Kamuratanetas An Educational Self-Regulating Social Mechanism Of Behaviour Management Among The Kalenjin In Kenya: Towards A Conceptual Model

Abstract

African cultural practices and traditions provided individuals with socially mediated contexts of behaviour adaptation and learning.With Westernization most children today have few structures to learn social self-regulating. The role of cultural structures, such as Circumcision (Yatitaet in Kalenjin) was explored for its potential educational value and how it provided initiates with contexts for self-regulating behaviour management. The main purpose of this study was to carry out a qualitative research into Kamuratanet as an Educational self-regulating social mechanism of behaviour management among the Kalenjin and derive a conceptual model based on the findings.The specific objectives of the study were to: identify and locate the concept of education in the Kamuratanet context; identify characteristics of educators in the Kamuratanet context; examine the influence of Kamuratanet on social behaviour management on learning content;describe structures employed by Kamuratanet in implementing social behaviour curriculum; identify educational contexts used by Kamuratanet in dispensing its self-regulating social behaviour content and finally describe the inbuilt self-regulating mechanisms of behaviour management deployed in Kamuratanet. The theoretical foundation of this study hinges on three premises: Functionalist perspective originated by Emile Durkheim; Social Cultural Theory by Lev Vygotsky; and the Social Learning Theory by Albert Bandura. The study was qualitative, informed by Interpretivist paradigm and guided by Ethnographic research design.Purposive and Snowball sampling procedures were used to get participants with experience, deep knowledge and an understanding of the Kalenjin cultural systems of sociolization. Twelve participants informed the research where data was generated through intensive face to face semi-structured oral interviews. Consequently, a multi-method approach was used in data analysis in order to enhance findings.The findings of the study determined existence of educational self-regulating social mechanisms of behaviour management that have also been used in this study to derive a conceptual model for behaviour management,relevant to the psychology of African behaviour management.The conceptual model-Structural Collectivist Behaviour (SCB model)- is derived from Self-regulating social structures employed by the Kalenjin to collectively regulate the behaviour of community