Teachers’ Exposure, Training and Professional Preparedness on the Use of the Integrated Method of Teaching Oral Literature in Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

This paper discusses the teachers’ awareness, training and professional preparedness on the use of integrated methods to teach oral literature in secondary schools. The study was conducted in Eldoret Municipality, Uasin- Gishu County, Kenya. The target population was the teachers of Literature and English in secondary schools. All schools in the Municipality participated in the study through the questionnaire instrument. Out of these schools, simple random sampling was used to select twelve secondary schools within the Municipality to participate in the interview schedule and four schools to participate in the observation and recording schedule. The Convenient sampling technique was used to select teachers to be observed while teaching in class. Instruments of data collection were the questionnaires, interviews and observation schedules. Descriptive statistical techniques such as frequencies and percentages were used in the analysis of the data collected. It emerged that the teachers’ understanding of the integrated method was in some cases very good, in others, good, average or poor. In addition, most of the teachers stated that none of the seminars or in-service courses they attended was specifically prepared for oral literature. The study is useful to both the teachers and students of Oral Literature in that it makes recommendations aimed at improving the teachers’ knowledge on the use of the integrated method of teaching in Kenyan secondary schools. It is also aimed at improving the teaching techniques employed by teachers of literature and English.