Abstract:
The philosophy of existentialism holds that human beings first exist and then each
individual spends a lifetime changing their essence or nature. This philosophical
submission has shaped the understanding of the general purpose of education in the
world. The Kenyan education system is also fashioned upon this philosophy. Despite
the Ministry of Education‘s intention to focus on the holistic development of the
learners with the 8-4-4 system, the outcome has not been satisfactory leading to public
debates and various Commissions mandated to explore the underlying problems and
factors that need to be addressed. Any education system that does not lead to holistic
development risks graduating students who lack all requisite dimensions of education.
Consequently, this study sought to: evaluate the 8-4-4 system of education; to analyse
the significance of existentialism philosophy to holistic education in Kenya, and to
assess the use of existential education in addressing the problems facing the Kenyan
society. The study assumed that existentialism in education contributes to complete
holistic transformation of the learner. The significance of the study entailed the fact
that existential thoughts equip educational planners, administrators and educators with
a progressive vision to formulate adequate educational policies and relevant
educational reforms that are in line with the changing times. The study limited itself to
the 8-4-4 system of education in Kenya and the existential philosophies of Martin
Heidegger, Soren Kierkegaard and Jean Paul Sartre. This study was library based and
used critical, analytical, speculative and existential methods of philosophical
investigations. The findings of the study show that factors such as inadequate funding,
examination malpractices, over enrolment, students‘ unrest, commercialization of
education and curriculum overload have denied the learners holistic development. To
remedy the situation, existential educational implications were found to foster holistic
education by making the student the subject of learning through proper understanding
of educational aims and goals, concept of the school, student, teacher, curriculum and
pedagogy. Education stakeholders will find this study a useful resource rich in
information about holistic education reform agenda. The study also recommends
further research on existential interrogation of the new competency-based curriculum
(CBC) and a critique of the Kenyan education system using other schools of
philosophy.
