A study of the factors that affect the teaching and learning of home science in primary schools in Lang'ata division Nairobi.
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Date
2015-01-07
Authors
Kavilu, Josephine Mwikali
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Home Science is a practical subject that is designed to develop knowledge, skills, principles and attitudes which help the learner to relate better to the social economic realities of his/her community and country. Its specific objectives are to give pupils basic knowledge that is useful in promoting the welfare of the family and the home International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies; to better living standards and create awareness and appreciation of the expected standards; to help pupils to acquire skills that are useful to them in adapting themselves to new situations and changes related to the home and the family and to lay a foundation for further learning and vocational training. This study was therefore intended to show the factors that affect the teaching and learning of Rome Science in primary schools, hence the achievement of the above objectives. The study dealt with issues related to quality of Horne S-science teachers in primary schools; the sizes of classes taking Horne Science and if teachers manage to pay attention to all pupils; the content of the primary Horne Science syllabus and if time allocated 1S enough to cover it fully; facilities and equipment as to whether they are adequate or not; attitudes of teachers and pupils towards Horne Science; the commonly used teaching methods and techniques. Finally it tried to identify the common problems in the teaching and learning of Horne Science that were faced by the teachers and pupils. All these issues were generally intended to unearth the factors that affected the teaching and learning of Horne Science. The study was carried out in Lang'ata Division of Nairobi, Kenya. The research design of the study was a simple survey. The sample of the study was drawn from ten (10) primary schools that were randomly selected from a population of eighteen (18) primary schools. The subjects of study included Heads of Horne Science Departments, Horne Science teachers and pupils from the ten (10) primary schools. The teachers were randomly selected from the total population of Horne Science teachers in the ten (10) schools under study while the pupils were also randomly selected from standards five (5), six (6) and seven (7) from the same schools. To elicit information from the subjects, a questionnaire and an attitude scale was administered to each one of them. The heads of Horne Science Departments responded to an interview schedule alongside the general questionnaire and attitude scale. The data collected were then analyzed and the results were presented in tabular form as frequency distributions, percentages and averages. The results were also discussed immediately after each item. The findings of the study showed that: (1) The Primary Home Science Teachers were adequately trained and thus reflected a sense of duty and competency. In spite of this, they were overloaded with ~o many periods that they could not teach Home Science effectively. (2) Facilities and equipment for the teaching of Home Science were inadequate. (3) The Home Science Syllabus was too wide to be covered effectively within the time allowed. (4) The sizes of primary school classes were too large for effective teaching. (5) Time allocated for Home Science teaching and learning was not adequate particularly for practical lessons. (6) Teachers predominantly used only two teaching methods in teaching Home Science: namely demonstrations and discussions, and generally ignored the other teaching methods. (7) Attitudes of teachers and pupils towards Horne I Science teaching and learning were generally positively inclined. Some recommendations were made by the researcher which were expected to counteract the factors. The researcher felt that~ (1) Unqualified teachers should be trained or be 'in-serviced. (2) Seminars and in-service courses should be organized for both old and new teachers. (3) Male teachers should be encouraged to teach Horne Science (4) Teaching load of all the ,teachers of: Horne Science should be reduced so as to give them more free time to be able to prepare, mark, assess and evaluate pupils work. (5) Horne Science classes should be reduced by either allocating two teachers to one class or dividing the class into small groups. (6) Schools should organize construction of fully equipped Horne Science laboratories/rooms; buy equipment, resource materials and food-stuffs through harambee drives. These recommendations are not exhaustive however it is hoped that they are important as reflected by this study. Lastly an effort was made to give suggestions for further research topics in Horne Science in primary schools.
Description
Department of Educational Communication and Technology, 205p.1990