The efficacy of journalism training programmes in middle level colleges: a study of Eldoret town, Kenya

Abstract

With recent improvement of media freedom in Kenya, there has been an increase in the number of media houses in the country. In response to the subsequent increased demand for media practitioners, many institutions have come up seeking to train journalists to meet the increasing demand for media personnel. However, the manner in which these colleges sprout is wanting. Therefore in order to determine the efficacy of journalism training programmes in middle level colleges in Eldoret town, this study sought to find answers to the following key questions: how does the training in the specified colleges in Eldoret town prepare students for careers in media industry? How is the journalism syllabus for training diploma and certificate students in the middle level colleges developed? To what extent is the content and process of training at middle level colleges consistent with journalistic job requirements? Curriculum theory of John Dewey guided the study. This took a cross sectional study design with a target population of 18 journalism training colleges in Eldoret town. Purposive sampling was used to arrive at participants who were class representatives and heads of departments. Data was collected using questionnaires, document analysis, and interview schedules. Qualitative data was analysed thematically based on specified categories while quantitative data was processed and analysed descriptively. The findings of the study showed that there is no standardized form of curriculum implementation, journalism tutors don‘t participate in curriculum development, there are insufficient training equipments and the graduates from theses colleges are not exposed, hence making it difficult for these colleges to achieve their ideal role as training institutions. The study recommends for the establishment of a strong link between journalism training institutions and other stakeholders like the Kenya institute o of curriculum development (KICD), and Ministry of education science and technology to effectively serve the society