School factors influencing mainstreaming of peace education in public primary schools in Kadibo division, Kisumu east district, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate school factors influencing mainstreaming of peace education in public primary schools in Kadibo division, Kisumu East District, Kenya. Objectives included, to establish the extent to which teacher training and availability of instructional materials influence mainstreaming of peace education and also to determine how teaching methodology and teacher attitude influence mainstreaming of peace education. This study employed a descriptive survey design. The target population of the study consisted of 42 schools, 42 headteachers, 356 teachers and the D.E.O. A study sample made up of 24 schools together with their head teachers, one D.E.O and 107 teachers from the Division was used for the study. Primary data was collected using both interview guides and questionnaires. A pilot study was conducted to validate the research tools. Data was analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0 and then presented in tabular forms indicating frequencies and percentages. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic approach guided by the objectives of the study. From the findings majority of the teachers acknowledged that teacher training influenced mainstreaming of peace education to a large extent. Availability of instructional materials also highly influence mainstreaming. The kind of teaching methodology employed by teachers in this region also influence mainstreaming of peace education negatively. Lastly, the negative attitudes of teachers have also highly influenced mainstreaming of peace education. The study concluded that mainstreaming of peace education was highly influenced by school factors such as teacher training, availability of instructional materials, teaching methodology and teacher attitude. The researcher recommended that the Ministry of Education through Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) together with Teachers’ training colleges and universities should embark on training of all teachers on peace education through in -service and pre-service training programmes. KICD should also avail sufficient number of copies and pieces of relevant (peace education) instructional materials and teachers to emphasize on learner centered teaching methods in schools to motivate learners to acquire peace ideals. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher suggests that there is need for further research to establish whether there is a link between peace education at the primary school level and student riots at the secondary school, college and university levels of learning