Perceptions of secondary school teachers and students in Kisii district on the role of social education and ethics in the moral socialization of the youth in Kenya

Abstract

This thesis examines the perceptions of teachers and students on the role of Social Education and Ethics in teaching moral values to the youth in Kenya. The thesis is based on a survey conducted among teachers and students in eight secondary schools in Kisii District of Kenya. The schools used for the study were those that were teaching Social Education and Ethics in forms one to four.

Questionnaires, interviews and observation schedules, were used to gather teachers and students' opinions on the aims, content and methods of teaching Social Education and Ethics. Teachers and students' perceptions on other school social contexts that can be sued to teach moral values to the youth were also sought. The information teachers and students provided on the aims, content and methods, of teaching Social Education and Ethics, was used as a basis of examining the role of the subject in teaching moral values to the youth in Kenyan secondary schools. The qualitative data gathered were analyzed using basic descriptive statistics.

Data analysis revealed that teachers and students were aware of, and appreciated the objectives of Social Education and Ethics as a subject from which to learn moral values. However, in practice, they expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the subject was taught due to:

a.) Lack of trained teachers to teach the subject. In all the eight schools, Christian Religious Education teachers were used to teach Social Education and Ethics. However, the Religious Education teachers indicated that they did not have the ability to teach values adequately.

b.) The wide curriculum coverage, which encouraged note learning for purposes of passing examinations. This situation applied even to Social Education and Ethics. Students saw Social Education and Ethics as an easy subject to pass in examinations than learning moral values.

c.) Students indicated that their parents had the foremost influence on moral values they held, followed by the church and then the school.

The major conclusion of this study is that despite the introduction of Social Education and Ethics to teach moral values to the youth in Kenya, its aims are not being realized due to lack of trained teachers, unsuitable content, and the many curriculum subjects that students are taught at the secondary school level.