Exploring kiswahili teachers’ instructional regimes on learners’ mastery of functional writing skills in some selected schools in Ndhiwa Sub-County, Kenya.

Abstract

Functional writing skills is a fundamental requirement in every individual’s life due to its importance in communication. Leaners’ mastery of functional writing skills is a critical objective in the teaching and learning of language because of its relevance in the life of an individual. The current study sought to explore Kiswahili teachers’ instructional regimes on learners’ mastery of functional writing skills in Ndhiwa Sub- county. The research objectives were: to assess Kiswahili teachers’ preparation for teaching writing skills in their classrooms, to examine the type of teaching and learning activities designed by Kiswahili teachers for teaching functional writing skills, to evaluate the teaching and learning resources employed by Kiswahili teachers in teaching functional writing skills, and to determine the assessment strategies designed by Kiswahili teachers for assessing functional writing skills. The study was based on John Biggs theory of Constructive Alignment and adopted a descriptive survey research design. Cluster sampling was used to sample divisions, stratified sampling for schools, simple random sampling for Kiswahili teachers and students and purposive sampling for heads of department. A total of 52 secondary schools in Ndhiwa Sub-county, Homabay county were selected consisting 4 boy schools, 7 girls, and 41 mixed secondary schools. From these, 30 teachers, and 60 Form Three students were selected to participate in the study, giving a total of 90 participants. The four tools used for data collection included a structured interview schedule, writing assessment, document analysis, and observations. Data were analysed thematically by categorising it into relevant themes from which various aspects of data were examined. The study established that: for effective teaching and learning, well- chosen and properly-managed activities ought to be employed by instructors, Kiswahili teachers use different strategies in teaching functional writing skills creating a difference in performance by their students, adequate teacher planning is an essential step in teaching, designing holistic teaching and learning regime encompasses combining both teaching and learning activities and resources and that the difference in performance outcomes are attributed to various instructional regimes. The findings of this study could contribute to additional knowledge in the area of teaching Kiswahili functional writing skills in secondary schools. This study concluded that planning should be considered as an essential way of ensuring that learning goals are achieved and that various teaching and learning resources should be employed by Kiswahili teachers to teach functional writing skills concepts effectively. This study recommends, among others, that Kiswahili teachers should integrate effective teaching and learning activities and resources into their instructions. Furthermore, a different research which compares various instructional regimes used by Kiswahili teachers be conducted to establish the one with the most impact on learners’ mastery of functional writing skills to help in bridging the gap in students’ mastery levels as well as performance in such subjects.