Students attitudes towards literature in English in Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' atti tudes towards Literature in Eng'l.Lsh , Available evidence indicated that students' participation in the literature debates of (1968-1980) had been i&noredo There was therefore a need for a study that would investigate what students thought about literature as a subject and the methodology of teaching it in schools. It was felt that such a study would provide feedback on literature teaching from the students' point of view. A questionnaire comprising 32 items was administered to a sample of 304 O level students in Kenya Science Teachers! College, Kaaga Girls High School, Meru School and Nairobi Girls High Schoolo Frequency distribution of responses, computation of percentages and illustrative descriptions and discussions were the main techniques used in the analysis and interpretation of data. It was found that a very large majority of students in .the sample felt that set books and teachers, more than other factors accounted for their attitudes towards literature thus agreeing with hypothesis one which stated that - uThe choice of set books, the teachers and their teaching methods, more than any other factors contribute towards students I attitudes towards Ii teraturein Kenya." It was also clear that students v i ews regarding the teaching of Iiterature were to (3, very large extent similar to those expressed by teachers,. writers and critics of literature, thus disproving the second. hypothesis which stated that,The students attitudes towrards literature in English do not reveal a sense of awareness which is discerned from the aims of literature course a~d also from the views of writers and The study revealed that there was a need for students to be aware of the importance of studying literature in schools - with a view to improving their attitudes towards literature. Such an understanding, it was found, would come from students' involvement in the study of literature - which meant that tea8hers of literature must plan very carefully their instructional programmes if they want to make literature study an enriching experienceo The study also revealed that there was a need to introduce students to Kenya-, literature before the literature of other African countries and indeed that of other parts of the world, is studied.