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.