FOSTERING NATIONAL COHESION AND INTEGRATION IN KENYA THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PRIMARY SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES

Abstract

With regard to knowledge, intellectual prowess, and democratic disposition—all of which are expected of students to actively engage in the society—the Social Studies (SS) supports national cohesiveness and integration. The SS is built on society demands, difficulties, and aspirations that help students develop appropriate and respectable values. The study's objectives were to find out teachers' perception on the role of primary school social studies in fostering national cohesion and integration, to establish the effectiveness of learning experiences teachers engage their learners in when implementing the primary social studies, to ascertain the primary social studies structure in equipping learners and to find out the challenges encountered by teachers during the implementation. The study was to answer the major question on how social studies foster national cohesion and integration. The study was guided by two theories; the theory of implementation of Curriculum Innovation by Gross,(1971), and the social constructivist theory of Vygotsky,(2005). The study used descriptive survey design. Stratified and random sampling methods were used to draw a sample of 1,195 respondents comprising of 940 students, 188 social studies teachers, 47 head teachers from primary schools and 12 Curriculum Support Officers from 6 sub counties in Uasin Gishu County. Data was collected using; a questionnaire for teachers and for CSOs, observation guide for social studies teachers, interview schedules for head teachers and for CSOs and focus group discussions guide for pupils. Data was analysed descriptively and was presented inform of tables, percentages, mean and figures. Ethical guidelines were followed during the entire study process. The study findings revealed that teachers are knowledgeable in the content of SS and acknowledged that the Social Studies is vital in fostering National Cohesion and Integration in Kenya. Therefore, the learning experiences are to be effectively engaged in implementing the Social Studies in promoting national cohesion and integration. SS is in line with the national goals of education that foster National Cohesion and Integration in primary schools. Challenges faced during the implementation of SS include; progressive subjugation of teachers, demoralization, inadequate teaching techniques and the contradiction of what learners are taught with what they see in the community. In view of all the challenges faced by teachers, the study concludes that teachers were not achieving integration and cohesion through SS. The study recommends that primary teachers to implement the social studies by following the suggested activities in the curriculum, as a result pupils could achieve values of cohesion and integration in the society. The potential opportunities in fostering cohesion and integration include programmes such as workshops, trainings and seminars that play a strong emphasis on acquiring new information about citizenship and modern pedagogical techniques that are useful to implement primary Social Studies Curriculum