Perspectives of students and teachers on African traditional religion and its role in nurturing moral values in Kenyan secondary schools: Uasin Gishu County

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate perspectives of Students and Teachers on African Traditional Religion (A.T.R.) and its role in nurturing moral values in Kenyan Secondary Schools in Uasin Gishu County. The significance attached to A.T.R. in the C.R.E. Syllabus has greatly reduced over the years and Kenya National Examination Council (K.N.E.C.) reports clearly portray that students have been performing poorly on questions related to A.T.R. yet it has a significant role to play in instilling moral values in the society today. The objectives of the study were to find out the Students' and Teachers' attitude to A.T.R., the role of A.T.R. in imparting moral values, the methods used in teaching A.T.R. and lastly the challenges encountered in instilling moral values in the society today. The study was guided by Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action which is a theory of attitude- behaviour relationship. The theory maintains that the most immediate determinant of an individual's behavior is one's intention to perform that behavior. Descriptive survey design was used in the study. Concurrent Mixed Methods approach was adopted in the study. This involves merging quantitative and qualitative data in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the research problem. The main instruments of data collection were open and closed-ended questionnaires and interview schedule. Stratified random sampling was used to select 350 students and 80 teachers from rural and urban-based schools in Uasin Gishu County. Simple random sampling was used to select students from Form Three class and .teachers from the sampled schools. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics which includes means, tables and standard deviation whereas Qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The study findings revealed that A.T.R. has helped to instill moral values in the learners such as respect and responsibility. It was established that both students and teachers have a positive attitude towards A.T.R. The findings revealed that A.T.R. is relevant to the African society since practices like circumcision and use of herbal medicine are reflected in modem society. It was noted that teachers mainly used illustration and discussion method to teach A.T.R. The study recommended that the government should censor the mass media to avoid exposing the young people to programmes which erode their moral values. Curriculum developers ought to consider reorganizing the A.T.R. topics such that they are spread across Form One to Four for better understanding to the learner. The Ministry of Education should organize more in-service courses for C.R.E. teachers laying emphasis on the use of life approach and resource persons in teaching A.T.R. There is need for the church, family and school to work together in nurturing moral values in the young people.