learning. With Westernization most children today have few structures to learn social self-regulating. The role of cultural structures, such as Circumcision (Yatitaet in Kalenjin) was explored for its potential educational value and how it provided initiates with contexts for self-regulating behaviour management. The specific objective of the study was to locate the concept of education in the Kamuratanet context. The theoretical foundation of this study hinges on Social Cultural Theory by Lev Vygotsky. The study was qualitative, informed by Interpretivist paradigm and guided by Ethnographic research design. Purposive and Snowball sampling procedures were used to get participants with experience, deep knowledge and an understanding of the Kalenjin cultural systems of socialization. Twelve participants informed the research through intensive interviews. Consequently, a multi-method approach was used in data analysis in order to enhance findings. The study determined existence of a clearly defined educational structure that also manifest as a self-regulating social mechanisms of behaviour management. Conclusions are provided.