Browsing by Author "Mutiso, Stephen Kyalo"

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Perceptions of agriculture teachers toward integration of selected climate change topics into secondary school agriculture syllabus in Machakos County, Kenya
(Egerton University, 2017-05) Mutiso, Stephen Kyalo
Secondary school agriculture curriculum was introduced in Kenya to equip learners with knowledge on the basic principles of farming. The intention was to bring out school graduates who would embrace self-employment and even create employment for others in their farms. Agriculture sector contributes significantly to economic development of this country through; provision of food, employment, market for industrial goods, raw materials for industries and foreign exchange. To realize these, agriculture syllabus need to be abreast with the contemporary issues influencing the agricultural production. Successful farming is partly dependant on climatic conditions. Therefore, the escalating climate change and variability occasioned by global warming has added to the numerous risks and uncertainties facing farming practices. The knowledge gap this study sought to bridge, therefore, was the inconsistencies in the existing secondary school agriculture syllabus to address climate change and variability problem. Descriptive opinion survey research design was adopted for the study. The target population was one hundred and thirty five (135) respondents who were purposefully drawn for the study. The target population was used, implying there was no sampling. However, due to natural attrition, the respondents who participated in the study to the end were one hundred (100). A Likert’s score scale rating process was deemed an ideal instrument for data collection. Validation of the instrument was done in close consultation with supervisors and other experts in Agricultural Education and Extension Department of Egerton University. Reliability of the instrument was established through a pilot study in Makueni County and calculated to a Coefficient alpha of 0.72 using Cronbach’s Coefficient formula. Data were analysed and presented using frequencies and percentages. The key finding of the study was that, 79.1% of the respondents held positive perceptions on integrating climate change topics into secondary school agriculture syllabus. The main conclusion drawn from the key finding was that, there is a need to integrate climate change topics into the existing secondary school agriculture syllabus. The finding further validated the conventional agriculture teaching resources and methods as reliable in teaching the climate change concepts.
Perceptions of teachers towards the integration of mitigation strategy topics on climate change into secondary school agriculture syllabus in Machakos County, Kenya
(International Journal of Advanced Research, 2014) Mutiso, Stephen Kyalo; Kibett, Joash. K; Obara, James
Secondary school agriculture syllabus was introduced in Kenya to equip learners with knowledge on the basic principles of farming. Farming provides; food for the people, employment, market for industrial goods and raw materials for industries among others. In order to meet the needs of the society, agriculture syllabus like any other requires frequent reviews. Curriculum review is an ongoing process that seeks to adjust education to address the current, and or anticipated societal needs. In the wake of the last quarter of the 20th Century, climate change became the single most challenge to the Worlds agriculture sector, the developing countries being the most vulnerable. To tackle the phenomena, each country ought to find appropriate solutions to secure its own agricultural production. In Kenya, lack of knowledge on climate change adaptations and mitigations strategies affects the agriculture syllabus in meeting its objectives, which in turn translates to a shortfall in response to the farmers needs. The problem that the study sought to investigate therefore is lack of empirical data on the perceptions of teachers towards integration of mitigation strategy topics on climate change into secondary school agriculture syllabus. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to investigate the perceptions of teachers towards the integration of mitigation strategy topics on climate change into the secondary school agriculture syllabus. The design of the study was descriptive survey research design. The target population was three hundred and fifty (350) agriculture teachers in public secondary schools in Machakos County. A sample of a hundred (100) agriculture teachers was selected through proportionate stratified random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. The objectives of the study were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. The major findings of the study indicated that, an overwhelming majority of the respondents supported the suggestion to integrate relevant climate change and variability topics into secondary school agriculture syllabus. The major conclusions of the study were that, most agriculture teachers endorsed the suggestion to integrate climate mitigations strategy topics into agriculture syllabus authenticating the validity and reliability of the usual agriculture instructional resources and methodologies to facilitate them. The study therefore, recommends that, the Ministry of Education and teacher training institutions ought to improve the agriculture teachers‟ capacity to plan and implement the teaching of agriculture to respond to the changing climate. This may be done through provision of in-service training and workshops for the serving teachers‟ by inculcating climate change mitigation strategies into the agriculture syllabus as projected.