Role of university education in fostering national values among the youth in private and public Universities in Kenya

Abstract

The trends in national universities in Kenya reveal that all is not well with regard to education that is offered and and values acquired by the students. There are cases of manifestation of breakdown of law and order, and an outright neglect of moral values by university students on issues such as human dignity, national unity, sharing and personal responsibility. This study therefore sought to ascertain the role of university education in fostering national values among the youth in public and private universities. Thus, studying the role of the university in fostering a national value system amongst the youth is of great importance because education should not be simply about learning, teaching, passing or failing examinations and creating or finding jobs, but also the need to promote desired value systems. The objectives of the study were to: determine the extent to which university philosophy (vision, mission and core values) fosters national values; establish the extent to which the content of common courses offered in the universities foster national values; and establish the extent to which co-curricular activities offered foster national values among the youth in public and private universities in Kenya. The study was guided by the basic human value and the cultural capital theories. The study used a mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) approach. A sample of 382 from a target population of 52,319 university students was utilized. Proportional sampling technique was then used to determine the sample size of students per university, department and gender. A total of 52 Heads of Departments, 4 Deans of Students and 4 Registrars in charge of academic affairs were purposively sampled from Daystar, Egerton, Baraton and University of Nairobi. Data was collected using students’ questionnaire and interview schedule for Chairpersons of Departments, Deans of Students, and Registrars of academic affairs. Reliability of the instruments was determined through a pilot study where a Cronbach alpha co-efficient of 0.82 was obtained for the students questionnaires. Frequency distributions, percentages and measures of central tendency, t-test and a one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used in the analysis of quantitative data. For qualitative data, inferences were objectively and systematically made and used in summarizing of findings. The study established that the philosophies of of public and private universities (vision, mission and core values) fostered equity, practice of accountability, transparency and integrity. The study also established that students democracy, participation of the people, equity and social justice were mainly fostered through the university curriculum (common courses, lecture content and practicals). The study further established that democracy, participation of the people and social justice were fostered more in the Sciences and Art and Humanity based curriculum while the value of equity was fostered more in Art and Humanities and Business based curriculum. The study also established that both private and public universities fostered national unity, equity, and practice of accountability and transparency in through co-curricular activities. The study established that national unity and equity as a national values were fostered more in games and students leadership respectively than in clubs and societies in both public and private universities. It is hoped that, the findings of this study will contribute to knowledge and assist the government of Kenya in the implementation of both the National Constitution, and the Vision 2030 both of which call for a national values system. Further, the findings of the study may enable the university management to identify and invest in activities which will help foster national values in their respective universities.