Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of group discussion as a method of
teaching Kiswahili literature in secondary schools in Kenya. Over years, the mean score
for Kiswahili literature has been discouraging. It was with this in mind that this study
sought to find out how teachers of Kiswahili exploit group discussion in teaching
Kiswahili literature. The study was based on Bruner’s constructivist theory which states
that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts
based upon current or past knowledge. The researcher adopted a survey design. The
study was conducted in selected schools in Wareng District, Uasin Gishu County in
Kenya. The researcher used purposive, stratified and simple random sampling to get the
study sample. Twelve secondary schools, five hundred and fifty form three students and
all the fourteen form three teachers of Kiswahili literature in the selected schools were
included in the study sample. Data was collected using questionnaire, observation and
document analysis. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze data. A pilot study was
conducted in preparation for the main data collection in the field. The study revealed that
the use of group discussion enhances positive performance though its use in schools is
limited by problems such as insufficient time. It was also revealed that teachers had a
positive attitude towards the use of group discussion. However it was rarely used in
teaching Kiswahili literature because of inadequate time, work load among other factors.
Students also had a positive attitude towards the use of group discussion. However, the
attitude was negatively influenced by factors such as lack of cooperation and lack of
time among others. The degree of use of group discussion in teaching Kiswahili
literature was low and other teaching methods commonly used in teaching Kiswahili
literature included, question and answer and lecture. The study therefore recommends
the frequent use of group discussion in teaching Kiswahili literature as it enhances
performance. The study too recommends teachers of Kiswahili to be trained in Kiswahili
language (lugha) and Kiswahili literature (Fasihi). Moreover it recommends more time
to be allocated Kiswahili subject since time factor was a setback in the choice and use of
group discussion. The researcher hopes that the findings of the study will add to existing
body of knowledge that will be useful to both curriculum developers and implementers
in policy formulation towards the choice of appropriate teaching methods in teaching
Kiswahili literature in secondary schools.