Factors influencing enrolment of primary school teachers in Distance Education programme. A case of Nyeri Municipality

Abstract

The quest for education has become a concern for all. Higher education institutions, both public and private are striving for the achievement of 20th millenriium development goals. Fortunately both universities and colleges offer both convectional and distant learning mode. Convectional education is the mode of teaching which we are all familiar with as it takes place in a classroom or lecture halls. Distance Education on the other hand represents a variety of educational models that have in common the physical separation of the faculty member and some or all the students.

When Distance Education started it was meant for adults who needed training to improve their education status and enhance their working skills. This is the case even today because many people in the bracket of age 22 years and above are going back to school to advance their knowledge for various reasons. These adult learners have personal goals to achieve. They initiate their distance studies or sometimes their employers need their skills improved or grades upgraded to qualify for certain jobs. This is attributed by the global trends. Currently in Kenya: for example, the Ministry of Education is in the process of upgrading certificate colleges (the standard newspapers 29th April 2011) this translates that all certificate teachers will have to upgrade themselves to diploma and degree certificates due to high demand of qualified teachers in our education system.

It is for this reason that the study was purposed to investigate the factors influencing the factors influencing the enrolment of primary school teachers for degree programmes at Nyeri municipality in Central Province, Kenya. The target group was primary school teachers in Nyeri Municipality who have enrolled or not enrolled for degree programmes at a distant during the years 2008 - 2011. By JuneJuly those were five hundred and thirty eight primary school teachers and two hundred sixty nine were sampled to participate in this study .Data was collected using questionnaires. The questionnaires had two sections, A had personal details while section B had items seeking the factors influencing enrolment of primary school teachers for degree programmes.

Two hundred and thirty six respondents.returned the questionnaires and responded positively .The content validity of the instrument was done before the instrument were pre-tested and reliability was calculated using Pearson Product correlation Coefficient. The study used descriptive survey design to analyze and present data. The researches found out that primary school teachers are very positive about the programme because it is flexible and convenience, it helps one grow professionally and upgrade their pay. The cost of education was a hindrance to majority who have other family commitments but willing to enroll. This study has offered some recommendations and further studies.