An Investigation on the Attitudes of Teachers and Students towards Christian Religious Education in Selected Secondary Schools in Nakuru District.

Abstract

Christian Religious Education (CRE) has been offered for a long time as a subject of study in secondary schools in Kenya. At the beginning, it was taught for the conversion of Africans to Christianity. However; after independence, it gained a new orientation of an academic subject that could be used to achieve the national goals of education such as moulding of students' behaviour and fostering respect for human personality. The 8-4-4 system of education introduced in 1985. placed a premium on science and technical subjects which could be directly or indirectly used for self-employment. Consequently, CRE assumed a low status due to its limitation in the provision of opportunities for self- employment. Hence, the subject became an elective which few students chose. However, in the last decade, there have been many student riots, which have led to the destruction of property, loss of school time due to unprecedented closures, and loss of life. This may be an indicator of the lack of emphasis on core moral values that CRE was expected to instil in students. This study investigated the attitudes of teachers and students towards CRE as a tool for shaping moral values of students and it also sought the suitability of the teaching methods used in CRE in meeting objectives within the affective domain in which attitudinal changes lie. Ex-post facto research design was adopted. The srudy was carried out among CRE teachers and Form Four students in 10 selected secondary schools in Nakuru District. The sample size for this study comprised of 307 students and 31 CRE teachers. Teachers Attitude Questionnaire (TAQ) and Students' Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ), containing both closed and open-ended items were used to collect data. Data were analysed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 9.0. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Tests of significance were performed at== 0.05. The results of the study indicated that the study of CRE is important and relevant in the world today due to its contribution to moral and spiritual development and provision of career opportunities. However, the wide nature of the syllabus. peer pressure, lack of suitable adult role models and human weakness affected its effectiveness in bringing about positive behavioural change to all students. The results could therefore be useful to policy makers in the Ministry of Education, curriculum developers at the KJE in that they can revise the syllabus to suit the current moral needs of the students. CRE teachers may also benefit in that the results may help them to adjust their instructional strategies. Counsellors may help students to come out of the web of peer pressure and human weakness.