Abstract:
The teaching and learning of oral literature play an important role in students’ lives. It fosters
values, knowledge and critical thinking in the learners. However, the teaching and learning of oral
literature has currently faced a myriad of challenges. The purpose of this study was to make a
comparison between theoretical methods and fieldwork methods in relation to the teaching and
learning of oral literature in secondary schools in Kenya. The study had two objectives: to bring
out the difference between fieldwork methods and theoretical methods of teaching oral literature
and secondly, to analyze the activities carried out when fieldwork methods are used as compared
to those used when theoretical methods are used in the teaching and learning of oral literature. The
study was guided by Robert Gagne’s hierarchical theory. The target population was 636 form three
students out of which 234 students were sampled using Krejcie and Morgan table and simple
random sampling technique. A pre-test was administered to form three students of four selected
schools. A group of two schools was subjected to teaching through theoretical methods while the
other group of two schools was taken through fieldwork lessons, after which a post-test was then
administered. The findings indicated that students who were taught using fieldwork methods
scored highly in the post-test, attaining a positive deviation of +11.55 as compared to those who
were taught using theoretical methods who attained a positive deviation of +5.76. The study
concluded that there is a difference in effectiveness when the two methods are used in the teaching
of oral literature. The study concluded that the fieldwork method was more effective in the teaching
of oral literature than the theoretical methods. The study recommended that schools should
encourage teachers to use a variety of teaching methods in oral literature including fieldwork and
that teachers should utilize resource people in teaching and learning of oral literature.
