AN INVESTIGATION ON THE ATTITUDES OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TOWARDS THE TEACHING OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATIONIN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Christian Religious Education (CRE) in Kenya dates back to the 18th century with coming of the
European missionaries (Kenya Institute of Education, KIE, 1989).Hence, CRE has been a
teaching subject since the coming of the missionaries in Kenya. At the beginning, it was taught
for purpose of conversation but it gained a new orientation after independence of an academic
subject. The purpose of teaching CRE in independent Kenya was to foster national goals such as
national unity and fostering respect for self and others, and their property. However, the
introduction of 8-4-4 system of education in Kenya in 1985 placed a premium on science and
technical subjects which could be directly be used for employment. Consequently, CRE became
an elective. However, there have been increased cases of destruction of school property, cheating
in exams and drug abuse among others among the other students. This could be an indicator of
loss of key moral values such as self respect and respect of others that CRE is expected to foster.
The study investigated the attitude of students towards the teaching of CRE shaping moral
values. Ex-posto research design was adapted. The study was carried out among form four
students in to randomly selected secondary schools in Nakuru County. The sample size
comprised of 307 form four CRE students. A student attitude questionnaire (SAQ) containing
both open and closed items was used for data collection. Data was analysed using statistical
package for social science (SPSS). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Test of
significance were performed at α= 0.05. The results indicated that the study of CRE is important
and relevant in the world today due to its contribution to moral development and provision of
career opportunities. However the wide nature of the syllabus, peer pressure, lack of adult role
models and human weakness. The results could be useful to policy makers in the ministry of
education, curriculum developers at the KICD, CRE teachers and school counselors.