,
A STUDY OF AVAILABILITY AND USE OF THE
LEAENING AND TEACHING RESOURCES IN
PRIMARY T~ACHERS' COLLEGES IN KENYA
BY
VIOLET 1'll\i'JGUIKH1UI
A THESIS SUBtHTTED IN FULFILt-1ENT FOR THE
DEGREE OF PH.D. IN KENYl\TTA UNIVERSITY
I\.lmUI v ioier vvangui
A study of
availability and use
1111111 11111~IIIIIIIIIIIIJII~""11111 m 111191/195040
1988
ii
DECLl\RATION
This thesis is my original work and has not
been presented' for a degree in any other uni versi ty.
~fl~
V. W. KH1UI
This thesis has been submitted for examination
with our approval as university supervisors.
JLu~--
-PROFESSOR 11.£.1. PATEL
DEPART11ENT OF EDUCATIONAL C01111UNICATIONS
AND TECHNOLOGY, FACULTY OF EDUCATION
KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
\\.: '- 0 . ~
PROFESSOR II.O. AYOT
DEAN, FACULTY OF EDUCATION
KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
III
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Ti t.Le and Author
Declaration
List of Abbreviations
List of Tables
List of Appendices
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Abstract
i
ii
x
xi
xiii
XlV
xvii
xviii
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
1.1 Statement of the Problem
1.2 Rationale of the Study
1.3 Scope and Limitation
1.4 Object-ives of the Study
1.5 Definition of Terms .
References
1
9
16
21
23
28
CHAPTER TI'lO: REVIEW OF RELl\TED LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Indigenous Education
2.1.2 Instruction to the Boys
2.1.3 Instruction to the Girls
2.1.4 General Education
2.1.5 tvlethods and t-ledia
2.1.6 Figurines
2.1.7 Audio l\ids
2.1.8 Songs
31
31
33
34
35
36
36
37
38
iv
PAGE
2.2 Colonial Influence in Education 39
2.2.1 Education and National Development 50
2.3 The Concept of Educational Resources 63
2.3.1 Appropriate Reform in Education 68
2.3.2 A Brief IIistory of Education
Resources 70
2.3.3 Criteria of Decision Making
2.3.7.3 Media Aide
71
73
75
76
80
80
80
81
2.3.4 The Resources Provision
2.3.5 The Budget for a Resources Programme
2.3.6 Development of a Resources Centre
2.3.7 Personnel Requirement
2.3.7.1 P'ro f es si.onaL Stuff
2.3.7.2 Support Staff
2 .4 Teachers' Education 83
2 .4 .1 Inservice Training 84
2.4.2 Non-TraditionCll Approaches 85
2 .4 .3 Open University 86
2.4.4 Combined Systems 86
2.4.5 Sharing Resources 87
2.4.6 Community Involvement 89
2.5 The Impact of Resources 91
2.5.1 Print r-le di a 93
2.5.2 Films 93
2.5.3 Fjlmstrips 94
v2.5.4 Bmm/Super B Films
2.5.5 B mm/The Loop
2.5.6 Still Projection
2.5.7 Flat Pictures
2.5.8 Three Dimentional Materials
2.6 New Technology
References
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The Research Sample
3.3 Designing and Refining the
Questionnaire
3.4 Description of the Questionnaire
3.5 The Pilot Test
3.6 The Administration of the
Questionnaire
3.6.1 Data Verification
3.6.2 Observation Schedule
3.6.3 Interview Schedule
CHAPTER FOUR : ANALYSIS AND OBSERVATION
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Analysis for Section One
4.2.1 College Informntion
4.2.2 General Information
4.2.3 Teachers and Resources
4.2.4 The Material Production
PAGE
95
95
95
96
97
98
102
106
108
109
112
114
115
116
117
118
120
121
121
124
125
126
Vl
4 .2 .5 Production and Use of Resources
by Students
4 .2 .6 Inservice Courses on Production
and Use
4 .2. 7 LRC Sitting Capacity
4 .2 .8 The Inventory
4 .2 .9 Books
4.2.10 Newspapers and Magazines
4.2.11 Classification of the Resources
4.3 Personnel
4.4 Other Services .4.4.1 The Teachers Advisory Center
4.4.2 The Voice of Kenya
4.4.3 The National Library 'Services
4.5 Othe~ Physical Facilities
4.6 Audio Visual Materials
4.6.1 16mm Film Projectors
4.6.2 Super 818m Projectors
4.6.3 Slide Projectors
4.6.4 The Film Strip Projectors
4.6.5 overhead Projectors
4.6.6 The Opaque Projectors
4.6.7 Television Set
4.6.8 The Video Tape Eecorder
4.6.9 Audio-Equipments
4.6.9.1 The Radio Casette
PAGE
128
128
129
131
133
135
135
137
141
141
144
144
145
147
149
149
149
150
150
150
151
151
152
152
4 . 6 • 9 . 2
4.6.9.3
4 . 6 . 9 . 4
vii
Reel-to-Reel Recorder
The Records Player
The Radio
PAGE
153
153
155
4.7 Non Projected Materials
4.7.1 l'he Charts
4 .7 .2 Globes
4.7.3 The -Maps
4.7 .4 Models
4 .7 .5 Magnetic/Flannel Boards
158
158
158
158
159
159
4.8 Duplicating Equipment
(."8.1 Ink Duplicator
4.8.2 The Spirit Duplicator
4.8.3 Electronic Stencil Cutter
4.8.4 Photo Copying Machine
159
161
161
161
161
4.9 The Use of Learning Resources Center 162
4.10 Specific Resources Used
4.10.1
4.10.2
4.10.3
4.10.4
4.10.5
Books
Newspapers and Magazines
Maps and Globes
Charts and Pictures
Microforms
166
167
167
167
168
169
4.11 Analysis From Interview
4.11. 1
4.11. 2
3.11. 3
Objectives
Personnel
t10rale
170
171
172
172
viii
4.11.4 The Technicians
4.11. 5 Benefits
4.11.6 Programme Development
4.11. 7 Construction
4.11. 8 Equipment
4.11. 9 Prin~ed Materials
4.11.10 Accessories
4.11.11 Other Components
4~12 Observation Schedule
4.12.1 Physical Facilities
4.12.2 Resources Collection
4.12.3 Production of Materials
4.12.4 The Studio
4.12.5 User s'Behaviour
References
CHAPTER FIVE' : DISCUSSION OF RESULTSAND SUGGESTIONS
5.1 Introduction
5.1.1 Development of a Resource Center
5.1.2 Facilities
5.1.3 Facilities Provision
5.1.4 Resources Provision
5.1.5 Access to Resources
5.2 The Use of the Learning Resources Center
5.3 Personnel Provision
5.3.1 The Support Staff
PAGE
173
174
174
175
175
176
176
176
178
178
179
179
180
180
182
183
184
186
188
!
189
190.
192
197
197
5.4 Other Services
5.4.1 Teachers Advisory Centers
5.4.2 The Voice of Kenya
5.4.3 The National Library Services
5.5 Audio Visual Equipment
5.5.1 The 16mm Film Projector
5.5.2 The Television/Video System
5:5.3 The Radio Cassette
5.5.4 'Non-Projected Mat.erials
5.5.5 Production. Equipment
5.5.6 The Ink Duplicator
5.5.7 The Spirit Dupllcator
5.5.8 Electronic Stencil Cutt~r
5.5.9 Photo COpying Machine
5.6 Suggestions
5.6.1 Development of a Resource Center
5.6.2 The Facilities
5.6.3 Resources Provision
5.6.4 Personnel Provision
5.6.5 Other Services
5.6.6 Audio Visual Equipment
5.7 Summary
References
Bibliography
Appendices
PAGE
199
200
200
200
201
201
202
202
203
203
203
204
204
204
204
205
207
209
212
214
216
219
222
223
234
A.D.C.
C.A.L.C.
C.L.A.S.S. -
C.M.S.
I.A.S.A.
K.I.E.
K.D.C.
L.R.C.
M.B.E.
N.O.R.C.
N.P.P.O.C. -
O.C.L.C.
O.H.P.
P.T.C.
S.R.L.
T.A.C.
T.S.C.
U.S.O.E.
V.T.R.
x
ABBREVIATIONS USED
African District Council
Chicago Academic Library Council
California Library Authority for
Systems and Services
Church Missionary Society
Independent African Schools Association
Kenya Institute of Education
Kenyatta University College which
has been promoted to a full-fledged
University now known as Kenyatta
University (K.D.).
Learning Resources Center
Ministry of Basic Education
National Opinion Research Center
National Per Pupil Operational Cost
Ohio College Library Center
Overhead Projector
Primary Teachers College
Survery Research Labo~atory
Teachers Advisory Center
Teachers Service Commission
United States Office of Education
Video Tape Recorder
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Table IV.l: Showing the positions of the respondents.
Table IV.2: Indicating the students population for
two years.
Table IV.3: Showing the names used by different
colleges.
Table Iv.4: Showing the rooms where the resources
are kept.
Table IV.5: Showing the availability of the inservice
courses.
Table IV.6: Identifying the colleges and the sitting
capacity.
Table IV.7: Showing the sitting capacity in groups.
Table IV.8: Identifying essential items at the
resource centers.
Table IV.9: The stock and the book increase in 1984
and 1985.
Table IV.10: Types of clas~ification and ~he classifi-
cation used for books and other materials
in each college
Table IV.ll: Showing personnel classifications and
the number in each college.
Table IV.12: Showing the year the learning resources
were opened.
xii
Table IV.13: Summarizing other services.
Table IV.14: Showing the accessability of the
electricity.
Table IV.IS: The availability of the projecti'on rooms.
Table IV.16: The availability and use of the audio-
visual equipment.
Table IV.17: Availability and use of audio equipment.
Table IV.18: Availability and use of non-projected
materials.
Table IV.19: Showing the availability of the
duplicating equipment.
Table IV.20(a): Showing the reasons for using
resource centers.
Table IV. 20 (b): Indicating the reasons why some users
do not make use of resource centers.
Table IV.21: Showing specific resources used by
students and the tutors.
Table ·V.I(a) Showing the professional st~ffing
formula:.
Table V.I(b): Showing a staffing formula of support
staff.
xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES
A Questionnaire
B Interview schedule
C Observation schedule
D Lettel.-to the Colleges
E Colleges and Codes
F Colleges and addresses
xiv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Heart felt gratitude is extended to some
individuals and institutions, whose contribution
and dedication have made this project a success in
their own way.
Professor M.M. Patel, of the Department of
Educational Communications and Technology, Kenyatta
University, whose scholarly guidance, patience and
dedication have gone beyond the call of duty through-
out this researcll, from proposal to this stage.
With the departmental as well as the university duties
he has found hours and h~urs to sort me out while
finding directions. Professor H.O.Ayot, my second
supervisor and the former Chairman of the Department
of Educational Communication and Technology, who has
literary built my morale from almost zero to this
level. \'-Jithouthis support and many o't.hers, this
project would have remained a dream. The support I
have received from my two supervisors and my
colleagues would have not got off the ground without
material and financial support from the following
institutions.
Kenyatta University who granted me study leave
to do graduate studies in United States and funded
my'research throughou t. \':ithout the financial
xv
support, this research would have not been pos~ible.
While studying overseas, Miami University, and Western
College nlumnae Association financed my other expenses.
Through the following persons I wish to extend my
appreciation for this support to these institutions:
Donald N. Nelson, the Director of International
Students Service, Miami University, Mrs. Dixie Golden,
the then Secretary of Western College nlumnae
Association, Oxford, Ohio, (u.s.n.). Without their
financial, moral and oth~r support I would have given
up. Along with these supports, I would thank the
staff of Education and Africana Sections of Kenyatta
University Library, whose service in searching the
materials I needed made my work so much easier.
With all the help I have received from the
above mentioned, I feel indebted to the principals
and resource personnels of primary teachers·
colleges, the tutors and students who made it
possible for me to collect the data for this project.
Ms. Lucy Gathoni Munge, has spent many hours
in typing the manuscr ipt w i,th patience and dedication.
Without this sacrifice, this work would have not been
ready in time. This has been highly appreciated.
xvi
Lastly, special appreciation goes to my
children, Edwin Kimui, Hellen Kimui, John Kimui and
Margaret Kimui for the. love and patience they
have shown me while engaged with this project.
Jheir encouragement and understanding have given
me the strength I needed throughout this study.
Very special thanks goes to my daughte~ Hellen
Kimui, whose challenge left me without any alternative
but to promise that we will graduate together in 1988.
I may not graduate in 1988, but I will submit the
thesis for examination in July, 1988.
xvii
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to my beloved late father
Eutychus Ndii Thuku, my mother Margaret Wanjiru Ndii,
whose love, encouragement and influence have made me
what I am.
To our children, Kimui, Wacera, Ndii and Wanjiru
for their challenge, love, patience and encouragement.
xviii
P 11• D. 'I'I I L S [S A 13S '1'IV\CT.
A STUDY OF AVAILABILITY AND USE OF THE
LEARNING AND TEACHING RESOURCES IN PRIMARY
TEACHERS COLLEGES IN KENYA
ABSTRACTS OF A DISSSERTATION TO BE SUBMITTED
IN FULFILt1ENT FOR TIlE DEGREE OF D'OCTOR OF
PHILOSOPHY IN EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS
AND TECHNOLOGY
KENYATTA UNIVERSITY, 1988"
l3Y
V. i'lANGUIKIMUI
XlX
Introduction
Economists say that, people and society end up
choosing, with or without the use of money, to employ
scarce resources that could have alternative uses.
They decide to produce various commodities,
distribu~ them for consumption at ~ny ~iven time
among persons and groups in society.
This theory fits well, and can be applied with
educational resources in our institutions. Maximum
benefits can be yielded from the existing facilities
and resources without severe set-backs economically
and socially.
Statement of the Problem
The high cost of Education, the global economic
recession, the demand for relevant educational
programs,•.the high student enrolment at all levels
of schooling are among the many problems facing our
education system in Kenya today. The problems warrant
a different approach in handling the situation.
One of the national goals of education in
Kenya is to eliminate illiteracy with the shortest
period possible. The other one concerns the
t ra i.n i.nq of monpowor in all. sectors of the economy.
'i1Jith allt.he ,t.~achertraining facilities we have,
55 per cent of tJ1~' t.oachors in pri.rna ry schools today
xx
are untrained. The Economic Survey (1986) shows that,
the training facilities available produces 12,720
teacher trainees per year, about one additional
trained teacher per year among 12,936 existing
primary schools. This alone clearly indicates that,
the existing method of training teachers is inadequate.
Several approaches have been suggested by this
study. Training-of the teachers through the use of
the available technology, co-operative arrangements
among institutions, moie sharing of resources and
services are among approaches ~ugge~ted.
The Scope and Limitations
The study is concerned with the resource
centers in all the seventeen primary teachers
colleges. Those colleges which were promoted to
diploma colleges have not been included. Those
colleges that were not in operation at the beginning
of 1985 arc not included in this study. All the
aspects related to resources and resource centers
have been investigated. A guideline to be followed
has been suggested through statements of objectives.
Objectives of the StudY
To ncqulre dntn concernin~ the physical
facilities avai12ble in primary teacher
xxi
To acquire data of availability of books,
periodicals, audio/visual materials and
related equipment.
To identify the categories, qualifications
of the personnel working at the resources
centers.
To study the effectiveness of those resources
to the tutors, students and other members
of staff.
To study the contribution of the resources
to the pr0cess of teaching and learning.
To study other similar establishments giving
similar services.
To propose the methods and approaches of
up[llying the::u[lpropriate resources programmes'
in teacher training colleges.
Methodology and Instruments
The investigation has been done through the
use of evaluative survey. This has been carried
out In 011 the::seventeen teacher truining colleges.
The questionnaire was designed as a main instrument.
The interv .icw schcduLc as we 11 as continuous
observotion were ulso used.
xxii
The analysis of data had been carried o~t
and conclusions reached. This will be listed in
the next section of this document.
Conclusions
All the primary teachers colleges have a newly
established resource center.
A guiding policy towards development of resource
centers is lacking.
The positions of those incharge of the resource
centers have not been professionally identified
and clarified.
Job descriptions of personnels working in these
centers have not been stated.
The equipment unc1muteria.ls a.vailable in
resource centers are under-utilized.
Lack of the ba.dly needed print materials is
crucia.l.
Over crowding in resource centers discourage
the use of the CJ.vailableresources.
Lack of conf .i.d cncc In the use of resources
a.mong the tutors also discourage the use of
the uvuila.ble mutcriuls und equipment.
xxiii
Inservice training should be organized on
regular basis to give the confidence.
Development of the resource centers in primary
teachers' colleges did not originate from the
real needs of the tutors.
A budget to develop and maintain the collection
seem to be lacking.
Suggestions
There is a need for statement of policy on
personnel involved in the area of learning
resources in primary teacher~ colleges.
Identification and clarification of titles
and job description of the duties of resource
personnels are needed~
l\ means of comruu ni cation Le t.ween the I1inistry
of Education and the primary teachers' colleges
need to be smoothened.
There 1S a need to establish a body to be
involved in the development of learning
resources and other educational innovations at
a~l levels. The department of Educational
Co IIImun .i cat ion s Llnd Techn0 log y, vs ith the he 1p
by the t-linistr/ of Education has the personnel
and t~1C t.c chno Lo qy to implement this proposal.
xxiv
A continuous exchange of ideas on learning
and teaching resources need to be established
formally and informally. The teacher training
institutions should carry this responsibility
during the training periods and after.
The introduction and development of any
educational innovution should fit smoothly
into the existing infrastracture, and not
as a separute entity.
As a matter of policy, a need for a reasonable
budget, separate from other general expenses
in the institutions, should be provided if we
need to develop independent minds.
l\ !;tu[[il1CJpolicy ~;t<:ltclt1cnta d a sy st crn to
attract and retain the personnels working
in resources centers in primary teachers'
colleges is needed.
A uniform standard of qualifications of
resources personnels in primary teachers'
colleges should be established.
There is need to establish and encourage
sharing of resources and services in primary
teacher~ collegcs.
1'-lOL-C cruph aoi s !~(.r.::(1 to be put on production
xxv
techniques and the use of the appropriate
resources.
More research in the area of educational
resources in relation to social and cultural
backgrounds of the learners is needed.
The data collected and analysed in the survey,
the tools used for the purpose have been presented. The
conclusion reached seem to suggest that, in general
terms, application of the appropriate technology in
the process of teaching and learning has been used
with tremendous success in some count ri es. Where the
resources are scarce, the technology has been used
to extend learning to those who cannot attend
classes [or various reasons. It has ~lso been used
to train the tutors already on the job while raising
their mo~ale. It is the assumption of this research
that, the approach can be applied in Kenya.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Statement of the Problem
Development of the skills and knowledge of people
of a nation, constitutes the highest social factors in
relation to national development. In thls caseit is tbe.human
resources of a nation which determine the character and
the pace of its'.social and economic' development ..
These statements .are very true when we glance back
at the history of education in Kenya since 1920. The
Phelps-Stokes Commissio~ which was appointed to study
the education system in Kenya, gave recommendations to
the effect that African education should put more
emphasis on practical and vocational education. The
Africans were not impressed by this attitude sinc.e this
element of practical and vocational emphasis was not
emphasized in non-African education. The education for
non-African children had more emphasis on academic
education which had been associated with wealth and
power.
Caught up In the cross fire of the colonial
struggle and the Africans' demand for relevant
education to cater [or their immediute needs, the
schools of the new nations, including Kenya have
become subjects of conflicting pressures of loosing
2the traditional way 0 f life, and accommodating. the
life style that goes with the Western education.
The traditional education provided security
and a feeling of belonging to the group. The
modern or western education has tended to alienate
the learners from their traditional life without a
satisfactory substitute to the effect. Dr.Gachukia
1(1971), has noted that education, with its due
respect, must not be allowed to alienate students
from their environment. Education must not give
them inferiority complex. It must instead, instil
in them understanding in economic efficiency as
well as self realization of the individual among
other things.
The huge budget allocated to education of 22
per cent in 1963 to 36.4 per cent in 1987 gives
enough evidence that, as a policy, the Government
of Kenya expects in return, appropriately ins~illed
aspirations and cultural values of independent
. 2na t a on s ,
Before independence, emphasis in education
was geared towards achieving political control in
all sectors of the economy. This was done with a
lot of success. Later,the problems of catering for
3the massive demand for education took over. The
quality and relevance are the issues in education
today. These two areas are important to keep up
with the real problems needing the solutions to
overcome them.
The student population has increased
tremedously. According to the 1986 Government of
Kenya Economic Survey report, there were in 1985
4.7 million children in 12,936 primary schools in
the country. There were also 12,720 teacher
trainees in the seventeen teacher training colleges.
in the country. That is an increase of nearly one
teacher per primary school.3 The increase has been
cuused by the generul pOl?ulution increase which has
been considered one of the highest in the world,
and the universal education introduced in 1984.
This alone has brought a tecord of 93 per cent of
school age children. This has also been considered
the best in black Africa according to the same
observation.
It has been anticipated that, the rapid
expansion in education due to the high birth rate,
insatiable need for educa tion wh i ch is associated
with economic satisfaction, there will be an acute
shortuge of quulifiec1 touchers ut all levels. The
4introduction of the 8-4-4 system of education to
provide a more appropriate approach to the current
demands of the society has created some problems
that are being felt tod~y. Those problems are
related to the provision of resources und facilities.
Solutions to some of these problems are among the
concerns of this study.
Much of the training of the trainers have
been of a crash nature. The trainers have not had
adequate preparation to handle the situation of the
high enrolment and insufficient resources and
facilities. Classes meant for 40 children now
accommodate 55 to 60 children. There are not
enough funds to provide adequate facilities needed
for proper education and training. This may lead
to erosion of the quality of education.4
Policies designed to bring about changes in
the environment and institutions are urgent. If
this is planned and applied, the communities will
benefit significantly. If poorly planned, it will
only result to a grave social conflict, observed
Ra j u (1971) .5
The shortage of trained teachers at all
levels, and the high stcidents enrolment would
need a different approach if we expect to give
quality,education.
5Since 1963, the primary teacher training
colleges have been reorganized to increase both
~nrolment of the trainees while increasing the ~ffi-
cienCy. During the same period, there were thirty
six primary teacher colleges. Majority of these
colleges were too small to justify specialized
staff. By 1970, the number was reduced to fifteen
with the purpose of improving enrolment and efficiency.6
By 1984, the number of colleges had increased to
seventeen, and yet, half of the teachers in primary
schools are untrained.7
Traditional approaches in the training of the
teachers have not eased the problem of the number
·0£ teachers. Other non-traditional approaches in
the process of training the teachers need to be ,
explored and practised. The use of the available
and economical technology in education is one
approach that has been used with a lot of success
in other parts of the world.
The emphasis has been towards development of
effective and efficient use of the technology and
the existin~ facilities. The effective job
performance hus been the n1uin target throughout
all sectors of the economy.
6~fter making heavy capital investment in
education, following formations of the new nations,
African governments, including Kenya, have come to
realize that, investments in buildings and
equipments will be useless unless they are placed
in the right context by trained professionals in
those areas. Cheap and Cost-effective method of
training is a necessity towards this direction.
It is common knowLedqe that most of the
good facilities in schools have been located in
cities, and therefore, for a long time successful
candidates after the major examinations have been
coming from the cities. The literature reveals
that, the use'of a planned and standardized learning
resources programmes can get the learners greater
amounts of informa tion in less time and with greater
reception and retention.
Inequality in education in schools due to
the economic status of the community has been
known to create classicjsm in society. Through
a standardized basic resource for learning, the
inequality in education can be eliminated or
minimized throughout the rcpublic.
Non-conven tiona 1 nic thoc1s have bee,n tried
elsewhere in educating the mass at all levels,
7and in a small scale have been tried in Kenya w~th
a lot of success.
Within the last twenty to thirty years, J
education systems have changed in Kenya and else-
where. The school buildings have also changed in
quality and quantity. New concepts such as team
teaching and individually prescribed instruction
increases the number of alternatives that the
teacher has in the course of instruction," in which
one can accomprish defined goals. New concerns
for the individual learner and new ways of presenting
information must be considered if we are to create
an effective design for instruction, Gerlach (1987).8
Such designs would include learning resources
programmes which are designed to assist learners in
their ability to function effectively as individuals
and to participate fully in society.
(1975) .9
d i ~?Me aa programmes,"'
The programmes that can be designed to assist"
trainers of teachers in primary teachers' colleges,
which can also be extended to schools to help the
teachers to cope with the problems related to high
enrolment, demand for quality in education, and the
economic situation in Kenya is the major concern of
this research.
8Japanese and Israeli exper iences with
instructional t~chnology have demonstrated that,
when teachers are involved in the planning,
production and presentation of instructionaL
programs, they can become highly effective utilizers
of technology to the benefits of their students,
observes Considine (1985) .10
The researcher h<Js stated several problems
that have faced our educational system so far, the
approaches that have beeh used to attempt to solve
these problems will be mentioned in the next
section of this chapter.
91.2. Rationale of the Study
Kenya, like most other developing countries
has gone through many stages of evolution in education
and other sectors of the economy.
Several approaches of educating our youth have
been tried, modified and retried ~9~in and again for
the purpose of improving our education system. Most
of these problems have been created by ,the rapid
change of the life style of the people in general,
the high population and the demand for education
which have been associated with material benefits.
The purposes of educa tion in any society are
three fold as have been identified by Ghai
(1971).11 First of all, the education is used to
preserve and transmit culture from one generation
to the other. Secondly, inculcation of the
appropriate values and attitudes that can benefit
that society has bee~ given a very high priority,
of which the education has been given that'
responsibility. Thirdly, the skills which are
needed by the society to promote development in
all sectors is another responsibility of the
education sector. Promoting the creative a~d
critical abilities of the learners, in dealing
IVith d~Y to c1 Cl.Y Cl.ct ivi tie s for the bene f iL 0 f
10
that society has been added to the list of the
12responsibilities of education by Shah (1985).
He seems to suggest that, the approach can be
extended by a large number of people in becoming
more produc~ive at the least cost per person, and
that the educational resources have a role to play
towards achievement of such objectives.
Illiteracy has been identified by the same
author as a major obstacle in the social and
economic development of a coul1try, and that,
literacy opens the door to knowledge through which
a person could strive for a better life. Shah believes·
that educational resources hold a promise of educating
the populution through formul und informal approaches.
Some countries more thun others have" emphasized
the mentioned purposes of educution.The inculcation
of the appropriate values and attitudes through
education, has not been given the attention it
d· d i Ch a i 13eserves 1n Kenya accor 111gto l 1.
The mass movement of the young people from
the rural to urban areas, 1n search for white collar
jobs is a sign of the values that have been passed
on to the young people o[ this country. Lack of
the appropriate skills and values, that. should
have been impurted to our youth in good time has
11
created most of the problems facing our nation
today.
\ \A close corraboration of educational planners-
and researchers is needed. They need to be aware
of the tid~ of the new technology as it affects
the total system. Any technological approach
selected, should be understood by the teacher
trainers, and the teachers in general. A smooth
communication process between the planners,
researchers, and the teachers who are carrying out
the national educational objectives need to be
strengthened.
When the system of educution in any society
does not seem to solve the problems of a particular
society, a reform, based on empirical data is a
must to save the society from imminent social and
economic collapse.
There has been an enormous gap between the
popular demand for education and the limited
capacity to satisfy this demand in Kenya 'and
Africa in general. Attempts have been made to
improve the systems of education to make it more
relevant to the needs of the society and the
requirements of the nation, taking into account
the prevailing social and economic conditions of
12
the nation.
The National Budget of 30 per cent allocated
to education in Kenya, ~ted Ngeno, (1984)14 and
the Harambee spirit of the people of Kenya .
have contributed alot towards increasing school
facilities. The increase in the number of
institutions of higher learning clearly show that,
there is nothing which Kenya considers more
important than the education of our young people.
Education has been considered by many
educators to be a life long process. It begins
at birth and ends with death. Appropriate education,
appropriate methods, appropriate learning and
teaching mat.eri aLs under these conditions should
be applied from the beginning to the end.
The appropriate education should promote
progress, and should not be allowed to confuse the
learners; at the same time it should preserve
all that is best in the traditions of the society
they live In. It should also assist the learners
to create a new culture which is not external I
from the values of that society, ~hich have been
modified to meet the pressures of the modern
conditions.
13
Education in Kenya has promoted both aspects,
but the former seems stronger than the latter., It
has created confusion among Kenyan youth. It has
created a new culture, completely alienated from
the traditional values of the society and yet,
it has not fitted properly into the values of the
modern Western culture. They are alienated from
the real conditions of their environment. The
situation has reached a crisis level needing
immediate re-organization of the system of our
education. The required education should provide
relevant skills, the right values and a technological
and economical approach which can distribute
education equally to the populations, hence a
higher standard of living.
By exposing our youth to any type of educat~on,
the result is development of new expectations, new
ambitions and energies which otherwise would remain
dormant. We, as educators, the policy makers, and
the society as a whole,have to be ready to guide
these elements into' the right chanrieLs ; \\1ehave
to set· 0ur sighton adapt ing the educat ion a1
curriculum standards to the realities of the
situatioris we face. \-]emus t ha rmo n i. ze the
internal and external criteria of quality and
quantity of our ec1ucation.
14
Today's students and t6morrow's teachers are
desperately in need of new skills that will enable
them to encode and decode the visual and aural
language that surround us. Our schools continue
to function as though t.heprint media is the only
resource that can be usod. The chalkboard and the
lecturing method have c1 Ininated our schools today.
The technology and the available resources can
play a motivational role while the learners retain
more, and the expenditure may be worth the rewards
that can come as a result of the innovation. The
training of the teachers so as to enable them to
understand the context as it changes and evolves,
understand the nature and purpose of the task
they have to perform, and the skills they need to
perform/must be given the highest consideration if
the problems related to education, societal
expectations, and the needs of the nation have to
diminish, rather than increase with time.
Adults are considered better thinkers than
children, observes wittich and Schuler (1962).15
The latter are guided in their thought by literal
applications of limited perceived experience. In
thinking, the learner is limited lJ)' the number,
variety, and scope o[ perceptions already experienced.
15
The learner with ability to draw a wide variety
of background experiences, which can be recalled
at will in the thinking process, is apt to be more
effective in thinking than the learner who does
not have the broad backgroun~ continues Wittich
and Schuler.
Exposure of the teachers to the latest ideas
and techniques that have worked elsewhere,
exploration of alternative means when the
traditional and formal methods are not working
should be given a chance.
Research and sharing of the findings, proper
co-ordination of services and activities in order
to permit maximum benefits by all concerned should
be strengthened.
These are some of the approaches that can be
used towards educational problems that this
research has attempted to investigate. There is
no doubt that there are many areas and approaches
that can be studied by a research of this nature,
but the time and the resources sometimes may be
limiting factors. The limitation and scope of the
extent covered by this study will follow in the
next section.
16
1.3 The Scope and Limitations of the Study
Th~ rapidity of change in educational,
technological, and other fields, the national
standards in all these fields require continuous
revision according to an observation by Media
16Programs. The effect of any education system
is never the result of a miracle according to a
keynote address to Eustern African Conference on
Teacher Education by Omamo (1971).17 Omamo ri6ted
that, a country that does not plan cannot have a
planned fu t ure .
Those institutions that create better
educational opportunities must strive to develop
comprehensive systems that meet the needs of
students~fu differing abilities, backgrounds, and
interests, enubling them both to udjust und
influence the changing society in which they live
according to the Association for Educational
Communications and Technology and the American
. 18
Library Association in Media Programs.
It is with this understunding that the
investigator is concerned with the area of
learning und teaching resources in all the primary
teachers co Ll eqes t.ha t \-/0 r e in opera tion a t the end
of 1985. Ollier primary t.o acho rs ' colleges t.h a t; hav e
-
17
opened after that date are not included in the
study. Those colleges that were uplifted to
Diploma colleges, namely, Siriba, Kisii and Kagumo
are not included in t.l. i s study.
The study has mainly concentrated on the
availability and use of the learning resources.
The contribution of these resources in the process
of teaching and learning have also been studied.
The facili ties for media programmes according to the
Association for Educational Communications and
Technology and the American Library Association, ...•.'.
should support and enhance programme acti vi ties, while
contributing to their efficiency of operation.
The collection gains power with good facilities,
equipment gets more use, production increases,
and learners return readily to the media centre.
All users prefer surroundings that enable them to
complete tasks in a satisfying way, whether they
are staff members, teachers or students in Media
19Pr oq r arnrnes •
Good facilities according to the same study,
are motivational, and lack of them actually
depresses the fulfilment of programme goals, they
warrant special consideration before new schools
are pLe rm ed, and existing one's arc remodeled.
For these reasons, the media programme fa.cilities
I
18
should be reviGwed regularly when evaluating the
extent to which the school is achieving its
objectives. It is with these ideas in mind the
researcher has identified these areas of the
learning resources centres to be studied.
The personnel employed in the learning
resources centers, who ore supposed to promote
the resources in the process of teaching and
learning have been investigated in this study.
Variety of services are needed by both
professional and support staff. Different skills
therefore, are needed by both groups of personnel
for an effective resources programme. The
qualifications of both professional and support
staff have been included in this study.
Other services related to informing and
educating the public have been included in this
research. The study hLlstried to investigate
the presence of these services and the cooperative
arrangements that may be existing among these
institutions. The arGas investigated Clrethe
services given by the Teachers Advisory Centers,
the Voice of Kenya, and thG National Library
Services.
10
At the heart of the institutions comments
Beswick, (l~72),20 there is a communication problem.
Most of them possess equipments, knowledge, resources
of all kinds, expertise and creative abilities, yet
their presence is not always known to those who may
need them, and 1n most cases these resources are
under-empL¢~ed.
Services of other bodies, such as the local
teachers centers, public-libraries, museams,
archives, etc. are rarely as widely and accurately
known as they should be arid would like to be. l,rHth
the prevailing economic hardships among all the
public institutions, cooperative efforts among the
ins~itutions giving similar services to the public
have been studied, and it is hoped that the findings
can be used to improve the interaction among the
institutions that_educate and inform the public using
the technology available.
Most educators agree that all the resources,
projected and non projected contribute significantly
to the process of teaching and learning. The media
selection policy used reflects basic factors
influencing the nature ano scope of resources. Such
are, curriculum trends, innov~tions in instructions,
research in .learning, availability of materials and
20
equipment, the increased sophistication. of youth,
and the rising expectations of the teachers and
students. These basic principles as identified by .
Media Programmes have guided the researcher to study
the extent which the primary teachers' colleges have
gone towards these objectives.
The other area investigated is that of the use
of the resources available to both tutors and students.
Resources programme represents a combination of people,
materials, machines, facilities and environment as well
as purposes and processes. The programme evaluation
requires continuous identification and appraisal of
the contacts or interfacings among users and media
programme components, so as to determine the degree
to which operational design facilitates or blocks
the attainment of objectives. Effective media
programmes satisfy both individual and instructional
•purposes in balanced and aesthetically rewarding way,
d· d' 21accor lng to Me la programmes. It is with this
concept the researcher has attempted to investigate
the situation in primary teachers' colleges resource
centers. This will enable the education system to
know the extent to wh i ch the resources have gone
towards fulfilling the mission, of programmes in these
colleges. The specific objectives that are guiding
lit pin vcst .i <J.:t Lor to clot he 5 tuUY 'e!.i. 11 be 5 tat cd in
the section to follow.
21
1. 4. Objectives of the Study
The concern of this study is to collect the
information on availability and use of the learning
and teaching resources in all the seventeen primary
teachers colleges. The extent of which the use of
the resources contribute towards the improvement
of instruction in these colleges will also be
investigated. The personnels and their
qualifications will be"studied. The interaction
between the colleges and other similar establishments
will be included in this survey. The following
objectives have been stated to guide the investigator
to get into the depth of the problem:
(a) To examine the physical facilities
avaialble in primary teachers college~
resource~ centers in Kenya.
(b) To acquire data concerning the
availability of books, periodicals,
audio-visual materials and related
equipment.
(c) ~o identify the categories of personnels
working at the resources centers and their
qualifications.
22
(d) To study tile organiza.tion of the resources
and their contribution towards the learning
and teachinc process.
(e) To investigate the relationship between
the primary teachers' colleges and other
establishmellts that give similar services
to the public.
([) '1'0 study the policies responsible for
development of the learning resources
in primary teachers colleges.
(g) To investigate how the facilities,
resources,both materials and human,
affect the use of the resources.
(h) To propose and recommend the approaches
that can be used to modify the resources
and the resource centers in primary
teacher colleges.
The objectives stated will be used to guide
the .researcher in studying the selected areas in
the learning resources at primary teachers colleges.
"----./ .
The references used In this chapter will be listed in
the section a.fterthe definition of t.erms. The tools 'used
to collect the data, and the methods used to analyse
them will be introduced ill the next chapter.
•
23
1.5 Definition of Terms
Bulletin BOClrd - A notice board in a library on which
are exhibited lists of books, announcements
of forthcoming events, jackets of new books
Cldded to the library, and miscellClneous
library information.
Dewey Do c i.ma I C1Llssificution - 'I'l ie cLass i.f Lc at i ori
devised by ileLv i L Dewe y 1851-1931, The
materials are devided into ten classes
starting from 0-9. This scheme is used in
smaller libraries like public libraries,
schools libraries and many non-public
libraries.
Educational Technology - The concep~ in broad terms,
/'
refers to the application of scientific
principles to finding solutions to
educational problems. This may include
the use of people, materials, mClchines,
facilities and environments, as well as.
purposes and processes.
)
Hardware - This refers to mClchinery or device used
to produce or present the information.
Some examp Le s ore f i Lrr projectors, tape
recorders, television, radio, etc.
24
Instructional Technology - This refers to that part of
educational technology concerned with
application of scientific process to
teaching and learning.
Library Collection - The total accumulation of material
of all kinds assembled by a library for its
clientele, also called "Library holdings",
'Library resources'.
Library of Congress Cla~sification - The scheme used
ln the National Library of the U.S.A. It
is believed to be the greatest and most
modern of utililarian schemes. The scheme
was drawn by Dr. Herbert Putnam, in 1897.
It is too detailed and complex for use in
any but the largest library. The subject
schedules are most useful for special and
University libraries.
Media - Any channel of communication through which
messages are carried from sender to receiver.
It could be ~n print form like books,
.magazines and newspapers. Also in non-print
form like films, filmstrips, slides and
recorded tLlpes.
Media Aide - An individuLll engaged ln clerical or
secretariLll duties in Llmedia center.
25
Media Center - Sometimes used in the late 1960s in
America for a school library, or learning
center in a school, where a full range of
print and audio-visual media,. necessary
equipment, and services of a media
specialist, are accessible to students
I and teachers.
Media Personnel - A person or persons whose training
and experience enables him/her to develop
and carry out media or learning resources
programmes as an integral part of the
curriculum. This includes all the
professional and support members of a
media staff.
Media Programme - All the instructional and related
services provided for students and
teachers by Media Center and its staff.
Media Specialist - A person with appropriate
certification and broad professional
preparation, both ln education and media,
with competencies to carry out a media
programme.
Media ~taff - The personnel or personnels who carry
out the work of a media center and its
programmes.
26
Media Technician - An individual who has training in
the preparation of materials and the
operation and maintenance of apparatus.
Microteaching This is a small scale version of the
real class-room lesson. Concentration is
mainly practising specific teaching skills.
Scriptorium - This refers to a room for writing or
studying especially in a monastery reserved
for copying manuscripts.
Self Instruction - This is a teaching and learning
process in which the student accomplishes
a learninq task without the direct aid of
an instr~tor. This concept is different
from self instruction as an action by the
learner which is self motivated.
Sofb.,rares- These are the materials or the information
that is transmitted through hardware. These
include such items as films, audio-tapes and
recordings of all kinds.
Teacher Librarian - A teacher who is also a school
librarian. The Library Association,
jointly with the School Library Association,
sponsors examination each year and awards
a certificate for Teacher Librarians to
successful candidates.
27
Teaching Aids - Same as teaching resources or,formarly
known as audio-visual materials.
User - Unless otherwise specified, this includes
students, professional staff, other
personnel, und as far as can be accommodated
without impairing the principle goals of
the programme, persons of the community.
28
REFERENCES
1. Gachukia, E.W., Innovation in Education for
Rural Developm~nt in the Role of Teacher
Education ill Promoting Rural Transformation.
Proceedings of the Twentieth Universities
of East Africa Conference on Teacher
Education. 4-G October, 1971, University
of Nairobi, Nairobi, p.94.
2. The Standard NewspJper, 8th May, 1987, p.13.
3. Ibid., p.13.
4. Ibid., p.13.
5. Raju, B., Education and Employment Opportunities
in Kenya. Proceedings of the ... Conference
... , 4-6 October, 1971, U~iv'ersity of Nairobi,
p.83.
G. Stabler, E.,Education since Uhuru: The Schools
·of Kenya. Wesley University Press,
Middletown: Connecticut, 1969,. p.1S.
7. §unday Nation Newspaper, May 3rd, 1987, p.
8. Gerlach, V.S., Teaching and Media: a Systematic
l\pproach. Prentice lIall, Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey, 1971, p.9.
29
9 . Media Programs. District and School. American
Library Association and Association for
Educational Communications and Technology.
Washington, D.C., 1975, p.4.
10. Considine, D., "Hedia Technology and Teaching:
What is Wrong and Why". School Library
M~dia Quarterly, Vol. 13:3&4, Summer,
1985, p.180.
11. Ghai, D., Society and Development in Eastern
Africa. Proceedings of the ...
Conference ... , 4-6 October, 1971, pp.
45.
12. Shah, G.B., Education Technology: Indian
Science. A pap~presented at
International Conference
an
by Indo-Shantri Canadian Institute
Montreal, Canada, June 10-13, 1985,
p.17.
13. Ghai, D~, Op. Cit., pp.45.
14. Kenya Times Newspaper, March, 31st 1984, p.3.
15 . Wi ttic h , vt . A. and C. F. Schull cr , Au d i 0-visua 1
t,jaterials: Their Nature and Use, 3rd Ed.
lla rpc r & HO'.", London, 1962, p.31.
30
16. Media Programs, ~. Cit , P .12.
17. Omamo, W., The Challenge of Teacher Education
in Rural Transformation. Proceedings
of the ... Conference ..., 4-6
October, 1971, University of Nairobi,
p.ll.
18. Media Programs, O~. Cit. p.l.
19. Ibid., p. 87.
20. Beswich, N.W., SylT001 Resources Center.
Evans/Methuen Educational, London, 1972,
p.8.
21'. di .Me la Programs, Ope Clt., p.4-5.
"
CIIl\P'l'ER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1. Introduction
To be able to understand how the learning and
teaching resources can affect the learning at the
primary level in Kenya and elsewhere, the researcher
has thought it necessary to give a brief history of
development of education 1n Kenya. This chapter
therefore, will be devided into five sections. The
first section will cover the indigenous education.
The introduction and influence of foreign education
will be covered in the next section. The concept of
educational resources will follow. The training of
teachers and the effects of the resources willjbe
covered in sections four and five.
The five sections have covered the purposes
of education, the methods and approaches used to
educate the learners are well covered. The effects
of each type of education and the resources used
have also been introduced.
2.1.1 Indigenous EcJucation
Long before the coming of Arabs and Europeans
to East Africa the l\frican people had developed
their 0\";11 sv st.erus of education. The missionaries
have boasted,of having brought education to Africa.
It wouLcl havr: been true if ec1ucation was equatecJ
32
with literacy and formal schooling. The society may
have bee~ technologically backward, without a
literary language, and in most cases with a low level
of scientific knowledge, observes Datta, (1984),
but the African people did possess a kind of customary
education which worked reasonably well.
The African systems of educating their youth
bore basic similarities, but each of the many ethnic
groups had its own distinctive features reflecting
its particular life and culture, making their study
a very complex affair, Furley (1978).
Any educaCon system in any society is
influenced by many factors. It could be molded and
regulated by various social groups. The environment
could also determine what type of education that
society would have to introduce to serve the needs
of its people.
To be able to understand the system of education
in Kenya and East Africa, one has to understand the
environmental conditions and the culture of the
people, and how the two have influenced the type of
education they have possessed for ages.
GeogrCl.[>hershave described Africa as 'harsh' with
its two most ma rkcd c Li ina t i c f ea t ures as sust a i ned
ho a t a nd s c o s o n al r ai n f a l. The cLlslern [>Llrtof the
33
African continent is also an area of great
geographical. variety. The rno s:'.favoured parts
were those possessing a climate and rainfall able
to support human and animal life with ~omparative
ease.
The natural environment demanded close knit
societies, rder a strong, if not despotic form of
government, with its members playing their
respective roles In the spirit of 'harambee' or
pulling together.
The battle of survival in a harsh environment
made communal living the only way. At every stage
in life, the elders impressed this truth upon their
young people according to the same author.
The family, clan and the society believed that
if the society prospers, its members will share in
that prosperity, and that the society cannot prosper
without full support of its members.
The dicipline of the home formed part of a
general education policy for the younger generation.
The methods of instruction varied throughout East
Africa, concludes the same author.
2.1.2 InsLrLlction to :]1'''': noys
In aJ.lsocieties, the boys practis~d in their
34
later roles. l\ctivities like wrestling were intended
to increase physical strength in later battles, spear
throwing and archery were meant to increase accuracy
for the same purpose, observes Furley.
Prom day to day experiences, t.he boys learned
from those e~usted to shape and influence their
behav iuor and at t i t ude . t.h oy also repeated those
activit.ies through mock-batt.les, made model huts
and cattle pens in preparation for adult life,
observes Datta.
The boys were also taught how to look forward
to marri~ge as a duty to themselves, to the clan
and the tribe in most of the J\frican people.
2.1.3 Instruction to the Girls
There were lessons to be learned by the young
girls. The girls spent most of their time with
their mothers learning how to manage the house
and the family. They were also taught how to treat
strangers with proper mixture of courtesy and
suspicion.
From day to day'"experience, the girls made
dolls, played husband and wife, cooked imaginary
11\00.ls,and wo ul.d sorvo t.h o i r mo c l rc rs and aunts for
compliments. The exercise gave the girls the
confidence they needed to handle the roles expected
35
of them in their adult life according to the same
r e po r t.
Among the Luos, the girls practised grinding
flour. Ominde observes that:
.... a girl child might begin with the
grinding of the soil, which is done on
a flarish stone, ... there is an imitation
of the mothers and sisters when they are
grinding corn ... smull dried leaves may
be used to respresent fire, but actual
fire is not used at this early stag~.
There are mainly make-believe activities
in which the children persuaded themselves
that they are doirig the real thing~. 1
r>
Such training was a future preparation for
marriage, and the elders were quick to note and
report upon an adolescent girl's performance in
carrying out the day-to-day duties, observes
Furley.
2.1.4 Generul Educution
Datta feels that, the African society,
except where Islamic education was available, laid
a heavy stress on informal instruction as far as
general education was concerned. The initiation
and post initiation were highly formal and went on
for sever~l months or even years which was maiked
by limited specialized training, but as a policy,
the instruction was imparted informally.
36
The Gikuyu system of education was to build the
character and not just acquisition of knowledge and
was also done informally, and that it was merged
into activity that can be recalled when that
activity is again required, observes Kenyatta.
This was also done using different methods and
approaches.
2.1.5 Methods and Media
For the purpose o~ general education, the
system did not have professionals or full time
instructors, except where there was Moslem influence.
Instruction was ln most cases imparted through oral
communication. It was practical and geered towards
specific situations, and with little use for
abstract theories and generalization, according to
Datta.
2.1.6 Figurines
Theory went hand in hand with practical
application. The initiate had to learn by doing
and activity methods. Many people, particularly
those of Bantu origin used figurines or small
pottery figures as visual aids in the various
ceremonies. Accorupa ni nq thcm \'JErCsongs of vJa rning and
instruction which provided the audio aids, observes
Furley.
37
2.1.7 l\udio l\ids
Africa has been very rich in stories, riddles,
proverbs, poems, songs and lullabies. They formed a
literary heritage reflecting every aspect of life
and culture as well as giving as much information
on African belief$, and thought patterns according
to Purley.
Another observation is that, these stories
. (
played an important role in the total life of the
nation. In particular, Hbiti states that:
... l\t night when people returned from
working in the fields and elsewhere, the
men and boys sit outside in the home with
a fire in the middle. Women and girls
stay inside the house to do domestic work.
Each group has time to tell news, narrate
stories, and instruct the youth while the
food is being prepared ... This is the
most important time for givinq traditional
education and story-telling and formed an
integral part of life.2
'Ph o stories told we re meant to give different
messages, origin and history of the people, the
great battles of the past and various fighters
who fought in them were among such messages. In
each case, there was a particular purpose. for
the telling and the recounting of such stories
which WLlS Ll r ccoqnizccl ;ll-t, observes F'urLcy ,
38
2.1. 8 Songs
Songs were used as a means of teaching history
and promoting pride in past achievement$ and for
overcoming obstacles, In migrations and defeating
enemies. According to a study by Furley, the
children learnt:
... both words and music, whether merely
clapping hands or making simple body
movements. These songs later developed
into songs and dances to the acsompaniment
of drums and other musical ins~ruments.
Such occasions \-Jere always communal
activities to celebrate all manner of
rituals from births, initiations, marriage
and de~th to the seasons of the fa~ming
years.3
From the literature review on traditional
education in East Africa, we can conclude that all
the people in this region had developed a system
of education to ~ducate their youth from one
generation to the other. The Masai for example,
had a military education which can be equated to
any including that of historical Greek military
state of Sparta. Any form of education should.
promote progress and harmony, at the same time
preserve all that is best in the traditions of
African people. It should also assist the society
to create a new culture which, although its roots
are still in the soil, can still be modified to
meet the pressures of niod crn concl i.tions.·
39
2 .2 . Colonial Influence in Education
Kenyan system or edu~ation has been a subject
of a sequence of conflicting pressures. J\mong
these pressures is the influence of the church
having been the key factor in the development of
education in Kenya.
Pre-independence education in Kenya was much
left in the hands of voluntary organizations mainly
the church groups. For their own interest the
church groups had taken the initiatlve to educate
J\fricans to be able to read the Bible and to help
the missionaries to do their work. They had also
recognized that with little education, Africans
could be used as clerks and for other minor
responsibilities, according to Anderson (1970).
Ghai (1974) puts it in another way, the
role of the schools during this period was to turn
out a body of persons with training in the basic
skills of literacy and arithmetic, with an aim
to man the middle and lower-level openings in the
expanding modern sector of the economy. The study
shows that:
... the hi CJ h 1C?v~1 job S Vlere he 1d by
f oreLqn ers , for the most part imported <,
from Europe. The main characteristics
of the l\frican ocl uca t iona I system f o Ll.owed
[rom this Li m it.od conception. of education,
40
... it was designed on a low-cost basis and,
with a few significant exceptiorts, was poor
in quality. Little or no attempt was made
to adapt the school system, which was a
replication of the English model, to local
social and economic conditions.4
The failure of the system to adopt itself to
a rapidly changing social and economic goals and
conditions brought dissatisfaction with the existing
education offered. Education, like other institutions
in Kenya was imported [rom European industrialized
countries. These institutions accord~ng to Ghai,
evolved in a very different environmentCtrom that
of Kenya, and were more or less suited to their
special needs. The wholesale importation and
transplantation of education and culture, to a
completely different economic and social structure,
was bound to result to unforseen problems.
Education and culture had become synonymous,
and the mis sionar .ies'demands on l\fricans had increased
because they assumed that the Africans were becoming
acculturated to their form of christianity. The'
conflict .between the missionaries and th~ Africans,
observes Anderson, was as a result of what the
Africans thought was an interference in their finely
balanced economy. The result was that:
'" a Itl.rgesection of the Cikuyu peorle
bre Cl kin g tl.\"aY fro 111 the est tl.1)1ish ed churches
41
... and expansion of independent African
schools, and estLblishment of Independent
African Schools Association (IASA) to
challenge the whole basis on which the
missionaries and colonial administration
had agreed to develop African education.5
This was the first reaction of the African
people towards the colonial administration and the
established churches. Before this episode, there
was not a clear policy to guide the missionaries
in running the African schools. The teachers or
educators at the time:
had a greater freedom to interpret r
their roles as they wished ... and for
the most part had to rely on their own
conception of what a school should be
...choosing the curriculum ... and
teaching methods on ideas brought from
Europe.6
The tension brought by the conflict between
the Africans and the missionaries created the need
to have a clear policy to guide the administration
on African education.
The colonial government at this point invited
Professor J. Nelson Fraser who had gained wide
education experience in India to advise the
government on how to organize education in the
colony. The recomme nda t ions given by Eraser l s
Committee in short are as f oL'lows :
42
... A department of education be set
up and a director of education appointed .
... There should be three branches of
education, viz, Europeans, Asians, and
Africans .
... Academic type of education be given
to European and Asian children .
... For African children, emphasis be
put on Industrial and agricultural
educa-tion to schools, which the
government shoul~ give grants-in-aid
to missionaries.7
The above policy statements which were later
implemented by the government, were not sxmpathetic
to Africans, but were accepted by the church
missionary society (C.M.S.) in words, "purely
intellectual education is of questionable benefits (
to African native, of greater importance is, it
should show them the diginity of labour and instil
habits of industry".8
Another statement by The East African Standard
which had become the voice of the settlers did not
make the situation any better. It stated that:
..~ Any education that aims not at the
practical among the savage and illiterate
people is sure to prove failure in East
Africa. If East Africa and U~an~awere
countries of large cities and wealth, we
could understand that schools of merely
ornamental education, but where the whole
class are labourers and would be for years
to come, the nearl?st road to t.heir happiness
would be practical education.9
43
The academic education which was provided to
the Europeans and J\sians and denied to the Africans
had proved that it was the most direct route to the
positions and power, and therefore the general
attitude of the Africans was:
... against the agricultural and industrial
kind of education. They looked at the
policy as intended to make them peas~nts in
a modern economy and distinct and far -beLow
the Europeans and Asians. And indeed this
was the main intention of the government's
policy according to which these groups of
people had to plav different roles in the
Kenyan Society. 10
r>.
There is no doubt that everybody likes to live
in a good house, a big and productive land, dress
well, and eat good food, and above all, have power
over others. Those are the things the administrators,
settlers and the missionaries possessed. All of
them associated with academic education.
\
The attention at this stage was directed
towards academic education. The J\frican was not
going to have any education that was different from
European and Asian education. The attention at this
period is what Stenhouse would say was ....
... purposeful which is influ~nced not by
causes in the past, but, by estimates of
the future. This capacity to look forward
towards the future is fundamental to the
idea of individual or group autonomy.ll
44
This is what happ0ned to the educated Africans
at the time. They felt themselves part of the new
generation whose destiny focused more with the
future than the past.
If the colonial government does not provide.
the facility for academic education, then the
African had to gather the resources to provide
the education that would help them towards their
destiny.
Although Fraser's recommendation met some
resistance from the missionaries, it had some
positive effect on the side of the Africans. The
following passage shows:
... By 1920 at the base, tile sr.hool system
consisted of a very large number of schools
grouped together under the general name of
village' schools. r-la ny of these were mainly
catcchumerate wher.e little seculi1r
instructions was given.... Their rapid
increase did not find favour with the
government for there was a tendency by
the missionaries to include in the
instruction as much literary education
as possible while the official policy
was to see to it that agricultural and
technical instruction was given to the
African children.l2
While the opening up of more schools was going
on, there wa s the question of the supply of teachers.
Many qualified teachers had gone to the war. The
out put 0 [ l. hc tc0. Cher s co lIC (J es cl i d not keepup vIit h
45
the rapid opening of schools. The primary schools
had been left with no other alternative but to
engage unqualified teQchers to do the job.
The official concern towards the expansion
was express~d in these words:
... In these conditions(everything expands
except control, pressures result in all
available schooling, without reference to
quality which, depends on control and
planning ... so the bottom of the system
cannot be improvr.<1 until the top has been
enlarged, the top cannot be enlarged until
the bottom has been improved. 13
From this statement, we can see that the African
education was not going to get enough financial
support towards improving the quality of the
resources whether human or physical. It is
understandable d5 the statement_ below show:
... Ministry of Education was given to a
hard-core settler whose supporters were
determined to see that the J\fricans had
to be kept in their proper place, that
is to be given as few amenities as
possible while the whites got as much as
possible. So the aspirations of the
African councillors for more primary
schools met· no support from pre-settler
government:;L4
The J\frican education at primary level ~ad
been left entirely to the missionaries although
a small grant-in-aid was provided to those who
complied w.it.h the o f Ii c io I po.1iC'j. The missionaries
46
were also eager to incrGase the number of schools
to expand their mission, the WClr ilCldtaken most
qualified personnel, but to the most Africans, the govern-
ment policy towards their educat i on seemed unfair
because:
... by 1942, the European and Asian children
had universal primary education which the
governm~nt,to a large extent, financed in .
such cJway'thClt it built thG most luxurious
primary schools for these two communities,
especially the European community.1S
So far we have seen the development of
education since the colonial era. Until 1911,
there was no clear policy as far as education for
the Africans was concerned, and that it was much
left in the hands of voluntary groups.
The period between 1911 and 1924 showed the
beginning of a system of education aided and
organized by the governmGnt. A further phase of
organization began in 1924 where the enactment of
Education Ordinance and the introduction of Grant-
in-Aid was introducGd according to a report of
Colony and Protectorate of Kenya. (1955). The
missions had been faced with financial commitments
beyond their powers, and the government therefore
had to come to their aid. TJIG financial aid before
then WclS largely limited to primary education,
aLt.ho uqh some, on Cl small scalc va s given to
•
47
secondary school according to the same report.
Once the policy was established. to guide the
primary education, sOlliemeans had also to be
established towards meeting the established goals.
)
The Phelps-Stokes Commission's Report that
recommended a policy of expanding the practical
und vocutional cuucatiol1, with an aim of imposing
the rural life was a good gesture, but it created
new problems.
The new curriculum for the Africans meant
increasing the practical and vocational subjects
just like the Fraser's report. It also meant
reduction of academic subjects which were more
dominant in Europeans and Asian schools. The
Africans rejected the idea of having any kind of
schooling that seemed different from the European
model. The general feeling was that, the curriculum
was a plot to give the Africans inferior education.
This belief~ was based on what Lugumba (1973)
observed as resentment to education that:
... would serve the interest of the settler
and the administrator or even those of
missionaries. The African was not after
education that would make him remain a
peasant in a mooern economy and be dominated
by alien immigrants to Kenya. The African
in short, wanteo education that would give
power, prestige unci self sufficiency.16
48
By 1948 a new ten year plan for the
development of ed~cation was produced. It
involved the continuance of the policy of placing
the responsibility for primary educatiOn almost
entirely on the African District Councils (A.D.C. )
... At the prim~ry and intermediate level
the greater part of th~ educational system
depends on grant-aided schools managed by
the missions or on schools under the direct
management of the District Education Boards.
At the secondary level, responsibility of
management is divided between the government
and the voluntary agencies which may be
either Missions 6r independent-.foundations
under an autonomous board of Governors.17
The report of this committee was published
in September. 1949/ wh i ch was the basis of African
education in Kenya especially between 1952 and 1960
with some modifications according to the same report.
While we agree that the colonial influence in
education has contributed to establishing an elite
group, we have also to agree that a school,like any
other social group creates a culture. of its own.
Stenhouse tends'to think that I educa tional groups
like schools or classes; have a:
... sub-culture of their own into which
their members are initiated. In this
respect, they are like other smaller
groups. Education essentially is a
group process depending upon communication
wh i ch is not merely from the teacher to the
class. If the class is to make the culture
of its own, it must come to find its own
49
social life on it. This does not necessarily
mean that the pupils must carry the culture
of the class outside the classroom, though
this may often be desirable .... This implies
that the co-operatiVe work with discussion
in the science laboratory or discussion in
the history class in the natural way and
most effective way of mastering the culture
which is present~d by the teacher.IS .
We should not criticise the culture created
by our shcools because the schools have done their
job as a mitter of policy of creating a school
culture.
Educational groups according to Stenhouse
study, are formed as a matter of policy with deffued
goals of initiating pupils into a culture which
the society does not provide as a matter of
experience. Stenhouse observes that;
... the group affiliations which we form
do transmit all the cultural understandings.
We should wish, we form specialized groups
to take over the task .... Educators are
responsible for controlling the experiences
of these groups.19
Our main concern should be geared towards the
type of culture we would like our schools to create
as a matter of policy. The energy and available
resources should be geared towards that goal.
50
2.2.1 Education and N-tional Development
'Wehave seen that earlier commissions assumed
that the responsibility of education should remain ~t
the hands of voluntary organizations (the churches).
The later commissions, .1S a policy, recommended that
all maintained schools should be publicly maintained
and that:
... Develorment in education during 1969
har: , been mildly-encouraging. There has
been a considerable increase both in the
number of qualified Kenyan primary and
secondary school teachers and the student
teachers for arts and science and technical
subjects. This will make it easier to
improve the quality of education as st~essed
in last years Economic Survey, and tailor
courses and institutions to the needs of
independent Kenya.20
~hile the policy oE expanding the high level
manpower and skills was a short term objective, the
long term challenge nov is to put emphasis on hLlman'
I and other resources into productive use;
in such situations educational planning
must place primary emphasis on raising the
productivity of educational resources
rather than simply expanding them ... this
will call for many internal changes and
innovations in education, structure,
curriculum, teaching metho~s and for the
deployment of resources from lower to
higher priority educational uses.2l
I fan o(1ucati0 11 S Yste1I1 turnsou t pe0 p I.e who
cannot find a useful outlet [or their activities,
51
the resources spent in the effort, from purely.
economic view are unproductive: It has been noted that:
... the manpower planners need to adopt the
content and form of education in which those
who receive it are likely to live and work,
and to make education generate new values
and atti tudes t.owards manual labour,
agricul ture and technical occupations. 22
To t.ra i.n [or roqu irod sk iLl s in any education
systems, there are two views:
... rura 1 schoo 1s .111US t follow exactly the
same curriculum and syllabus as urban
schools ... to give all children an equal
chance for career choices and the other,
that rural school~ must train students
for agriculture. II 23
The latter would not only be unfair to the
majority of students, but unpopular to the modern
society. The gap between the curriculum and
environment must therefore, be eliminated through
the curriculum. A good curriculum can be judged
by the quality and the number of people it trains
to carry out original and creative work at the
· highest level. In this case, Raju suggests that:
the development of innovative, creative
and critical abilities by the schools is
one of the most difficult things to achieve,
and yet if this is achieved, it could make
a far reaching contribution to the solution
of the problem of underdevelopment, for an
innovating, enterprising, and creative
people is the most precious asset a country
can have.24
•
52
To be able to carry out this difficult task,
the teacher trainer and the teacher trainee must
be capable of picking up the latest techniques in
the market' .
... techniques that are working .in the
United Kingdom, techniques that are
receiving results in a given country
may as well be the techniques that can
be effective in East ~frica ... teachers
should be exposed more frequently to the
latest techniques in the subject matter
field, through guided seminars, workshops,
conferences and other forms of inservice
training.25
Among the innovations ln education that hav~
produced positive results in dev('loping creative and
critical abilities in schools has been that of using
educational resources. These are m~ant to be tools
that can support or/and extend the act of teaching
and learning. They are known to be indispensable
because:
... equal amount of learning is accomplished
in less time using ec1ucationalmedia; and
that media generally facilitate learning and
are preferred by students with traditional
instruction ... they also motivate which is
essential to all learning 26
Such innovations cannot be achieved by chance.
The educators must be well trained, creative and
adoptive enough to stimulate the learning
environment. The authorities ln the field of
crea t.ivi l: yay roc t 11,I t, ere" L.iv .i tY trai11i ng doe s
•
53
not teach people to b= creative, rather it provides
means of tapping their potential for creativity.
Reeves and l\tkinson (1977).
One condition that can have a positive effect
on studen~'creativity ls reducing excessive structure
and increasing the opportunities for individualized
activities. For example, rules that prohibit students'
use of certain resources without due course should
be minimized or eliminated. Barriers towards
learning resources, whether real or imagined should
also be eliminated at all cost. Walton, (1975).
Teacher trainer and teacher trainee have to
appreciate that the change in curriculum and learning
attitudes, just like everything else are inevitable.
Methods of teaching especially in the lower
classes have changed. The school buildings have
also changed in quality and sophistication.
Application of electronic or computer technology,
which began in the late forties with invention of
the transistor have become the order of the day.
These technological achievements have a major
impact upon todays life-style. Currently it
affects the way we acquire information, add numbers,
prepare manuscripts, keep records, regulate
machinery, and even sporid our leisure tim, observes
!{eevesand l\tki'l1S011.
54
In this case, our educational system must
compete on the same footing with the products that
the other educational systems are producing.
East African teacher tr~inee will be permitted to
reap maximum benefits from the accumulated experience
of teacher educators in other parts of the world,
Odongo-Omamo (1971).
Before adapting to any educational innovation,
the educational systems must set their sight on
educational curriculum standards, to the realities
of the situation they face. In doing so, they
harmonize the internal and external criteria of
the quality of the program. The development of
any educational innovation must be taken into
account in any social, cultural and economic
planning if it has to succeed.
A task of any educational planning should be
based on establishec1 goals and identification of
needs and available resources. It should also be
flexible and be implemented with the best conditions
under which these goals can be attained with a fixed
time limit, (UNESCO 1984).
WhiJ.e undertaking any educational reform,
the educators should not fail in being aware of the
ma i n t rend s or: r.hc i r proLossi on , study them, adapt
them and take o.c1valLago o[ them. The IllOS t exci ting
55
about this attitude is that, the educators can
influence any trend, that is if they understand
them and have a strategy for doing that. There is
hardly any limit to wh a t; is possible, technically
and scientifically.
From the literature reviewed it is noted
that, the indigenous education was very informal
and merged into day to day experiences, and the
learners fitted well into the "learning and teaching
process. The colonial influence into the learning
process seems to have alienated the learners from
their deep-rooted tradition of socialism. The type
of education that was offered was alien, but it made
impact which was going to remain permanent into the
African culture. The urgent needs of establishing
and maintaining an independent nation have been
catered for. 'The real needs of the real problems
facing the nation have been identified. Some of
these problems are ignorance, diseases and poverty.
Through appropriate education, the government
believes all these problems can be eliminated or
minimized.
Towards elimination of the three enemies of the
society which ha ve been mentioned above, wh i.ch are
.iqno rance,diseases, and tJoverty, the government
embarked into a ma j or education thrust, that of
•
56
I introducing free education or abolition of school
fees from standard one to four, and later to
standard seven and eight, with effect from January,
1974. Educational Trends (1973-77).
The national enrolment ratio stood at 86 per
cent in 1977 as compared with 73 per cent in 1973.
The overall response indicated that, the prevailing
cost of school fees prior to 1974, imposed financial
constraint on school attendance, particularly in
districts with income below the national average,
observes the same survey.
'The abolition of school fees in 1974 according
to the same report, had a positive and negative sides.
'I'he positive side wa s that, it attracted a large
number of new pupils in the eQucation system and
enabled the country to move closer towards the goal
of universal primary education. The negative side
on the other hand necessitated a greater reliance
on untrained teachers due to the major expansion
during a short period.
Another dramatic change that took place after
that, has been the implementation of Gachathi Report"
and that of Presidential Working Party on Second
Universi t y , The later recomnendationhas restructured
the system of education [rom pri ma ry through the
University. The .i rnp lcsro nta tion has been the most
revolution0ry ch<:lngc the educ<:ltion system in Kenya
57
has undergone since the start of formal education.
The implementation was based for the first
time in the history of education in Kenya on solving
the problems facing tl~ nation. Other commissions
were those of expediency. In a short time, the
problems of unemployment due to lack of proper
skills, overcrowdGd class-rooms due to the high
birth rate needed well thought out solutions .
•••
The government accepted the recommendations
of the two commissions and decided to restructure
the education and training with a view of making
them more practically oriented by implementing the
8-4-4 system of education as from January, 1985.
The implemGntation was based on the following
rationale:
(i) ChallGnge [or National Development
(ii) Need for a more relevant Curriculum
(iii) Equitable Distribution of Educational Resources
(iv) Technical and Vocational Training
(v) Assessment and Evaluation
(vi) Increased Opportunity for Further Training
(vii) Educa L'i on for I'JuLionol Un i Ly .
•
58
'I'he seven sta tements have guided the
implementation of the new educational system
according to a policy statement by the Ministry
of Education, Science and Technology, 1984.
In his address a t; Kagumo High School, President Moi
noted that the relevance in education must be
equated to the urgent needs for survival of any
cOMTIunity and that:
... Kenyans need food, clean water, family
planning, employment, understanding of how·
their government works, improved incomes,
rural development and the desire to live
and work in rural area instead of migrating
to urban area ... the relevance of our
education system today will largely depend
on how far it qo~S to meet these priorities.
f'10 i (].983 ) . 27
Another statement by a Daily Nation
correspondent put it this way:
Since we have more failures than passersin
most of our national examinations, it is
soEer to assumc what is wrong in the
systcm itself ond that change is inevitably
a matter of national importance ... youth
is a national asset, and we cannot afford
to waste, and examinations and subjects
which do not prepare them for the challenges
of the life should not be left to determine
their livcs. Ki rorci , (1983).28
The 8-4-4 system is now 1n its third year.
The obj~ctivcs arc nohlc, but tl1e c1ecisjon makers,
the researchers, educalors anc1 the parents must
not <1110w t.hc sy s t crn to be like a Ll other ec1ucational
59
reforms. The system, just like all others, has faced
problems not relClted to the curriculum itself, rather
it could be forces outside the school as Malkiat Singh
notes:
in our education system, training to
any siginficant degree is ruled out by
financial and other practical fa6tors.
What the system should be trying to do,
therefore, is to provide the means for
those learning \.,ith it to def ine their
own ends and pursue them to the best of
their ability ... at the same time they
should be provided w i, th the necessary
tools of learning.29
The quality of education must be upheld and
constantly be improved throughout the'country,
and the facilities provided in schools including
the teachers houses, sta ted Presiden t Moi, (1984).
Talking about the education and training,
•
Professor Hilary Ojiambo sClid, rural life in many
societies go beyond plans, and thClt:
... statistics, tClrgets, budgets,
technology methods, material aid and
professional staff, or for that matter,
agencies and bureaucrat organizations
to administer them are not enough.
Rather, it is on effective use of these
mechanisms as education too~s for
changing the mind and actions of people
in such-waysth~t. they ~elp·themselves
to attain economic and social improvements
... therefore, the process of working with
poopLe , and no t.v Lor .them, of helping them
become self reliant, of lIltlkingthem the
central actors on the developmental
platform and no- stClge hands or spectators
. . J a.IS V01-Y J.III[J01-trlfl .J
60
Professor Ojiambo wa s talking about the society
in general in rural arcos, but the same principle
applies to the school po~ulation as well. The
8-4-4 system, coupled by the free education from
standard one to eight hove created overcrowding in
schools, hence the use of untrained teachers as
mentioned earlier.
Overcrowding In schools can reduce all round
efficiency, observed t-lulkiat Singh, (1974).
The teachers in our schools are overworked and pupils
fail to reach the required standard because teachers
cannot give individual attention where it is needed,
and therefore the effort we are all putting into
education could be se~f defeating.
Now that the programme i_sin the process, we
cannot abo 1ish the prog ranuno \-/ehod agreed tho tit
will bring about the desired outccmes. We can only
work towards better means towards reaching the
objectives already stated.
In his key note address to the Kenya Union
of Teachers r , (1978). Prof essor l'1bit.hi, empha siz-ed
the need to use methods and teaching aids that
would achieve national goals. He said:
thc style o[ teuching can create a
h<lsic authori.ty <lnc1/orsharing relationship
between t.cachc r one! pupils. If authoritarian,
·'..
61
it can crea te dependency and subserviency,
and produce useless f o Llowe rs and nondoers.
Teaching materials may be so unrelated to
the daily experiences of pupils, such as
to create meaningless abstractions or
cognitive disharmony.3l
Other literature review show that, through
proper methoc1s of teaching and appropriate learning
resources, the students, if trained how to learn
rather than what to learn, can learn formally and
informally witll little assistance from the instructor.
Pupils should learn that in books and other
materials they can find the who I.e of man I s knowledge
and w i sdom , wh i ch has been recorded carefully over the
years.Malkiat Singh believes the' student can be
taught how to use them to seek information in many
different fields:
... of course, all this presupposes teachers
who are both we I I informed and dedicated to
t.hei r jobs, who themselves understand that
all knowledge is inter-related and have the
skills to pass on what they know to others.32
The observa tions above show that the training
of the teachers and the wealth of the teaching and
learning materials have transformed the role of the
teacher. The new approaches:
... t0\'1 arc1s J. ear n .i n9 a J. 10\" S the tea cher to
become a mediator, standing between the
students a rid the know l cdq r- dispensed by the
media inslcau o[ being the sole dispenser
G2
of knowledge. These media encourages a.
que stion and ans\...•cr dialog ue. The y a 1so
allow the teacher to make the information
complete and precise by means of explanations,
diaqrams and written documents)3
The studen ts and the teachers therefore, should
be provided with the necessary and appropriate
teaching and learning resources if our system of
education has to be effective. The rapidity of
changes in any education system, as it is the case
with 8-4-4 system of education requires continuous
revision to be able to respond to the needs of the
society. Instead of constructing more schools,
efforts should be made to improve the existing ones,
Kirorei, (1983).
Education in Kenya today is characterized by
circumstantial influences of western education,
evaporation of tile indigenous education, the effect
of the new system of education, and lack of
understandihg of the African needs in a developing
economy. Absence of a policy towards the development
of education for Africans left the educators and the
Africans to develop their own interpretation of the
concept of education and the benefits that goes with
it, which will be c1elt w i t h in the next section of
this chapter.
63
2.3 The Concept of Educational Resources
Innovation normully occurs when a given
programme of activi ty no longer satisfies performance.
')
Disatisfaction also stimulates the organizations'
search for alternative courses of action, observes
Reynolds, (1985).
'1'l i .i s Ii usb c C 11 v C J: y t rue in t h c Ii i s tor y 0 f
educational resources uS the following account of
the development w i Ll. s hovz .
Resources ln educution as we know them today
have meant different things to different people at
different times. Such a programme would represent a
combination of people, materials, machines,
facilities and environment as well as purposes and
processes. Med i a Pro g r a lTUll e s , (1 9 7 5 ) •
Liter~ture review, Beswick (1972), ~-Jalton &
Huch (1975), consider r osou rcos as being everything
which is planned to contribute to educational
enterprises, thts includes the school environment,
teachers, equipment and materials. They further
suggest that, the major resources are rather the
time, organization and purpose which goes into
promo rdon of Lc arn i nq .
The .l car nin9 res 0urces 0 f to c1ay are diff ere nt
from those o f Cifl::/ y oars aqo , o r further still those
64
.of ancient times.
Literature revie~ed show that, within the last
20-30 years, the learning and teaching methods have
changed. The scho o l bu i Idings have also changed in
quality, quantity and sophistication.
The introduction of easier alphabet and the'
light, cheap, transportable papyrus together affected
the transfer of po~er from the priestly to the
military class, and the·fall of the city states,
the rise of empires and military bureaucracies,
observes t'-lcLuhan,(1964).
During the Re nai ssance in Europe, the spread
of education and the increasing desire for knowledge
created a demand [or books wh i.ch greatly exceeded
the supply that could be created by hand copying.
The problem was solved by invention of printing from
movable type. The Koreans had developed this skill
during the 1300's. But Johannes Gutenberg of Germany
has been credited with the invention of movable type
of Europe. The wor Ld Book Encyc lopedia , (1979).
Most people of ancient tjmes could not read
as the same report show s that the:
copying of manuscripts had become a
major activity of the monks who lived in
monastries throuCjhout Euro!,e and in !,arts
of I\si.-Ia rid Af ri ca . The monks worked in
65
a room called a scriptorium. Most of the
manuscripts they copied were from religious
works, especially the Bible. But they also
copied othPT writings from ancient Greece
and 1~ome.34
The first successful attempt to make books
available for everyone was the establishment of
subscription libraries in America:
In 1731, 13ej<llllinFranklin founded the
first sUDscription Jibrary in l\merica
members of the company paid dues, which
were used to buy books. The members could
then bo rrow the books free of charge ...
The success of the company led to the
founding of many other subscription libraries
in the American' Colonies.35
The demand for the book which also created
the mass production of books changed the learning
and marketing process alike. The book became the
first teaching machine and also the mass produced
commodity in the hi s t ory of ma n , observes McLuhan.
The demand for the book and mass reading created
the need for public libraries, and later school and
other special libraries.
First libraries to be developed were dark,
musty, silent, forbidding, tr<lditional and book-
centered I Foster (1977). The society at the time
did not mind those conditions, as it was a privilege
to rcad LInd become Li t c raLc .
The 1.ib ra riC 5 .J 1111 ] i bra ri0. ns havere III uined ve ry
66
traditional and not able to keep up with the
expectations and demand of a changing society.
For a long time, librarians have remained passive
due to lack of strains of thought which could
constitute principles and theories of librarianship,
equivalent to those of other disciplines, observes
Christ (197 2 ).
For a long time, libraries have failed to meet
the needs of the communities they serve, as a result,
the society has not suspended the area partaining
to the needs, instead, it has created other social
insti tutions to fulf i1 its expres sed needs, commented
Shaw, (1967). 1\s a result of this, the libraries
have found themselves in confrontation with a number
of other sociul unc1 institutionul developments which
appear to overlap with librury functions. The
librarian and archivist, a media or resources
specialist are some of the examples of operational
inconsistencies resulting from luck of formulated
theoretical principles, according to the same
observation.
The Economic growth of 1960s which has made
history in the development and education have 'left
the libra.riuns with no choice but to re-evaluate
their new roles and functions, observes Shera (1963).
67
l\ lot of money was made available to develop new methods
of teaching and learning, new equipment were made
avai lable to schools, ncw proqrauuue s ·had to be tried
ln schools like the Knapp school library project
in United States, Gaver (1969). From this period
the libraries especially the school libraries have
never been the same.
The new library has been given other names
like resources center, (RC), media center, (MC)
instructional material center, (IMS) and many others.
This new establishment has become a·many-sided
learning environment, a sort of laboratory or an
expanded class-room observes Be sw i.ck , (1969).
With new functions and different media or
resources, the center has moved [rom a bookstore
to an active center, and therefore needing dif£erent
specialized knowledge~continues Geswick. The
knowledge of audio-visual materials, knowledge of
print media, technician skills, production skills,
and above all the knowledge of the curriculum as
it relates to the available resources are some of
the most important areas to be considered in this
research.
This new rolo of a resource center is what
business 1itera t urC \.J 0 U 1d ca 11 inn 0 vat ion, \./hi chi s
68
often essential for survival. The institutions
have to respond to their environments and adopt
to changes in order to survive, according to an
observation by Renolds and Bells, (1981). Some
of the measures which hilve been taken by education
institutions will be observed in the paragraph to
follow.
2.3.1 The Appropriate Reform in Education
A successful operation of any programme is
not related to the size of its budget or the
amount of capital investment in equipments, but
to who is running it now, and whose idea it was
In the first place, observes Rumney, (1977).
Acceptance of the director or the person incharge
of the programme as a peer of the professional
staff is the most critical factor in any programme.
The media programme never works well if they
are imposed by senior adnrinistratorsor from outside
the school environment. Priorities can be determined
better by local educators in consultation with class-
room teachers according to a study by Moller, (1970).
This has not been the case with a lot of
educational innovations. Primary leadership for
curriculum reforms has come about from scholars in
various disciplines ucling uS individuals or through
69
their learned societies. It has come neither from
educational practitioncr-s in the schools nor from
professors of education who have traditionally
contributed to the professional preparation of
teachers, observes COI1l1nt, (1963).
Most of the inno ations in education appear
to have arisen from social and political pressures
rather than from empirical investigations.
Relatively little substantial progress has been
made towards providing adequate solutions to the
whole set of problems involving what to teach, to
whom and how, continues the same author.
Any administrative structure, combined with
funds and carefully devised standards' can only
work well if it meets actual teachers' needs, and
therefore recei ving wa rrn teachers' recogni tion
without reserve t i oru ob scrve s Be sw i ck , (1975).
The teachers are accountable for the learning
process of individual students, they are overwhelmed
by classroom management, and do not know how to
begin or end a si t uation wi th the number of 'students
in the classroom. \'lhenthe technology is added, in
many cases the addition is simply another overlay
of adminis t ra tive a rid management tas k of which the
teacher does not have time to explore, according to
a study by Evcrton and Stallin<J, (19851.
70
l\ word of caution and advice has been given
by Turner and NaUIII'L",(1983). This has to do with
attitude, use, and t 2 rate at which the educational
innovations have taken to be accepted by teachers.
2.3.2 1\ Brief I1istory of Educational Resources
Instructional technology, has travelled a long
way from military th'ough industry, to higher
education, just to arrive to secondary and primary
education virtually intact, and therefore have been
looked with suspicion by educators, according to
Turner and Naumer.
Pour important developments have created the
need for instructional technology. Establishment
of training programmes in mi litary and industries
which produced unprecedented demands for an
effective technology of instruction was very
successful. Secondly, the application of this
technology of instruction was based on prewar
scientific research which proved very productive
under controlled environment, observes Saettler,
(1968). Thirdly, the emergence of an official
military policy which encouraged the production
of a w i.dc variety of .i ns tructionlll rna eri a Ls and
a broad use of instruc:ional me~ia, and fou~thly,
the aI 10ca t: i 011 0 f (l111' 0 ~.;L un1iIIIj (.::! cl fin an ci(lI
71
resources available to t he development of the
programme.
2.3.3 The Criteria of Decision Making
Turner and NaUillcr agree with Beswick (1975 )
that, the human, personal and local factors, much
more 'than o t lj er f act ors towards any .i nnova tion are
of primary importance. Programmes of innovations
therefore, should grow organically outwards·.rather
than from other directions.
To introduce widespread programmes 1n any
society, three factors need to be considered.
they should fit easily and smoothly into the
existing educational process. Secondly, they
should not be too far ahead or too far behind the
One,
level of development o( the society. Thirdly,
any society with intention of incorporating the
media into their system should, onsure the new
media serves to support the total educational
process, and 1n rio way be a substitute for essential
learning ski 11s acco rd i ng to the commomvea 1th
conference (1976). The pr imary purpose of
educational materials is to stimulate and motivate
learning, and not to att.~Inpt to replace it,
concludes the Common~ealth Conference.
The devo Lopmo n t o f educa t i on a I materia] s must
72
be taken into account in sociaL cultural and
economic planning. 'I'h i » w i Ll. reduce the risk of
economic and cultural dependence induced by the
widespread introduction of educational materials
which has not been full; mastered, according to
a UNESCO Study, (1984). Establishment of a
rigorous and flexible p r ~'9ramme, the knowledge
required, and the confidence in the use of the
materials are some of the guiding factors,
according to the same study.
First of all, training of the media should
be a part of teachers education and not a subject
of its own. Teachersneed to know how to accompli sh
their work using the materials and equipment. The
role and problems of the media and the techniques
involved, requires periodic training of the
personnc1 .i. nvo.l vcd (-.0 en ~~II r c hOIl\o~~ne.ity., and
coherence, the same report continues.
Together with the training of the teachers,
the new instructional materials must be utilized
in sufficient measures to provide pupils with the
needed concrete, or quasl concrete experiences,
observes Wittich and Schuler, (1962). This should be
implementec1 on the basis of wh i ch both old and
new materials may e made understandable. It is
on 1. Y 1n tile ve r y 11c \.J o !::i l ins t rue t i U 11(l 1 Inate r .i f.l1.s ,
73
such as films, filmstrips, slides, charts, models,
and other audio-visual media - that adequate
experiences with the modern world mQy be provided,
acco+ding to the same study.
There is no neat Qnd tidy formular known for
collection and t.he quanti t1'of learning resources
observes MQrshQ 11, (1979) . The most important
thing in bui Ldi.nq a collection of learning resources
is the need and interest of users. Budgeting
practices should provide flexibility, in the
choice of resources, physical facilities,
particularly space required for the use and
storage of materials and equipment, and the judgements
rationally derived, according to the same observation.
2.3.4 The Resources Provision
The curriculuIIl or tile school must reflect the
society it prepares youth to enter. The primary
responsibility of the school.is to communicate on
understanding of the contemporary society to the
young people. This has become a very difficult
task for the schools to tackle, observes wi ttich
and Schuller.
One 0 f the \-.'QYs 0[ Qchi eving suchi deQ Is is
to integrQte schools more closely with the systems
of values and other uso f uI traditional practices
74
found in the communi ties an which they are Loca ted .
Such could be cuItural and environmental ideals, which can-
not be adequately represented by any of the
manufactured media. Printed materials which are
self contai~ed and may not have any relationship
to other media are still very much in demand and
use.
Other aids which require a basically simple
production are easy to use. Those personnels who
have not gained confidence in handling sophisticated
equipment are likely to prefer using simple aids
like photographs, study pictures, poster~ charts,
maps, globes, etc.
Items which are more rigid or those requiring
external source of power like fil~s, slides,
television, audio equipments whose contribution
to learning is immeasurable are available, but
they require a degree of organization and special
skills, and many schools may not be able to afford them
according to the study by a Commonweal th
Conference on Materials for learning, UNESCO (1984).
l\ccording to the recommendation by l\merican
l\ssociation of school Librarians and. the l\ssociation
[or EUuci.lLiol1LllCOJl\InunicLltionsanu Technology, a
school of 500 students or fewer should have a
75
mlnlmum collection of 20,000 items or 40 items per
student in t-1ediaProgrammes, (1975).
An item is defined as a book, case bound or
paper back, films, video-tapes, filmstrips,
transparency, slides, periodical subscription, kit,
and any other form of materials or associated
eguipment, according to the same report. Enough
budget should be provided to give a well balanced
collcction observes the same study.
2.3.5 The Budget for a Resources Programme
To maintain an up-to-date collection of
materials and equipment that fulfils and implements
the instructional programme, the budget for the
prograllllllcshould bc based on the annual per
\
studcnt cxpcnditure of the school. The suggestion
givcn by t.bo t.wo Aruc ri can oduca t i ona L associations
allows at least 10 per cent of the National Per
Pupil Operational cost (P.P.O.C.) as computed by
Un i ted Sta tes Of fice of Education (U.S.o. E. )
This figure does not include funds for such items
as installation of expensive electronic facilities,
general school supplies, delivery systems, security
and insurance costs, plant and equipment maintenance,
initial collection for new schools, school adopted
textbooks purchased [or each student, salaries of
76
media staff, public information programs, furniture,
and specia 1 labora tory equipment, reviews the sarrereport.
The annual expenditure for the collection
provides for the acquisition of newly published
or produced materials, needed materials other than
those currently released, replacements of titles,
duplicates, media production supplies, the costs
of processing of materials, and items of equipments,
e.g. projectors, viewers, radios and television,
etc. Funds for initial collection of materials
and equiprnents in newly established media centers
are provided from capital outlay, rather than from
the amount recommended for annual per pupil
expendi t ure wh ich is reserved for the co llection,
concludes the same repo~t.
2.3.G Dcvelopmcnt of a Resources Programme
Realization of the purpose of any programme
depends on the quality and quantity of the personnel
employed to implement the programme. This would
normally be guided by already set policy to guide
the decision makers to select the personnel required.
~vhen selecting the most appropriate personnel
\v 110 c, n .i rnp]cmcn t t 11C .:1P!)r0 pria tc: pro grarn Ine [0 r
instructional purposes, three alternitives can be ~
considercd, adopt, adapt, or pro~uce. The programme
77
may decide to adopt an existing form of media by
purchasing, renting, or borrowing, observes Locatis
and Atkinson, (1984) l\doption means that the
selected media are used without change. In other
words, the media are used exactly as designed by
manufacturers. In this case, specialized knwoledge
may not be required.
l\daptation of media products is often more
appropriate than simply adopting them. Adaptation
means that the media are changed or modified from
their original form.
In this casc , one nia y substitute one'snarration
for pre-recorded t.:lpeth.:ltaccompanies slides, or
iued i a Iroin tHO or more progr.:lInIneswhich may be combinedto
form a ~ew programme. In such conditions, most
types of n.cdi a CZtI l)(~ oasi Ly adopt ed to suit any
local teaching and le.:lrningconditions in the hands
of a skilled personnel, .:lccording to Locatisand
1\tki nson .
for t he ach i evcm» of the objectives, such
progran@es require adequate provision of human
resources and other physical facilities as well
as fun ds VJ hich are necessa ry to fin ance the
.:lquisition of all the essential requirements.
The resources thZtt inst.itutions possesses must,
78
therefore, be utilized for maximum benefits according
to an observation by the Conference on Employment
and Rural Development in Kericho, (1976).
To yield maXlmum benefits, the institutions
must play the role of providing the necessary resources
both human and materials. The human resources would
In return help the users to exploit the resources
to the maximum, comme n t s Njuguna, (1981).110-
Although a well organized library or resources
programme has been know n to contribute signJ..ficantly
to both teaching and learning, the provision of
this service has not <Jot off the: ground in Kenya.
This has been left to the institutions themselves
to decide wh i ch direction to f oLl ow in this case
as Ivachira (1974) puts it, only the well
cstabLishccl .i tr slj LuLio u ss , wi t h C1 tradition behind
them, that end up getting trained personnel and a
supporting budget.
An exception in this trend has been the
establishment of LHC in all the primary teachers
colleges. As indicated in the agreement document
between the Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology and the \'JorldBank, a provision of
additional bu i Ld i nqs , furniture and
equipment ...in the existing seventeen
primary teachers colleges (PTC)
79
for each PTC, the establishment, staffing
and equiping of a learning resources center
and micro-teaching facilities, complementary
to the LRC and micro-teaching facilities
established for the Kpnya Institute of
Education, (K.I.E.l.36
1\n in terv .iew by Ng'ethe wi th a member of staff
of K.I.E., shows that, staffing of LRC in primary
teachers colleges was a part of the LRC programme
1-lClckClge.Tile first group of twenty [our tutors
were recruited from various primary teachers colleges,
to be trained as LRC managers as well as extending the
LRC concept to primary teachers trainees. The first
course was launched in 1980/81 and co-ordinated by
Kenya Institute o[ EducCltion in conjuction with the
then Kenyatta University College, and the Ministry
of Basic Education according to the same report.
1\ group of Li.b ro r-. a ssi st an t s , graphic
assistant sand techn i c .ians groups followed in 1981/82
urider the S arue tr din inc;pC! C ::Clg8 accordi ng to the same
report. This \-J asag 00d beg inn in9 but, it wa s sh0rt
lived as will be r ovealod e Ls evh cre in t hi s study.
The literature rev i ew have given some qualifications
required for a successfu_ resource programme in the
pa raqraph s to [0110'.-1.
80
2.3.7 Personnel Reguirement
A good media programme calls for professio~al,
and support staff to carry out the services expected
by the users. These are the teaching members of
staff, students and other categories of staff members.
2.3.7.1 Professional Staff
A media professional, according to literature
reviewed, certificated or not, holds a masters
degree in resources from a programme that combines
library or informa tion science, educational
communication and technology, and curriculum.
A media professional, as a member of staff, makes
instructional decisions w i t hi n their area and
pr ovides appropr i0 to lead ~rs11ip iJl the ed u cationa 1
process.
1\ media proLossi oua l has status, and wo rki nq
conditions equal to thot of other staff members
with comparable qualifications and responsibilities
according to [·lediaPr oqramme s report.
2.3.7.2 Support Staff
In this group of support staff variety of
experiences through specialized training or on
the job experience lS necessary.
oft o c1111ic i ,-111 ~> 0 n cl III c: c1.i ,1 aid e s .
It consists
They are
81
responsible to the media professionals, but occupy
positions w i.th job descriptions that delineate
their duties.
The group ha.ve competencies in one or more fields
such as graphics, production and display, operation
and Illaint~nance of instructional equipments,
television production, and installation of system
Components, according to the same report.
2.3.7.3 Media Aide
This group has secret ari a I and clerical
competencies that enable them to perform tasks
related to ordering, receipts, maintenance,
inventory, production, and utilization of materials
and equipment. They carry out all tasks under the
\
direction of the professional members of staff,
r~portillCJas appropriate to the desigpated
professionals or technicians, according to media
programme report.
Differentiated sta.ff, 1n sufficient number
is an indispensable part of a functional resources
programme.
increases for t.e chni ci ans and aides with specialized
needed areas.
The numl.ior of the s ta f f is determined by the
size,scope and depth of the programme, but a basic
82
programme requirement call for professional
personnel, technicians and aides.
Training and experience beccm~s good ground
for the confidence to grow. Growth is necessary in
any new programme. The quality and effectiveness of
the media programme in this case, w i Ll, depend on the
quality and special abilities of the personnel
selected to do the job. Specialists in this field
urge institutions to settle for nothing but the
best personnel available, and that confidence in
the production and use of the media, rather than
the presence or even availability of the media, is
the most important element in the process of
developing any media programme.
83
2.4 • Teachers Education
Beeby in Schram (1967) refers the training of
teachers as the key that turns the lock. He categorizes
the teachers into four levels. The first level is
when a teacher is little educated and untrained.
Schooling consists of litt.I.errorethan rrechanicaldrill
on the three Rs and memorizing of relatively
meaningless items.
I[ the teachers arc a little educated and have
had some training, the teaching becomes more formal,
according to the same authors. Learning becomes
more systematic, the curriculum is fixed, and
centrally determined. Instruction is supervised by
inspectors and external exalninations, but. the students
learn mostly by rote.
Give more education, more training, the
teacher moves into (1 third stage which Beeby calls
the level of transition. The teacher is further
beyond the pupils, has Dore confidence and can let
the pupiLs adventure a bit on their own. Supplementary
readers come in a long \.:ith the text-books. The
official syllabus remains, but it is broader and the
teacher often goes beyond it.
The fourth level, according to the same author,
the teacher is Hell educated and ';Jelltrained. The
84
problem solving and inductive learning begin to play
a large part in the class-room. The teacher has
enough confidence to let the students learn rather
than merely drilling them. Instead of being the
sale dispenser of knowledge, the teacher becomes
a mediator, standing between the students and the
knowledge dispensed by the media observed Skirrow,
(1980). Self confidence heru, in the use of
the media, rather than the presence of them brings
more positive results in the process of learning
and teaching.
2.4.1 Inservice Training
Whenever the confidence 1S lacking, measures
should be taken to creote it. Various kinds of
inservice training prccj rammo s should be recommended
and encouraged.
Increasingly 1n Kenya, as 1n many other
countries, primary educ2tion by itself is found
not to be enougll for many of the specialized tasks
of modern living, according to Kenya Educational
Commission Report, .Part I (1964). The chairman
of Narok branch of the Keny a Na tional Union of
Teachers (KNUT) noted that, 55 per cent of Kenyan
teachers are untrained, and those wh o had not been
given a ch<1nce to train for man/ years are feeling
left out. SUl1d.::y t+a t i c n 1:<1:/ 3rcl, 1987.
85
Traditional teacher training colleges have
been expanded since 1963, but they have not up to
dat.evbeen able to match the rising demands or even
replace the existing unqualified staff observes
Kinyanjui. (1974).
It has been realized that. there is no
universal solution to common problems, which can be
transfered from one country to the other. Educational,
cultural, economic and technological particularities
of each nation have to be considered on the basis
of established 90015 and identification of needs
and available resources according to _a report by
UNESCO (1984). i','henever the tradi tiona 1 methods
of t.ra i n i IV) the teachers are not serving the needs
of a country, nel-/approaches that have proved
successfu; elsewhere should be tried.
2.4.2 Non 'l'raditiona 1 l\rn;roaches
Variety of learning exper i onces woven into
teacher training has been striking in several
countries. A few of them will be described below.
Australia and New Zealand depend heavily on
radio broadcast to guide and assist the less well
trained supervisors w it.h their correspondence
students. Samoa and Haqerstown projects also reveal
that, resu]ar broadcasts to teachers on professional
86
topics are worth while, both in improving the
techniques of teaching and building staff morale,
Schram, (1967).
2.4.3 Open University
Open University in United Kingdom operate by
means of written stud; ItliJ.terials,and the instruction
by radio iJ.ndtelevision, and to a small extent by
face to fAce teaching, observes Brealey and others,
(1972).
2.4.4 Combined Systems
1\ cheap and cos t effecti ve method of tra ining,
using postal and radio broadcasting systems, are already
in opera tion and proba b Ly under-utilized In Kenya,
Kinyajui reports. The s;~tem does not require a
large capitiJ.l outlay on buildings and equipments,
and it ma kcs more ef I i ci cn t. use of the time and
skill of te.J.ci1crsand cduciJ.tors already available,
concludes Kinyanjui.
Algeria and Colombia show that, several
media-based-systems can contribute to inservice
training of teachers. These includes television,
radio, programmed learning, films, correspondent
study, study groups, seJf study materials in
newspapers and others. These can b0 very effective. 1\ny
of these used to motivate the teachers will help
87
him/her to upgrade the level of education and
professional knowledge, according to Schram.
Information of the new developments in
educational innovations can be communicated to
the teachers through publications, brochures,
bulletins, exhibitions, conferences, personal
cont<lcts or. t.hrough other me<lns.
The teachers need to know the context as it
changes and evolves, understand the nature and
purpose of the task the teacher has to perform
and to acquire the skills to do it. The context
changes and the task also changes from time to
time observes Hawe s , (1979). The training
the ref 0 rc has t.0 re1ate to \','0rk the tea cher s do,
and it has to be continuous.
2.4. ')-Sh(ll~in() of l~c;sourcc;sand Services
'I'h orc has been a <Jraclualrealization that
no educational reform ~ill come about,unless the
teaching profession itself undergoes reform.
This includes planning a long range educational
reform in botll form and context in accordance
with the aspirations, nc;eds and the resources of
a yivcn country.
One methocl v.h i ch has been suggested by
Killy.J.J1juiis the use of the resources of education,
88
particularly human and facilities more efficiently
within the systems as they are or with minor
aduptation.
Sharing of knowledge and skills from specialists
has been used for many years. Sharing the services
and activities is a latter development. This is due to
economic and financial constraints that has been
experienced by educational and other institutions
since early 1970s, according to the CommoriweaLth
Education Ministers Conference, (1984).
The financial constraints experienced by
institutions have forced them to go outside the
traditional methods in search for alternative
methods or copi nq w i th the nev. coridi.tions.
1\ [e,'/ of t hese arc the establishment of
Natiol'lul'PcriodicCll Lending Liurary in United
States w h ich is si m i La r to the ':otional Lending
Library in England. The purpose of the tv/o was to
curtail the cost of serials and periodicals,
observed the Pi ttsburgh Conf erence, (1976).
Other establishm,::nts on resources sharing
includes the Ca Li f orni a Libr<lry Au t ho ri t y for
systems and services (f'L,,\SS),Chicago 1\c<ldemic
Library Council (Ci,LC) I Ohio College Library Center
(Ol'LC), I'liclli':Fll1Stah_:',:i.dr;Corup u t er ba scd Inforrnation
•
89
and Librory and the Union of Serials, Budington,
(1975) .
Sharing of funding and development efforts
1n the production of resource materials has been
accomplished in Saskatchewan and Quebec through the
use of consortium approaches according to a Report
of Conuno nwc a Lt h EclucaLio n Hinister in Nicosia.
2.4. G Communi ty Involvement
Considering a few of the general goals of
education, such as understanding social life,
developing citizenship and civic responsibility,
achieving vocational understanding and economic
efficiency, and perha.s the most important of all
the self realization of the individuat. These
goals were first stated 1n 1918 by United States,
the offico of Education according to Wittich
Clnd Schuller. Tley hClle been Cldopted by other
nations 0 meet their o~n educational goals 1n
that period, and yet, .i r spite of theirwide recognition
as a part of the instruction, they have not been
integrated into educational systems as one would
hope.
l'lanyof the oo j cc t i ves can be achieved through
conventional methods, but clreolistic grasp of the
inlerClction or social and economic existClnc8 can
90
best be gained from direct experiences with adult
life in the society, continues tile same study.
The use of the persons who have been trained
as teachers, engaging other people even those who
have never been teachers but have the needed skill,
to help in imparting skills to the adults and
children cspoci aLly in tile rural area for free
or a small fee should be explored further, observes
Gachukia, (1971).
Feasibility of regionally-oriented materials
has been discussed for a long-time, but there are
good reasons for thinking that further experiments
along these lines are desirable. Such would include
provision of high quality services and materials
\vj1ichcould eco riom.i caLly be provided for a wider
audience.
traditionill instruction. Unw i n and McLeese, (1978).
91
2.5 The Impact of the Hesources
Greater learning results when the resources
are integrated into the traditional learning
process, and that equal amounts of learning are
often accomplished in less time using educational
media. These media generally facilitate learning,
and are preferred by students It/hencompared to the
The media also motivate which is essential
to all learning according to the same study, and
with most individuals, it 1S necessary to vary
the pace and sources of information that has to
be a ssi m i La t.od .
Severed t lic o ri cs o f learning have been
clcvelopeu. UI1(~ t.h cory s u.j.j cst s LllL1L the facts,
.inIorma ti011 I o rdor 0 ilLl sc qu c nces '..:11ich the studen ts
must master should best be determined by the teacher.
Iveisqerbc r I (19 &8). The other theory is the one which
favours the discovery by the learners, and that,
the student is in the best position to determine
the learning needs, observes the some author.
The latter group proposes making a rich
environment of the learning resou rces available
and thut. the inc1ividual learner is in the best
92
posi t i.on. to make judgements abou t the type and
order to achieve the objectives efficiently.
This view of learning requires that all types of
resources, both print and non-print be readily
avail<lblc.
Another author on the same theory suggests
that people learn only as they are motivated to
learn. Different people are motivated by different
conditions depending on their goals, some by a
desire to learn, some by a need to solve a problem
or find a logical explanation for an occurrence, some
by a wi sh to \v in the app rova 1 and acceptance of the
teacher. \vendt, (1957).
Audio-visU<ll materials observes Wendt, have
been proved to yield a ligh degree of interestlin
subjects and topics that might be studied by a
group, and have contributed greatly to motivation
of such a <Jroup.
GiVCIl a I(1'/0' rable sit ua tion, Schram and
others, (1977) observes that, a pupil w i Ll, learn
from <lilymcd i um li~~e-t~levision, radio, programmed
instruction, filmi, tape ~ecordings and others.
The same things that contr.ol the amount of learning
from a teacher face to face, the same study continues,
also control the amount of learning from educational
media. The most consideration should be given to
93
relevance and clarity of the content, individual
ability and interest in the subjr::ct, attention
and respect and affection for the teacher.
2.5.1 Print Media
Supulvedo-stuardo (1983) noted that a clear
and consistent relationship between school variables
and isLud o n L a clr i ovotuo n L is tho availability of
textbooks Llnd that, the; influenced learning more
than other school vo r i ab le s .
2.5.2 pillllS
l\nother study of instructional films by Havard
Gradua to Schoo 1, shov.e d signi f ican t increase in
inforlllutionul .:1ndconceptual learning when films
are used in combination vi t h t ex t bo ok s , v-leber, (1930).
\
'I'hc ro SOCl rch on clo sod -ci rcu it t.elev is ion
done by Pennsylvania State University in 1945-1965,
l.l :ere \.;ere n0 ~-ji9 n i fican t
difference in achievement iJ.fter comparing two
groups. One g r0 uP h'a 5 tall 9ht th r0 ugh trad ition a1
lectur ing, wh i le the 0 t her one \.:.:1S ta ugh t through
the use of closed-circcit systenl, according to the
same study.
The use and the .i n f lue nc e o f outstanding
94
to large groups of st.udent s w i thout measurable loss
of learning. Television could be economically
feasible if the system is used for a sufficiently
large groups involving 300-400 students.
l\nother study by Pennsylvania State University
1n 1945-1965 on Instructional Media, observed that,
if un outstanc1ing tetlcll~ris found, he/she might use
television as a means of making sure that individual's
skill in teaching is made available to a wide number of
students. The Lcarners who responded to such
instruction afto l' the t est ind ica ted that, there
were no significant differences in achievement.
The mc t.lioclcould 1.J~ econom i ca Lly feasible if used
for a sufficiently large group, concludes Saetter,
(1968).
l\ ~~hough the Ii. 11<;strits a re much more
[lexiblc t.ha i the mo t i o: pictures, they are often
put aside uS a rtlther dull and ~cak member of the
film family, observes rto lLcr , (1970). They
become highly structured tlnd less flexible,
something tha tis not popu Lar w i th teachers and
trend sin cc1uCut iona1 t hi:1)<: ing . However, the
nat uraI sounds aLonq w i t h the visuals, add an
exiting dimension especially to younger children.
95
2.5.4 Smm/Super S Films
The d i I ference between the above equipment is
r n. the film surface. Super S use more of the film
surface for the picture than does the earlier S
millimeters. The two are not compartible, and
require two projectors ~hich is a disadvantage as
fiJ.r as ec1ucllti.onCll institutions LIre concerned,
acco r d i nq to \\'ittich LInd Schuller.
2.5.5 amm/The Loop Fi lr.1s
This is inserted into a plastic cartridge and
has a maximum of four minutes duration. The mechanical
problems have been reduced a Lrno s t; to zero and therefore,
the students can be trusted to load and re-Ioad the
projectors CIS they w i s h , observed -'loller.
Included in this group are overhead projectors
(0111'), and slides Clnc1La some ezLr..::nt, filmstrips. An
overhead projector '..:i t h correspoI:eiing s o t t.w a r e has
become a variation of t ho triJ.ditional chalkboard
w i th the advantage for the teache" t hc t; he/she can face
the class, observes SchrClJ:l. i\nother advantage of
this device is that, it CiJ.n be used without the need
to dClrken Lhe clossroom. The 0 VOl: 10Ys is an 0 the r
and patterns, Holler (1970). Their flexibili ty,
96
interesting aspect of the OIIP, according to the
same author.
Some media present information at a general
level, while others present it more specifically.
For example, slides positively convey information
in the form or wo rds , diagrams, pictures, graphics
though, is preferred by teachers and students
over filmstrips. 1t a110\'/5 bo th to structure a
subject or topic in order, arranging them,
adding or deleting as they wish, or as the interest
dictates, continues r·101101:.
2.5.7 Plot Pictures
These are the o l c.os t , t hc least expensive
I
and tie n05~ un'~crsQlly available of all the
They Ciln be used either
alone or in conjuction v. i t h other curriculum
materi a I s t.ha t can contribute greatly to learning
process, according to ;':illiams, (1963).
Incluc1ed ill this group of viSUal materials are
graphics, chart s , photographs, drawings, study
prints and the like. TilCY are those which can
be examined w i thout a projector or viewer, which
1S an advantoge.
97
milterials effectively, t is of primary importance
Lack of depth, which is essential to learning
a particular concept and size is a disadvantage to
these type of media, as .na jori ty of pictures from
books and magazines are too small; however, this
can be overcome by one or the other methods of
enlilrging.
2.5.8 Three DimentionQJ. Mnteriills
Included In this lJroup a re models, objects
and specimens, mock-ups, and diorilmas. These
materials can help to make the learning situation
more real, lifelike, and interesting to students
when the first h arid experience is impossible,
according to Wittich and Schuller. Most of
them can eClsily be constructed by the teacher
\,,;'-l-thma .ori.c Ls t ha t; con be easily collected.
111 o rdcr to mokc usc of three d i me nsi ona L
that they be seen clearly and exarn i.ned from various
angles.
98
2.6 The New Technology
The products of the modern technological
developments are not in themselves good or bad,
it is rather the way they are used that determines
their worth, observes J'.1cLuhan.
The institutions need change for effectiveness,
t hcy must a Ls o be [lcxiiJle, up-lo-date, and capable
of planning for future. There are lot of
complaints about the society having to move too
fast to keep up with the technological developments
in education and other institutions. There is an
advantage in moving fast if one moves completely,
if social, educational and recreational changes
keep up, conti nues Hc Luha n . One must. change the
Thislas '2en the case ln Japan. Education
\·:holr a' t crn a L 01 ce, an the 1;:1101egroup ogether,
]1'_'::1;,0] \"~S lIlUS <- (~cide to move.
and ~o is tle case in United Kingdom. Parents in
Japan, howe ver , have '0 pay for their children I s
education from 15-18 years. Nevertheless, 94
per cent of Japanese pupils stay in education until
the age of 18 years agi1inst only 21.6 per cent in
United !,iIlCjdolll,occord i nq to a s t udy by Corfield,
(l98S).
99
A striking fact in this respect is the
planning towa rds the technology. Between the
years 1966 and 1976, the number of Japanese
inventions trebled from 8,000 to 25,000, while
corresponding figure for United Kingdom almost
halved from 19,000 to 11,000 for the same period.
At the end of 1982, the Jupanese had 16,500 robbots
In use agaisnt 1,753 in United Kingdom. By 1983,
the Jupanese figure ho.d ulmost quurdrupled to
64,000, while the United Kingdom figure at 2,623
had gone up only about half the number, observes
Corfield.
As educat.ors a rid mcnaqers o I educational
resources, \-;ec a1 no t u r<.;ue the fac t; tha t the
t r ud i t i 0 I ,,1 P I: J 1
ll1 our schools.
ll'"~di(l ilCl:O not 1il<10eits .impa c t
The electronic m'3dia hus done
the SLlJllC, u nd t.h orcLo rc , t.hcse rncd i a are a Lso
h0re to StClY.
(1977) i a t;
1 L hos L'.2ol observc.d by Geller,
us- u:en t \-;i 11 h{l vc spen t 5, 400
hours in school before ::~/she gets a high school
diploma. 13Y that time, he,/s:1e \-;i11 a1soh ave
spent 7500 hours v.a t ch i nq films on the television.
This is a f ac t, we cannot aq rio re .
Some kino o I ccono:a cs, wh ich is the study
of "how the society end Lip choosing, wi th or
100
productive resources thLlt could have alternative
uses, to produce various commodities and distribute
them for consumption, now and in the future, among
various persons and groups in a society, observes
Simkins, (1981).
Here, we are talking about distribution of
resources Lllllonydi[[erc.:JlLpeople and uses, and
the degree to which the maximum benefit can be
obtained from the resources which are used. This
will involve a serious evaluation to decide which
areas of study will recelve priority to be
included, a: d which w i Ll. of necessity be left out.
This decision can be Illadeand applied at any level
con tinues Sillkins, at na tiona I or loca I leve I,
individual school, or by a teacher in a single
classroom.
A major expans10n of technological education
1S an essential step in the generation of our
economy. It will require a change of national
priorities, but the choice is ours. If we make
the right choice, observes Corfield, we can
exploit the opportunities which the technology
presents, if we make the wrong
surely become the victims.
choices, we will
The Lo orn inq env j ronrno n t of the indigenous
101
education was based on daily experiences and the
needs of the society. It was imparted informally,
and was never treated as a separate entity. The
introduction of the Western education was foreign
and taught by foreigners who failed to understand
that, education cannot be separated from the
culture of the people. The Western education was
not based on the needs of the African people.
'I'hi s conflict ha s extended to the education after
independence. Research for the type of education
that can bridge the gap between the indigenous
education and the modern education, the type that
can serve the real needs of the real problems of
today~ society of KenY2 and Africa is the concern
of the educators and decision makers today.
:.
102
REFERENCES
1. Ominde, S., The Luo Girl, London: Macmillan,
1952, p.13.
2. Mbiti, J.S., Akamba Stories, Oxford: Clarendon,
1966, p.7.
3. Furley, 0.1'1., A I!istory of Education in East
Africa, London: Nov Publishers, 1978,
p. 23.
4. Education, Society and Development, Edited by
David Court and Dharam P. Ghai, Nairobi:
Oxford University Press, 1974, p.327.
5. Anderson, John, The Struggle for the Schools,
Na i r o b.i : Lo n qma n+Kc n y a , 1970, p.19.
6 . 1bid., r. ,1 •
7. Lugumba, S.iLE., i\ llistory of Education in
East A[rico, S.N.E. Lugumba and I.C.
Ssekamba. Kampala: Kampala Bookshop,
1973, p.3.
10. Lugumba, Op. Cit., p.5.
8. Furley, Op. Cit., p.80.
9. East African Standard Newspaper, 24th October,
ISl03, tra i rou.i, Kc ny a , p.4.
103
11. Stenhouse, L., Culture and Education, London:
Nelson, 1971, p.26.
12. Lugumba, Op. Cit., p.4.
13. Ibid., p.22.
14. Ibid., p.22.
15. Ibiu., p.22.
16. Ibid., p.13.
17. Kenya, Colony and Protectorate. Education
Department Annual Summary, 1955. Nairobi:
Government Printer, p.14.
18. Stenhouse, Op. Cit., p.54.
19. Ibiu., p.56.
20. Kc ny a , l'linislryof Economic Planning and
Deve Lopme n -, Statistics Division,
l~conoll1icSurvey 1970, 1Jairobi: Government
Printer, p.170.
21. Education, EmploYi.lentand P.ura1 Development,
Proceedings ... Kericho, Kenya ... 25th
September to 1st October, 1966, airobi:
East Afri can Publishing House, 1967, p.21.
22. Raju, Beulah. Education and Employment
Opportunities in Kenya. Proceedings
104
Kericho, Steptember, 1966, Nairobi: East
l\[rican Publishing !louse, 1967, p.83.
23. Ibid., p.83.
24. Ghai, Dharum, Society, Education and
Development ... proceedings 4-6,
October, 1971, Nairobi: University of
Nuirobi, 1972, p.50.
25. Omamo, W.O., The Challenge of Teacher Education
in Rural Transformation. Proceedings of a
Conference ... 4-6, October, 1971, Nairobi:
University of Nairobi, 1972, p.16.
26. The Encyc10p;:tedia0fEd uca ionaiM edia ,
Communications and Technology, Derick
Inw i : and I<av. j·lcleesc,ed., 1978,
-ia cm i I La n , p . 115.
27. t-oi, u.:1nicl, "Education for nemployment",
h r I y.:1 T i IIIC s i;c'.':S Du p'2 r, (N 0 vern b e r 6 t h ,
1983), p.6, Co1.1.
28. Kirorei, J., 'Its the \'irongEducation", Daily
l..:1tion t!e ,.!spa per, (J u n e 23rd, 1983 ), p . 7 ,
Co1. 2 .
29. Sin 9 h , t,1 a 1 k i at, "The Gre2t Debate Continues",
Dail y na tion NeV!sDapC' r, 28th January ,
1:J!33,p.14, Col.S.
105
30. 0 j iambo, II., "Continuing the Communi ty 's
Education", The Standard Newspaper,
Nairobi: 16th July, 1983, p.9, Col.3.
33. Skirrow, G.A., "New Challenge to Some
Traditional Assumptions", Educational
1'1edia International, 1980, (1).
31. Mbithi, Philip, "Education for Rural
Development, The Kenya Teacher, No.24,
(April, 1978), p.14.
32. Singh, Malkiat, Op. Cit., p.14.
34. The \'10 r 1 d Book El1cyc lopaedia, Vo1. ] 2, London:
World-Book Childraft International Inc.,
1979, p. 229.
35. Ibid., p.2JO.
36 .i -l 0 -Ld J3a I k, '1' i i r c1 Ldue a t ion alP r 0 j e c t l nth e
Rcpu bLi c o I Keny a (Lo r r owe r ) and
International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (Lender), Loan No. 1184-
KE December, 1975, (p.14).
in all the primary teachers colleges. The effect
CI-ll\PTEI"I.T lREE
1-1ETI-lODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
The methods, me a su ri riq instruments, and the
procedures followed to achieve the stated objectives
will be introduced in this chapter. The researcher
is interested in studying the resources available
,
of these resources in the process of teaching and
learning will be investi9ated. The personnel and
related areas will also be studied. The relationship
between the; learning re;source;s centers in primary
teachers colleges and other similar establishments
will be included in the study. The chapter therefore,
will cover the important clements mentioned earlier.
Any research findings reached without an \
extensive litera ure rev i ew ba ck i nq according to
)
the Open Univeristy Study, (1973) is at its worst
fundamentully unsound, and ut its best bears
accidental relevance to what has gone before.
l\ny researcher in this cuse ho.s 0 be very familiar
with the necessary theories in tJ e field of study.
This chapter therefore ho.s been bused on the
li tera ture rev i ewe d in the area mentioned, and the
nut ureo f des ign se1ec t c' d VI h ichi s eval uative sur ve y .
The investigution w i Ll be clone through the
use o[ three llleusuring instruments. The questionnaire,
107
the interview, and the observation methods have been
used for the purpose. The process was done in tVlO
stages. The first stage VIas to test the
questionnaire with a selected sample of three primary
the final survey. The researchers in this area as
teachers colleges out of the seventeen in the
republic of Kenya.
This stage was necessary before engaging into
observed by the same report agree that, scales or
measures tha t have not been tested jeopardi ze the
whole inquiry. The quality of the data collected
also relies heavily on the quality of measures
adopted.
The second stage \-10. s to use the ref ined
questionnaire on all the primary teachers colleges
I
in Kenya. The que s t i on no ires we rc persona lly
administered for he reasons to be explained in
section 3.7 of this chupter. After this stage of
data collection in the ll1ulnstudy, the need to
ver ify some data arose vh en the questions on
personnel classifications, the use of some materials
and equ i pmc nt s wo re not c Jear. The use of resources
by the tutors and students, the storage of the
resources aJso needed a continuous observation by
the researcher. These tv.o methods were done
simultaneously. l\ 11 the co 11eges \-!ere invol v edin
this exercise as w i Ll, be shown be Low ,
108
3.2 The Reseilrch Sample
The study under review, being that of the
availability, use and the effect of the resources
to the process of learning ilnd teilching in all the
primary teachers colleges, the researcher found it
necessary to include all the colleges in the survey
to reilch the objectives stated.
Two previously conducted researches on the same
topic had covered il small sample of three colleges.
The two surveys had covered two of the same colleges
out of the three covered, ilnd therefore, the coverage
was no t wi.cl e enough to give a true picture of the
population. Ng'ethe (1986), hild covered Thogoto,
Kilimambogo, and f.1achakosteachers colleges. In
the stLld y, III ceo ncc11l rC:l Lion v, aS IIIain Iyon tile
\
administration of the resources and the personnel
side. Lwa riq asi (1985), in a similar study covered
two of the colleges Ng'cthe hild used, those are
Thogoto and Hachakos teachers colleges. Eregi was
the third college used by L~angasi. In this study,
he had concen tra t ed rno rc on the development of the
learning resources in these colleges. A profile of
the personnel pioneers in the colleges are well
covered in his study.'
A wider coverage \','as though t necessary by
the researcher for the reasons given. Other
109
researchers 1n this area emphasize that, a study
that is too small is unlikely to produce meaningful
or reliable results. IIyman (1955), and Sudman and
Bradburn (1979) concluded that, in a survey research,
a large sample that can represent the population would
bo more reliable in this case.
The information to be presented in the study
there fore, \v ill have been co llected f rom all the
colleges that Hill have responded to the questionnaire.
Sixteen of these colleges are publicly supported, or
are financec1 by the ('linjstry of Education. One college,
or Kamagambo Teachers College is privately managed,
and financed by church oriented group. The student
population and other elements In<1)' differ from the
other sixteen coLlcqcs vh i ch have been described
before. The methods used to inquire the information
as stated in the ol.j cct i vos.w i Ll be presented in the
next section of this chcp t er .
3 . 3 . Designing and l~e[ininq the Questionnaire
The decision to use the questionnaire,
intervieH and the observation Has based on the
nature of the research design and review of the
literature. Several researchers in this area, like
Suduia n and Dl'ac..1burn,Cl report of IJational Opinion
Research Center, (NORC) af filia t.ed with the
110
University of Chicago and the Survey Research
Laboratory, (SEL) of the University of Illinois
have engaged in a serles of experiemental surveys
to examine the effects of a variety of procedures,
and aspects of questionnaire construction that might
affect responses in sample surveys. Their findings
reveal that, the most important area to investigate
WClS tllClto[ response effects reJated to threatening
questions: these are the questions to which
respondents might respond untruthfully. Although
they have not given advantage of the use of one type
of methods of measurement over the other, they imply
that the use of more than one type of measure improves
the reliability and validity of the results.
each with merits and limitations. The researcher
l\r(JUIl1entsover v.h i ch instrument to use over
the other have arisen over years. To resolve the
doubts, o i c may ~sk , wh i ch lS better, a hammer or
a handsaw? Of course, you can not use one for the
o ther, cach has its r01r~ to l? 1ai . In cases of
research, each research tool is appropriate in a
given situation to accomplish a particular purpose,
has to make decisions depending on the design
selected.
Best (1959), observes that, the limitations
of words are particular hazards in the questionnaire.
subjects ll1 action, it is much more complex. Both
111
The same words may mean different things to different
people. The questionnaire maker has one interpretation
while the respondents may have different
interpretations.
In the intervie~, or in the conversation,
one 1S able to clear u~ the misunderstanding by
restating the questions by inflection of the voice,
by suggestions and examples. But the written
questions stand by themselves, often ambiguous and
misunderstood. In this case, Best seernsEo favour
the use of interview after the use of the
questionnaire.
The observation nethod was used because
certain types of information can best be obtained
through direct exami na tion by the researcher. i'lhen
I
the information concerns aspects of material objects
or specimens, the ~rocess is relatively simple, and
may consist of classifying measur'?s or counting.
But when the process involves the study of human
reliability and validit~' are improved when
observations are mL1de a':.different intervals by the
same person. It is w i t:1these ideas in mind the
.invcstiqo t.or in this survey concluded that the three
types of instruments should be used to bring out
the stated objectives.
112
The designing and refining of the
questionnaire was done in three stages. The first
draft was done by the researcher uSlng the guide-
lines given by Gest. The second stage was to test
the questionnaire using a class of graduate students
of the depurtment of Educational Communciations and
Technology at Kenya t t a University. The group was
selected due to their pust experiences while teaching
in primary teachers colleges. Their suggestions
and recommenda tions were therefore, based on
professional experiences in primary teachers
colleges which we re being surveyed.
l\ not her dru f t; \.;a s w ritten us 1ng tho se
suggestions given und u revised copy was again used
in the pilot t cst in +h rco selected primary teachers
colleges. These ve re Jjighrid~e, Thogoto and Machakos
t c (1c h o r s <. • 0 1 1 c CJC S • 'I'lln three st(1ses were necessary
in order to reveCll defects that the researcher may
have not noticed. The corrections we re made, and
the final copy drafted to be used in the main study.
T e questionnai.re used In this stage consisted of
eight major parts wh i ch we re further subdivided to
make a totul of one hundred and eleven items which
w i 11 be descr ibed in the next section of this chapter.
3.4 DescriDtion of tll'~ Questionnaire
Thi s see tion of chap t.e r three w i. 11 give a
113
brief description of the first measuring instrumento
which is the qnestionnaire.
The final copy of the questionnaire was used to
collect the data which has been broken down as follows:
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VlI
VIII
College information
General information
The personnel
Other services
Physical facilities
Audio-visual equipments
Other materials and equipment
The use of the Learning Resources
Each of tl e headings shown have been further
div .idcd .i nLo items <J ccord i ng to the informa tion
required. Host of t he items provi ded for a check
ma rk of (V), yes or no , or cLosccl form type of
questions. A f ev, open-ended type wh i ch wou ld give
personal opinions ~ere also provided.
Questions one to seven ~ere designed to get
the .inforrua t i on on the ava i Lab i Lit y of aL'l the
resources including hurua n . Question eight w as
designed to solicit information from the tutors
and s t.ud cn t s w ho are t h: users o I the resources and
the center.
questions as
The investigator tried to make the
short as possible, only long
enough to get the essential data In the
114
questionnaire instrument. The other step to follow
in this process will be to test the items with a
selected sample of three colleges.
3.5 The pilot Test
It was the intention of the researcher to
collect the needed data using postal method. During.
thc pilot tcst, it bccame necessary to deliver the
questionnaires to the colleges personally, and to
collect them a week later.
For the purpose of testing the questionnaires,
the investigator sent the second draft to a sample
T\-10 wc cks La ter, the
'"forms had not been sent to the investigator. At
this staC]c, it bccame nccessary [or the researcher
to visit those colleges v. i t.h n ew forms. After
es t abLishi ng rapport \.;it h the r eLovant per sonne 1s,
they agreed t ha t, there we re problems wh i ch prevented
t hcm [rom Li Ll i.nq tile quc st i onna i ros . The three
colleges agreed to fill the forms, and the researcher
would collect them a week later. Two forms were
filled and ready wh cn u second visit was made. It
was at this stage the researcher concluded that,
the postal method may not give enC?ugh data, as those
problems, t.hat kept the se lected sample from filling
the questionnaire may also prevent the other colleges
[rom fillinC] the rest o[ the [arms.
115
The extra effort put into testing the
inquiry forms was worth it. Some questions that
seemed ambiguous in this test were corrected. The
attitude of the respondents gave clue to the
researcher, and a different approach of collecting
the data was considered. This confirms Shipman's
belief (1981) that, the need to get the information
beneath the surface of the responses is important,
and can improve the responses. The interraction
between the respondents and the researcher is also
believed to bring a higher percentage of the
responses.
From the responses of the selected sample,
the corrections were made, an a final copy made
[or use in tl c Linn 1 s rvcy . The proccss used
will e ex~lained in the next section.
3.6 The i\dIninislratiun of the QU'3stionnaire
'1'her cason s \':hy III e Cj uest ion nair es we re
delivered and collected personally by the researcher
have been ex~luined above. The arrangement to visit
the colleges has been rna de t.hrouqh a letter addressed
to the principals of all he colJeges. Reference to
this item can be made in Appendix D. The visits
werc made, a rid the que st ionna ire s admi nis tered with
favourable responses. From this observation, the
researcher aqrecs w i t h :~hipIn(\nand Bradburn,
116
and Sudman (1971) that, when rapport has been
established 0y face to face interaction, the
anxiety and perceived fears are minimized, and the
responses become more positive. Some simple
adjustments in methods of collecting data can be
made to improve reporting. There are some questions
that involve the process or human bei~gs in action
that requires observation, of which an instant
answ~r cannot be obtained. Other questions, due
to language differences need further clarification,
for these reasons the decision to verify some of
these questions wa s made. The process in which the
re searcher used \v i11 be expla incd in the next sect i or
of this chapter.
It beca.ro ncccssary for t.h e investigator to
verify some quc st i ons that gave answe rs wh i ch seemed
.i nconsis j r-: t vi i.h most of the expo ct ed responses.
The questions rela ed to resour~es and resources
centers we re confused I)), those colleges wh i ch were
behind in understanding the concept of the resources
and its im~lication. A clear understanding of the
differences and or similarities seemed to be lacking,
and therefore crcatinC) some confusion. The personnel
section also confused the names given to people
do i nq di Lfcrcn t; jobs. ClarificoLion in such cases
117
were necessary. The be hcvi.ourof the users of the
resources and the facilities was also necessary
through observation. A decision to visit half of
the previously visited colleges WQS reached, and
two days in each college seemed adequate for this
purpose. It was a very rewarding exercise, as the
persons responding to these questions had become
familiar with the researcher and in most cases
exchanged views on different questions. The
observation instrument used as a second measuring
tool will be described next .
••
3.6.2 Observation Schedule
For the purpose of behaviour observation of
the users I wh i ch includes the t ut ors and the
students. i\n on- the- rou tine obse rva tion, or ,th~
users in their dLlil).'use of the LLlcilities and the
resources \·.'as used. The rna in concern was to deal
\", .i.t11 sec t.ion eigh t ( 'If I I]) 0 f the CJuest ion nair e .
A check list was desisnec1 to deal w i th
specific items or areas to be observed. This was
done as the researcher sat at various focal points
of the learning resources centers. The resources
that needed to be observed, the records used by the
adm i ni st ration of the centers we re also observed.
The other instrument used about the same time will
be introduced in the nex t; section of this chapter.
118
3.6.3 Intervie\v Schedule
To get the depth of some questions dealing
with observation and opinion of the managers or those
incharge of the activities of the learning resources
centers, the researcher thought it would reveal a lot
more if an in terv .i ew \-1cJ.Sschedu led to dea 1 with these
type of questions. The person who filled the
questionnaire was thought to be the best to give
the information requircd. The main concern was the
opinion on the purpose of the learning resources,
the contr ibution t.owards the process of learning
and teaching, problems and satisfaction experienced
in the process of performing their job. An
interview guide was prepared and used in the exercise.
He 1iabi 1i .y and va lidi ty are very crucia 1
to ul1y type of !l1C'Clsuremcnt.The measuring instruments,
therefore, arc of prime .impo rtance . In this case
the resccJ.rcher hcJ.schosen three instruments to
achieve the intendec1 objectives. These are the
questionnc:lire, the intcrview and observation. Each
data gathering device selected has been used because
of its uni qu e con ·ribu ·.iontowa rds the process of
data coJlection. Asking questions and getting
answers involves .i n t oroct i on . The attitude of the
respondents in the intcrcJ.ction, and the motivation
created by the topic IllCll--:Pull the difference in
119
reporting. l\bsence of the t.wo may result to under
reporting. The investigator in this case has
personally interacted with the respondents during
the process of collecting data. The information
gathered using the three instruments will be
ana lysed in the chapter to follow.
CI!APTEl{ FOUR
AN~LYSIS AND OGSERVATIOr
4.1 Introduction
This chapter is concerned with finding out the
availability, use and effectiveness of the resources
for learning and teaching in the primary teachers
colleges.
To do the inquiry, the researcher has used
three methods of de a collection. The que st i on na i re
method has been used to do the major inquiry. The
interview and observation schedule have also been
used for the areas that need person to person
relationship as well as personal observation of the
facilities and the activities in action.
The quc st i.onn ai re lS further divided into eight
majar area s to be i:':'JC st.i ga tecJ)whose re f ere nee can
be macle in l',)pe d i x ,-:. 'l'i is section covers the
college .i nLorma t aon , gencru1 .i n f orma t i on , the
personne 1, other service s, phys ica1 faci Li, tie s ,
uudio-visual muterio.1s, non projec-ed materials,
dup~icating facilities, and the use and effectiveness
of all of them.
Section t v.o of t-he chapter covers the interview
with the personnel incharge of the LRC. The last
section presents the results of the observation
sche.:5.~lethat covered the facilities, the resources
121
themselves, and the users in action at the resorces
center. The analysis in this case will follow the
sameorder.
4.2 Analysis for Section One
The analysis In this section will cover the
questionnaire of which reference can be made in
lIppendix 1\. The que s ti onna ire ha s covered eigh t
different areas of the resources centers of which
the ana l y s i s of the d a t a w i Ll cover.
4.2.1 College Information
Under this heading, [0 r items from the
ques t ionna i r e are covered, that is numbers, 1.1
to 1.4. The r e s po: s e to item 1.1 identifies the
seventeen pr im•o r y teachers co l Leq e s wh i c h can be
ref er ed in 1\ pe rid i x. E. I tern nu: be r 1.2 was designed
for the purpose o I' 1:. e q uc s .i on na i r e administration,
nd t ie r e [ore, h a s at been inc 1uded in the ana lys is.
The posi tion i nd i c a ted l n res o n s e to item number
1.3 ar e for those \·:10 filled the q estionnaire as
vi l l be observed in TLlble IV.l.
122
Tl\BLE IV.l - Sho\'Jingtll(~ rosi tions of the Respondents
Position Frequency Percentage
Deputy Principal 1 6.3
LRC in Charge 4 25.0
Deputy LRC in Charge 1 6.3
Librarian 2 12.5
Lecturer LRC ln Charge 4 25.0
Assistant Lecturer LRC 1 6.3
Tutor Librarian 3 18.8
Total 16 100. (1)
1\11 the seve 11 - C en co 11c9es ',';'? ref urn ish ed with
the questionnaire forms [or the purpose of
investigaLing the ava i Labi Li t y oI the learning
resources center and the rcsources in primary
tcachers colleges. The rcsponses showed that, four
questionnaires or 25 per cent ~ere filled by the
porsonneI .i ncharqc of tl c resources centers in those
colleges w ho se posi tions are backed by their LRC
professional background. four other colleges or
2S per cent had similar backgrounds, but used a
diffcrent nLlmc;[or the same position. TvJO colleges
or 12.5 per cent is very much in the same situation,
123
but used the name librariall. The other five
respondents were selected by the principal by
virtue of their familiarity with the resources center.
In reference to item 1.4 on student population,
the [allowing table will analyse all the colleges)
whose names have been coded for easier presentation
and the names can be referred in 1\ppendix E.
T1\BLE IV.2 - Indicating the Students Population for
T\vo Years
I
COLLEGES 1984 1985 COLLEGES 1984 1985 INCREASE
1\ 837 8S0 J 820 918
B 686 667 K 914 912
C - - L I 320 450
D 400 440 H - -
I
E i 964 ]00S tJ - 43
I
F 135 135 0 735 784
j
I
G i 800 883 P 250 760
H I 900 998 Q - -
L 344 4:1 G
Total 8105 9291 1186
Po r c e n t a qe 12.8
124
From table IV.2, we can see that fourteen
colleges responded to this item while three colleges
failed to respond to the item. For the two years,
the students increased by 1186 students or 12.8 per
cent. Two colleges or college F and N, shows a low
population. College f is a private college, whose
population depends on the available financial
resources the managemont can afford. College N
had just opened and therefore, there were no
students in 1984, and the population for the year
1985 is low to accomondate the only facilities that
were complete at the time.
4.2.2 Genoral Information
This seccion has twenty items covering all
t11car cas 0 [ t11ere sou J: C C S centers . The purpose
\
of the section is to inquire the information related
to he facilities und Llctivities of the resources
centers.
Items 2~l and 2.2 of the questionnaire inquires
specificully the numes used by the colleges for the
building that houses the learning and teaching
resources in primary touchers colleges. The
following Table will reveal those names.
125
TABLE IV.3 - Reveuling th~ Names Used by Different
Colleges
LRC Names Frequency Per Centages
LRC 8 50.0
Library/Museam 1 6.3
Library 4 25.0
Librury/Store 2 12.5
Library/LRC 1 6.3
Total 16 100. (1)
Th~ l1umes us~d by th~ colleges differ
significantly a s t lie abo vc 'ruble reveals. The most
commonly used name is Learning R~sources Center
follow~cJ uy the library. The leust used names are
the combinQtion of Library/Museam and Library/LRC.
if. 2.3 Teac 1ers and the !~~sources
1t~IIIS2.3 to 2.9 lir.:!tllsw i t.h the resources used
by subject tutors, teacl er's produced materials and
the s t o raqc o u t s i c}c .hc rc sou rco s centers.
The re spo nse s q i vcn In response to item 2.3
about the subject tutors, eleven colleges or 64.7
per cent incJictlted thut lh~ teuchers in most cases
store the materials the; use in the department stores
or the sttlf[ roolll. Five colleges or 29.4 p~r cent
of the respondents indictlted that they leave the
126
materials in the class room after use.
did not return the questionnaire.
One college
l\s [or item 2.4, the materiols that are used
by teachers in the process of teaching and learning,
fourteen of 87.5% of the sixteen colleges reported
thClt these motcriols Lire college property. The
other two or 12.5% of the respondents indicated that
there are some material that belong to the teachers
themselves. The few materials belonging to the
teachers had been inherited from other teachers.
The use of the lCL1rning resources center as
inquired by items 2.5, 2.6 and 2.7, twelve colleges
or 75 per cent of the respondents indicated that
teachers use the LRC the leost. fifteen colleges
or 88 per cent of the re:spondents reported to item
number 2.5. They indicoted that s udents more than
the tutors used the LHC. One colleges or 6.25 per
cent did not respond co this item. In response to
item 2.7 o[ the questionnLiire, thirteen colleges or
76 per cent of the respondents indicated that the
teachers make use of tie available resources. Three
colleges or 18.25 per cent indicated that the teachers
prefer lecturing without the use of the resources
avoilable.
4.2.4 The Material Production
The informL1tion on material production by the
127
tutors have been inquired by the questionnaire item
number 2.0. Sixteen colleges responded to the two
items as follows: twelve colleges or 75 per cent
reported that there is some materials production
in the colleges,by some tutors. Three colleges or
IB.75 per cent reported t hat there has not been any
~aterial production by the tutors, and that the tutors
prefer the traditional lecturing without the teaching
aids. One college or 6.25 per cent did not return
the questionniare.
Item 2.9 inquired where the teachers keep the
materials they produce after use. The following
Table will show the responses by different colleges.
TABLE IV, <1 - Sho\·.'ingthe Rooms \-.'herethe Resources
are K~pt
~--------
OFFICES L-i<EQUENCY PERCENTAGE
Depurtment SL:.ore 2 12.50
Department Office 7 43.75
Ll"\C 3 18.75
3 18.75staff ROOr:l
TI\C 1 6.25
_. -
Total 16 100.0
128
The analysis on Table IV.4 shows that the
colleges do not have a policy on the materials the
teachers produce for the purpose of teaching and
learning. Seven colleges or 43.75 per cent of respondents
store such materials in the department offices. Three
colleges or 18.75 per cent store them at the LRC while
the other three keep them in the staff room. One
college or 6.75 per cen t reported tha t the teachers
store the materials in the Teachers Advisory Center
('l'I\C) . This college has an advantage of having the
TAC adjacent to the teachers college.
4.2.5 ProJuction and Usc of Resources by Students
The report received from items 2.10, 2.11, and
2 .12 that inqui red \','hethe r the co 11ege 0 f fer s a
course 011 ['L'oc]uctiol1anr] use of the learning and
tea chi 11g i11clj cCl to d 1 Cl t . [i ftee n co 11eges 0 r 93.75
per ccn t; or fer both t.ho orc t i ca L and practical course
in this respect. One college did not respond to
these items. The period of instruction differed
from collego to college, and therefore, the researcher
\'Jasnot able to make any significant observation in
this aspect.
4.2.6 lnservice Courses on Production and Use
1\11 the co lLcqes received a copy of the
ques t. i.onnairc: Ou t of the seven t ecn colleges tha t
train primary school t cachers , wh ere the use of the
129
learning and teaching resources is of paramount
importance, the items 2.13 and 2.14 we re designed
to inquire whether the teachers are constantly
reminded of the value and the new methods of
producing the learning and teaching resources through
. .lnserVlce courses. The responses to the two items
will be tabulated on the following Table!
'l'AI3LEIV. 5 - Showing the 1\vailabi lity of the
Inservicc Courses
SITUl\'l'ION FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
l\vailability 5 31. 25
t'one 11 68. 75
.--
Total 16 100. a
The rcsult s of t hr: anqu i ry on the inservice
courses to the tutors of the pr i n.o ry teachers colleges
show t ha t only f i.ve coLl cqes or 31. 25 per cent of the
respondents have had such courses. Eleven respondents
or 68.75 per cent indicated that, there has not been
any of such courses of f ored in their colleges.
4.2.7 LRC Sitting Capacity
Question 2.15 inquired the spaces available
for the use r:sat. t11c nc\.'1.yes tab J ish ed LRC . The
f o lLowi nq table w i lI revea L this information:
130
TABLE IV.6 - Identifying the Colleges and the Sitting
Capacity
Colleges Capacity Colleges Capacity
A 200 I 100
B 200 J
C 70 K 300
D 100 L 180
E 40 M 200.
F 55 N 30
G 100 0 150
H P 200
No response 2 12.50
TABLE IV.7 - Showing the Sitting Capacity in GroupsI
Group Frequency Percentage
Under 100 4 25
100 and over 10 62.50
Total 16 100.0
131
The responses to item 2.15 show that ten of the
seventeen colleges that returned the questionnaire
forms or 62.5 per cent have a sitting capacity of
one hundred and over users. Four colleges or 25
per cent indicated that the sitting capacity is for
less than one hundred users. The other two colleges
did not respond to this item as can be seen on Table
IV.? College F is a private college, while the N
was the newest and therefore, the facility was
incomplete. The other two had chairs which determined
the sitting capacity.
4.2.8 The Inventory
Item 2.16 of the questionnaire investigated
the facilities available at the learning resources
center for storage and making the information
accessable to both students and tutors. The item
is divided into eight units or a-f. The following
Table will show the facilities investigated. A key
has been provided to identify the items in mention.
The questionnaire was delivered to all L~e primary
teachers colleges, and the results are tabulated
in the Table to follow. A (~) check has been used
to show that the item existed while a (x check
shows that the item does not exist. Symbol ( - )
indicates that the colleges did not rAspond to the
items while that of (+) after the college indicates
only those colleges with all the items.
132
TABLE IV.8 - Identifying some Essential Items at the
Resources Centres
COLLEGES CC DR BS MR BRD NB
A* v V- I,/' . v~ V V-
-----
B v X v-- v V 1-'_~.---
C* V- I./'" \/ v V •... -?----- - - -
D* V v ~ v v- I.-/-----
E* v .;.•..•..•... v- I,,- V ,,-
F* v V- I.---' ~ i,- 1-/-- - --
G V ~ v .)( &.-- j../
- - -- -H
-- -- - -
1* v 0./' I.-- - •.... /l- L--"'-- ------
J* V v v V &.--V
K (,o- X v X 1--- &.-
L [,- X v - X----- - -- I- I--
M 1/ >< Xl.- I-- - 1------ ._---
N* i.--""""V- I...- v \--
l -
0*
1/' v L-- v ,l.-- l·---- - - - ------ - --- _.. --.p
----
------- ------- --
Key:
CC - Card ca.talogue
DR - Display Racks
BS - Book Shelves
MR - Magazine Racks
BRD - Borrowing and Returning Desk
NB - Notice Board
- Available
X - Not Available
- No Response
133
From the Table shown, it seems that nine
colleges with stars or 56.25 per cent have all the
itemrs inquired. The other colleges that responded
to item 2.16 are five or 31.25 per cent that have
all items except two which are display racks (DR)
and magazine racks (MR). Two colleges or 12.5 per
cent did not respond to the item. The responses
indicated that, the colleges had most of the items
they needed.
The inventory of other resources has been
investigated by questions 2.17 and 2.18. The
results of the questions shows that, thirteen
colleges that responded to the two items or 81.25
per cent take inventory once a year. One college
or 6.25 per cent reported that it has not taken
inventory at all, while the other two colleges or
12.50 per cent did not respond to the items.
4 • 2 . 9 Books
All the colleges were furnished with the inquiry
forms. Item 2.19 and 2.20 attempted to get the
information on the number of books each college
holds and the number each college purchases per year.
Two years or 1984 and 1985, were used for this purpose.
Table IV.9 will show the situation in each college.
134
TABLE IV. 9 - The Stock and the Book Increase ln 1984
unc1 1985
,0
COLLEGES SrOCK ADDITION COLLEGES STOCK .ADDITION.1983 1984 1985 1983 1984 1985
A - - - J - 300 1300
B 13000 150 200 K 6000 571 911
C 15000 300 4S0 L 13000 2000 2000
D - - - M 4000 200 -
t1
1590E 12000 S22 778 N 12000 570
F - 100 - 0 10000 938 1719
G 700 - - p 10000 5000 200
II 900 240 1000 Q 0 0 0
I - eoo -
From \-.110 abov-.-Tubl(", we can 51212 variations in
both stock and thc Z1nnuul increase of the book stock.
I\'ecan also ooscrve t v.o cxt rerne cases. One respondent
w i t.h a stock of 01 l)'sevon hundred books, the other
one with [iCtccn tllousZ1nds,a di[["rence of fourteen
thousand, and three I undred books. The largest
number o[ book lnCre<lSC 1n one ycur can be observed
f rom college P \"J ith five thousand books wh i le the
smaLl.c s tT'r, o no hundred in co l.Lc q e F. A difference of
four thousand, nine hundred books.
135
4.2.10 Newspapers and Magazines
Among the other group of printed media are
magazines and newspapers. Question 2.21 and 2.22
were designed to investigate whether the colleges
make use of these media. The report of the
respondents indicated that there is not enough
money to subscribe to magazines. The only magazine
that is subscribed to is Weekly Review. six
respondens or 37.5 per cent subscribe to Weekly
Review. Among the newspapers, ten respondents, or
62.5 per cent reported that they subscribe to the
three daily newspapers and Sunday papers, those are
the Nation, The Standard and The Kenya Times. The
Irest of the colleges do not subscribe to any of the
daily news papers. Other few available magazines
at the centre or staff rooms are gifts from
different agents and institutions.
4.2.11 Classification of the Resources
The information on classification of books and
other resources have been inquired by questions
2.23, 2.24 and 2.25. The responses are as follows.
136
Tl\BLE IV.l0 - Type of C 12ssificaa tion and the
C 1<l S ~.;ifie 0. L j 0n for I)uuksun dot hC r
Resources.
ITENS INQUIRED FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
Books Classified 16 100.0
Not classified - -
No respunse -- -
Total 16 100.0
Non-Books Classified 6 37.5
Not classified 10 62.5
No Response -- --
Total 1 100.0
C1ass if icC1 tion De wa y classified 15 ')1.-75
Library of cogress 1 6.25
~
-------+--- ---
16 100.(0)
From the Table presented, it shows all the
colleges but one have c]Jssified the books using the
Dewey classification. One college which is college
N from Appendix E uses Library of Congress
classification. On non book resources, ten respondents
or 62.5 pe r cent helve no t; classified this group of
resources. Six of the respondents or 37.5 per cent
ha vc c Lassi Li od these rr-s ou rccs .
137
4.3 Personnel
The section on categories of personnel has been
desigried to inquire into the information related to
the types of people working at the learning resource
centers. The number of persons in each group has
been investigated. Training of the personnel incharge
of the learning resources center, the period of
operation of the facilities have also been investigated.
The section has been divided into three major
questions which have been further divided into
different number of items.
The quality of the personnel in any institution
is determined by the qualifications of the personnel
selected to do the job. The quality of the service
rendered in this case would be determined by the
staffing policy used to make the decisions. It is
with this in mind that the researcher designed
questions 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 to inquire into the
situation as it is in the learning resources centers
in primary teachers colleges. The responses will
be tabulated in the following Table!
138
TABLE IV)ll- Showing Personnel Qualifications and
the Number in Each College
COLLEGES I RP L TL LA TEC PRJ SA SEC 0
A 1 - 1 - - - - - 1
B 1 - - - - - - - -
C 1 - 1 - 1 - - - -
0 1 - - - - 3 - -
E 1 - 1 1 - - 4 - 1
F - - - 1 - - 5 - -
G 1 8 1 ,- - - - - -
H I - - - - - - - - -
I 1 - I
- - - - - - 2
J I 1 - I
1 1 - - 5 - -
I
K I - - 1 3 10I I
- - - -
I 1 IL i - I 1 - - - 4 - 3II I IM I 1 2 I
I
1- I - - I - - -III I IN ! 1 - I 1 1 - - 18 1 -i I 1I II I
\
0 1 - - 1 - I - 22 - -I,I
1P I -1 -1 -1 I: - - - -
\
- -I
I
j
Ke y : RP Resource Personnel
S1\ Student Assistant
L = Librarian SEe = Secretary
TL = Teacher LibrClrian 0 = Other
LA
.TEC
Library Assistant
Technician
ProjectionistPHJ
139
Table IV.ll identifies the personnel working
at the LRC in the fifteen colleges that responded
to item 3.1. There is only one technician post
identified while that of a projectionist is not
filled. The student assistants seem to be utilized
in several colleges. Included in the 'OTHER' column
are cleaners, clerks and other unidentified persons
who occassionally help at the LRC.
The three senior-most professional posts are
filled by ten LP or 62.5 per cent while two posts
or 12.5 per cent are filled by librarians. The
posts of teacher librarians working at the resource
centers are held by eight persons or 50.0 per cent
\of the respondetns. Two colleges did not respond
to this question.
The questionnaire item number 3.2 inquires into
information of the period of operation af the LRC as
a recognized active unit of the college learning
establishment. Table IV.12 is showing the period
the LRC have been functioning under the new role.
140
T1\BLE IV.12 - ShoVling the Year the LRCs were Opened
COLLEGES YE1\R COLLEGES YEAR
1\ 1984 J -
B 1984 K 1984
C 1984 L 1985
D - M 1984
E - N 1984
F 1970 0 1982
G 1981 P 1983
!
H I 1982 !
I ,
I
I ! 1982
I
Six of the respondents or 37.5 er cent had opened
Different dates have been given of which the
LRCs were opened. Six colleges or 37.5 per cent
of the respondents have given 19~4 as the date the
colleges actively used the LHC as un extent ion of
the learning activities of the colleges. One college
or 6.25 per cen of the respondents opened in 1985.
earlier thun 1984. The other three colleges as can be
observed from the Table, .did not respond to the item as
they did not have the information.
Item number 3.3 on the LEC professional
training of the personnel In charse of the center
has the f oLlow i.n q responscs i > Thirteen colleges
that represented 81.25 per cent of the respondents
141
reported that, the personnel incharge or deputizing
had their training in this area at Kenyatta University.
Two respondents or 12.5 per cent reported that, they
received their training in universities outside the
country. Only one college that failed to respond
to the question.
4.4. Other Services
Under this heading the researcher intends to
investigate other services provided by other
institutions to inform and educate the public in
general in the republic. The investigator further
tries to inquire whether there is some kind of
arrangement of co-operation between these
establishments. Included in the section are eight
questions related to this inquiry. Table IV.12
has sununa ri.zed the responses g l ven by the colleges
inquired by items 4.1 to 4.8 of the questionnaire.
4.4.1 The Teachers l\dvisory Center
The summary from Table IV.13 shows the list
of all the colleges that were furnished with the
questionnaire. Items 4. 1 to 4.3 inquireS into the
information concerning the availability of the
teachers advisory centers (TAC) near the primary
teachers colleges and whether the tutors of these
colleges make use of the centers to supplement the
142
resources in their own resources centers.
The responses recei.ved from the three items
reveals that, out of the sixteen colleges, fifteen
colleges or 93.75 per cent have a Teachers Advisory
Center near the colleges. One college or 6.25 per
cent failed to respond to this item.
On the use of the Teachers Advisory Centers
by the teachers' colleges, 60 per cent of the
respondents indicated that lack of materials and
poor services are among the reasons why the colleges
do not make use of this facility. Five colleges
or 33.3 per cent of the respondents indicated that
they make some use of the Teachers' Advisory Centers
which are near the colleges. One college as indicated
above did not respond to the item.
Table IV.13 to follow will tabulate the information
on other services as inquired by items 4.4 and 4.5 of the
questionnaire.
143
TABLE IV.13 - Summarising Other Services Available
------- -.I
TAC V .-0.K. NLS
----
V X v v- I
v'v V -v~l---I,
I
v X v v
----
1./ X v
v/j...- V l.-
V )<.
~OLLEGES
I IA !
L - ------ ---i-
B
- ------ ----- ..J- _
C
D
E
F
G ><
v v'
H
I v
J
K v
L
"' ..•. "....- ~
j -- ----- -- - -- --M
v
N I-----f--
p
o v
'---
Key:
TAC - Teachers Advisory Center
V.O.K. - Voice of Kenya
NLS - National Library Services
V - Available
X - Not Available
VV - Available and Useful
144
4.4.2 The Voice of Kenya
The information on the use of the Voice of Kenya
programmes by the tutors of the primary teachers'
colleges, items 4.4 and 4.5 have been used to inquire
into this information. The responses are shown in
Table IV.13. Eleven colleges or 68.75 per cent of
the respondents indicated that they do not make use
of the VOice of Kenya (V.O.K.) The respondents also
indicated that the programmes released by the Voice of
Kenya are not relevant to the colleges, and therefore,
they do not make use of them. Five of the respondents
or 31.25 per cent indicated that lack of equipment or
radio-cassettes are among the reasons why they do not
make use of the programmes.
Five respondents as can be observed from Table
IV.13 or 31.3 per cent of the respondents on the use
of Voice of Kenya show that, they make some use of
the programmes, but the broadcast does not correspond
with college time table, some tutors tape-record the
programmes and use them in their educational lessons
at a later date.
4.4.3 The National Library Services
The services rendered by the National Library
Services to the public has been investigated by the
questionnaire items number 4.6 to 4.8. Fourteen
145
colleges or 87.5 per cent of the respondents reported
that they are aware of the services offered by the
National Library Services of Kenya around the primary
colleges. Eleven out of this number or 68.75 per
cent indicated that they make use of the services.
Only four respondents or 26.7 per cent indicated
that they do not make use of these facilities. Among
the reasons given by the respondents for not using
the National Library Services is lack of awareness,
and distance from the colleges and the location of
the services given by the National Library Services.
Two colleges did not respond to the question on the
National Library Services.
From the summary of the responses on Table
IV.13, we can observe that, of the three services
mentioned, the National Library Services is the most
used by the tutors of the primary teachers colleges.
Of the fourteen respondents, or 87.5 per cent make
good use of the services. The least used of the
other services is the voice of Kenya, 68.75 per cent
do not use the facility.
4.5 Other Physical Facilities
The summary of the responses given by the
colleges on other physical facilities is shown on Tables
IV.14 & IV.15. Under this section, four items or item
number 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4 are all inquiring into the
there are plans to get it in the near future. Item
146
access to electrici ty and the elec trical related
information. All the colleges were furnished with
the questionnaire form. Item 5.1 inquires whether
the college has electrical power, and if not if
5.3 investigates whether the classrooms are fitted
with power points. Item 5.4 deals with the
projection rooms for the use of viewing films and
other projected materials. The responses will be
analysed on the following Tables.
TAI3LE IV.l 4 - Showing the Accessabili ty of the
Electricity
FACILITY FREQUENCEY PERCENTAGE
Power 15 93 . 75
No-power - -
No response I 1 6-25
i Total 16 100.0
TABLE IV.15 - The Availability of Projection Rooms
FACILITY FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
I --Projection rooms 4 25.0
No projection rooms 10 62.5
I No response I 2 12.5-I Ir ---I Total I 16 100.0I
147
The observation from the two Tables shows
that, the colleges that responded on access to the
electricity were sixteen or 93.75 per cent, that had
the power in their colleges. One college or 6.25
per cent did not respond to the question.
Four out of sixteen colleg~s that responded
to item 5.4 or 25.0 per cent of the responses revealed
that they have a projection room. The other ten
colleges that responded to the question or62.5 per
cent indicated that they do not have a projection
room. Two colleges or 12.5 per cent did not respond
to the question.
4.6 Audio-Visual Materials
The availability and the use of the audio-visual
lmaterials have been investigated by questlons 6.1
(a-h) and 6.2 (a-d). These questions have been
designed to inquire fro the seventeen colleges the
equipment they hold that deals with audio and visual.
software. The extent tll~.machines are used by the
tutors and students have also been inquired by the
two major questions, of which the analysis will be
observed from Table IV.1S and IV.16.
148
TABLE IV.16 - The Availability and Use of the Audio-
Visual Equipment
I . -- -- - - ...•. ---I COLLEGES i16MMP !BWSBP! LSP
I A V-v - ./
l--- B-- v. ~ . .,...-J "'v
I .,.
FSP r TV I VTR -'OHP
x I V
)<. I I ./VVj .>:•......i V v
_. ,---- ----- .
vv
x. Vv
v
I ,/y
- ---.--- -+-----r---+-I ----
I vV'l-;- .
I V '
- .._--_.
x, v- ,/
X. V
- ./ v
X- V v
v y IT"
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
o
Key: v _
Vv -
X -
16 MMP -
8M/S8P -
SLP -
FSP -
OHP -
OP -
TV -
VTR -
L,-- ~
- -I
L,-/ v'
./v ')(
Vv
v V
·',..V x .> •.....
I V;••...y- x. IV'""
No response
Available
Available and Very Useful
Not Available
16 Milimeter Film Projector
8 Milimeters / Super 8 Proejctor
Slides Proejctor
Film Strip Projector
Overhead Projector
Opaque Proejctor
Television
Video Tapes Recorder
that they owned the equipment. Sevpn respondents of
149
4.6.1 16mm Film Projectors
The availability and use of this group of
equipment have been inquired by questionn 6.1 (a)
which will be observed on Table IV.16. Fifteen
colleges out of sixteen colleges that were furnished
with the questionnaire, or 93.75 per cent of the
respondents indicated that they own one or more
of 16mm projectors and that, the equipment is very
useful to the tutors. One college or 6.25 per cent
did not respond to the item on 16mm projector.
4.6.2 Super 818m Projectors
All the colleges that were furnished with the
1uestionnaire or 100.0 per cent of the respondptns
reported that they do not have these equipment.
The respondents reported that the equipment was
obsole~e.
4.6.3 Slide Projec~ors
On the slide projectors question, fourteen
colleges or 87.5 per cent of the respondents indicated
item 6.1(c) on slide projectors reported that the
equipment is very useful to the tutors. The other
seven of the respondents reported that, the equipment
is available but rarely used by either the tutors or
the students.
150
4.6.4 The Film Strip Projectors
In response to item number 6.1(d), six colleges
or 37.5 per cent reported that they owned the equipment,
but was not used by instructors. Ten colleges or 62.5
per cent of the respondents reported that they do not•
have the equipment.
4.6.5 Overhead Projectors (OHP)
The responses given by eleven colleges or 67.75
per cent of the respondents on item 6.1(e), indicated
that they owned this equipment and that, it is very
useful to the tutors. Five colleges, or 31.25 per
cent of the responses indicated that they owned the
equipment, but it was not well utilized. This concludes
that OHP equipment is popular with tutors.
4.6.6 The Opaque Projectors
The analysis on the availability and use of this
equipment and other similar equipment will be observed
on Table IV.17. This is as a result of the responses
received from ten colleges and that they were very well
used. Six of the other colleges that responded to item
6.1(f) or 37.5 per cent indicated that these colleges
do not have the equipment. This shows that the
equipment is not contributing much to teaching and
learning.
151
4.6.7 Television Set
Among the other investigated equipment and
pnalysed on Table IV.16 is the television set. Item
6.1(g) has been designed to inquire into this informa-
tion. Ten colleges responded to the item inquiring on
the television sets, or 62.5 per cent. They revealed
that they owned a set of television each. Seven of
these reported that the sets are useful in the process
of teaching and learning. Four colleges that reported
that they owned the set indicated that the equipment
are r.otvery much used for the purpose of teaching
and learning. Five colleges or 31.25 per cent di~ not
respond to item 6.l(g), while one college failed to
return the questionnaire.
4.6.8 The Video Tape Recorder (VTR)
As for item 6.1(b), the analysis can also be
observed on Table IV.15 which tabulates the audio-
visual equipment. Fourteen colleges or 87.5 per cent
of the sixteen colleges that responded to this item
revealed that they have video tape recorders. Five
of the fourteen colleges that owned the equipment,
or 31.25 per cent reported that the equipment
is very useful. The other nine colleges or
56.25 per cent of those that owned the equipment
152
revealed that it is not very much used. Two colleges
reported that they do not have the equipment while
one college failed to respond to the item on video
tape recorder.
The observation of the audio-visual equipment
on Table IV.16 reveals that 16mm projectors are
very popular with tutors of the primary teachers'
colleges. Thus, 93.75 per cent of the machines are very
useful to the tutors of the primary teachers colleges.
The OHP is the second most useful of all the visual
equipment. The least available and useful of all
the equipment is the FSP. Observa tion from the Table
indicates that, the 8mm/S8P do
of the colleges.
not exist in any
4.6.9 Aud·o-Eguipmen~
Among the investigated equipment are the
cassette recorders, reel-to-reel recorders, record
players and the radio equipments. Question 6.2 a-d
have been used to investigate this group of
equipments. Table IV.l7 has been used to tabulate
the responses received from the sixteen colleges
that responded to the questions under investigation.
4.6.9.1 The Radio Cassette
This equipment was investigated by item 6.2.
(a). Fifteen colleges or 93.75.per cent of the
153
respondents reported that they owned the equipment.
Eight of the fifteen respondents indicated that the
equipment is well used by the tutors in those colleges.
The other seven which reported that they owned the
equipment revealed that the equipment is not used for
the purpose of teaching and learning. One college
reported that they do not have the equipment, while
the other one did not return the questionnaire at all.
4.6.9.2 Reel-to-Reel Recorder
All the sixteen colleges that responded to the
questionnaire gave the information as follows: Ten
respondents or 62.5 per cent indicated that they owned
this equipment. Of the other colleges that responded
to this item, report~d that they do not own t~e
equipment. One of the ten colleges that reported
ownership of the equipment indicated that the
equipment is very much used by the tutors. The other
nine revealed that it is hardly used by the tutors,
and therefore, the equipment does not contribute much
to the learners or tutors.
4.6.9.3 The Records Player
On this equipment, only seven colleges or 43.75
per cent reported owning the equipment and that it is
hardly used by the tutors or studetns. Nine other
154
TABLE rv.17 - Availability and Use of the Audio
Key: v"-
v·v-
x -
Equipment
COLLEGES R/C RR REP RA
A V x V' x
B V x V x
C VV'" vV l.- V
0 vV v V- V-
E v V v x
F x x x x
G V x x x
H vV' .> x x
- ...
r t.----v V x x
J V V- I x x
K vv x I x )L..
L v v"" V x x
f'.1 V X- V x
N V V- x x
0 V V (..../" \../ x
P I \,/ x xV-
Available
AVQilable and Useful
Not Available
R/C - Radio/Casessete
RR - Reel to Reel Recorde
REP - Records Player
RT\ - Radio
155
colleges, or 56.25 per cent indicated that they do
not have the equipment. The observation is that the
equipment does not contribute to either learning or
~eaching.
4.6.9.4 The Radio
The item investigating the radio equipment was
responded by sixteen colleges. Thirteen of these
colleges or 81.25 per cent indicated that they do
not have the radio equipme~t. Two of the sixteen
or 12.5 per cEnt reported that this equipment is not
used for the pur~ose of teaching and learning. This
is an indication that the radio equipment unlike
radio cassette is not popular.
Table IV.16 has analysed the responses of the
four audio equipment. The observation shows that
the most available and used equipment is the radio-
cassette equipment. The least available and useful
is the radio itselt without the recording facility.
Although the reel-to-reel equipment are available
to the colleges, only one of the ten colleges make
use of the equipment.
156
4.7 Non-Projected Materials
.•The other group of materials investigated
through the use of the questionnaire are non
projected materials that are used by the tutors
in primary teachers' colleges. Included in this
group are charts, globes, maps, models, magnetic
boards and the flannel boards. Table IV.lS will
be used to summarize the responses received.
Question 7.1 (a-f) have been used to inquire into the
information from all the primary teachers colleges.
157
T,.ABLEIV.1S - Availability of Non-Projected Materials
~---- -- ---
COLLEGES
--
CH GL MA MO IMAG FL
A v--;./ v v- I--- c..-- x )l- x
B ....--v vv- Xv-~ v- X. »:
------
C .....-c..- vV' 1---1/ X »: x..
-----
D vv' X\.-- .•... v- I-- X »:
E (...-....-- v'v- I ••...•V' X x )(.
--------
F v- •.•. ••.... ...,... ..- •... x x A
G c..-- v I/" c..- Vv- X X »:
H ....-- •... v •...- vv )( )( X
I c-- ~...- Vv vV' v X »;
J •.....v Vv' x ><. X
---- ----- -_._------.- ------
Key:
!- K
I
-----
I L v Vv- Vv v X )(
M '- '- v-....- .•.... c- &-- 'x, .x.-- ---
N •.... L v- v- I V v >(
_. ------ 'x
0 v ~
I-
v v i v .., I ....-- X .~I PI 1/ v' \.--- X
I_-
v v X- x;.__ -.-l ---
CH - Charts
GL - Globes
MA - Maps
MO - Models
MAG - Magnetic Board
FL - Flannel Board
V - Available
vV- Available and Useful
X - Not Available
No Response
158
4.7.1 The Charts
The responses received from the inquiry on
charts reveals that, all the colleges that responded
to item number 7.1(a) or 87.5 per cent of the
respondents indicated that they have variety of
charts in their colleges, and that they are well
utilized by the tutors. Two colelges or 12.5 per
cent of the colleges did not respond to the item.
4.7.2 Globes
The globes were investigated by item number
6.3. (b) of the questionnaire. Fourteen colleges or
87.5 per cent responded to this ltem. They all
indicated that they have one or more globes in their
colleges and that they are very much used by the
tutors in the relevant ccurses. The other 12.5 per
cent which represents two colleges did not respond
to the item. This is an indication of a well
utilized resource in the process of learning and
teaching.
4.7.3 The Maps
Among the other groups of materials inquired
by item number 6.3(c), are maps. Fifteen colleges
or 93.75 per cent of the colleges indicated that
they own more than one map for the use by the tutors
in the relevant courses. One college did not respond
to the item on the map inquiry.
159
4.7.4 Models
The models were inquired by question number
6.3. (d). All the colleges but one or 94.1 per cent
responded to this item as follows: - seven colleges
or 50 per cent of the respondents indicated that
they have models in those colleges, and that they
are very useful to the tutors of those colleges.
The other seven respondents or 50 per cent revealed
that they do not have models in those colleges. Only
two colleges failed to respond to this inquiry.
4.7.5 Magnetic/Flannel Boards
The two items have been inquired by questions
6.3(e and f). Fifteen colleges or 93.75 per cent of
all the colleges reported that they do not have any
of the two items. One college did not respond to
the questions.
4.8 Duplicating Equipment
The researcher further inquired into the
reprographic area. The equipment for inquiry were
the ink duplicators, spirit duplicators, electronic
stencil cutter, and the photo-copying machines.
Questions 6.4(a-d) have been designed to get this
information. Table IV.19 will tabulate the responses
received from the inquiry.
160
All the colleges were furnished with the
questionnaire to inquire which of the machines are
available to the primary teachers' colleges for the
purpose of duplicating the materials for the tutors
in the process of teaching and learning.
TABLE IV.l9 - Showing the Availability of the
Duplicating Equipment
COLLEGES 10 SO ESe PC
A vv- v x x
B vv v-- x x
e ........v I \.,/ x x
0 I ..\...-,J v x x
E v-v v- I x I x
F IvV' \ v- x Vv·:
G I I I]v- V \..--'" X x
l! jv-v- I l....- I x I x
I Iv v 'v'" I x I x
J 1\/ V y-- X X
j K I . 1 x I xIv-~ v-
L Ivv I v x x
t-l Ivv I v- I x x
I --I I xI v l/ I./'" 'v'" _--
0 lv-v v- I x x
p I v L,./ I v- I y~-,
Key: 10 - Ink duplicator
SO - Spirit duplicator
ESC - Electronic Stencil
PC - Photo copier
v - Available
v v - Available and useful
x - Not available
162
and this equipment in the process of teaching and
learning. The above equipment was inquired by item
number 6.4 (d). The responses received shows that,
only two colleges owned the equipment, and that they
f Thl'rteen ~olleges or 81.25 per centare very use ul. -
Lnd i cated that they do not have thisof the respondents
1 Cost. service, and materialsequipment in their col eges.
were mentioned as limiting factors.
The observLltion [rom table IV.19 shows the
responses given from questions on duplicating machines
in the colleges inquired. The most available and
used of all the equipment is the ink duplicator with
100.0 per cent availability and use of the equipment.
The spirit duplicator has a high percentage of
availability but very low usage to the tutors or
any other member of staff .
.....,
4.9 The Use of Learning Hesources Center
The researcher has attempted to bring together
different definitions used by different people at
different times of the learning resources center
or media center. As opposed to a library, this
center is an active place where materials or resources,
people ideas and processes interact for the ~etterment
of teaching and learning. The resources available
include print and non-print materials available
where the tutors can use them at their own time
163
and their own choice. with this concept in mind,
the researcher has designed question 8.2 (a-j) to
investigate how this interaction is taking place and
the extent to which it is enhancing the process of
teaching and learning. Table IV.20(a) has been used
to tabulate this information.
TABLE IV.20(a) - Listing the Reason for Using Resource
Centers by Tutors and Students
REASON STUDENTS TUTORS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
Borrowing/
returning 84 33 117 81.25
Do assignemnts 72 24 96 66.7
General use 70 19 89 61.8
Leisure reading 36 5 41 28.5
Prepare lessons 28 17 45 31.25
Working
atmosphere 62 11 73 50.7
The use of the Learning Resources Centers in
Primary Teachers' Colleges has been investigated
using a sample of randomly selected three tutors
and six students from each college. A total of one
hundred and forty four (144) users were expected, but
some colleges did not respond to the questionnaire.
In this case, the responses received from item 8.2
(a-j) has been tabulated in Table IV.20(a) above.
164
From the summary of the responses shown in
able IV.20 (Cl), item 8.2 (a a rid b) inquires into the
information on borrowing and returning books and
other materials. One hundred and seventeen users
or 81.25 per cent indica ted tha t they make use of
books and other materials from the resources center.
Question 8.2. (c- f) investigated wh at motivate
the users to go to the resources center. A total of
ninety six users or 66.7 per cent indicated that
they visit the center to do the Clssignment. Eighty
nine users or 61.8 per cent indicClted that they go
to the center to borrow materials in their subjects
of interests.
On leisure reading, the respondents nu~bering
forty one or 28.5 per cent indicated that, they visit
the center for leisure reading.
A total of forty five respondents or 31.25 per
cent reported t ha t; they use the center for the
purpose of preparing their lessons.
Ques tion 8.2. (g- j) inquired whe ther the LRC
provides the environment conducive to learnc--:gand
teaching by both students and tutors. Item 8. 2(g)
was responded by seventy three users or 50.7 per
cent who indicated that the LRC provides good
environment for learning Clnd teaching.
165
Noise and lighting were investigated by item
number 7.2 (ll-i), fifteen users or 10.4 per cent
indicated that the noise keep them from using the
LRC. Items (i) and (j) were not responded to as can
be observed in Table IV.20(b).
TABLE IV.20(b) - Showing the Reasons Why Some Users
do not [.lakeUse of the Resources
REI\SONS FOR STUDENTS TUTORS FHEQUENCY PERCENTAGENON USE
Noise 15 - 15 10.4
Poor lighting - - - -
Other - - - -
,
From tle two 'La b Le s , it seems like the resources
specifically books .and other materials are well
borrowed by both students and tutors. 81.25 per cent
indicates that they o rrow books and other materials
from LRC. I\lso from the item dealing with learning
and teaching environment at the center, 50.7 per
cent indicate that the center provides environment
condusive to learning and teaching, and that noise
and lighting are not issue worth commenting on.
166
4.10 Specific Resources Used
A Resources center as has been mentioned
elsewhere, is intended to hold variety of resources,
both books and non-book materials readily available
to be used by both students in their assignments as
well as general use. It is also supposed to assist
the tutors in their lessons and general knowledge.
Question 8.3 (a-h) have specific resources that are used
by the students and the tutors.
A sample of randomly selected three tutors and
six students from each college have been used to
give this information. A total of one hundred and
forty four (144) users were expected, but some
colleges or nine users did not responded to the
question. Table IV.21 has been used to summa~ize
the responses.
TABLE IV.21 S ecific Resources Used by
Studen s and Tutors
RESOURCES STUDENTS TUTORS TOTAL PERCENTAGE
Books 96 32 128 88.9
N"'~wspape rs £12 29 . 71 41.3
f'1agazi nes 16 25 41 28.5
f\laps 36 8 44 30.5
Globes 6 2 I 8 5.6Charts 18 10 28 19..4
Pictures 22 6 28 19.4
Microforms - - - -
167
4.10.1I3ooks
Books are some of the resources available at
the LRC to be used by tutors and students. Item
8.3(a) has inquired how books are used to facilitate
learning and teaching. The sample selected at random
from tutors and students reveal that, books are
heavily used. A total of one hundred and twenty
eight (128) users or 88.9 per cent indicated that
they have used books from the resources center.
4.10.2 Newspapers and Magazines
'l'h i s is another group of print media. They
contain the most recent information than books.
Questions 8.3 (b-c) have been designed to investigate
wh e t her they are ava i LabLe and used by tutors and
students. The same sample used for books has been
used for the two media mentioned of six students
and three teachers. A total of seventy one (71)
and forty one (41) n sers of newspapers and magazines
or 41.3 per cent and 28.5 per cent respectively were
the responses given by t1e sixteen colleges that
responded to the question.
4.10.3Maps and Globes
Although the two resources mentioned are
associC1ted with the study of geography in schools,
literature reviews that they are fundamental in a
168
whole range of human activities. We use them not
only in all forms of travel, but also to interpret
tommorrow's weather and todays events ln far parts
of the world.l Item number 8.3 (d-e) inquires into the
use of the two media.
The use of maps was responded by forty four
users out of one hundred and thirty five, or 30.5
per cent who indicated that they have used maps
during their stay in those colleges that responded
to the question.
A total of eight users or 5.6 per cent of the
respondents indicated that they have used the globe
in the process of teaching and learning.
4.10.4 Char.s and Pic -urcs
\
A chart to the teacher is a graphic means of
presenting a variety of related materials on a large
sheet of paper or cardboard to be used in a class.
Pictures are opaque representations of visual
images, as in a painting, drawing, or photograph.
The many sources and vast numbers of pictures
available at little or no cost is a significant
practical advantage to teachers with limited funds
£. . . 1 2-or lnstructlonal materla s. Question 8.3 (f-g)
inquires whether these two resources are used by
the tutors and students.
169
As for pictures, the same number of respondents,
or twenty eight in number or 19.4 per cent have used
pictures during their stay in those colleges that
responded to the question.
Charts have been used by a total of twenty
eight or 19.4 per cent of respondents.
4.10.5 1'1icroforms
Included in this group of resources are
microforms, which is a s~ecial type of filmstrip
on which pages of books, newspapers, magazjnes and
other printed materials have been photographed in
miniature form. Variations on microforms include
microcards, on wh i ch a large number of individual
frames have been photographed, and individual slides
called mi~rof iche wh i ch con tain undreds of greatly
miniaturized frames. They are all used in special
viewers which enlarge the images to readable size.3
Item number 8.3 (h) hus Geen used to inquire whether
the users of the learning resources center make
use of this media. From Table IV.20, the observation
shows that none of the colleges have used this
resource as the colleges do not have them.
From the inquiry on specific resources used
by tutors and students, the responses received
indicates that books are the most used of all the
resources with an 88.9 per cent usage. The globes are the
170
least used of the resour~es inquired with 5.6~ of
the responses received. Charts and pictures with
19.4 per cent each which rreamsthat, they are not very
much in use.
4.11 Analysis from Interview
Eight colleges out of the seventeen pri~ary
teacher training colleges were selected for the
purpose of interview. Four from ~estern province namely,
Kericho, Migori, Eregi and Kaimosi teachers' colleges.
From Central and Eastern Provinces, Kamwenj~ Meru,
Egoji and Kilimambogo colleges were also selected
for this purpose.
To get a good grasp of the necessary information
regarding the opinions of the LRC personnel, the
researcher felt that t he re wa s a need to have personal
interview with about half of those incharge of the
LHC.
The interview schedule was mainly concerned
with how far the objectives of the programme have
been achieved. The ~ersoi1nel and the problems or
gratifications on the job. Also the program
development and its contribution towards the process
of learning and teaching. The organization of this
section of the analysis will follow in this order.
171
4.11.1 Objectives
All the eight managers of the LRC were
interviewed on the area of the objectives, and goals
of LRC and they all responded that the LRC has
achieved alot in implementing some of the original
objectives of the programme such a; introducing the
concept of educational technology and the systematic
approach to educational problem solving. The tutors
have responded positively although there have been
some problems related to implementation due to
shortuge of personnel in this urou. 1\11 the eight
managers reported that they spend most of their time
in lecturing other than LRC duties, and therefore,
they are left with very little time to concentrate
in the area of LEe concept. The teachers are
enthusiastic about th~ concept but lack of personnel
and up+t.o+da te in f 0 rma ~ion has 1JC.~ena snag in thi s
area.
There is a need for regular seminars or
inservice training for the managers of the LRC and
the teachers or tutors to be kept up-to-date in the
area of educational technology uccording to the
expressions of the eight managers of the eight
colleges interviewed.
172
4.11.2 Personnel
A general feeling of the eight LRC managers
indicated that a policy to guide the managers and
the administration is lacking. Each college has to
decide how the concept is to be introduced and how
the job is to be carried out. The colleges with
administrators who are resources oriented have
benef ited tremendously. Two colleges out of the eight
have been lucky to have such administrators namely
Kericho and Eregi. Other colleges expressed the
need for inservicing the ~dministrators in the area
of LRC concept.
4.11.3 l'lorale
1\ 10\" morale of all the grades of the personnels
\working with LRC was expressed by all the eight
managers intervie'ded and some technicians. 1\11 the
eight man~gers expressed lack of ~ny incentives to
retain or attract them into this area. Majority of
the trained managers of the LHC have left their posts
to other better paid similar posts in other
institutions. Those who are remaining expressed
d i ssepo i.ntme nt s with the \,'~ythe r-t i ni st.ry of Education
has handled the resources proq rarnme • In absence of a
policy or job description, the managers do not know.to
whom to turn to express their disappointments. A good
number of t hem expressed a desire to go back to
173
lecturing in their subject areas other than manage
the LRC under the circumstances.
4.11.4 The Technicians
Only one college out of the eight had a
trained technician, this one college with a trained
technician expressed the fear of loosing him any
time to go to other institutions who have better
terms of service. The other seven indicated that
they have posts which have been advertized, but no
body would apply [or the posts because of poor terms
of service. The on job technician trainees admitted
incompetence In hundling the machines. With the
~anager already over-loaded with class-room lecturing
and other LRC duties, the trainee does not ha~e the
guidance or help from anybody, and therefore, the
muchines rCllloiredunder-utilized except the video-
systems wh i ch is used for micro-teaching. There
was a genero1 expression by the ci<jlltmanagers that,
the machines ~ould be better utilized if the colleges
had trained technicians, or if the tutors were more
familiar w i th the ruach i nes . Again, the need for
inservicing the tutors in the use of the machines
would also benefit them in implementing the LRC
concept.
4.11.5 Benefits
The low morale among the LRC staff as expressed
by all the respondents waE due to lack of a policy on
LRC implementation in prima~y teachers colleges.
There was a promise from the Ministry of Education
to the LRC course participants that, at the completion
of the course, they would be awarded a diploma that
would be equivalent to those offered by the University
of Nairobi or Kenyatta University for the purpose
of professional advancement. By the time of this
interview, this had not been awarded. As regards
financial benefits, the managers reported that they
had got only one annual increment after long
negotiations which they would have got without
attending the course. Lack of professional
satisfaction or financial benefits have contributed
to the low morale more than any other factor
according to the eight respondents.
4.11.6 Programme Development
1\11 the eigl t rcsporid i riq colleges, expressed
several problems observed during the implementation
process. From the construction of the building
itself, the furniture, the equipment, the staffing
and the resources themselves.
175
4.11.7 Construction
All the eight respondents expressed lack of
coordination of activities during the construction
of the building itself. A lot of things had to be
demolished and done agaln. The colleges did not
kn6w who to contact when things were poorly done.
A general feeling was that, the administration would
have been involved in planning and construction for
a smooth beginning.
4.11.8 Equipment
One college reported that some equipment
were stolen before the boxes were opened. This
college has remained without those equipment since
then. In absence of a process to follow up t he
activities, the college does not know what to do.
All the colleges interviewed reported that there
is no budget allocated to the LRC. When the machines
go out of order, they remain unrepaired. Only one
colle~e reported having sent one machine to Nairobi
for repa ir \;111 ich is a long way to the college. ~'ihere
there is no budqe t. alloca t ed to the L}{C, and the repairs
have to be done from the general college fund,
priorities will be determined by the needs of the
college as a whole.
17 6
4.11.9 Printed Materials
In the absence of a budget for the LRC, all the
colleges reported that, very few books have been
purchased by the colleges, and that most of what
they have so far, has been donated mainly by the
British Council. A few from Kenya National Library
Services have been donated to two colleges. The
need for a formular for the development of the
collection was expressed by all the colleges
interviewed.
4.11.10 l\ccessories
There were some furniture and curtains which
were supposed to be a part of LRC package at the
opening o[ the LHC, but because of the poor
coordination of activitie~ ~ost of the colleges
did not get them, and hove remained without them
since then.
4.11.11 Other Components
1\11 the managers of the LHC reported
cooperation from the teachers and the administration
although some apprehension was expressed by some
colleges. The tutors recognize the value of the
proq rarnrne, they see the potential in the programme but
most of them do not have the confidence with the
new technology, they feel more secure with the
177
traditional methods, therefore, they avoid getting
too involved with the technology.
On the side of the adminstration, the new
technology without the suggested budget/personnel,
equipment and related software means extra administ-
rative problems. The programme is too new, it has
not proved its worth, it has been imposed on them
and it is there to stay, but a general opinion of
the respondents shows that, regular inservice coruses
for the college administration, together with all the
tutors is needed for a healthy beginning of the new
programme.
Other components are establishments like the
Teachers Service Commission, (TSC), the Ministry of
Education which directly cr indirectLY deals with the
policies dealing with primary teachers colleges. All
the respondents reported the need for better methods
of communication between these establishments and the
colleges themselves. Three principals that I managed
to talk to, expressed this opinion. Two extreme
cases occurred during the construction of the building
itself when some work was not finished. The principals
did not know who to contact to get the work finished.
The contractors had hired sub-contractors who were not
known to the college principal and could not be contacted.
178
As far as the staff members are concerned,
those working with the resources center expressed theview
that, they do not know to whom to take their grievances,
as the TSC is not responsible. Nobody in Jogoo House
seems to know where to start or how to start dealing
with the problem. The Kenya Institute of Education
(KIE) does not have the machinery to deal with such
grievances according to the respondents.
4.12 Observation Schedule
The purpose of the researcher in this section
was to verify some of the answers obtained from the
questionnaire forms. The questions needing the
availability and use of the physical facilitie3 and
\
the behaviour of the users in action.
The researcher spent two days in each of the
eight selected colleges for the purpose of the
interviews and observations. Appendix C is provided
as a guideline for the observed activities for the
eight colleges observed.
4.12.1 Physical Facilities
All the visited colleges for this purpose had
a completed complex of the LRC with the necessary
furniture as suggested by items number 2.1 and
2.16, a-f.
179
4 . 12.2 Resources Co llec tion
In reference to item 2.1-7, the researcher
went through the shelves of all the colleges visited,
the observation was that most of the shelves are
empty. To put it more clearly, there are more empty
shelves than the areas covered by the books or other
materials. Some books that are observable on the
shelves are too old and outdated, and therefore of
no use to the users. Only one college out of eight
which is Kericho Teachers College that seemed well
developed.
4.12.3 Production of 1'-10 eriC11s
The items 2.8 to 2.12 which covers the
production of j a erials by teachers and students
influenced the investigator to visit the workshops
of all the colleges visited. 1\11 the colleges have
workshops with the necessary facilities. Seven out
of the c i qh t; wo rkshops wc re full oI different kinds
of student productions. One workshop is used as a
classroom and therefore, the production work was
probably done eLsewh ere . From the look of the
produced materials, there was lack of enough materials
to be used by students, an element of financial
strains can be observed in all areas of material
production.
180
4.12.4 The Studio
This is 'vher e the act ion is. It is a
heavily used area of the LRC. The only major
problem Jbserved was the size of the studio. The
size seems too small for micro-teaching sessions.
The room and the video systems are very well used
although the teachers have to have several groups
use the facility at different times because of the
size.
4.12.5 Users Behaviour
Section eight (vi.Li) of the que s ti.o nna i re attempted
to find out how the LHC and the resources are used
by both students and the tutors. It was not easy
to observe any behaviour that would show the real
value of the resources as far as the users are
concerned. First of all the place gets too crowded
for the tutors to use the facility as it was pointed
out f rom the interv .iew , Secondly, as it was explained
earlier, there are not enough general reading books
to attract the readers, other than to do the
assignments. Two of the eight colleges do not open
in the evenings because of lack of staff. It was
pointed out by all the respondents that those working
at the LRC have as much teaching load as all the
other tutors, and therefore have little time to
give to the LHC. The other six of the LRC do open
181
ln the evening although they expressed the need for
the situation to be reviewed. Where the LRC is open
after the working hours, the students tend to
concentrate on doing the assignments for the reasons
given earlier.
Th~ information gathered through the use of
questionnaire, interview and observation have been
ana lysed in this section. The conclusions reached
will be presented in the next chapter.
182
REFERENCES
1. Wittich,W.A. and C.F. Schuller, Audio-Visual
r-ta t eri aLs . lIaper & RO\v, New York, 1968,
p. 255.
2. Ibid., p. 99.
3. Ibid., p. 355.
CH1\PTER rIVE
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS AND SUGGESTIONS
5.1 Introduction
The technological developments have penetrated
into our total life. Th~have changed our means of
travelling, our eating habits and even the methods of
educating our young people and the ~ociety in general.
In schools today, different methods of imparting the
knowledge to the learners are tried, different media
are also tried, all for the sake of giving the best
knowledge and skills and the best known approach of
reaching these goals. This development requires a
thorough understanding of educational problems, and
the bes t known approaches of solving those problems.
The deve~opment of appropriate technology ln
education cannot be achieved by chance. It is
through planning, and a continuous evaluation of the
methods and media that can be used under the existing
economic situations of a given country. 1\11 the
necessary aspects that contribute to good learning
and teaching need to be considered before any decisions
are mad e .
The conclusions of the survery involving the
primary teachers colleges will be reported in this
chapter. The development of the resource centers
in these co llege s w i 11 be reported in the next
184
paragraph. The effect of the approach used in the
implementation process will also be included in this
section.
5.1.1 Development of a Resource Center
A successful media program is not related to
the size of its budget or the amount of capital
investment, but to who is running it now, and whose
idea it was in the first place, observes Rumney (1977)
and Beswick (1975). Experience shows that,' a
successful resources programme grows organically from
school outwards, rather than f rom any other direction.
It is most important [or the mecliu person to be
ace epted by the peers oft he pro fession a1 staff.
Equally important is to have someone senior enough
in the orgunization to give the programme
unquestionable sanctions from the beginning, observes
the same s udy.
The data collecteJ and ana lysed in the section
of the development of resources programmes at primary
teachers colleges shmv that, the learning resources
cen t ers . are run by per sons wh ose posi tions have not
been identified and clarified. Table VI.l shows the
titles used for the persons doing the same job. This
alone, according to the interview responses has
contributed to anxiety on the part of the media
personnels, low morale, and lack of committment and
185
resistance towards educational technology as a
concept.
The resource persons interviewed, and the
principals indicated that, the development of the
resource centers have been mainly influenced by
external forces other than the needs of the teachers.
Both groups expressed disappointment by being excluded
at any level in designing and planning the development
of these centers. Their contributions towards this
development would have been based on the real
educational problems. This would have made all the
difference in the success of the learning resource
centers.
The litera ure reviewed on this programme show
that, the total lanning and designing was done\by
the Project Imple entation Unit created by the
Ministry of Education in 1970.
Froll\both Llle qu('stionnairc reporting and the
interview with the resource personnels, it was
observed tha , lack of proper communication between
the implementers and the consumers who are the
teaching staff and the students is very apparent,
Table IV.l and Table IV.3 show that, a uniform system
of identifying the titles of those incharge of the
resource centers, and the progranme itself is lacking.
The colleges have been left alone to interpret
186
what the resource programme should be. The buildings
were provided, the busic materiuls and equipment were
also provided, the first group of resource personnels
were also trained but, a machinery to weave together
these components is lacking, hence the programme
stagnation.
5.1. 2 Facilities
The literature reviewed show that, good
facilities are motivational, lack of them actually
depresses the fulfilment of programme goals. They
warrant special consideration before new ones are
planned, and the existing ones are remodeled. For
these reasons, such a programme should be reviewed
regularly when evaluating the extent to which the
institutions are achi ev i nq the objectives.I
Pro'ision of facilities, materials and the
equipmen~ is one thing, making use of these resources
to justify tl e cost and to make the programme achieve
the objectives is another. The findings show that,
there is some inconsisLency be two cn the t.wo •
An introduction of a media programme or any ,
other educa tiona 1 prog rarnrno wo rk \-Jellwhen it actually
rue e ts the need s of the teachers. This way it receives
warmth and recognition by the teachers and the
educa tiona 1. communi ty v..110 are the consumers.
187
The facilities are provided as can be observed
from Table IV.3. The equipment. are provided in all
the colleges as shown on Table IV.14, IV.1S and IV.16.
The same Tables indicate how these facilites are used
in the process of learning and teaching. Under-
utilization of most of these equipments and materials
is due to lack of appreciation of their value towards
assisting the teachers in the course of their duty,
according to most of those resources personnels
interviewed. Lack of preparation towards the
utilization of these. facilities on the side of the
teachers is another cause of und~r-utilization. L~k
of a clear policy towards development of the center,
and a predictable process of materials and equipment
provision was also reported by all the resources
personnels interviewed.
It has been mentioned earlier that, the
planning and designing of the resource center was
done outside the colleges. In this case, the ideas
and the introduction of the centers were imposed on
the teachers. Those teachers interviewed indicated
that, they are not very comfortable with these
equipment and other materials. They expressed the
desire to learn how to use them, meaning ,that the
confidence was lacking. They all expressed a wish to
have a formal and regular seminar o~ workshop for this
purpose. 88 per cent of those interviewed indicated
188
that, teachers do not make good use of the available
resources., The studcnLs make InOLe use of these
resources mainly to do their assignments.
Several factors contribute to the low usage
of these resources. One, the reading rooms provided
are over crowded. The researcher observed this during
the continuous observation and interview. The other
factor being lack of inflow of new materials.
Absence of professional media people to give proper
service due to other teaching assignments, leaves
the users unsatisfied, this alone discourages the
teachers especially. The other factor reported had
to do w i t h lack of conunun i ca t i on be twe en the resources
personnels. The teachers are not satisfied that, the
new ruatoria 1sand equ ipme n t.s t.ha t they do not
understand wel can contribute better towards their
daily tasks.
5.1. 3 Facilities Provision
Facilities should be sufficient to underwrite
its cap <lb .i 1itie s i 11 S C rv in9 the tota1 res 0 urc~s
programme of the institution. They should support
and enhance programme activities, contributing to
their efficiency of cooperation. The users prefer
surroundings that enable them to complete their tasks
in a satisfactory way. This would be the case with
staff members, teachers or students.
189
The survey on provision of the facilities~
which include the maln building ond the necessary
rooms reveals that, the si tting capacity at the
resources centers which is based on the number of
chairs that can be fitted into the room provided
can be observed from Table IV.6. From observation
by the researcher, the room seemed uncomfortably full
When in use by the students doing assignments. From
the interview, most of the resources personnels
indicated that there has not been known policy to
guide the administration as to how to utilize the
learning resources focilities. Since the new complex
was not hormonized by the old infrastructure, some
rooms meont for resources progromme activities had
to be turned into offic~ rooms ond closs-rooms. To
the col eges involved, the offices and class-rooms
\"ere of i1 higher prior ity than the re source s acti vities
wh i cl wo re not prope rLy understood.
5.1. 4
/\ base collecLion as recomrnended by l\merican
standard Hedia Programrno (1975), allows a minimum
collection of 20,000 i ems or 40 er student.
l\n item is defined as a book, film, videotape,
filmstrip, transparency, slide, periodical subscription,
kit, any other material or associated equipment.
1\ good collection qa i ns powe r w i th good facili ties.
190
Equipment gets more use, and production of materials
lnCrCl1Ses Zlnd the lel1rncrs keep coming back readily
to the resource center.
The findings of the survey also reveals that,
there has not been known standard set for provision
of the resources. Table IV.7 shows the base collection
of books and additional stock for two years. Table
IV.16 and IV.17 shows the audio-visual equipment as
well as audio equipments in that order. The analysis
and observation reports the inquiry on Newspapers and
Magazines. The findings [rom this category reveals
that, there lS no budget for this purpose. The
colleges buy w ha t; hey can afford from the general
fund. ivlosto f the magazines are donations which are
not on regular basis. This is the case with books;
I
the additio al stock for t~o years as shown on Table
IV.7 arc dOI1l1tions. The major donor is British
Council and other agents at their discretion.
S.l.S Access to the Resources
A good media progrl1rruneshould promote access
to all the resources available at the school and
beyond. The total concept of access extends beyond
dissemination of the individual school or college
collection. Included in this process is the inter-
institutional loans, cooperation with other information
resources such as the public library, academic
191
libraries, museams, art galaries and other similar
institutions.
Provisions for access to the resources beyond
those of one programme required clearly defined
policies and procedures. A well trained personnel,
who can interpret such policies and procedures is
indispensable.
User education, in self directed search for
information should be provided to aid in expanded and
more effective uses of information sources. Reduction
of excessive structures and increasing the opportunities
for individualized activities need to be promoted.
Open scheduling permits access by individuals and
\
small groups at the time of need or interest. It
also provides ooportunities for teachers to schedule
groups of stuoents to the resources center for specific
purposes.
Table IV.6 shows the facilities identified and
sitting capacity to facilitate the procedures used to
make available the use of available resources.
Although the obervation from the Table shows that
these facilities are available, the on site oDservation
by the researcher shows that, these facilities are under
used. Lack of enough personnel is one reason for under
utilization.
192
The classification of the resources can be
observed from Table IV.9. All the colleges surveyed
except one use Dewey classification. One college
which is college N uses LibrarY'of congress
Classification. From the same table, all the books
are classified in the colleges surveyed. Among the
non-book resources, only 35.3 per cent of the colleges
have classified this group of resources.
As for other resources available in the colleges
surveyed, 'ruble IV.I} ShCMS that, only the materials
belonging to LRC are kept there. All the
other resources avaiLa b le vI ithin the colleges, either
beloiging to the colleges or individual teachers
are kept else where.
'1'11<2 inter-library lOlln llmong the colleges
resource~ centers, or other similar institutions
docs not exist uS II policy. Some negligible exchange
of materials do exist, but not as a matter of policy
or formal arrllngement.
during the interview.
This information was reported
5.2 The Use of Lellrning Hcsom:ces Center
A mec.lillprogram represents a combination of
resources that include people, materials, machines,
facilities and environment, as well as purposes and
processes. The more purposeful and effective the
mix, and the more sensitively it responds to the
193
curriculum and the learning environment, the better
the media progrLlmme.
Table IV.19(a), sununa ri ses the responses on the
use of the center by the tutors and students. 66.7
per cent and 61.8 per cent as can be observed from
Table IV.19(a)show tha t, Goth teachers and students
visit the centers. The students go mainly to do
assignments.. The teachers mostly browse on their
subject Llreas. The stu~ents more than teachers, make
more use of the center than the t.ut.ors .: The
congestiol1 is one of the reasons why the tutors do
not make use of the centers. They prefer to use the
staff room or the department office than the resources
center. The other reason is that, there are not
enough new books or rna qazines to attract the tu tors
into the resources centers. This was expressed by
a11 the tea cher s interv .i.ewe d on t his as pect .
On the side of the use of the center for the
purpose of producing the teaching materials, the
teachers expressed lack of confidence in production
techniques. hTith the resources personnel busy with
their teaching loads, they do not have the time to
guide other teachers on this area.
The specific resources used by both students
and the teuching staf f in Table IV.20 show the responses
from the questionnaire. The print media, mainly books
194
and the available magazines and newspapers are the
mo s t; conuuo nIy used. The roasons Le i riq t ha t , they
are available. From the interview, the tutors
indicated that, they hClvc not made much use of the
other resources of the enquiry. Lack of knowledge of the
whereabout of these resources, namely globes, charts
and pictures discourage the teachers from using them.
5.3 Personnel Provision
A basic resources programme requirement call
for professional personnels, technicians and aides.
Employment of sufficient technical and clerical staff
according to AASL and AEeT, who would work under the
guidance of media professionals is essential to .
programme realization. The f oILow i nq Table shows
the recommended staf:ing patterns by the two
professional associations mentioned above.
195
TABLE V.l(a): Showing the Professional Staffing Formular
Student Professional StaffPopulation
Head of a Additional
Resource l'-1edia Sub Total
Center Professional
250 1 - 1
500 1 1 1-2
1,000 1 2-3 3-4
1,500 1 3-5 4-6
2,000 1 4-7 5-8
The classification of professional staff
~or ing at resource centers at primary teachers
colleges as reported by the personnels interviewed
I
lS vague. Lack of a clear staffing policy has created
uneasiness among the professional staff in primary
teachers colleges. '1".:0 factors leading to these
feelings are that, those teachers who were trained to
introduce and develop the learning resource centers
we re prom i sed t.h a t , a L the comp Io tion of the training,
they would be aHardec1 a certificate of the Ministry
of education and that ...
investigation will be made into the
possibility of relating the course to a
University of Nairobi or Kenyatta
University Certificate. I
19 6
Certific~te of attendance w~s offered without
profession~l status. By the time thi s survey wa s
being conducted, these certificates had not been
rcv .icwc d . Thc resource professionClls expressed the
feeling of loosing the professional status. They felt
like they were neither teachers nor media personnels.
This is because of having a certificate which is not
recognized by professional associations. Table IV.7
gives a reflection of the staffing pattern as it was
during this survey. The different titles for the same
professional positions in different colleges indicate
that, a uniform staffing pattern to all the colleges
is lacking.
Half of those persons interviewed regretted
ra ving left teaching their subject area to venture
\
into·the media world which they felt that they have
not reached as yet. They lamented that, some of
their counterparts have been promoted into principal
lecturers. Efforts to sort out the professional
certification, equivalent to a recognized media .otl
and librarianship have been fruitless so far.
Other benefits like financial feed-back have
not been offered to those who were specially trained
for one year for the purpose of development of the
resources centers according to those who were
interviewed. This is another factor leading to a
197
general disatisfaction in the resources programmes at
the pril1lilryteachers colleges. Another area of
frustration has to do with the support staff.
5.3.1 The Support Staff
Support staff or media technicians and media
aides should be ...
... sufficient in size and in variety of
competence to ensure that, the media
programme operate efficiently when,'
sufficient technical and clerical skills
required, to perform particular media
services are available.2
This a Ll.ow ance lea ve s the prof es sional
personnels to give professional service to the users.
The f oLlow i nq Table show s the recommended staffing
pa t t ern of the technical staff wh i ch should be used
together with Table V.l(a).
Tl\BLE V.l(b):Shm.'ing a Staffing Formula of Support
STi\fT
Support Staff Total Staff
!'vIed.ia t·lediilr;ids Sub TotalTechnicians
1 1 2 2
1-2 2-3 3-4 4-6
3-5 3-5 6-8 0-12
4-6 4-6 8-12 12-18
5-8 5-8 10-16 15-24
Source: Media Programmes 1975, p.35.
198
The proportion of the number of the support
staff as shown on Table V.l(b), is based on the
number of students enrolled and professional staff
shown on Table V.l(a).
The findings of the inquiry on the support
staff, as can be observed in Table V.l(b),is as a
result of the questionnaire, interview and observation
by the researcher. There is a crisis in all the
primary teachers' colleges caused by lack of
technical staff. Although the posts had been
advertised by most of the colleges, no technicians
have applied for these rosts. It seems that, this
poor turn out lS a result of terms of service and
10\"; salaries. Those technicians who were trained
in the process o[ introduction and development of
\
th~ resource centers have left the colleges for
better paid jobs. All the resource personnels
interv .icwe d reported that, there is a need to review
the staffing policy, one that can attract and retain
both professional and support staff.
Six of the colleges that responded to item
on support staff reported that, they had either
technicians or projectionists. From the interview,
it was found that all the six support staff were
attendants without any training. In the course
of other duties, they hove learned how to handle
some of the machines used. They can change
199
light bulbs or other small technical jobs in the
college. In this process, they have come to be called
either technicians or projectionist. In some extreme
cases two of the personnels who were in charge of
resources centers were introduced as resource
personnels. After the interview, it was found out
that the two staff members have never been trained
as professional teachers or as resources personnel.
s . 4 0 l her ~:;c r vie c s
The hi qh co st of cduca t i onal resou rce s have
affect~d adversely education and other sectors of
the economy. This has affected not only the services
given to Kenyan population but, also in other countries.
"Haramb ee movement' in Kc nya , wh i ch simply means
ull'ng together of I e ~vailable resources and
servi ces [or a CODlIIlG! g0.:11. This practice has been
used to rec tiLy the prob lems re La ':ed to lack of
necessary resources w i th a tremendous success. The
same spiri t in \';esern v.o rId has been called, sharing
of resources and services, ma t eri o L and services
consortium and other such names. Section IV of the
questionnaire inquired [our areas of which such
practices can be applied. These are the Teachers
Advisory Centers, the Voice of Kenya and the National
Library Services. Table IV.l3 gives a summary of
these services in relation to the primary teachers'
Colleges.
200
5.4.1 The TeClchers l\dvisory Centers
The reporting of most o[ the colleges surveyed
or 88.2 per cent of the respondents indicated that,
there is a Teachers' Advisory Center within a
reasonable distance. These centers are not adequately
utilized due to lack of relevant materials, lack of
qualified personnels, and lack of awareness of the
services rend ere d, a11 \v hichi ead to under-uti 1ization
of the facility and the available resources.
5.4.2 The Voice of Kenya
The Voice of Kenya, In corraboration with
Ed uca t i ona l l'1edi<1Service, do broadcast educational
programllles for schools in different subjects. The
reporting [rom <111 the colleges surveyed sho: •.ve d that
there has not been any programmes througn the Voice
of Kenya for the use of primary teacherscolleges. Some
teachers how ever , do t.ope+ record school programmes
[or the purpose of ins ruction in their rofession<11
courses.
5.4.3 The ~:u'ionul LibrClry Sen'ices
The services renc1ere by the National Library.
Services has been the best of the three inquired
services. Most of the colleges surveyed, or 68.8
per cent ma ke use of -he Na Li ona I Library Services.
26.7 of the respondents .i nd i ca t cd that, distance and
201
lack of awareness are the only reasons why they have
All the colleges investigated reported that,
there is not any arrangement so far made to
co-ordinate sharing of resources or services among
the institutions investigated. Shanzu teachers'
college reported an advantage that other colleges
do not have. These are the services rendered by the
British Council Library in Mombasa. Among these
services, are film show s , informa tion on new books
and magazines, and lectures on the use of the resources
and related information.
5.5 f\uJ,io-Visual Equipment
Several equipment are av~ilable in primary
\t each ers colleges. Table IV.16 and IV.17 show the
surveyed equipment and their use In the process of
learning and t eac l ing.
5.5.1 TJ e 16 ml1l Film Projector
T his is the m 0st use (1 equi [.>men tam 0ng the
audio-visual materials and equipment. La ck of
relevant films and distance from the lending agencies
discourage the use.
202
5.5.2 The Television/Video System
The findings on the informution about
television and the video system is given in Table
IV.16. Fourteen out of sixteen colleges surveyed
indicated that, they owned these equipment. 35.7
per cent of the respondents reported that, they
make good use of these equipment. They are mainly
used for micro-teaching practice. Lack of technicians,
inadequate training of the resources personnel are
among the reasons for und2r utilization of the
equipment. One of the colleges surveyed showed some
of the v~deo tapes that had been taped with a class as a
p~rt of the instruction. That ~as very commendable.
From the interview, the ~esearcher found out that
technician's intererst in the use of the system was rather
~ . 'f ~. 11persona~ 11terest ano not rom proress1ona
prepara tia;, .
5.5.3 The R2dio/Casctt~
The analysis of the surveyed equipment can
be observed from Table 1"'1.17 of t be analysis. Eight
of the fifteen colleges that owned the equipment
reported that it "JuS weLl utilized. Seven colleges
reported that it was very little used. Other audio
equipment owned by the surveyed colleges are not made
use of. The reasons for under utilization are the
same as those of audio/~isual equipment.
203
5.5.4 Non Projected Materials
Among the materials surveyed in this group
are charts, globes, the maps, models and other
boards of which the analysis can be observed in Table
IV. 18 . Except the magnetic boards and flannel boards,
all the other four surveyed materiali are well used
by the respondents that reported as having them in
their resources centers or at the school. The
storage of these materials is analyzed in Table IV.4.
The findings revealed that, these materials are not
all kept at the resources centers as can be observed
in the mentioned Table.
5.5.5 Production Equipment
The scope and the amount of material production
I
In any institution should determine the amount and
the types of local production equipment needed.
Selection of the equipment should also be guided by
the alternatives currently available which would
reflect chalges in technology. Four such equipment
have been surveyed, and ~ould be listed below.
5.5.6 The Ink Duplictltor
The sixteen colleges out of seventeen reported
that, they owned the Ink Duplicator. The equipment
is very useful in the production of teaching and
other materials.
204
5.5.7 The Spirit Duplicator
The analysis of ~ll the duplicating equipment
lS shown in Table IV.19, The spirit duplicator in
particular is available in fifteen out of sixteen
colleges surveyed. The equipment is not useful to
either the teachers or other members of staff. Lack
of spirit and the stencils are the two reasons for
non-use of the equipment. Both items cannot be
obtained locally.
5.5.8 Electronic Stencil Cutter (Scanner)
The Electronic stencil cutter equipment has
not entered the doors of primary teachers colleges.
5.5.9 Photo-Copying l'lachine
~All the sixteen colleges surveyed except two
indicated that, they do not have the photocopying
machine in their colleges. One of the two colleges
that own the photocopying machine is the newest of
all the primary teachers' colleges. The other one
is the only privately manQged among the seventeen
colleges.
5.6 Suggestions
The resource centers at primary teachers'
colleges have been surveyed. The data related to
.the information required have been collected and
205
analysed. The findings have been summarized in the
first section of this chapter. The second section
of this chapter will give suggestions related to the
problems observed during this study. The researcher
hopes that, the suggestions given will provide a
working ground towards improvement of the process of
learning and teaching through the use of the
appropriate resources.
5.6.1 Development of a Resource Center
The findings from the questionnaire and
interview reveals that, a clear statement
of the mission of th~ resources centers in
primary teachers colleges, and the means of
achieving the assumed mission is lacking.
The Ministry of Education, ln collaboration
wit, the administration of the teacher
training colleges need to get together to
estJblish a policy statement to guide those
personnels entrusted to work towards
development of these resource centers. The
methods and means to reach the established
goals should also be clarified and communicated
to all colleges.
There is no uniform title for the personnels
doing the same jobs among the surveyed colleges.
The job description for these personnels working
206
at the resource centers seemed to be also
locki.ng.
Identification and clarification of the titles
and job descriptions of the personnels incharge
of the resource centers need to be stated and
communicated to those personnels and the
administra tion of all the colleges. In the absence
of a local professional association in the area
of resources for learning, a local guideline,
based on the already established international
guidelines should be established and
communica.ted to the relevant institutions.
A lot of loop holes and bottlenecks were
observed, both from the interview and personal
observa t i on . The researcher concluded that
lack of co@nunication was the major cause of
the problems related to the development of the
resources centers. 1\machinery of
communication between the Ministry of
Education and the administration of the primary
teachers' colleges need to be improved. This
would have a positive effect towards future
development of these centers.
Several problems that have cropped up since
the introduction of the resources programmes
in primary teachers' colleges, such as
207
machines that cannot be used due to lack of
soft ware, lack of finance to build the
resources collection, have remained unsolved
due to lack of communication machinery. The
Ministry of Education, Kenya Institute of
Education or any other agent, should establish
a machinery to evaluate the resources centers
continuously. This will indicate how the
programmes meet and satisfy the interests
of the users.
A local body, that can establish the standard
of the resource programmes need to be
established. This will guide the institutions
in introducing and developing such programmes.
The Ministry of Education, the researchers
in this field, and the teachers' colleges
are the institutions that have the machinery
and the technology to make the changes needed.
This would be used towards the development
of primary teachers' colleges.
5.6.2. The Facilities
The provision of the facilities to any
institution need to consider the population
to be served the characteristic of users,
the philosophy and nature of instructional
programme, etc. The rooms and the numbers
208
of items under this category should be,
sufficient for easy access to encourage
frequent use. They should also be harmonious
with the existing facilities.
From the data analysis on the facilities
available in primary teachers' colleges, the following
observations have been made:
The building and its components which were
provided to promote the resources programme
in primary teachers' colleges were provided
.i n isola t i on . The needs of the colleges, such
as offices for teachers, storage areas, the
characteristics of users were not considered
during the planning period. This has lead
to self defeating as far as promoting the
resources concept ln the surveyed colleges.
Some colleges have turned offices in the
resource center block into college offices
and classrooms, some machines are redundant,
while others are under-utilized. To rectify
the situation, the following considerations
need to be observed.
The consumers of educational resources,
these are the teachers, students and
other members of staff, need to appreciate
5.6.3
209
the value of a resource programme, and
how such a proqranuno can help in realising
their tasks to avoid wastage and under
utilization.
In any new education development and/or
approach, a continuous exchange of ideas
through scminars, workshops or any other
inservice training should be introduced
and supported by the Ministry of Education
and the primary teachers's colleges.
The colleges and the resource personnel
nccd to devise methods of fitting the
students comfortably in the existing
facilities. Over crowding discourages
the usc o[ the reSOLirces. Dividing them into
small groups for assignments, extending
the working hours are among many methods
of cncouroq.i nq the use of the resources.
Tl e inLro{uction o~ a new educational
.innova t i on i J a goillg insti tution should
fit into Lhe existing infrastructure,
and not as a separa~e entity.
Resources Provision
l\mong the roles of a resource programmes are:
210
(1) To state the purposes of a resource
programme.
(2) To plan the activities of the programme
while integrating them into the
curriculum.
(3) To develop criteria for budgeting, to
budget for a well balanced resource
collection for students and the other
members of staff.
(4) To maintain a continuous evaluation of
the programme.
The reporting of the questionnaire and
interview revealed interesting observations. The
purpo~es of the resources programme have not been
well understood. The machinery of communication
about the programme between the colleges and the
Ministry o[ Education have not been established.
The resources programme ln primary teachers colleges
have remained passive since its inception. The
researcher gives the following suggestion to re-
activate the programmc~
As a matter of policy, if we do agree that. a
good resource programme indeed contributes
significantly towards learning and teaching, a
set and regular budget, to develop an up-to-
211
date collection is needed. The collection
should include materials and equipment
necessary. A ten per cent of the National
Per Student Operation Cost has been suggested
for this purpose.
To develop the already established resource
centers, policies and procedures for
utilizing the available resources, need to
be clarified. This information should be
communicated to those incharge. A crash
programme to train the resources personnels,
who would in turn inservice the teachers on
the job is necessary. This procedure would
have a positive effect on the use of the
available resources.
resource centers. As much as possible, a
All the materials belonging to the college,
print and non-print, should be kept at the
catalogue of all these materials, even those
with teachers in the classrooms should be
kept at the resource centers.
There is an urgent need for a budget to
increase the resources which are popular to
both students and teachers. These are books,
magazines and professional journals.
212
Emphasis ought to be put on non-machine
resources and production of the materials
that can be obtained locally. In this case,
production techniques seem very important.
5.6.4 Personnel Provision
The success of a media programme depends on
the personnel employed to carry out the mission of
the institution. Such a programme calls for
professional and support staff. To carry out their
duties, a job description of each member of the
staff is necessary. Security on the side of the
staff member, and a reasonable discharge of ~iuties
to the institutions deserve some consideration while
making this decision.
From the survey and analysis of the data on
personnel area, it has been observed that the
personnel trained to introduce the concept of
educational technology in primary teachers' colleges
have been frustrated. First of all, the professional
status of the resource personnel has not been
established. The job description has not been
identified. Other benefits to attract and retain
all categories of staff working in resources centers
have not been met. This state of affair has lead
to anxiety on the side of the staff, and
213
frustration on the side of the users. Some
drastic measures need to be taken as follows:
There is a need for an established status
of resources personnels. working in primary
teachers' colleges. The status should be
similar to other categories, such as'those
of librarians, information scientists
media specialists which are recognized
internationally. The Ministry of Education
and Kenyatta University, which are the two
institutions responsible for making of
education manpower, can investigate the
possibilities of making this possible.
Por a resource programme to operate
smoothly, enough staf f, Iboth professional
and support staff should be provided.
The size of the institution, the scope
of the progranwe should determine the
number of staff required. One full
professional, and one full-time support
staff for every 250 students can implement
a fully developed programme.
There is an urgent need for a staffing
policy. One which would attract and
retain resource personnels in primary
teachers' colleges.
214
The teacher training programmes,
especially those to be responsible tor
training teachers should increase courses
on the production and use of teaching
and learning resources. The department
of Educational Communication and Technology
(EeT), has the facility and personnel
to make this possible.
For those teachers in the field, the
existing distance education can be
intensified through mass media. The ECT
of Kenyatta University in collaboration
with Kenya Institute of Education have
both the technology if the machinery can
be organized.
5.6.5 Other Services
Included ln this group of 'other services'
are those that have access to information and sources
of information. A catalogue is developed by
identifying the location and availability of
information in participating agencies. This may be
done verbally, in print form or transmitted by
advanced communication techniques such as telecommuni-
cations or computer services.
215
Among the surveyed services are the Teachers
Advisory Centers, The National Library Services,
and the Voice of Kenya.
Others that may be included in this category
are academic libraries, special libraries,
museams, galaries, Kenya Institute of Education
and such other establishments.
The findings of the survey in this area reveals
that, there is not any formal arrangement of
such a network of services.
Sharing of serVlces and facilities, as a theory
has been developed among establishments giving
similar services. This theory has been
developed to overcomo institutional, financial,
and other constraints. Kenya, like other
countries suffers from similar constraints.
It is the researche~s feeling that, the
institutions mentioned, with the help of the
Ministry of Education need to consider this
area seriously. A further exploration in
this area is highly recommended.
The primary teachers' college resource center,
i£ deve loped \-J ith an est ab1ished standard,
could be used to extend the resources concept
to the surrounding schools .
•
216
.5.6.6 Audio-Visual Equipment
A base collection of all the items needed for
instruction use have been suggested in this document.
The specific requirement of audio-visual media and
related equipment need sufficient funds throughout
the year, to be provided for purchase and/or rental
of new and appropriate titles of audio-visual soft
wares on demand. Equipment without soft wares are
useless, the soft wares without equipment are equally
useless. To strike the balance, enough soft wares
have to be provided to justify the cost of the
equipment.
The investigation on audio-visual media
in primary teachers' colleges has revealed
that, most of the equipment available a~e under
utilized. Absence of a policy to provide the
soft wares, either for rental or purchase,
iack of a budget to maintain the equipment
have all contributed to retardation of the
use of the equipment. This state of affairs
does not justify the cost of the equipment
stored in the colleges. The following
suggestions, if followed, could change the
image of primary teachers' colleges.
217
Lack of soft wares for instructional
use, breakage of equipment, lack of
budget and machinery to cater for
maintenance of the equipment have been
observed in all the colleges surveyed.
The prevailing budget squeeze in all
educational institutions in Kenya calls
\
for a new approach in utilizing the
available educational resources. Sharing
of resources and services among similar
institutions seem desirable at regional
level.
By using this approach, it will mean
reduction of the cost of purchasing
equipment and related soft wares for
each institution, also the cost of
training specialized personnels for each
institution will be drastically reduced
for each institution. The cost of
maintenance will be minimized, and use
of the equipment and related soft ware
will be increased.
A co-operative arrangement at Ministry
level could design relevant programmes
to be used in primary teachers colleges,
using the available equipment, such as
218
television and radio to teach some
courses. They could also be used to
train certain skills by outstanding
teachers to all the primary teachers
colleges.
Until the introduction of 8-4-4 system
of education, the development of education
has been based on experimental theories
that had not been thoroughly tested. In
this case, educational resources used ln
the process had followed the same trend.
A successful resources programme has to
be understood thoroughly by the teachers.
They have to understand how well the
introduced programmes w i Ll, help them in
realizing their tasks. The technological
development of the nation, the prevailing
economic and cultural values have also
to be put into consideration. Training
of the teachers on the production and
use of those resources, more than the
provision of expensive equipment would
be the right step in the right direction.
219
5.7 Summary
The Government and the people of Kenya have
given education a very high premium. This is
evidenced by a huge budget of more than 30 per cent
-
of the total national budget. The Harambee spirit of
the people of Kenya has contributed siginificantly
to education at all levels.
With all the financial and moral support from
the government and the people of Kenya, there are
problems of the number of students per teacher in all
levels of education. The economic and other social
pressures have added other problems. The unemployment
due to lack of appropriate skills calls for alternative
approach to deal w i th these problems.
Educational institutions, researchers and the
Ministry of Education have a duty to find alternative
methods. Training of the teachers, use of relevant
instructional media, tr<.liningthe students how 'to
learn other than wh a t, to learn, and instructional
technology are among the approaches towards the
improvement of instruction in Kenya.
The development of education in Kenya has
been adopted from the English system of education.
This system has proved to be too theoretical to
cater for today's society. For the first time in
220
the history of the republic of Kenya, a system meant
to be practical and relevant to the society has been
introduced under 8-4-4 system. There is an extensivestudent
population, the resources are scarse and the teachers
are few. The use of the appropriate learning and
teaching resources, and the instructional technology
could improve the situation.
The primary teachers' colleges, which are
responsible for training of the primary schools
teachers have been surveyed by this researcher. All
the learning resources have been studied. All the
other aspects related to resources centers have been
investigated.
The information required has been sought
through the use of questionnaire, interview and
observation methods. The data has been analysed
using descriptive statistics. The information
gathered and analysed has been concluded and
suggestions offered. The researcher hopes that,
other researchers interested with learning and
teaching resources will find a base for further
research. The decision makers could also find the
information useful, and hopefully, make some
adjustment towards the development of the resources
centers. The teacher training colleges may also
find the information useful, they may also appreciate
221
their own efforts in their difficult task of
developing resources centers under such
situations.
..
222
References
,
1. ~orld Bank, Third educational project in the
Republic of Kenya (Borrower) and
International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (lender). Loan No. 1184 - KE
December, 1975, p.14.
2. Media Programmes: District and Schools,
~ashington D.C., A.L.A./A.E.C.T., 1975,
p.35.
223
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Beswick, Norman W., Organizing Resources, London:
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234
APPENDIX A
A SURVEY OF THE LEARNING RESOURCES CENTERS
IN TIlE TEl\CHER TRAINING COLLEGES
I. College Information
1. Name of the college
1.2 Name of the person completing the question-
naire
1.3 Present position
1.4 Total enrolment for the years;
1985
1984
1983
1982
II General lnformation
2.1 Do you have a room where you keep books
and other learning resources for use by
teachers and students? Yes/No
2.2 If you have such a room, what do you call
it?
235
2.3 Do the subject teachers keep some of such
books and other learning materials in
their classrooms? Yes/No
2.4 Do the teachers own such materials or are
they college property?
2.5 Who make more use of the available learning
resources at the center?
(a) Students
(b) Teachers
2.6 Do your staff make use of the available
teaching aids In their teaching?
Yes No
2.7 If no, what might be the reason for not
using? (Comment)
2.8 Do the teachers in your college produce
their own teaching aids? Yes No
2.9 Where do they keep such materials after
use?
2.10 Does the course work of the students
include the use and production of teaching
aids? Yes No
236
2.11 The theoretical part takes _
weeks.
2.12 The practical part takes _ weeks.
2.13 Have there been inservice programmes
organized to keep your teachers informed
on use and production of learning and
teaching materials? Yes No
2.14 If no, would you like such programmes
introduced? Yes No
2.15 The learning resources center at this
college has a sitting capacity of
persons (teachers and students).
2 .16 Check (V) \v her e appro pria te .
The learning resources center has the
following:
(a) card catalogue
(b) display racks
(c) bookshelves
(d) rna qazi ne racks
(e) borrowing and
returning desk
(f) noticeboard or
bulletin board
237
2.17 Do you take inventory of the available
resources? Yes No
2.18 If yes, how often do you take the
inventory? Check ( V) where appropriate.
(a ) twice a year
(b) every year
(c) every two years
(d) other (specify)
2.19 Indicate the number of books in your
center
2.20 HO\v many books did you purchase in;
(a ) 1985
(b ) 1984
(c) 1983
(d) 1982
(e ) 1981
(f) 1980
2.21 Do you subscribe to any magazine?
Yes No
2.22 Name some magazines and news papers you
purchase for use by teachers and students .
•
238
2.23 Are the books classified? Yes No
2.24 Are other materials like globes, maps,
charts, etc. classified? Yes No
2.25 What classification do you use? Check
( V) where appropriate.
(a) Dewey classification
(b) Simplified decimal
(c) Library of Congress
(d) Other (specify)
III Personnel
3.1 Check (V) wh ere appropr ia te
Titlo PaidNumber Volunteer
(a)
(b)
(c )
(d)
(e)
( £ )
(g)
(h)
(i )
Resource person I
Librarian
Teacher Librarian
LibriJ.ryl\ssistiJ.nt
Technician
Projectionist
Student Assistant
Secretary
Others (Specify)
3.2 The learning resources center has been
operating since
239
3.3 The person incharge of the learning
resources center has the professional
training from:
is relevant.
(a) Nairobi Polytechnic
'(b) Kenyatta University College
(c) Other (specify)
(Check ( y/) where it
IV Other Services
4.1 Which is the nearest advisory center to
. your College?
4.2 Do the teachers in your college make use
of this facility? Yes No
4.3 If no, what might be the reason?
4.4 Does your college make use of broadcast
service? (V.O.K.) Yes No
4.5 If no, make comment
4.6 Which is the nearest National Library
branch to your college?--------------------
4.7 Do you and or your teachers make use of
it? Yes No
240
4.8 If no, make comment
v Other Physical Facilities
5.1 Does your college have electricity?
Yes No
5.2 If no, have you made arrangements to have
it in the near future? Yes No
5.3 Are all the classrooms fitted with power
points? Yes No
5.4 Do you have special projection roo~?
Yes No
VI A,udi0/V isua1 Equipment:
t<Jhattypes of audio-visual materials do you
have, and do you consider them useful in the
process of teaching and learning? Check (V )
as appropriate.
6.1 Yes/No Very Useful Not VeryUseful
(a) l6mm projector 1 2 3 4 5
(b) Super 8 projector 1 2 3 4 5
(c ) Slide projector 1 2 3 4 5
(d) Film strip projector 1 2 3 4 5
(e) Overhead projector 1 2 3 4 5
(f ) Opaque projector 1 2 3 4 5
(g) Television 1 2 3 4 5
(h) Video tape recorder 1 2 3 4 5
241
6 • 2 Audio Equipment
Not Very
Yes/No Very Useful Useful
(a) Cassette recorder 1 2 3 4 5
(b) Reel to reel
recorder 1 2 3 4 5
(c) Record player 1 2 3 4 5
(d) Radio 1 2 3 4 5
VII Other Na t c r i a Ls and Equipment
7 .1 Non Projected ~Iaterials
Not Very
Yes/No Very Useful Useful
(a) Charts 1 2 3 4 5
(b) Globes 1 2 3 4 5
( c) Na p s 1 2 3 4 5
(d) ilodels 1 2 3 4 5
(e) Magnetic boards 1 2 3 4 5
(f) Flannel boards 1 2 3 4 5
7 • 2 Duplicating Equipment
Not Very
Yes/No Very Useful Useful
(a) Ink duplicator 1 2 3 4 5
(b) Spirit duplicator 1 2 3 4 5
(c) Electronic stencil 1 2 3 4 5
Cutter
(d) Photo Copier 1 2 3 4 5
242
VIII The Use of the Learning Resources Center
8.1 Your status, check (v) where appropriate:
(a) First year
(b) Second year
(c) Tutor
8.2 Reasons fvr going to the learni~g resource
centers. Check (V) as appropriate:
(a) Borrow books and other materials
(b) Re tu rn books and or other materials
(c) To read reserved books for assignments
by the instructor
(d) For general reading other than doing
assignments
(e) To read my own books
(f) To prepare my lessons
(g) I go there because there is a better
reading atmosphere
(h) I do not go there because of nOJse
(i) I do not go there becaUse of poor
lighting
(j) Others' (specify)
243
8.3 Specific Resources Used
During your stay in this college, what
materials have you used at the learning
resource center? Check (v) as'
appropriate:
(a) Books
(b) NeHspapers
(c) Magazines
(d) Maps
(e) Globes
(f) Charts
(g) Pictures
(h) Microforms
244
APPENDIX 13
INTEHVIEW SCHEDULE
I Name of Person
(a) Title
(b) Years of Service
(c) Type of duties
(d) Institutions attended for Resources
training
(e) Period of truining
([) The exact courses taken
(g) Purpose of training
II Introduction of Resources Centers
(a) First Institution
Second Institution
Third Institution
(b) The duties
245
(c) Other Assistants (Professionals)
Technicians
Others
I
III Attitudes 'I'owards the Resources Programme by:
(a) Administration
(b) Teachers
(c) Students
246
IV Contribution of the Programme to the Process
of Learning and Teaching
(a) Personal Evaluation of the Programme
(b) Use of Equipment
I
(c) Use of Print Media
(d) Source of funds for development of the
Programme
247
(e) The list of Donors of Resources
V Resource Sharing w~th other Institutions
(a) List of establishments
(b) Nature of arrangement
(c) General Comments on
- Facilities
- Resources
- Personnel
- Other
248
APPENDIX C
OBSERVATION SCHEDULE
DAY 1 MORNING AFTERNOON
Physical Facilities
Resources Collection
Production Facilities
Produced Materials
The Studio and Use
The Equ i pmarrt.
Users Behaviour
Organization
Lighting
Service to Users
DAY 2 MORNING AFTERNOON
Physical Facilities
Resources Collection
Production Facilities
Produced Materials
The Studio and Use
Users Behaviour
Organization
Lighting
Service to Users
249
APPEDIX IJ
LETTER TO THE PRINCIPALS
"Mrs. V.W. Kimui
Department of Educationa
Communication & Technolot
Kenyatta University
P.O. Box 43844
NAIROBI
The Principal
P.O. Box
Dear Sir/Madam,
RE: SURVEY OF LEARNING RESOURCES CENTERS IN
PRIMl\RY TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGES
It wo uLd be highly appreciated if you would be
kind enough to fill in the enclosed questionnaire as
far as your College Learning Resources Center as they
now exist, for urgent action.
1. Your response will not only help to give
me the information as~regards th~ availability,
use and effectiveness, but it will also help
us in planning for the future development of
such centers.
2. I kindly ask you to treat each questionnaire
as effeciently as you can and return to my
Department not later than ........••......••
3. A member of staff from Kenyatta University
College will be visiting you very soon, so
as to follow up the study. Please give
the assistance needed~
Yours faithfully,
V.W. KINDI (MRS.)
250
APPENDIX E'
Colleges and Their Codes
Colleges Code
1. Asumbi A
2. Egoji B
3 . Eregi C
4 . Highridge D
5 . Kaimosi E
6. Kamagambo F
t.7. Kamwenja G
8 . Kericho II
9 • Kigari (St. [.lark) I
10. Kilimambogo J
1l. l>lachakos K
12. Meru L
13. i·1igori M
14. i'loi N
15. t·losoriot 0
1 G . Shunzu P
17. Thogoto Q
251
APPENDIX F
LIST AND ADDRRESS OF THE COLLEGES
Asumbi Teachers College P~O. Box 119 KISII
Tel. 100 KISII
Egoji Teachers College Private Bag, Egoji, MERl
Eregi Teachers College P.O. Box 100 MARAGOLI
Tel. 20 MARAGOLI
Highridge Teachers College P.O. Box 34005 NAIROBI
Tel.45168/45034 NAIROBI
Kaimosi Teachers College P.O. Box 150 TIRIKI
Tel. 64 TIRIKI
Karuaq ambo Teachers Co lLo qc P.O. Box 591 KISII
TeL, Rongo 6
Kamwenja Teachers College P.O. Box 152 NYERI
Tel. 2585 NYERI
. Kericho Teachers College P.O. Box 10 KERICHO
Tel. 67 KERICHO
Kigari Teachers College P.O. EMBU
Tel. 20176 EMBU
Kilimambogo Teachers College .... P.O. Box 8 THIKA
Tel. DONYO SABUK 8
252
Machakos Teachers College P.O. Box 124 MACHAKOS
Tel. 21129 MACHAKOS
Meru Teachers College P.O. Box 46 MERU
Tel. 152 MERU
Moi Teachers College P.o. Box 1125 ELDORET
Tel. 2706 ELDORET
Mosoriot Teachers ColL~ge P.O. Box 796 ELDORET
Tel. 2524 ELDORET
Shanzu Teacl~rs College P.O. Box 90533 MOMBASA
Tel. 485411 MOMBASA
Thogoto Teacllers College........ P.O. KIKUYU
Tel. KARURI 32024