AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF

TEACHING - LEARNING RESOURCES IN

CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN
SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF MIGORI
I

DISTRICT, KENYA.

BY

ODEGE DICK JOHN

A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE

SCHOOL FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION IN
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIRE,MENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF EDUCATION

KENYATTA UNIVERSITY

DECEMBER 2002
Odege, D j
Availability and
utilization 0/
 DECLARATION

This research project is my original work and has not been

presented for a degree in any other university

ODEGE DICK JOHN

This project has been submitted for examination with my approval

as University Supervisor.

DR. MALUSU l.M DATE

Curriculum Specialist, Senior Lecturer,

Department of Educational administration,
Planning and Curriculum Development

11
 DEDICATION

TO: my wife-Ezna Dois Odege

and

My children:

Nancy Achieng Odege

Sharoon Atieno Odege
Giblerto Onyango Odege.

For their richness of their love, patience, understanding

I

and companionship.

111
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The writer wishes to express his thanks to those people who consciously
contributed in the accomplishment of this study morally, materially or
otherwise. In particular, my sincere thanks go to my supervisor Dr.
Malusu J.M. of curriculum Department, Kenyatta University. I am grateful
for his invaluable help, advice and suggestions. He patiently devoted his
time in guiding and supervising this study. Despite the numerous
demands on his time and research problem, he always suggested
possible solutions and courses of action. He was excellent supervisor.
Thanks also go to Dr. Libese L.I of the same department for his tireless
efforts, patience, concem, understanding encouragement in the data
analysis stage. His contribution was considerable. The writer is also
indebted to the Migori Education Office for granting permission and
writing introduction letter to the Principals of schools of the study. To
them, Principals of Migori District Secondary Schools, teachers and
students who took part in the study, I owe much gratitude for their co-
operation during the research.

Special thanks go to Miss Mary Mareambo who typed this script willingly
and cooperatively. I also wish to thank Mr. Bojana, for proofreading the
script with patience and guidance. Finally, special thanks go to my wife
Ezna Doris Odege, and Children: Nancy, Sharoon and Giberto for their
patience and understanding during all the stages of this study project. To
my parents for their consistence they gave me throughout the course.
Such a list of acknowledgements however fails to take into account the
many more contributions from the University Staff particularly from the
Department of Curriculum Development, my colleagues and friends. To
all these I do extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation.

IV
 ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the availability and

utilization of teaching and learning resources in the teaching of
Christian Religious Education in secondary schools in Migori District,
Kenya. Specifically the Study was designed:

1. To find out the availability and utilization of instructional

materials in sampled secondary schools in Migori District.
2. To find out factors hindering the effective supply and
acquisition of teaching and learning resources.
3. To assess the teaching and learning resources being used
for the teaching of Christian Religious Education in
secondary schools.
4. What criteria do the teachers use in the selection Of teaching
and learning resources for Christian Religious Education.
S. Establish community resources 'used in teaching and learning
Christian Religious Education.

v
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Declaration ii
Acknowledgements iv
Abstract v
Table of contents Error! Bookmark not defined.
List of Tables' .ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1

Background to the Problem 1

Statement of the Problem 13
Objectives of the Study 14
Research Questions 14
Significance of the Study 15
Scope and Limitation of the Study 16
Basic Assumptions of the Study ; 18
Definition of Terms 18

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 21

Introduction : : 21
Use of Learning Resources in Education 22
Selection of Teaching and Learning Resources 32
Acquisitions and improvisation of Teaching and Learning Resources
............................................................................................... 33
The Development of Teaching and Learning Resources Centres 35
Use of Teaching and Learning in Christian Religious Education 36
Summary 40

VI
CHAPTER THREE: DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 41
Introduction 41
Location of the Study 41
Study Population 42
Description of Research Instruments 44
Questionnaires 44
Observation Schedule 45
Interview Schedules 46
Pilot Study 49
Procedure for Data Collection 50
Data Analysis Plan 51

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF DATA ANALYSIS AND

INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS .................••.•••...••....•....... 52

Teaching Load 53
The range of teaching and resources available in schools 54
Acquisition of Teaching and Learning Resources 58
Made by the teachers (improvisation) 59
Factors Hindering the Effective Supply and Acquisition of Teaching-
Learning Resources 61
Selection of Teaching and Learning Resources 63
Types of Teaching- Learning Resources used for Teaching CRE in
Secondary School ; 65
Most Frequently used eRE. Textbooks 66
Factors Hindering the Effective use of Teaching- Learning
Resources 70
Summary 72

VIl
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS 73

Introduction 73

Summary of the findings 73

Acquisition of Teaching and Learning Resources 74

Factors Hindering the Effective Supply and Acquisition of Teaching-

Learning resources 74

Selection of Teaching-Learning Resources 75

,
Factors Hindering the Effective use of Teaching-Learning Resources

............................................................................................... 76

Conclusions 76

Recommendations 77

Suggestions for further Research 79

BIBLIOGRAPHY 81

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: PRE-CONTACT LElTERS TO SCHOOL 84

APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS OF CHRISTIAN
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 85
APPENDIX C: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HEADS OF CRE
DEPARTMENT 94
APPENDIX D: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR TEACHERS 100
APPENDIX E: OBSERVATION SCHEDULE I03

V1l1
LIST OF TABLES

Table IV. 1: Teaching Experience 52

Table IV. 2: Teachers' Workload 53

Table IV. 3: Teaching and Learning Resources Available in Schools
..................................................................................................... 55

Table IV. 4 -: Information Channels on the Existence of New

Teaching and Leaming Resources in the Market. 56

Table IV. 5: Issues Discussed at the Departmental Meetings

Concerning Teaching and Leaming Resources 58
Table IV. 6: Ways in Which the Schools Acquire Teaching and

, Resources
Leaming 59

Table IV. 7: The Sourcreof Students Textbooks 60

Table IV. 8: Parties Involved in the Selection of Teaching and

Leaming Resources
,
64

Table IV. 9: The Criteria Used by Teachers in the Selection of

Teaching and Leaming Resources 64

Table IV. 10: The Frequency of use of Recommended Textbooks

and Supplementary Texts 66

Table IV. 11: Types of Audio-Visual Resources Used for the

I

Teachlnq-Leaminq of Christian Religious Education 68

Table IV. 12: Community Resources Used for Teaching Christian
Religious Education 69

IX
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

Background to the Problem

Christian Religious Education (CRE) has held an important position ,
in the overall educational system in Kenya before and after
independence. During the colonial period, the missionaries used
religion to change the African ways of life by converting them into
Christianity. But after 1963, an important innovation took place
concerning the subject, as is postulated in the Kenya Education
Commission part I (Ominde Report (1964) and the Education Act
(1968).

As one of the subjects in the School Curriculum, Religious

Education Changed in its methodology, with more emphasis on
child-centred approaches. These innovations were aimed at
making the subject more academic. in order for it to contribute
more effectively in the utilization of the National Goals of
Education.

The missionaries in Kenya were the chief pervaders of Western

Education. It was stated that mission education aimed at improving
the general material and moral life of the community. The type of
education offered by the missionaries was guided by their general
views of the African Social Environment. Sifuna and Karugu (1985)
contended that the missionaries viewed the Africans as being:
Backward, Uncivilized and Uncultured
with no tradition or history, too
unintelligent and lazy to have evolved a
set of beliefs about the world that were
worth studying, too superstitious and
 immoral to have developed a serious
religion"

Because of this attitude towards Africans, the missionaries assumed

that their major task was to regenerate, and civilize "the primitive
man". In this respect, the missionaries demanded that their African
converts do away with their beliefs, customs or traditions and
accept without question or reservation a completely new way of
life. In some cases, they even demanded a rejection of those
things that made an African community an organic whole.

According to Sheffield (1973), the first goal of Missionary Education

was to convert the Africans and train the catechists. In reporting
on the International Conference held at Le Zoute, Belgium, in 1926,'
Reverend Edwin Smith defined the goal of Missionary Education as
that of "Fashioning Character after the pattern of Christ by
maintaining a religious basis in all the subjects". However, the
missionaries differed widely in their interpretation of the goal. For
example, Reverend Dougall, who had spent many years in Kenya
was also quoted by Sheffield (1973) as saying that,

In the History or Reading Lesson, he (the

Christian Teacher) will be teaching History and
Reading, not Religion ... , Religion will pervade
the teaching of no-religious subjects, but as
energy and inspiration not as dogmatic truth.

The Missionary Education came to be predominantly religious in

which the lives of the upright and holy men in the Bible were
magnified. The established missionary schools became the agency
through which the African could be taught the Western ways of life.

2
The schools were to be the focal point of Christian propaganda and
all the civilizing processes. The most outstanding institutions of
learning were those of the boarding type where Africans were
taken out of their paqan environment for a sufficient period of
time. This was to make Africans forget their backward traditions.
African names were changed to European names. For example,
Buxton High School near Mombassa was named after the Christian
Missionary African Secretary at Salisbury Square, London. On
admission into the school, children were taught to emulate Western
culture and values by the colonialists. The aim of education
according to Sifuna (1976) was:
...to give these youth a plain
education, to lead them to adopt the
modes and habits of civilized life, to
train them up as Christian and bring
them to adopt such habits, industry
and economy as when no longer
supported by the Mission, they may
find good citizens well able to support
and take care of themselves.

The first educational institutions to be established by the various

missionary groups in the interior of Kenya laid more emphasis in
agricultural education and the giving of instruction in the three
"R's" namely; Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Other subjects in
the school curriculum were spelling, counting, technical education
and above all religion. These subjects were designed to improve
the Africans' way of life.

A contemporary observer of the Mill Hill Mission in Furley and

watson (1978) had this to say concerning technical education:
...the Missionary teaches the natives carpentry,
brick laying, building, road making, tailoring,

3
 etc. as well as to plant grains, cotton and
vegetables.

The brighter students had a chance of learning English. Although

English remained the language of instruction, by the 1850s many
missionaries were insisting that Religious Education be mainly
taught in vernacular, for the students to comprehend easily. But
nobody thought of writing textbooks in vernacular for academic
subjects like arithmetic or history because they were not
considered as important as religious instruction. The missionaries
were mostly committed to the teachings of the Bible as they
understood it and it became the central textbooks for religious
instruction in schools. It was translated into vernacular and
Kiswahili so that it could be used by the majority of the students.
Resources for teaching religious instruction at this time were
restricted to the Bible. Other resources apart from the Bible were
therefore not considered important since the missionaries could
achieve their goals with the Bible alone.

In 1968, most of the missionary schools were taken over by the

government. In support of what the government had done, the
Kenya Catholic and Bishops declared that, "the state should take
over more and more responsibility for the administration of schools
but when the people so wish, the resources of the churches should
be used for school management".

(Cowan, 1965). This was an attempt by the churches to guarantee

their continued involvement in religious institutions in their former
schools.

4
Furthermore, the Christian church in Kenya stated that the
government had the responsibility of helping set and maintain the
standards of education at all levels. this, the churches argued, was
in order to provide the necessary professional supervision and to
ensure that provision is made for moral and teaching- learning .
resources in all the schools. the churches released this statement
because they were convinced that an educational system without
religion could only bring disaster whereas a system with religious
foundations would be the best for the wellbeing of the country.

In support of this statement by the churches on education, the

Ominde report (1964) recommended the continuing participation of
the church in the religious life of their former schools. The report
prepared the way for the Education Act (1968) which gave legal
expression to the changes introduced after independence. In its
approach to Religious Education, the Act followed the
recommendations of the Ominde Report in 1964 which stated that:

1. Religious Education must be taught according to an

approved syllabus. This means that Religious Education is
a worthwhile subject to be learnt and that it has something
unique and valuable to contribute to the National Goals of
Education.
2. Syllabi and teaching -learning materials for Religious
Education are prepared or recommended by the churches.

As sponsors of their former schools, according to the Education Act

of 1968, the churches had the following responsibilities,
1. To prepare or recommend syllabi, books and other
teaching aids for Religious Education.

5
 2. To supervise and give advisory services to ensure that
Religious Education is conducted according to the syllabus.
3. To provide for the keeping of registers, records and
submission of returns.
4. To provide for the admission, suspension, punishment and
dismissal of pupils etc.

The missionaries made little use of teaching learning resources,

except bibles and hymn books. The students were supposed to
memorise Bible verses and sing gospel songs. But as a school
subject, it was referred to as religious education, following the
recommendations of the Ominde report (1964), the academic part
of Religious Education is considered to have true educational
validity to justify the continuing inclusion of the subject within the
school curriculum. The subject has therefore changed in its
content, methodology, teaching - learning resources and has a
completely different approach.

As a subject in the school curriculum, emphasis has been laid on

the use of life approach in an attempt to make the subject more
exciting for the learner. Some of the classical proponents of theory
would be Jean J. Rousseau in his, "Emile", Friedrick Froebel in his
"Education of Man", John Dewey in his books such as
"Democracy and Education" and "Experience and
Ed;Jcation", Maria Montessori in her book "The Montessori
Mpthod" and other educational thinkers such as Jerome Brunner,
to curriculum writers like Hilda Taba and experienced teachers like
Hendrix.

6
Scholars from various countries have stressed the need for
teaching children by activity methods in an attempt to develop the
,.
ability and potential of each child. Sifuna (1975), cites Comenius
who emphasized the need to use pupils' senses as the centre of all
learning processes. As such teachers should be in a position to
make use of drawing, pictures, wall writings and aids, if learning
has to take place most effectively. Comenius also advocates'
methods, which foster learning by experience in form of observing
touching smelling and reading about interesting things in a lesson.

He further cites Rousseau on teaching by doing. According to him,

children should learn nothing from books of that which they can
learn by experience. He deplores the use of symbols in cases
were real things can be shown, Sifuna further cites Pestalozzi wo
learnt from experience that words learnt through rote are entirely
meaningless and uninteresting to the child. A child learns best by
activity, imitating, drawing, collecting and observing. The main
emphasis by these philosophers was on the use of resources
catering for all the sensory organs of the students.

Dewey (1938) reckoned that child-centred education involves

learning by doing. This learning by doing is important for the
pupils to be able to understand the facts which the teachers wish
them to learn. it is also important to note that pupils educated in
this way are inevitably agents of constructive social change. The
schools which educate them are thereby intimately bound to be the
larger cause of reform. It is this tie that makes education
progressive. proqressivists argue that the child with all his needs
and interests should be respected and encouraged to get the full
benefits from what he learns.

7
Further, Dewey (1974) suggested a child-centred curriculum, where
the child and not the subject matter determines both the quality
and quantity of learning. According to Dewey, a child is not a latent
being. The teacher has to approach him with great caution and skill
in order to draw out some hidden activities. The child is already
intensely active and the main task in education should be that of
giving directions to the child's activities. His role is that of a guide,
supporter and facilitator rather than instructor. Since active
learning does not flourish in the authoritarian classroom, the role of
the teacher in the discovery classroom becomes advisory.

Bessey (1972) in his curriculum mission to Kenya asserted that

active participation in learning situations helps children develop
concepts and an understanding of their world. As such, instruction
should begin with the experiences learners already have. The new
facts and ideas obtained become the ground the further
experiences in which new problems are presented. Out of such
experiences the child moves from the known to the unknown. It is
important that children be exposed to a wide variety of learning
materials.

Teaching -learning resources should aim at child-centred education

which gear towards the development of curriculum. In the United
Kingdom, there have been such programmes like the unified
curriculum, Discovery teaching, the Nuffield mathematics and co-
operative teaching. In the United States of America, there are
programmes like mathematics science, modern foreign language,
social studies and Educational Technology. All these programmes
have affected educational developments in many African countries
in general and Kenya in particular.

8
In Kenya, the Peak English course has been described as having
introduced a new kind of education in schools. In 1965, the New
English Medium was changed to 'New Primary Approach'. This
programme emphasised on activity methods of teaching. The New
Primary Approach is no longer regarded as a separate subject but it .
stresses the practical implications of learning from activity and
discovery. That is why in the teaching of all the school subjects,
Kenya's Educational System stresses more on the use of life
approach.

Teaching-learning resources should help the learner relate the

knowledge he has learnt to his everyday life experience. The life
approach calls for teaching from concrete to the abstract and from
simple to complex. According to Wittich (1967),

a teacher understands what subject content

to the pupils level of readiness .....what kind
of communication media and teaching -
learning resources are most suitable and
appropriate to arouse
'f pupil's
interests ....and the creative use of new
information.

This means that a broad base of direct experiences is required by

means of using a wide range of teaching-learning resources in
order to make learning more meaningful to the child.
i

Malusu (1981) argues that Christian Religious Education should be

made relevant through the use of child's experiences. This is
because the subject has changed from being subject-centred to
learner-centred and from adult-centred to child-centred. The same
idea of leamer-centred education has been discussed by Goldman

9
in his extensive research entitled 'Religious Thinking From
Childhood to Adolescence' reported by Evening (1974). Goldman
claims that 'we have too long had Religious Education that is Bible-
centred and now there is need to have one which is child centred.

The present Christian Religious Education Syllabus is designed to

encourage child-centred approach in the teaching of the subject.
That is why life approach orientation is followed in the whole
syllabus. According to the syllabus teaching-learning resources are'
supposed to make use of the children's interests, activities and
experiences as a means of helping them explore the Christian faith.
This means that the teacher should avoid presenting religious
truths and values in an adult way, but rather should adapt them to
the children's level of mental development. Teachers are therefore
challenged to make use of teaching-learning resources not merely
at illustrations but to bring about interactions, discussion and
discovery.

The teaching of Christian Religious Education in Kenyan schools has

been justified on educational grounds as contributing to the
fulfilment of national education objectives stipulated in the Ominde
Report (1964) and the Kenya Education Act (1964) through
Religious Education, it is possible to foster a sense of nationhood
and promote national unity. Religious Education is also supposed to
promote positive attitudes of mutual respect which will enable the
youth to live together in harmony. This objective offers a challenge
to the churches to show that Religious Education is not necessarily
divisive force and that people of different religions can live together
in harmony. It has also influenced the development of common
syllabi for all Christian children.

10
The Ominde Report (1964), recorded that there should be a close
relationship between purpose in education and in life. This is an
attempt at meeting the social needs of national development by
equipping the youth to play an effective and productive role in the
life of the nation. Religious Education attempts to fulfil this role by
its greater emphasis on content relevant to life. This need for
relevance to life is strongly reflected in the syllabus.

One of the goals of Education in Kenya is to foster individual

development and self-fulfillment. Religious Education fulfils this
goal by trying to faster sound moral and religious values in order to
help the youth grow up into self-disciplined, self-reliant and
integrated citizens. On respect and development of cultural
heritage, Religious Education assists the youth of Kenya. Religious
Education should instil in the youth a sense of respect for
unfamiliar cultures. To meet this challenge, Christian Religious
Education curriculum developers have incorporated the study of
African Traditional Religion in the syllabus.

Another goal of education is to promote social equality and foster a

sense of social responsibility. This helps in providing equal
educational opportunities for all the children. Religious Education
has tried to fulfill this goal by advocating a common syllabus for
Christian students in all secondary schools with courses based on
their common Christian faith.

According to the goal of promoting Intemational consciousness,

education is supposed to foster positive attitudes to the
Intemational Community. Religious Education has fulfilled this goal
through the introduction of courses to help in enhancing

11
appreciation of the current social, political, religious and economic
issues affecting the world, locally and internationally. The historical
development of Christian Religious Education has shown the
important role the church played and has continued to play in the
teaching of the subject in schools. Even today, curriculum
developers from the Christian Education ASSOCiation,the Kenya
Catholic Secretariat and the Seventh Day Adventist have a major
role to producing syllabuses and teaching-learning resources.
Together with the Ministry of Education Science and Technology,
they all work on Religious Education panel in the Kenya Institute of
Education. The syilabuses and teaching- learning materials they
develop are used in all the public and private secondary schools in
Kenya.

Today, there has been conflicting issues between the churches and
the authors of various Christian Religious Education textbooks,
. '

especially over the suitability and quality of the books to be used as

class textbooks. Many of these authors argue that they just like
the churches have a right of writing textbooks to help in the
teaching of the subject. This would help to meet the high demands
of books and other teaching-learning materials for the subject.
According to the government policy, teachinq-learninq materials
should be developed and produced by the Kenya Institute of
Education. The Kenya Institute of Education is the agent which
distributes these teaching-learning resources to the schools. This
study would be able to find out how these teaching-learning
resources in Christian Religious Education are selected and now the
students use them. Teachers are ignored in the development of
teaching-learning materials and this is not democratic at all
because teachers are the ones to implement and impart the

12
knowledge to the students, which the syllabus and materials
intended to reach.

Statement of the Problem

The present Christian Religious Education Syllabus in Secondary
Schools advocates a child-centred approach. It encourages the
students and the teachers to make use of a wide variety of
teaching-learning resources. In meeting this demand, the Kenya
Institute of Education has recommended a variety of teaching-
learning resources be used in the teaching of the subject.
However, many teachers seem to have adopted the teacher-
centred approach where they hardly use other teaching-learning
resources except the textbooks. This has been reported by studies
of Malusu (1985). Wainaina (1984), Mutoro (1985) and Gatumu
(1983), all of which focused in the teaching of Christian Religious
Education in Primary Schools.

So far, no empirical study as been carried out addressing to the

availability and utilization of the resources in the teaching of
Christian Religious Education in secondary schools of Migori District.
It was therefore important to look at the availability and utilization
of teaching-learning resources in this context; their availability,
selection and acquisition procedures, types of resources and how
students and teachers use them. The main purpose of this study
therefore was to investigate the availability and utilization of
teaching-learning resources in the teaching and learning of
Christian Religious Education in secondary schools in Migori District.
Kenya.

13
Objectives of the Study

The specific objectives of the study were as follows:

1. To identify the availability of instructional materials in
sampled secondary schools, in Migori District?
2. To find out factors hindering the affective supply and
acquisition of learning resources?
3. To assess the learning resources being used for the teaching
of Christian Religious Education in Secondary schools?
4. What criteria do the teachers use in the selection of
teaching-learning resources for Christian Religious
Education?
5. What types of teaching-learning resources are used for the
teaching of Christian Religious Education? -s

Research Questions

The study attempted to answer the following questions:

1. What teaching-learning resources are available for teaching
Christian Religious Education in schools?
2. How are the teaching-learning resources acquired?
3. What factors hinder the effective supply and selection of
teaching-learning resources for Christian Religious Education?
4. What criteria do the teachers use in the selection of teaching-
learning resources for Christian Religious Education?

14
Significance of the Study

Since Christian Religious Education has been given prominence in

the overall education system, the findings of the study are
expected to yield useful information to various groups of people
and individuals.

1. The findings will help draw the attention of the Kenya

Institute of Education to the problems encountered by
teachers in acquiring and effectively using the teaching-
learning resources. As a result, curriculum developers
would be able to look for solutions, which will accelerate
and improve the use of the teaching-learning resources.
This would improve the teaching and learning of the
subject.
2. With the knowledge of problems surrounding the effective
use of teaching-learning resources, teachers will be in a
better position to make constructive decisions and to look
for ways of eradicating these problems with a hope of
improving theteaching of Christian Religious Education.
3. Teachers' Advisory centres could be challenged to give
advice to teachers on the importance of using teaching-
learning resources by conducting in-service courses. The
centres could therefore be used to produce and supply
various teaching-learning resources to schools in their
localities. As such, teachers could be encouraged to make
use of the teaching-learning resources available at the
centres.
4.
Education advisers
.-
The findings will help authorities such as inspectors and
Christian Religious to help and

15
 encourage teachers to be more innovative and creative not
only to rely on ready-made teaching-learning resources
from the Kenya Institute of Education. As such, teachers
should be able to make use of locally available teaching-
learning resources which are cheap to acquire and easy to
make.
5. The findings will also draw the teachers' attention to other
teaching-learning resources to be used in teaching of the
subject, rather than relying only on the textbooks. The
study would therefore increase the teachers' knowledge in
this area of teaching-learning resources and enhance
useful contribution in developing their own local resources.
Teachers will also be made aware that activity methods are
not found on a supply of sophisticated teaching apparatus,
but the use of creativity can lead to the use of cheap
materials.
6. The study could provoke the commercial publishers and
book authors to think of a wide rage of teaching-learning
resources. They should therefore be able to provide
schools with resources at relatively cheap prices.
7. The study could raise challenges to stimulate more
researchers to undertake a similar study in other districts
not covered in this areas.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study focused on the availability and utilization of teaching-

learning resources for Christian Religious Education. It was a
simple survey design limited to ten (10) secondary schools in Migori
District, of which five Boys' Boarding Secondary Schools, three (3)

16
Girls' Boarding Secondary Schools, and two mixed secondary
schools were sampled. The study sample comprised ten (10)
Christian Religious Education teachers in the ten schools and ten
heads of CRE Department.

Due to financial time and transport constraints, it was not possible

to conduct an extensive research. As a result of these limitations,
it was difficult to visit all schools in the Migori District. However,
the findings of this study wi" to some extent be applicable to other
districts in Kenya.

Field Administrative Problems

1. Some teachers were very negative and had a misconcepti6n

that anybody doing research is given money to pay anybody
contributing to the project. These teachers demanded either
cash money or lunch, which the researcher found it difficult to
afford.
2. In one school, there was no Head of the Christian Religious
Education Department since a" the subjects had been grouped
into communication, mathematics, science, humanities, applied
education and physical education. The Head of the Humanities,
who was a geography and history teacher knew little about the
teaching of Christian Religious Education because he had not
taught the subject. As such, only 9 Heads of eRE. Department
were used instead of 10 as initially intended.
3. The initial plan was to observe 24 lessons but one of the
schools where a lesson was to be observed had only one form
II and no Fonn III class. As a result, only 23 lessons were
observed.

17
Basic Assumptions of the Study

For the purpose of thee study, the researcher made the following
basic assumptions:
1. That the use of teaching-learning resources improves the
understanding of C.R.E. in secondary schools?
2. That the schools selected for the study are representative of
secondary schools in Migori District.
3. That the research findings would provide genuine infonnation
reflecting the state of availability and utilization of teaching-
learning resources.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined as they are used in the context of
this study:
Audio-Resources: Refers to those learning aids which
promote learning through hearing only.
They include radio, tape and disc
recordings, telephones and many
others.
Audio-Visual resources: Refers to aids which promote learning
through both seeing and hearing. They
include television, films, video tapes,
sound film tapes, printed material with
recorded sound, demonstrations and
many others.
I

Community resources: Refers to resource people, places or

materials in the school community which
can be used to promote learning. Such

18
 resources may be used in class or the
learner may go out in order to reach
them.
Learning resources: Is any material, person or event that
establishes conditions which enable the
learner to acquire knowledge, skills,
values and attributes from a given
source, through study experience or
being taught in an attempt to achieving
one or more goals.
Learning Resource Centre: This is an agency for stimulating the
active creation and use of a resource
collection. It can be an establishment
within a school, or a community which
holds and/or provides preparation
facilities for resources like books,
periodicals, maps, charts pictures,
diagrams, radios and other audio-visual
equipment. It may also have a
compressive cataloguing system,
enabling the staff and students to locate
suitable materials.
Secondary School: Refers to a formal educational institutiori
attended after 8 years of primary school
level in Kenya.

Organization of Research Project

This study has been organized into five chapters. Chapter 1 is the
introduction, which involves the background to the problem,

19
statement of the problem, objectives of the study, scope and
limitations of the study, field administrative problems, basic
assumptions of the study and definition of terms.

Chapter II is a review of related literature to the study. This review

looks at what various educationalists say on the importance of
using teaChing-learning resources in education and in Christian
Religious Education in particular. The review further looks at the
available work done in this field of teaching-learning resources both
within and outside Kenya.

Chapter III provides the methodology of the study. Here, a full

description of the location of study and educational activities in the
district is made-there is also a discussion on population and
sampling method, research instruments, procedures of data
collection and data analysis techniques.

Chapter IV presents analyzed data and discussion of research

findings. Finally, chapter V summarizes the findings,
recommendations and the conclusions of the study.

20
 CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction
In this chapter, literature is reviewed under the following
subheadings:

1. Types of learning resources.

2. Use of learning resources in education.
(a) Selection of teaching-learning resources
(b) Acquisition and improvisation of learning resources.
(c) Storage of learning resources.
(d) The development of teaching-learning resource centres.
3. Use of teaching-learning resources in Christian Religious
Education.

Types of Teaching-Learning Resources

A comprehensive and detailed taxonomy of media selection has not

yet appeared in literature. Many attempts by educationists, media,
specialtsts and psychologists to establish a multi-dimensional
taxonomy based on research evidence has proved quite difficult.
With time, however efforts have been made to establish one. Dale
(1996), classifies teaching-learning resources under the following
sub-headings;

Visual materials: These include both projected and non-

projected resources. Examples of projected resources are
overhead transparencies, slides, motion pictures, microfilm and

21
others. The non-projected resources include books, photographs,
drawings, carts, maps, posters, chalk boards, and flannel boards.

Audio-Visual ResOurces: These include television films,

videotapes, sound filmstrips, printed materials and field trips.

Audio-resources: These include lectures, audio tapes,

compressed speech, phonograph records, radio and telephone.
I ,

The above classification helps the teacher to see more clearly how
instructional resources can promote thinking and develop firmly
grounded concepts. Meredith and McAleese (1978), state that, the
function of a good taxonomy is not merely to order materials, but
to order people's thinking about the materials and make use of
them appropriately. This statement supports Buter who suggested
,
years ago that a good taxonomy of media should be based on
functions if it has to be relevant to the teaching and learning
process. However, since Buter never came up with such a
taxonomy, Dale's Classification of Media was used.

Use of learning Resources in Education

The practice of teaching and learning today is entering a period of

revolution especially due to the increasing use of modern
technology in the classrooms. Use of modem technology in the
developed and underdeveloped countries has been accelerated by
I

the problem of "population explosion" and "information explosion".

Many people are therefore required to teach and learn. In this
case, technology in education has been developed with the aim of
not only making education more widely available, but also of
improving the quautv of education which is already available.

22
Through this education technology, many people have made use of
the mass media of newspapers and televisions. Second, cheap
production of books has been made possible.

In support of the high demand for educational resources, Meredit

Unwin and McAleese (1978) reckoned that,

greater learning results when media are

integrated into the traditional learning
process; that equal amounts of learning are
often accomplished in less time using
educational ... media facilitates teaching and
learning.

Media can therefore enhance interest, comprehension, retention

and concreteness to any teaching and learning situation. Use of
teaching and learning resources have been viewed by educationists
as important if teaching and learning has to take place most
effectively. Professionals in educational technology, claim that the
quality of education can be improved if the use of appropriate
resources is considered when designing the curriculum. In support
of this, Tucker (1986) wrote that:

In education technology, the solutions to

problems take the form of all the learning
resources that are designed or selected
and/or utilized to bring about learning.

This is an indication that teaching and learning resources are vital if

the quality of education has to improve. The National Society for
the Study of EducatiOr1 (1914), in a report to the president of the
United States of America by the commission on Instructional
Technology had this to 'say:

23
 ...a technology can make education more
productive individual, powerful and also make
teaching and learning more immediate, give
instruction a more scientific base and make
access to education more equal.

Technology means use of sophisticated hardware, or any new

educational technique for effective teaching. However, a teacher
does not necessarily have to buy sophisticated hardware always;
one should be able to use simple resources to achieve maximum
perfonnance.

Douglass (1964) claimed that, "good teaching is good

communication and the alert teacher is constantly searching for
ways of communicating more effectively with the students". At
the same time, he found that some students learn well trough their
sense of hearing, while to most individuals seeing is a far more
profitable type of leaming experience. As a result, most educators
have come to consider the "eye" as the most important gateway to
the mind. Sounders (1974) said that;

Visuals rouse interests, give an accurate,

impression, help memory, stimulate the
imagination and provide a shared experience.

In support of Sounder's ideas, Addo (1961) reported that when the

teacher makes use of the chalkboard to provide a summary of the
lesson, he is making use of the Visual Sense which is so vital in
learning; the entire lesson having reached the students' minds
through the ears.

24

.,_....,. . I ea. I.... ~...." . Il_ •••••• ~

Believing that Visual aids are foundational for good teaching, Getz
(1972), cited Commenius as saying that: -
... the sense of hearing should always be
conjoined with that of sight and the
tongue ... and in combination with the
hand. The subjects taught ... should be
pictorially illustrated, and thus develop
the imagination by the help of the eye.

In supporting the use of Visual Aids, Sifuna (1986) quoted

Pestalozzi as having reckoned that, " Sense impression, observation
and perception are the foundation of instruction". Teaching,
according to Pestalozzi, should advance slowly by proceeding by
small steps from simple to more difficult concepts. This influence
was felt throughout the 19th Century and even up to the present.

Jowi and Njogah (1981), reckoned that learning resources are vital
for any effective teaching and learning to take place. As concerns
the use of sensory organs, they said that,

For proper communication and learning,

students want certain media available and
used not only because media are
interesting and make school time pass
more quickly but because when various
senses are used in teaching and learning,
there will be greater perception,
understanding, reinforcement and hence
easy retention of the subject matter.

Patel (1986) asserted that,

Materials (resources) should be used as
an integral part in learning activity in
order to achieve the highest level of
understanding within the context of their
subject matter.

25
Kivui (1999), explained that teaching and learning resources with
their sensory experiences, provide not only a point of departure,
but also a point of return for the teaching and learning process.
Teaching and learning therefore become a process in which the
concrete and the abstract interact. Teaching and learning
resources especialfy audio-visual ones, generally appeal more
strongly than words alone to the whole person. As a result, in
teaching and learning one requires both concrete and abstract
subject matter and therefore a well-chosen mixture of learning
resources.

Many studies have shown the importance of using various senses in

teaching-learning process. According to Patel (2001), learning
through the five senses is distributed as follows:
(i) We retain 1% of what is learned through taste.
(ii) We retain 1.5% of what is learned through touch.
(iii) We retain 3.5°/" of what is learned through smell.
(iv) We retain 11% of what is learned through hearing.
(v) We retain 83% of what is learned through sight.

Hence educators should know that visual stimulus has a more

lasting impact particularly in teaching and learning. The auditory
stimulus tends to have common proverbs today which says, that
"what I hear, I forget, what I see, I remember and what I do, I
know". If therefore a teacher becomes the sole active passer of
information, while students remain passive receivers, students may
soon forget most of what they have learnt.

Further research evidence shows that instructional activities

involving a multi-sensory approach are superior to those directed

26
towards a single sense. This means that it is usually more effective
to provide a measure of a variety of channel combinations for any
effective learning to take place. Emphasis is therefore laid more on
the use of all the five sensory channels. That is why Munyulu
(1985) in his study said that:-

Learning resources enable students to

understand better through the use of
more that one sense, hearing, touching,
tasting and feeling.

Use of resources therefore provides appropriate introduction and

learning of new and complex concepts. They also help in
motivating the teachers and students to teaching and learning and
thus increase their participation and concentration. Other studies
have been carried out to determine the relative merits of words
and pictures in simple learning tasks. Levie Dickie (1973) found to
that:
Words are better for abstract subject
matter while auditory and the digital
(visual print) have the special merit of
conveying abstract knowledge, whereas
the pictorial (pictures) have the special
merit of conveying concrete information.

Kennedy in National Society for the Study of Education (1974),

.r

examined the questidn of how icons and images give information.

He found that, the teaching and learning process since they can
motivate, inform, facilitate memory and evoke further thinking. The
emphasis here is on the use of statues, (icons and images) which
seem to be having a' more lasting impact as compared to written
words in the books arid magazines.

27
As for the use of audio-visual materials, Levie (1973), found that
audio-visual presentation of verbal materials may be having a long
lasting impact on what has been learnt. Therefore, the utilization
of audio-visual materials results into better retention of what is
learned than would have been the case if either only the print or
speech were used. For example, film strips and slides have been
used successfully as adjuncts to textbooks in teaching reading at
primary school level.

In support of what Dale has said, the Japanese National

Commission for UNESCO (1972), asserted that, the use of various
types of educational equipment and instruments enlarges the
sphere of learner's experiences. They also help the learners to be
able to grasp the contents of instruction accurately. As such, it has
become important for teachers to know that not only textbooks
could present students with more vivid experiences.

Other researches carried out in Kenya and elsewhere have

indicated the; urgent need for the use of resources in teaching and
learning of various subjects. Oure (1985) in his study of primary
schools in Amagoro Division in Kenya found that there was
shortage of teaching and learning resources in Christian Religious
Education and some other subjects. The reasons for this shortage
were found to be lack of funds and heavy teaching loads that could
not allow the teachers to improvise the teaching and learning
resources. Such loads left teachers with hardly any adequate time
I
to concentrate on the preparation of teaching and learning
resources. .J

28
Digolo (1986) did a research on the availability and utilization of
community resources in primary schools. The study revealed that
there was an apparent inadequacy of teaching and learning
resources. This is probably due to the teachers' over reliance on
published resources, recommended by the curriculum developers.
These are usually too expansive to be acquired in adequate
quantities. These findings are incompatible with those ones of
Nguru et. at. (1983) which showed that teachers in Kirinyaga and
Embu districts favoured the use of local resources in teaching. This
enables the learners to understand the world around them. The
teachers make use of opportunities provided by such subjects as
arts and crafts, sciences and geography. It was found that children
are involved in collecting local materials from the environment or
visiting places of interest. Children are said to be highly
appreciative of their environment and that they make things out of
the local materials, bring the materials to school and ask questions
related to the environment.

Khisa (1995) did a study on the learning resource materials in

Nairobi's primary schools. He found that most of the books used
were published more than 10 years ago. He also found that most
of the schools possessed radio, typewriters and duplicating
machines. Some schools had pianos, one school had hired films
and projectors from the Kenya Film Co-operation. However,
because of the high costs-or resource materials and other urgent
needs such as classrooms, home science rooms, workshops and
buying the textbooks, this brought a big disparity in terms of
quantities and quality of resource materials in the school library.
According to Khisa, half the stock in the school libraries was
outdated and irrelevant to present educational needs.

29
Warilbua (1996) did a survey on the availability and utilization of
teaching and learning resources in Kenya's Primary Teacher's
Colleges. The study revealed that teachers did not make much use
of teaching and learning resources in the teaching of the subjects.
Tutors argued that the use of teaching aids required more time
which they could not afford if the wide college syllabus had to be
,
covered. Misoy (1987) did a study on instrumental materials used
for teaching Geography in secondary schools in Kericho District in
Kenya. She found that many schools had inadequate textbooks,
reference books, maps, globes, wall charts, pictures and even
lacked facilities like projectors. Lack of textbooks and other
teaching and learning materials and unprepared teachers who
teach without schemes of work and lesson plans, were some to the
major problems postulated by Shiundu (1980) and Malusu (1985)
in the teaching of CRE in Kenya's primary schools.

Azeb (1975) did a study on the use of community resources in

elementary schools in Ethiopia. Her findings showed that most
teachers used books assigned to the class as a source from which
they obtained their instructional materials. She further found that
most teachers did not explore different possible sources of
instructional materials to supplement the one source they
depended on. In conclusion, she emphasized the use of resources
because they make education purposeful challenging, and child-
centred. They also enable the learners to solve their daily
problems. In 1977, the Scottish Council for Education Technology
sponsored a three year research programme in Scottish schools.
The aim of this research programme was to find out more about
the use and organization of teaching and learning resources. The
findings indicated that schools teaching History, Geography and

30
Religious Education had a wide variety of resources. Such
resources included photographs, films, charts, posters and multi-
media kits. This research further revealed that books have
continued to maintain a central place in the teaching process.

In using the teaching and learning resources what matters most

are the knowledge, creativity," energy and devotion of teachers
who make the best use of whatever is available. The use of a
range of instructional materials is highly recommended for
purposes of instructing and reinforcing teaching and learning
previously acquired. If the teacher, therefore sees media as a sine
qua non in the same way that they have for generations regarded
textbooks, then there wi" be greater improvement in the teaching
and learning process.

According to Report of the Presidential Working Party of

Education and Manpower Training for the next Decade and
Beyond/Kamunge Report 1988, teaching and learning materials
should be planned and utilized in the most cost effective manner.
This helps in bringing about efficient provision of quality and
relevance in education. The expansion of education and the desire
to provide quality and relevance in teaching and learning had
resulted in tremendous development and provision of education
facilities, teaching and learning materials. The Ominde Report
(1964) has called for more adequate supply of simple aids. These
can be used successfully if the activity method of teaching
increases the demand for teacher -made items.

Today, many educators are faced by an ever-increasing range of

resources and bombarded by conflicting views as to their

31
educational effectiveness. Therefore, for one to be able to use the
resources most effectively, he has to know how to select the most
appropriate one. Also knowing the sources of resources, how to
improvise and how to store the resources is of utmost importance
to both the learner and the teacher.

Selection of Teaching and Learning Resources

Choosing the most effective media from among many alternatives

is one of the educational practitioners' most perplexing problems.
This is because in any learning or teaching situation, there are a
multitude of interactive factors which make the selection process
complex. Since nowadays, there is a wide range of such means
from which to select the best of most appropriate medium, one of
the main questions for every educationist has been postulated by
Unwin and t-1cAleese (1978). The question reads "what are the
. .
criteria used to decide the best or most effective medium for my
purpose?" Romisowski (1968), has detailed the factors to consider
when selecting teaching and learning resources. He summarizes
these criteria as:
The type of learning task, teacher's
experiences in teaching (creativity,
improvisation). Special characteristics of
some students will directly influence the
media to be used and practical constraints
(economic status).

The selection of suitable materials to be used singly or in

combination should be based on how well they can be expected to
help students reach the specific learning goals. Levie and Dickie in
Travers (1973) found the nature of objectives as a major criterion
to consider for selection of resources, while Unwin and McAleese

32
 (1978) found that age does affect the choice of media. Their
findings indicate that young children are unable to interpret depth
cues in pictures. In contrast but using older subjects, their findings
were that older people recall more from pictures than words. This
shows that age does matter in the selection of learning resources.

Locatis and Atkinson (1984) give three primary participants who

should be involved in making media selection decisions. These are
"teachers or instructors, media specialists, learners and there may
be others". These are chosen because:

(i) Media specialists have the primary responsibility and must

be given advice by classroom instructors and learners.
:1
I (ii) The teacher is more knowledgeable about the needs and
I

interests of the learners.

(iii) The learner is able to provide information about media
from which they learn best.

Acquisitions and improvisation of Teaching and Learning

Resources

Acquisition is mostly concerned with the ordering and receiving of

materials through purchase, rental, free loan, gift or local
production. Careful selection of source guides facilitates the
acquisition process. carlton 1968, says that the process of
acquiring teaching and learning resources by teachers for
I I.

accomplishing their op~~es. does not require any technological

knowledge. The favoLrabl~ results of teaching and learning can be
r •

duly achieved through the use of simple and locally available

materials.

33
Wales (1967), suggested that teaching aids should as far as
possible be introduced from low-cost materials. They should also
be made applicable to experiences and local needs of a school
child. He also said that the development of teaching aids should be
related to educational planning as a whole. He further asserted '
that for there to be adequate availability of instructional materials,
teachers need to involve the pupils as much as possible in the
preparation of such instructional materials locally.

In his study on community resources in Kenya's Primary Schools,

Digolo (1986), found that most of the teachers made their own
instructional materials. This means that they used local materials
in the school environment to locally produce resources for
instruction. The instructional materials are also produced by
teachers during seminars and workshops through the help of
educational advisers and curriculum developers. Since each
community has certain materials which are easily available to a
resourceful teacher, then discovering and making use of such
resources is not only economical but highly meaningful for the
learners.

Mukwa (1982), perceives resources as being able to help students

improve learning. He says that teachers and students be able to
make full use of visual content of the textbooks such as charts,
maps, graphs, pictures and diagrams. This is in an attempt of
minimizing expenses and making full use of the available resources
through improvisation. This means that teachers through their
creativity should make their own simple materials for teaching to
avoid unnecessary expenses.

34
The Development of Teaching and Learning Resources
Centres

The idea of teaching and learning resources centres started

recently in Kenya originated from the developed countries. Tucker
(1987) said that the idea of resource centres began from the
theory of resource based-teaching and learning to turn into reality
with the penetration of audio-visual resources into education. Many
developed countries had steady growth in the use of films and
other media in conventional teaching. Tucker (1987) says that,
many different practices, such as groupwork, discovery learning,
learning by objectives, individualized learning are to coalesce into
and grow out of the idea of resource based learning.

Walton and Ruck (1975) wrote about Malcolm's work at Coolsall

comprehensive schools concerning the development of teaching
and learning resource centres. They said that, the intention behind
the creation of resource centre is to operate and support
educational thinking and curriculum development within the school
and to enable the teachers, whatever the technique to develop
their professional skills more fully.

The steady development of teaching and learning resource centres

was accelerated by large projects such as Nuffield project in the
United Kingdom, whlch produces new combinations of media.
Tucker (1987) says that there were extreme cases such as the
various "Schools without walls" which treated the whole city or
town as a resource. Most of the schools incorporated the idea of
having learning spaces which contained learning resources in the
form of book and "non-book".

35
A resource centre must have certain attributes in order to be called
a resource centre. It must have resources which are organized in a
systematic way with a catalogue. It should also store a wide range
of books, non-books, printed and graphic materials, audio-visual
software and the apparatus needed for its use. In addition,
resource centres should include space and equipment for the
manufacture of learning materials.

The teaching and learning centres should be based on the concept

that it is a place where learning occurs, rather than one in which
learning materials are stored. Its function is to promote teaching
and learning by making both materials and services available to the
students. A resource centre is a place for teachers and students, to
plan and develop new materials as well as evaluate and select the
most desirable of the existing materials for classroom use. In
Kenya every District headquarters has resource centre.

Use of Teaching and learning in Christian Religious

Education

Crippen (1970) found that children learn only when their minds are
stimulated. As a result-it is the task of the teachers to continually
stimulate their minds during the entire lesson. In order to
accomplish this, the teacher must keep the children alert and
involved in the teaching and learning process. The secret to good
teaching is making use of a variety of teaching methods and
learning resources in each lesson.

Students learn more effectively through experience than by being

told something by the teacher. There is truth in the statement,

36
"experience is the best teacher". Children experience through the
use of their senses, for example experiencing God's creation
through sound, sight, smell and taste. Through such experiences
students learn many things. Crippen, further explains how teachers
can lead the students in discussion. The following is an example of
how they can do it,

What do you hear that is part of God's creation? What can you feel
that is part of God's creation? What can you smell that is past of
God's creation?

Such learning experiences are retained in the minds of children and

help them to gain a more realistic understanding of God's creation
and how they themselves fit in as part of God's creation.

Randall (1975) found that visual symbols could convey profound

religious realities and truth is in a richer way than words alone.
She has shown that, drawing, painting and sculpture have
traditionally been enough the most effective media of religious
education thought for centuries. She recommends that teachers
should make use of all these resources in the teaching of the
subject.

Feuter (1979) gave advice on how teachers could use the Bible
creatively in the classroom. He said that since pictures motivate
the students to express theological understanding and create
interest, then teachers should make use of Bible cartoons. Bible
communication, for they need little equipment and can be
reproduced in print or sound slide series.

37
Feuter continues to emphasize more on the use of audio-visual
resources in teaching Religious Education. He observed that,

the Biblical text read and studied in class

come alive the moment students are
invited to choose slides that may convey
the intention of tne original author. ..

The creative use of such slides series presupposes a real

knowledge of visual symbolic communication. As such slide series
become very useful in conveying the information necessary
especially in understanding biblical text. Also archaeological,
historical and ethnological data are conveyed best through the use
of well prepared slide series and films.

Brennan (1978), has given popular reviews of media for use in

teaching Christian Religious Education in Secondary Schools. He
says that, "Visual materials from -Reliqious bodies could be
accommodated materials should be used because they stimulate
students' thinking and understanding of the difficult concepts. For
example maps although relatively small in scale for use in the
entire class, are clear, informative and colourful for use in the
teaching process.

Use of music (audio) in Religious Education does create good

moods and also enlarges the inner vision. As a result it becomes in
important media. Music has been used throughout history to
communicate biblical messages. Crimmit (1973), said that, with
the development of a "phenomenological" approach to the teaching
of religion, films and tapes have assumed a much greater
significance than ever before. A good film is one which is able to

38
project into the classroom, something of "feel" or atmosphere of a
religion, as well as portraying its distinctive features. He further
reckoned that teachers made tapes are useful in presenting "
stimulus", for development in the lesson. On the other hand,
newspapers which relate speotically to such themes as the old and
New Testament, church history or many others, provide a wealth of
materials for teaching. This means that if the teacher is creative'
and innovative there is no area or theme in Religious Education
which should be taught without a resource. Alyen (1982), cited that
on the work of teaching particularly Religious Education, we all
need help, we all need resource to draw, and we are assured that
in using these aids or resources, we shall be able to achieve our
goals.

As a result, it becomes vital to use resources if the Christian

Religious Education goals are to be achieved. Feuter and Weigher
(1983) further found that, pupils learn by doing and by making use
of various media, for example biblical posters, radio, comics and
sketches. This means that if the students are active, they will be
able to understand the lesson better through the use of different
types of media. Teaching and learning therefore becomes more
effective if the learners make responses during the learning process
or when they are actively involved in the lesson. This active
.
participation can only be ensured by making use of the most
suitable teaching and learning resources.

An important investigation on the actual materials used for

teaching and learning Christian Religious Education in Secondary
Schools in Kenya, revealed that few audio-visual are used and the
most frequently used books were the Bible and Christian Religious

39
Education series published by Kenya Institute of Education. If
learning materials are to be used in the most effective way, there is
need to establish a Religious Education Resource Centre.

Summary

In this chapter the available literature covering most of the

research studies, articles and publications related to the topic of
this study were assessed. Evidence which has emerged from the
review of related literature shows that there is need to use learning
resources in teaching Christian Religious Education. This is based
on research findings and sound theories in this field. The
importance of using resources in teaching and learning has been
presented from the technological and psychological perspectives.
The review of literature shows that there were a few studies which
were directly related to the present subject of investigation, but
were conducted outside Migori District, Kenya. As a result it was
considered improper to project the results of these studies on
Christian Religious Education Teaching-learning resources in some
selected secondary schools of Migori District, Kenya.

40
 CHAPTER THREE
DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This chapter is concerned with the description of strategies and

procedures in the study specifically the section focuses on the
population description and sampling, development of research
instruments, administration of the instruments, procedures for data
collection and data analysis plan. Since the research deals with
determining the present conditions and status of the availability
and utilization of teaching -learning resources, descriptive survey
design was used.

location of the Study

Since it was not possible to conduct to conduct the study in the

whole of Kenya, Migori District was chosen as the study area. The
District was chosen due to its familiarity and accessibility by the
researcher. Migori District is one of the twelve districts in Nyanza
province. The district is bordered to the North by Homa-Bay
district, to the East by Gucha district. To the south by Kuria District
and to the West by Suba district.

Migori District has two rivers; these are River Migori and River Kuja
and to the South West, it has a large water body-lake Victoria.
Most of the District is covered by red-volcanic Soils except in
Nyatike Division and part of Suba-West Division, which has black
cotton soil. The long rains come between March and July while the
short rains from October to December.

41
Economically, its geographical conditions make some parts of the
District Suitable for livestock keeping and agriculture. To the
South-West people depend on fishing from Lake Victoria and Cattle
rearing for their livelihood. To the East and North has high potential
in growing both food and Cash crops. Due to favourable climate
and reliable rainfall people grow maize, beans, cassava and millet
as staple food. The cash crops grown are Tobacco and Sugarcane.
There are some small deposit of copper and gold minerals. These
resources encourage economic activities, which places Migori
District among the Districts of high economic potential in Nyanza
province.

Study Population

The study was conducted among Secondary Schools in Migori

District. At present there are 46 secondary Schools, in the District
of which 40 are government maintained, and 6 private schools.
There are 8 Boys Boarding Schools, 7 Girls Boarding Schools and
31 mixed Boarding and Day Secondary Schools. These Schools
have been performing well in the National Examinations. In this
study, CRE teachers and Heads of CRE Department were chosen
because the availability and effective utilization of teaching and
learning resources depends on the concern and the ability of
classroom teachers to incorporate the resources in the teaching
and learning process. The part played by teachers is council
because they are the ones who plan the lessons and evaluate
them. Because of the teachers' Central role in the selection of
learning resources it becomes imperative that classroom teachers
form part of the study population.

42
The Heads of eRE Department were chosen because they are able
to provide adequate information, since they have a vital role to play
in influencing the availability and utilization of teaching and
learning resources. Through District Communication with individual
teachers, staff, departmental, and school based curricular
development meetings, they are exposed to several avenues of
acquiring resources.

The research subjects were selected from stratified random

sample. All the 46 secondary schools in the District were divided
,
into 3 strata, that is boys' Boarding Secondary schools, Girls'
Boarding Secondary Schools and mixed Boarding and Day
Secondary Schools. The schools were purposely selected, 4 Boys'
Boarding Schools, 3 Girls' and 3 Mixed Boarding and Day Schools.
There were a total of 10 secondary schools sampled for the
research study. All the CRE teachers from the 10 secondary
schools were used. The total number of CRE teachers were 26, 15
female and 11 male, and out of 10 Heads of the CRE Department 6
formed part of the sample.

For purposes of lesson observation 6 schools were used in total

with 2 schools representing each category of schools. In each of
the schools, One Form II and One Form III class was used. These
classes were chosen because, they were the classes which most
teachers had taught for more than two years. Teachers'
experiences in teaching these classes made it possible for them to
be able to use a variety of resources. 18 lessons were supposed to
have been observed. Out of 18 lessons only 15 were observed.

43
The Description of Research Instruments

Data for this study were collected by use of three instruments:

1. Two types of questionnaires were used. One for all the CRE
teachers and the other for the Heads of all the Christian
Religious Education Department.
2. Lesson observation schedules for Form II and III and a
checklist for all the 10 schools.
3. Interview schedules for CREteachers.

Teachers Questionnaires

The main purpose of using CRE teachers' questionnaires was to

find out the following:

1. The types of teaching and learning resources used for

teaching CRE.
2. The selection of teaching and learning resources.
3. The factors which hinder effective use of teaching and
learning resources.
4. The quality and suitability of textbooks.

The instrument was divided into four main parts. One part was on
the general information of teachers, the other on the types of
teaching and resources used, the third part on the selection of
teaching and learning resources, the fourth on the analysis of CRE
main textbooks. It had both open and closed items. The open
items were 7, while the closed items were 27. Total member of
items was 34, (see Appendix B).
4

44
The questioner for the Heads of CRE Department was to find out
the following:

1. Resources available in Schools

2. How the resources are acquired
3. The factors hindering the effective supply and acquisition of
resources.

The instrument had two major parts: One on the availability of

teaching-learning resources, and the other on the acquisition and
improvisation of resources. There were both open and closed
items. The open items were 6, while the closed items were 20.
Total number of items was 26. (See Appendix C.)

Lesson observation Schedule

Direct observation is the only means there is for evaluating some

aspects of learning and development. It also offers supplementary
infonnation for other research instruments. According to Gronlund
(1985) such aspects of work habits such as use of equipment and
use of resources require observational research. To him, it is a
method of recording whether a characteristic is present or absent,
or whether an action was or was not taken.

The observation schedule was used for the following reasons:

1. To determine the resources used in the live Christian Religious

Education lesson.
2. To find out the p rpose for which teaching-learning resources
are used by the students and teachers.

45
 3. To find out the resources availability in Schools.

This instrument had 3 parts. One part was on the preparation of

the lesson, the other part was on types of the resources used in
the live CRE lesson and the purpose for which teaching-learning
resources are used by the students and teachers. Most of the
items were closed to allow the researcher to observe accurately.
They were 9 in total. A checklists was also used to find out the
resources available in all schools. (See Appendix E)

Interview Schedules

The interview schedule was constructed for the purpose of

conducting personal interviews with important respondents who are
well informed in the teaching on the subject. The instrument was
used due to its flexibility. Findings from this instrument were used
to enhance data collected by means of questionnaires and the
observation schedules. This instrument was for the CRE teachers.
It had the general information and all the items were open and
were 9 in total (See Appendix D).

Instrument for Analyzing the Quality of main eRE

Textbooks
One of the objectives of the study was to find out the equality and
suitability of the basic Christian Religious Education textbooks. To
be able to achieve this objective, the researcher adopted and
modified the criteria. used for reviewing books by the Kenya
Institute of Education. The instrument containing the criteria was
modified in order to make the analysis more objective to the study
and also to make it possible for the teachers to respond easily.

46
Some of the Criteria in the instrument were left out and only 10 out
of the 13 different types of criteria were used.

To be able to understand how the instrument was used, the

researcher found it necessary to give a short description of what
was required in each criterion used for analyzing textbooks. They
were discussed under three different sub-headings, suitability of
material illustrations and production.

i. Suitability of materials
ii. Syllabus coverage

The main emphasis here was on whether the books had covered
the syllabus topics adequately. In some cases the book might have
left out some topics which are in the syllabus or other times discuss
topics which are not in the syllabus. For the teachers to be able to
achieve the syllabus objectives, syllabus topics must be well
covered in the book.

(ii) Sequencing of Topics (Materials)

Materials in the book are supposed to follow those ones in the
syllabus systematically. This means that materials in the book
should be in the same order as those ones in the syllabus. For
example, a topic in unit 2 of the syllabus should be discussed in
unit 2 of the book.

(Hi)
•
Consistency of Material
The main emphasis here was on the achievement of national
curriculum objectives. Materials in the book were supposed to be
in the line with the national curriculum objectives. The national

47
goals of education are national unity, national development;
individual development and self-fulfillment, social equality, respect
and development of cultural heritage and goal of promotion of
international consciousness.

(iv) Accuracyof the Content

This criterion tried to check whether the content in the book was
up-to-date and relevant for that particular class.

(v) PupilsActivities'
These are teaching and learning activities through which desirable
teaching-learning outcomes are expected to take place. Such
activities include reading passages, writing or listening. The books
are supposed to have enough activities which are well-grounded for
the students.

(vi) Appropriate Language

Language used in the books is supposed to be appropriate for that
particular class for the students to be able to understand and
interpret the contents easuv.: The authors of the books should
therefore avoid difficult words, vocabulary or phrases which can
mislead the students and the teachers.

(b) Illustrations
Under this criterion, the main emphasis was on whether the
illustrations are ad~uate, relevant and contribute to the learning
process. Illustrations could be pictures, maps, graphs, figures,
charts and other visual aids which can be printed in a book.

48
(e) Production and Design
(i) The main concern here was to look at the writing in
the book, finding out whether it was legible for
students and teachers to read with minimum
difficulty. The researcher also looked at the size of
the writing, whether it was so small tat the user of
the book ad to strain the eyes.
(ii) Durability of binding
The main concern here was to look at the biding of
the book whether it was durable or not. There was
also the need to check on the durability of book
covers and whether the covers are able to protect the
book from getting worn out.
(iii) Quality of papers
The researcher looked at whether the paper used was
of the best quality for the book. Teachers using the
two basic textbooks mentioned earlier in the
discussion were asked to respond to the criterion
discussed above as a way to analyzing the quality and
suitability of the books. Teachers' Comments were
graded either positive or negative. A positive
response signifies that the book was of high quality.
A negative response signifies the book was of low
quality.

Pilot Study
Although most of the items in the research instruments were
adopted from various studies, there was a need to conduct a pilot
study. The study was carried out due to the following reasons:

49
 1. To determine the extent to which the instrument would
provide the type of data anticipated.
2. To find out if any of the items in the research instruments
was ambiguous.

After the instruments were field tested, the data obtained were
used to refine the instruments. Some items were excluded and
new items introduced. Those found to be ambiguous were
modified. After further consultation with the supervisors and
experts in the research works, the tools used in the study were
finally obtained. These were made ready to use in the present
study.

Procedure for Data Collection

The data collection included the following stages:

1. Obtaining permission from the office of the District
Education Officer as required by the law of carrying out a
research.
2. Visit to sampled schools to inform the principals about the
study and make more arrangement for using of the
questionnaires to teachers and Heads of CRE Department.
3. Distributing the questionnaire and conducting the interviews
to the relevant respondents using interview schedules.
4. Observation schedules was used on the same days that
questionnaires were distributed to schools.

During the visit to the schools, the research subjects were first
identified and the purpose where live CRE lessons were to be
observed, arrangements were made using the school timetable.

50
After all the lessons were observed, teachers were asked to fill in
their questionnaires. They were given enough time to do this.
After all the questionnaires were collected there was need to
consult interviewers in orders to make arrangements on the most
convenient time for he interview schedules. During the interview
the researcher took the most relevant information in a notebook.
Data collected was put together for data analysis procedures.

Data Analysis Plan

Data collected was analyzed manually by the use of descriptive
statistics that is frequencies and percentages. Tallying was first
done to determine the number of respondents to each variable.
Tables were used to present the findings. A brief discussion basing
all arrangements on information from the tables were recorded.
The data from the interview schedules tat could not be quantified
was used to supplement data from the questionnaires and lesson
observation schedules. A detailed analysis of the data collected by
the use of the three instruments is presented in chapter four of the
study.

51
 CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
OF FINDINGS

Characteristics of the Christian Religious Education

Teachers in Secondary Schools of Migori District.

The majority of the teachers 57.7%) were female and (42.3%)

were male. This is an indication that CRE in Secondary Schools
was taught mainly by female teachers. These teachers had
different academic qualifications. A majority of them 77% had
university degrees while 23% had Kenya Advanced Certificate of
Education. This is an indication that teachers had adequate
academic background to be able to teach in Secondary Schools.

The present educational system lays more emphasis on the need to

have teachers with integrity and high professional standards.
Secondary School Teachers in Kenya have backgrounds quite
different from each other in terms of professional qualifications and
experience.

The study also looked at the teaching experience of the Secondary

Schools teacher in sampled schools. These teachers had different
years of teaching experience as shown in Table IV.t.

Table IV. 1 : Teaching Experience

N= 26 %
a) 0 -2 0 0
b) 3 -5 0 0
c) 6 -9 11 42.3
d) 10 -above 15 57.7
Total -
26 100.00

52
Table N.1 shows that all 100% of teachers had taught for 6 years
and above and this showed that their teaching experiences are
enough to allow teachers to make use of a wide variety of
resources in teaching and learning CRE.

Teaching Load

The effectiveness with which a teacher teaches his or her subject is

to great extent dependents on how much work he or she has to
prepare for the lessons to be taught. In the teaching profession
and especially in Secondary Schools teachers are expected to
prepare Schemes of work and lesson plans for all subjects and
lessons that they will teach. A teacher who has many lessons to
prepare, may not be effective enough in his work especially in
preparing teaching aids. Such teachers might be forced to neglect
some subjects that they do not consider important or teach them
ineffectively. The workJoad of these CREteachers is shown in Table
N.2.

Table IV. 2: Teachers' Workload

N= 26 0/0

< 15 1 3.8
-
6-20 5 19.2
21-25 14 53.8
> 25 6 23.1

Total 26 100.00

From table N.2 it is evident that the majority of the teachers

(76.9%) taught over 21 lessons a day. Further results from the

53
heads of department revealed that out of the 26 schools,
11(42.3%) had more than 3 Christian Religious Education teachers,
yet in most of these schools only 8(30.7%) had 2 teachers teaching
the subject. This means that most of the C.R.E teachers did not
teach the subject only but had been absorbed in other
departments, thus increasing the workload of the few Christian
Religious education teachers. The teacher's load does not only
reflect the teaching of C.R.E, but also other subjects taught in
schools. Many of these teachers combined the teaching of C.R.E
with other subjects as was found in the study. the most common
subject combinations were History, Social Education and Ethics,
English (literature and language), Geography, Kiswahili, Physical
Education (P.E). This workload did not give teachers enough time
to interpret and implement the syllabus. As a result teachers found
it difficult to look for or make adequate resources.

The range of teaching and resources available in schools.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has urged all
the Secondary and Primary Schools to make use of resources in the
teaching of all subjects in the school curriculum. Such institutions
were expected to have a wide range of these resources from which
students and teachers could select the most suitable material for
use.

From the data collected, 8(80%) Heads of CRE Department

revealed that their schools had inadequate supply of audio-visual
aids. Further results from the live CRE lessons indicated that a
majority of the schools faced an acute shortage of audio-visual
aids. However, 16(61.5%) Heads of CRE Departments reported
that their schools had adequate supplies of the main CRE

54
 Textbooks and Supplementary textbooks. Data collected revealed
that, chalkboard, exercise and note books and syllabus are some of
the most common resources available in schools. Other resources
are not common as shown in Table N.3

Table IV. 3: Teaching and learning Resources Available in

Schools

N = 18 0/0

God's People Series by CCEAand KCS 16 88.8

CRESeries by K.I.E 16 88.8
BIBLE 16 88.8
CRE Series by Groenewegen and Githige 9 50.0
Supplementary texts 16 88.8
Newspaper Magazines 12 66.6
Maps 4 22.2
Pictures 05 27.8
Posters 03 16.7
I-- - ---- -- -
Radio cassette 05 27.8
Slides 07 38.9 \

Results from Table N.3 show that most of the schools had God's
People Series and other supplementary books. But looking at the
audio-visual resources available, results revealed that most schools
did not have these resources. This fact was reinforced by
curriculum developers and school inspectors who lamented that
although such resources had been recommended for use, they
were not available in most schools.

55
 It is difficult for teachers and students to know whether certain
resources exist in School or in the market, unless they are
informed. Data collected from the study showed that teachers and
students were made aware of the recommended resources through
the use of various infonnation channels. This is shown in Table
IV.4.

Table IV. 4: Information Channels on the Existence of New

Teaching and Learning Resources in the Market

Information Channels N=18 %

Publishers 16 88.9
'------ --~-- ._- -- ------- -
Circulars from the Ministry of Education 7 38.9
Science and Technology
Newspapers/Magazines 3 16.7

In service Courses 0 00.0

School Inspectors 0 00.0
-
Principals 0 00.0

Data from table IV.4 show that 16 (88.9%) Heads of CRE

Department were made aware of the existence of new teaching-
learning resources in the market, especially textbooks by the
publishers. The Ministry of Education, Science and Techaoloqy
recommended textbooks which are published by state firms that is
Jomo Kenyatta foundation, the Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB) and
Kenya Institute of Education (K.I.E), while other books published
by other finns on the same .subiects are regarded only as
supplementary reading. This has been a great concern among
publishers. In the researcher felt that the Ministry of Education,
Science and Technology should stop preferring books by the Jomo

56
Kenyatta Foundation, the Kenya Institute of Education (K.I.E) and
the Kenya Literature Bureau as superior to what other publishers
produce.

Table IV.4 also indicated that only 7 (38.9%) Heads of CRE

Department were informed about resources through circulars from
the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Other reports
from the Curriculum Developers, Christian Religious Education
Advisors and inspectors revealed that publications like the
Christian Journal of Religious Education and in-service
Courses were also to inform teachers of the existence of new
teaching learning resources in the market. It is unfortunate that
Heads of CRE Department had not attended any in-service course.

Departmental meetings were important fora to discuss issues

affecting availability and utilization of teaching learning resources.
They are easy to organize because they are held within the school
and usually when teachers are free from class. Results from this
study revealed that only 5 (40%) indicated that they held
departmental meetings once per term.

These meetings are not enough to allow teachers' adequate time to

discuss their issues. Some of the important issues discussed in
these departmental meetings are shown in Table IV.5.

57
Table IV. 5: Issues Discussed at the Departmental Meetings
Concerning Teaching and Learning Resources

ISSUES N=9 %
Improvisation of Simple Materials 7 77.8
CREScheme of Work 5 55.6
Effective use of Community Resources 3 33.3
CRESyllabus 1 11.1
Textbooks to buy for eRE 1 11.1

Results from Table N.5. indicate that 7 (77.8%) Heads of the CRE
Departments held departmental meetings to discuss how to
improvise resources using simple materials. Other Heads of CRE
departments held discussions on how CRE Schemes of work can be
improved. These are all attempts to improve the quality of
resources available in schools and also increase the supply of the
resources.

Acquisition of Teaching and Learning Resources

Schools in Migori district are situated in different educational zones,

with different climatic conditions and economic activities. Schools
in the upper educational zone are in the high potential area in
terms of agriculture, livestock keepinq and forest reserves. Schools
in the lower educational Zone where the climatic conditions are not
favourable suffer due to drought and famine. Due to these adverse
conditions, the schools in this lower Zone face acute problems in
curriculum implementation. For example the implementation of the
8+4+4 System of Education had been a real problem to them
because they lacked essential facilities such as laboratories and

58
workshops for teaching applied subjects. The state of the economy
in schools limited the acquisition of resources. Schools had tried to
acquire the resources using various ways. This is shown in Table
IV.6.

Table IV. 6: .Ways in Which the Schools Acquire Teaching

and learning Resources

WAYS OF ACQUIRING N=9 0/0

Buying 8 88.9
Donations 5 55.56
Made by the teachers (improvisation) 6 66.67
Made by students (improvisation) 3 33.33
Borrowed 3 33.33

From the responses in Table IV.6, it is clear that majority of the

schools 8 (88.89%), bought their teaching learning resources, for
example books, maps, magazines and newspapers. This was made
possible by the ecor.omic activities of the District especially the
schools in the upper educational zone of Awendo zone. Five
schools, (55.56%) got their resources from donors. Examples of
resources got from the donors include pictures, statues and
overhead transparencies.

Data from the probe questions with the teachers and Heads of CRE
Department s'iowed that due to the distance between the schools
and the library in Kisii town and lack of time, Schools were unable
to visit the library. Of late the issue of textbooks has been a very
controversial one, especially on the provision of such books to the
students. Some commercial Publishers and teachers have been

59
 forcing parents to buy books which have not been recommended
for use in schools by the Ministry of Education Science and
Technology. It thus became important to find out those involved in
providing students with the textbooks. The information in Table
N.7 shows the sources of students' textbooks.

Table IV. 7: Tbe Source of Students Textbooks

soarce N=10 0/0

Both the school and parents 5 50

Parents 3 30
I-- ----
The school 2 20
TOTAL 10 100

Data from Table N.7 shows that 5 of the schools (50%), got their
students textbooks from a combined effort of the parents and the
schools. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
recommended that parents Teachers Association should take the
responsibility of buying textbooks according to their financial
status. But then not all the parents can afford, meaning that some
students are likely to stay without textbooks. In getting these
resources, teachers and parents are supposed to be assisted to
ensure that they are buying the right type of resources especially
textbooks. The curriculum developers and school inspectors should
be in a better position to assist teachers acquire adequate teaching
learning resources. Through improvisation, teachers and students
are able to make use of a wide variety of locally available materials
from the school environment which are cheap to develop. Data
collected indicated that the majority of the schools had an access
to school-based prepared resource. Some of the resources

60
prepared in schools included magazine CU~~\lS' ~i9~~I1lS, maps,
charts, posters, writing of plays and research papers ,<,nl~h the
students had presented in class. students and teach~r~ a.~o
identified resource persons and collected real things (1-e~11~),'~~~
materials development mainly involved teachers and a tew
students.

The Kenya institute of education is an impqrtflnt a~ency which

designs, produces and disseminates support materi~'~ f~r t~~
syllabi it develops. It also organizes meetings for teachers, but
teachers in Migori district seem not to have had an opportunity to
attend material development meetings at the institute. This could
be due to the fact that the teachers in this district had not been
made aware or informed of the existence of such meetings.

Close investigations with the Heads of CRE Department revealed

that the present Teacher Advisory Centres Serve Primary and
Teacher Training colleges, but it is not serving secondary schools.
Yet such centres are supposed to produce materials which are
more appropriate for the adaptation of education to community
needs and realities. Lack of such a forum for exchanging ideas
may have negatively affected the rate of availability and utilization
of resources. This could also be one of the reasons as to why the
quantity and quality especially of the audio-visual resources in
schools is inadequate.

Factors Hindering the Effective Supply and Acquisition of

Teaching-learning Resources
There are many social and economic problems in schools related to
the supply and acquisition of teaching- learning resources.

61
 (i) From the responses, 6 (60%) Heads of eRE Department
reported that lack of funds was a major economic problem
hindering the effective supply and acquisition of teaching
learning resources.
(ii) About 9 (90%) Heads of eRE Department complained of
the distance between the schools and the Kenya Institute
of Education being too fare. This made it difficult for the
teachers to even borrow the resources available from the
institute.
(iii) Seven (70%) Heads of eRE Department complained that
there was lack of fora which could be used to give
directions on how to improvise locally available materials in
I'
order to increase the supply of resources.
(iv) Lack of guidance on the materials to buy, borrow or to
make for a particular topic was another factor hindering
the effective supply and acquisition of resources.
(v) About 3 (30%) Heads of eRE Department, reported that
some of the resources recommended in the teacher's
Guide book were not available at all. Such resources
included audio-visuals like filmstrips and slides.
(vi) Some topics in the syllabus were too remote. This means
that events in some topics happened outside Kenya.
Therefore, it becomes difficult to get examples and
resources related to them. The few resources available for
such topics in Kenya were too expensive.

Out of these problems, Heads of eRE Department had the following

opinions:

62
 (i) About 7 (70%) Heads of eRE Department reported the
need to look for ways of subsidizing school funds. For
example supplementary funds can be obtained from
contributions by Parents Teachers' Association, Board of
Governors and by students working in teams through
group activities such as staging plays. Heads of CRE
Departments reported of need to establish a compromise
between the governments and publishers to ensure that
materials are in economic reach of the schools.
(ii) Four Heads of the CRE Department (40%) reported the
need to expand the present Primary Teacher Advisory
Centres to provide facilities for Secondary Schools. Such a
forum could be used as a base for giving teachers
directions on how to improve the production of locally
available materials.
(iii) The Kenya Institute of Education should be in a position to
assist schools in getting adequate resources by lending
them what they have. Other Heads of CRE Department
reported the need to decentralize the Kenya Institute of
Education so that they have representatives at the district
levels to help schools acquire adequate resources.

Selection of Teaching and learning Resources

The expansion of education in Kenya and the desire to provide

quality and relevance in teaching- learning has resulted in
tremendous development and provision of educational facilities,
equipment and teaching-learning materials. The wide variety of
resources available today in the market, has facilitated the need to
select the most appropriate resources to be acquired and used.

63
Table N.8 shows the various parties involved in the selection of
most appropriate resources as revealed by CRE teachers.

Table IV. 8: Parties Involved in the Selection of Teaching

and learning Resources
PARTIES N=26 %
CRETeachers 15 57.70

Head of CRE Department 10 38.46

Principal 6 23.06
!
Students 2 7.70
School Community 2 7.70

Results from Table IV.8 indicate that the CRE Teacher seemed to
be playing an important role in the selection of teaching-learning
resources. By selecting materials, a teacher is in a position of
providing optional materials for the students according to their level
of understanding. The selection of teaching-learning resources
requires guidelines and a set of criteria in order to procure the
most appropriate materials. There should be some clear general
principles, which need to be applied in the selection of the
materials.

Table IV. 9: The Criteria Used by Teachers in the Selection

of Teaching and learning Resources

Criteria N=26 %
Course Objectives 17 65.38
Nature of Subject Content 15 57.70
Time Available 13 50.00
Ease of Availability 10 38.46
Cost 9 34.61
Ease of Usace 7 26.92

64
Table N.9 shows that 17 (65.38%) of the teachers considered
course objectives as the most important criteria in selecting
teaching-learning resources. Course objectives are important in
planning a lesson because they help the teacher select appropriate
teaching-learning experiences. They also give teachers standards
for evaluating student's progress. When the teacher is clear about
what -he wants his students to achieve, he will be able to derive
increased satisfaction from his work. Fifteen (57.70%) of the
teachers considered the nature of subject content as an important
criterion in the selection of teaching and learning resources.
Subject content is supposed to deepen the students' knowledge
attitudes and skills. Knowing the type of content to be taught is
very important if the teacher has to choose appropriate teaching
and learning resources. Ease of usage is another important criteria
to be considered in the selection of teaching and learning
resources, yet results show that only 7 (26.92%) of the teachers
used it. This is an indication that very few teachers considered this
criterion as important, yet it is impossible to select appropriate
teaching-learning resources, if one does not know how to use it.

Types of T~ching- Learning Resources used for Teaching

eRE in Secondary School
It is important to note that, although there are different types of
resources in the market and in Secondary Schools, not all of them
are used for teaching- learning purposes. Teachers and students
are therefore, forced to select the resources by using a set of
criteria already discussed. These resources include textbooks
recommended by the Ministry of Education and those books
recommended as supplementary texts. Other resources are Audio-
I

visual and community resources.

65
Most Frequently used eRE. Textbooks

There are some main textbooks which have been recommended by

the Ministry of Education Science and Technology for use in all the
subject offered in Schools and Colleges. For CRE, the
recommended textbooks are those produced b Kenya Institute of
Education, namely a set of teachers' Guides and a set of Students'
Textbooks. But the Ministry has on the advice of Kenya Institute of
Education, also recommended some other books to be used as
supplementary texts. The list of recommended textbooks and
recommended supplementary texts is shown in Table N.10.

Table IV. 10: Tbe Frequency of use of Recommended

Textbooks and Supplementary Texts
CRE TEXTBOOKS N=26 %
God's People Series by CCEA and KCS 26 100.00
The Bible 26 100.00
CRE Series by Groenwegen and Githige 10 38.46
CRE Series by Kenya Institute of Education 8 30.76

By the time of this research, the recommended CRE textbooks and

supplementary texts used in secondary schools were:
(a) God's people series written by CCEA and KCS, published by
Oxford University Press.
(b) Christian Religious Education written by Groenewegen and
Githige, published by Longman Kenya limited.
(c) Christian Religious Education Teacher's Guide Books, written
by the K.IE, Published by Kenya literature Bureau.

66
According to the lnformation given in Table IV.IO all teachers used
God's People Series and the Bible, as the main textbooks.
Although CRE Series by Groenewegen and Githige and CRE Series
by the Kenya Institute of Education, were used, they were not as
popular as the God's People Series. The Teachers Guide Series
written by the Kenya Institute of Education was used by only 8
(30.76%) of the teachers. This situation raises some issues since
this book is meant to be the main guide for teachers.

Problems teachers encountered in teaching due to lack of adequate

textbooks for the students. '
(i) Some of the teachers said that they found it difficult to give
students assignments since the few textbooks available
could not be used for homework.
(ii) At times, teachers found it difficult to organize class or group
discussions unless they made use of the handouts which
were too expensive. Although the chalkboard could also be
used, it consumed a lot of time. This was reported by 12
(46.15%) off the teachers.
(iii) Other teachers reported that the students lacked adequate
knowledge on the topics covered. The Students therefore
tended to forget what they were taught within a short time
since the books were not enough for revision purposes.
(iv) Teachers also complained of students' poor responses in
class. The students could not even work a head of the
teacher since the books were not enough. This led to slow
learning of some students.

Efforts were made to try to overcome the above problems by the

teachers. These are as follows:

67
 (i) Encouraging the students to make use of the Library and
giving the students assignments.
(ii) Equipping the school libraries by borrowing books from well-
wishers and also raising funds to buy books.
(iii) Organizing class or group discussions during student!
teachers free time. This gives students opportunities to ask
question on the areas they did not understand during the
lesson.

Other Resources:
(a) Audio-Visual Resources
Audio-visual resources can be used to present students with more
vivid experiences and this helps in reinforcing previous learning.
Some of the audio-visual resources used in the actual classroom
situation are sown in Table N.ll

Table IV. 11: Types of Audio-Visual Resources Used for the

Teaching-Learning of Christian Religious Education
AUDIO-VISUAL RESOURCES N=26 %

. Chalkboard 26 100.0
Newspapers/Magazines 11 42.30
Maps 6 23.07
Posters 5 19.23
Pictures 4 15.38
Radio Cassette 1 3.84

Table N.ll shows that all the teachers used chalkboard. This was
probably due to the fact that chalkboard was available in all the
schools. Other most frequently used resources included,
newspapers, and magazines, maps, posters and pictures. Few

68
teachers made use of radio cassettes. This was due to the pressure
of work and also because few schools had radios. Use of
chalkboard by the teachers was very encouraging because in all the
lesson observed teachers used it in systematic and legible ways.
This was because teachers used the chalkboard more often tan any
other visual aid, as a result they had some experience.

(b) Community Resources.

Use of community resources in teaching enables the learners to
understand and appreciate the world around them. Students are
said to be highly appreciative of their environment. They usually
make things out of local materials, bring the materials to school
and ask questions related to the environment. Use of such
resources make the lesson interesting and students became
actively involved in the learning process. As a result students are
able to understand the lesson better. Table IV.12 presents some of
the community resources used for teaching Christian religious
education.

Table IV. 12: Community Resources Used for Teaching

Christian Religious Education
COMMUNITY RESOURCES N=26 %
Resource person 11 42.30
Church Buildings 8 30.76

Shrines 3 11.53
Museums 1 3.84

Statues/ Icons 1 3.84

Realia (Real things) 1 3.84

69
It can be seen from table IV.12 that use of community resources
was not very encouraging. However, there were attempts by 11
(42.30%) of the teachers to use resource persons especially for
topics in African Traditional Religious and contemporary issues as
was found from lesson observation schedules. Resource persons
were mostly used during student/teacher's free time due to
pressure from the syllabus. Few teachers 1 (3.84%) used real
things (realia) yet such resources make learning experiences more
meaningful to the learners. Over reliance on published materials
especially textbooks seemed to have distracted attention of the
teachers from using the unpublished community resources which
have the highest potential for the provision of relevant learning
experiences. lack of reference on the immediate environment
meant that the subject is taught and learned in "a foreign" little
learning can be expected to take place under such circumstances.

Factors Hindering the Effective use of Teaching- Learning

Resources
Teachers and students in Secondary Schools do not use CRE
Teaching-Learning resources as adequately as they are supposed.
Many reasons have been given by teachers, as presented below. .

(i) About 13 (50.10%) of the teachers complained of syllabus

being too wide, which hindered the effective use of the few
available resources.
(ii) Teachers also complained that duration of the CRE lesson is
too short, and the 40 minutes given to each lesson is always
limited to normal teaching time which is not enough for the
use especially of resource persons. This meant that if a o·

person had to be invited , it had to be either after the

70
 lessons, usually in the evenings. Also with examination
pressure, teachers said that they had to employ less time
consuming teaching strategies like lecturing. This made it
difficult for teachers to make use of a wide variety of
resources like films, slides and even to organize field trips.
(iii) Teachers reported that it was difficult to use some of the
resources available especially resources persons because of
disrupting the school schedules and programmes.
(iv) About 11 (42.30%) of the teachers had doubts about the
,
effectiveness of using resources especially resource persons.
They said that such persons sometimes gave unreliable
"information. As a result teachers ended up not achieving
their goals.
(v) Lack of adequate storage system, made it difficult for the
teachers and students to trace a certain resource when the
need arises. The few resource available in the stores and
libraries are sometimes destroyed by students. This meant
that once a resource was used, there was danger of not
being used again due to a lack of adequate storage facilities.
(vi) Eight teachers (30.76%) complained of lack of support from
the educational officers as to what resources to use. As
such teachers had nobody to turn to for assistance especially
in this field of teaching-learning resources.

Out of these problems, eRE teachers had the following suggestions

regarding the use of teaching and learning resources:
(a) About 17 (65.38%) of the teachers said that there was need
to make use of free time, if the resources were to be
effectively used. Teachers also put forward the idea of

71
 introducing a double eRE lesson to cater for the little time of
40 minutes. This would allow for a wide usage of resources.
(b) Ten (38.46%) of the teachers saw the need of having eRE
inspectors to guide them on the proper usage of resources,
instead of having only one general inspector for all the
subjects.
(c) Schools should improve on their storage facilities, if the
resources were to be used for a longer period improvements
of such facilities would enable teachers and students to e
I

able to borrow and use resources easily when the need

arose.

Summary
The results of the data gathered by means of the three instruments
show that eRETeaching-learning resources in schools were low in
quality and quantity. Resultsalso showed that lack of a variety of
methods for acquiring resources led to the poor quality and low
quantity of teaching and learning resources available in schools.
The fact that teachers lacked adequate guidance on how to select
teaching-learning resources led to the poor utilization of the
resources. The most community used resources in the actual
teaching of eRE included the chalkboard, textbooks and exercise
books.

72
 CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction
This chapter looked at the research questions formulated for this
study with respect to the findings obtained in chapter four.
Recommendations based on the findings of the study are provided
in two sub-sections. The first sub-section are on the
recommendations for educational policy and practice while the
second sub-section is on the suggestions for further research.

Summary of the findings

Research findings revealed that:

(i) Many teaching and learning resources necessary for teaching
the subject were either inadequate or not available at all in
many secondary schools. This particularly referred to audio-
visual resources like films, slides, tape recorders, radios,
video tapes and many others.
(ii) The most commonly available materials were the textbooks
and a few pictures, charts, posters and newspapers.
(iii) The majority of the teachers used publishers to inform them
of the existence of any new teaching and learning resources
in the market especially books.
(iv) Very few schools held departmental meetings to discuss
issues on how the schools can improve and increase the
supply of the resources.

73
Acquisition of Teaching and Learning Resources

Findings from the study revealed that:

(i) Teaching-learning resources were mainly bought by the
schools and parents.
(ii) Some schools had an access to locally prepared resources.
Some of the resources developed in schools included
magazine cuttings, diagrams, maps charts, posters, writing
of plays and research papers which students presented in
class, identifying resource persons and collecting real thing
(realia).
(iii) Few schools held meetings on the production of resources.
Most of these meeting were held in schools. Teachers did
not use places like teachers' Advisory Centres, Kenya
Institute of Education and local community centres.

Factors Hindering the Effective' Supply and Acquisition of

Teaching-learning resources

This question was meant to elicit information regarding supply of

resources in schools. The findings revealed the following problems:

(i) Schoo/lacked adequate funds to purchase resources.

(ii) Schools lacked guidance on he materials to be purchased,
borrowed or made.
(Hi) Schools lacked fora which could be used 0 give directions on
how to improvise locally available materials.
(iv) Non-availability of some of the recommended resources in
the teachers' guide book especially audio-visuals.
(v) Teachers failed to get related to the remote topics.

74
Selection of Teaching-Learning Resources

From the study it is very clear that different people were involved
in the selection of CRE teaching and learning resources, and that
the teachers applied some criteria in this section. The findings
showed that:

(i) CRE teachers and the heads of CRE Department played a

significant role in the selection of teaching learning
resources.
(ii) Course objectives, nature of subject content, coverage of
syllabus topics and time available were the most important
criteria used by teachers in the selection of teaching-learning
resources. Few teachers considered ease of usage as
important criteria.

.
Types of teaching-learning resources used in the actual Teaching of
Christian Religious Education.
(i) The majority of the teachers used the main textbooks that
is, God's People Series, Christian Religious Education Series
and the Bible.
(ii) Teachers also used other additional textbooks to supplement
materials in the main textbooks.
(iii) Some teachers were found not to have been using the eRE
Teaches' Guide Book.
(iv) There was a severe shortage of students' textbooks, which
made their teaching difficult.
(v) The most commonly used of the audio-visual resources
include illustrations in the textbooks, chalkboard,
,
newspapers, maps and posters. There was hardly any use

75
 of audio-visual resources like radio cassettes, slides and
filmstrips.
(vi) There was an attempt by most teachers to use resource
persons, and some other community resources.

Factors Hindering the Effective use of Teaching-learning

Resources

(i) Since the syllabus was too wide, it became difficult for
teachers to get adequate time to make use of resources.
(ii) There was a danger of disrupting the school programme or
sch~ules, especiallywhen using resource persons.
(iii) Many teachers had doubts about the effectiveness of using
resourcesespeciallyresource persons.
(iv) There was lack of adequate facilities for safe storage of
resources.
.
(v) There was lack of support from the educational officers as to
what resources to use; as such teachers had nobody to turn
to for assistance.

Conclusions

(i) Teachers found it difficult to facilitate teaching and learning

activities due to the inadequacy of learning resources in
schools and the market.
(ii) Since very few teachers and students were involved in the
improvisation of locally available materials, this contributed
to the inadequate supply especially of the audio-visual
resources.

76
(iii) Teachers lacked guidance from the curriculum developers,
Christian Education Inspectors and Advisers. As a result
they were not able to use the few available resources
adequately.
(iv) This lack of guidance also made teachers select materials
which the schools could not afford and which they did not
know how to use. That is why use of teaching and learning
resources was very much limited to textbooks and few
published materials.
(v) Audio-visual and community resources which had the
highest potential for the provision of ~relevant teaching-
learning experiences were rarely used.
(vi) The teachers seemed to have adopted "books-centred
Approach", which made the students passive, since they
were not involved in any activities.
(vii) The fact that few teachers used teaching and learning
resources for the purpose of visual illustration and for
demonstration purposes was an indication of the low
I

utilization rate of audio-visual resources especially filmstrips

and slides in the actual classroom teaching.
,
Viii Teacher's use of chalkboard for giving students notes
encouraged rote-learning because students were not
involved in any creative critical or heuristic learning.

Recommendations

On the basis of the major findings and conclusions presented in this

study, the following recommendations are made to serve as
guidelines for: further action and research. Recommendations are

77
made for educational policy and practice in Kenya and others are
meant for further research.

Recommendations for Educational policy and practice in

Kenya

1. There is an urgent need to improve the quality and. quantity of

CRE teaching-learning resources so that teachers can have 'a
variety of resources to be able to make the choice of the most
appropriate one for use. The ministry of Education, science and
technology should make attempts of finding out what resources
are actually available in schools and now they are organised.
This would be the first step on the way to improving the use of
resources.
2. The ministry of Education, Science and Technology under the
guidance of CRE. Curriculum developers at the Kenya Institute
of Education should organize in-service courses. These courses
could be used to update trained teachers on the new education
programmes, help them acquire new professional skills so that
they can become competent in their classroom teaching. More
emphasis on the teaching methods from teacher-centred to
resource-based learning should be the key to all discussions.
3. Schools should be encouraged by school inspectors to hold
meetings, so that teachers can have time to share their ideas on
the production of ,resources.
This will help improve the improvisation of teaching and
learning resources, hence increase their quantity and quality.
4. The Kenya Institute of Education should make efforts to invite
teachers to material development meetings for teachers to be
able too very their methods of acquiring resources.

78
5. There is an urgent need for the ministry of Education, Science
and Technology to establish Teacher Advisory Centres at the
district level to cater for the secondary schools. Such centres
should be at the centrally convenient places where all teachers
can visit easily. This can lead to improvement in the quantity of
resources available in schools.
6. The inspectorate and principals should encourage teachers and
students to make use of the free library services at the district,
since not many schools have well equipped libraries.
7. There is need for a strict supervision in secondary schools.
During the supervision, teachers should be convinced and
strongly encouraged to vary their methods of teaching and
learning to fit the needs and levels of the learners. Supervision
should also make sure that CRE recommended resources.
8. Curriculum developers and book authors need to update main
eRE textbooks to be met changing needs of the society.
9. Book publishers should try to avail all the recommended
textbooks in all the bookshops in the country to make them
accessible to all schools.
The recommendations made in this study should act as basis for
improving the utilisation of CRE teaching-learning resources in
schools. Therefore the study is expected to be found useful by the
C.R.E teachers, media specialists, curriculum developers and policy
makers in developing countries, particularly those in Africa.

Suggestions for further research

This study has raised a number of important questions, which are

I

really beyond its scope. For this reason, they could not be
answered by the present study to a great depth. Based on the

79
findings and' recommendations therefore, the followings are some
suggestions for further research.
1. A more intensive study should be done to cover all the schools
in Migori District since the present study was done in a- few
schools.
2. There is a need to conduct a research on the relationship
between students' perfonnance in C.R.E and the use of teaching
and learning resource.s. This would really detennine whether the
use of learning resources has any positive impact in the
examinations.
3. A more intensive investigation should be done on the
teachers/student attitudes towards the use of teaching -learning
resources in the teaching of C.R.E.
4. Further research for a similar nature should be done in other
subjects that are taught in Kenyan secondary schools.
5. A study should be done on the C.R.E training programmes in
Colleges and Universities to investigate:
i. Whether the tutors emphasize on the need for teaching-
learning resources in the programme.
ii. How the tutors implement the programme to the students. '
iii. Whether there is a follow-up of what the students have been
taught and what the tutors look for in this follow-up
concerning the use of teaching-learning resources.

80
 •
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson, CA. (1970), Education and Economic Development

Chicago Publisher, Chicago, USA.
Ayot, H.D. and Briggs (1992), Economics of Education Research
and Publications (EARP), Nairobi
Bishop, G. (1985), Curriculum Development: A Textbook for
Students,_London, Macmillan Publishers.
Copper, H, (1969), Aids to Teaching and Learning. New York:
Pegomon Press
Copper J.M. and Ryan K. (1984). Those who can teach.
Houghton Muffin Company, Boston.
Douglass, H.R (1964); The High School Curriculum._ Third
Edition Ronald Press Company.
Duignan, R (1986), Research on Effective Schooling: Some
Implications for school improvement.)ournal of
Education Administration, volume xxiv.
Eshiwani G.S. (1988), Factors Influencing Performance
among Primary and Secondary School Pupils in
Western Province of Kenya. A Policy study, Unpublished
study. Bureau of Education Research, Kenyatta University,
Nairobi.
Eshiwani G.5.(1988). Education in Semi - Arid Areas. A study of
Determinants for school Achievements in Kajiado District.
Unpublished study. Bureau of Education Research, Kenyatta
University Nairobi.
Gakuru D.N. (1982), Analysis of Factors that Influence the
Achievement of Primary Education Objectives, KERA
Research Report, Kenyatta University, Nairobi.

81
Gay, L.R. (1976), Education Research Competence, for
analysis and Application. Ohio Charles E. McMillan
Publishers Company
KNEC (1988), Education and Training,_Vol 1 - 5 Magazine
Published by Education and Training Services L.t.d Nairobi,
Kenya.
Kerlinger F. (1973), Foundations of Behavioral Research. 2nd
Edition Network Holt Rinehart and Winston, lne.
Kibui G.P. (199), A Comparative study of factors that influence the
examination peQbrmance of· Public and Private schools in
Nairobi. Unpublished MED Thesis Kenyatta University,
Nairobi.
Lokesh, K. (1984), Methodology of Educational Research.
Vain Education. Nigeria Macmillan Press L.t.d
Malusu J.M. (1981), Factors influencing CRE Performance.
Unpublished MEO Thesis, Nairobi University Nairobi.
Malusu J.M. (1985), Factors influencing CRE in Primary Schools.
Unpublished M.E.D Thesis, university of Nairobi, Nairobi
Musaazi, J.C.S (1982), The Theory and Practice of Education
Administration._ Nigeria Macmillan Press L.t.d
Mutoro(1985), Factors influencing teachings CRE in primary
schools. Unpublished Thesis M.E.D Kenyatta University,
Nairobi.
Neagley, R. (1965), Handbooks for Effective supervision of
Instruction. Englewood Cliff Prentice hall.
Ominde Commission Report (1984), On Education Act.
Owen J.G (1973), Management of Curriculum Development.
Cambridge. At the University Press
Saylor J.G. and Alexander W.W. (1974), Planning Curriculum
for schools. Holt, Rinehart and Winston inc.

82
Taba, H. (196';), Curriculum Development, Theory and
practice. Harcourt Bruce world Inc New York
Tyler, R.W. (1949), Basic Principles of Curriculum and
Instruction. University of Chicago
Wainahia (1984), Factors influencing performance in eRE,
Unpublished. Thesis MED, Bureau of Education Research,
Kenyatta University, Nairobi.

83
 APPENDIX A: PRE-CONTACT LETTERS TO SCHOOL
.
•
ODEGE DICK JOHN
KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE FOR CONTINUING
EDUCATION
P.O BOX 43844
NAIROBI

Dear head teacher/Subject Teacher,

RE: PERMISSION FOR RESEARCH

I am a post graduate student at Kenyatta University currently preparing
to conduct a study on the availability and utilization of teaching resources
for CRE for my Master of Education project.

The research will cover all the heads of eRE department and other CRE
teachers in the selected secondary schools in Migori district. I would also
wish to observe CRE lessons in form II and III. The findings will assist in
making objectives recommendation aimed at improving the teaching of
CRE in secondary schools.

I wish to be in your school for data collection in the month

_____ and I look forward to receive your invaluable
assistance to enable me complete me complete my studies on time.
Thanks in advances.

Yours faithfully

84
 APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS OF
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Please put a tick against the infonnation most applicable to fill in

the blank spaces. Some questions may have more than one
answer.

Do not write your name.

GENERAL INFORMATION
1. Are you a male or female?
(a) Male ( )
(b) Fema!e ( )
2. What is your highest academic qualification?
(a) KCE ( )
(b) KACE ( )
(c) University Degree ' ( )
(d) Others (Specify) ( )
3. What is your highest professional qualification?
(a) Untrained teacher (form six) ( )
(b) Diploma in Education ()
(c) Trained graduate ()
(d) Untrained graduate ()
(e) A.T.5 ( )
4. How long have you taught CRE?

(a) 0- 2 years ( )
(b) 3 - 5 years ( )
(c) 6 - 9 years ( )
(d) 10 - above years ( )

85
5. Were you taught during your training how to make use of
teaching and learning resources for teaching CRE?
(a) Yes ( )
'i.~
!b) No ( )
6. What other subject (s) a part from CREdo you teach at
present? " .

(a) English (Literature and English) ( )

(b) Geography. ( )
(c) History and Government ( )
(d) Kiswahili
, ( )
(e) Social Education and Ethics ( )
(f) Biology ( )
(g) Chemistry ( )
(h) Physics ( )
(i) Mathematics ( )
(j) Others (specify)

7. What is your total number of period per week?

(a) Less than 15 ()
(b) 16 20 ()
(c) 21 25 ()
8. Which main textbooks do you usually use for teaching CRE in
form 1- N?
(a) eRE series by Groenewegen and Githige ( )
(b) God's people series by CCEAand KCS ( )
(c) Bible ( )

(d) CRE series by K.I.E. ( )

86
9. Apart from the above textbooks, what other books do you
usually use for teaching CRE?
(a) Author _
l1tle _

(b) Author _
Title _

(c) Author-.- _
TItle _

(d) Author _
Title . _
10. What problems do you face in teaching CRE due to lack of
textbooks for students?
(a) .
(b) .
(c) .
(d) .

11.What steps has your school taken to overcome the above

problems?
(a) .
(b , .
(c) .
(d) .

12.In view of che lessons allocated to me per week i feel

(A) Overworked ( )
(B) Under worked ( )

87
 (C) Adequately loaded ()
13. Have you ever attended an in-service course in CRE?
(A) Yes ( )
(B)No ( )
14. For how long have you been involved in the teaching of CRE in
you present school?
(A) One year ( )
(B) Two years ( )
(C)Three years ( )
(D)More than three years ()
15. Who are involved in the selection of teaching and learning
resources for CRE?
(A) CREteachers ( )
(B) Head of CRE Department ( )
(C) Principal ( )
(D) Students ( )
(E) Parents ( )
16. What community resources do you use in teaching and learning
CRE?
(A) Resource person ( )
(B) Church building ( )
(C) Shrines ( )
(D)Museums ( )
(E) Statues/leone ( )
(F) Realia (real things) ( )

Section 2.

.
This section of the questionnaire consists of 17 statements
I

designed to get your opinion concerning religious education

88
teaching. Read each statement carefully and decide what you feel
about it. Circle your choice correctly to the letter or letters which
indicate how best you agree or disagree with the feeling expressed
in each statement. Example:
(a) Strongly agree SA
(b) Agreed A
(c) Undecided U
(d) Disagree D
(e) Strongly Disagree' SD

Please do not circle more than one letter or letters for each
statement.
1. Are there enough CREtextbooks and other related teaching and
learning materials provided in this school?
SA A UD SD

2. The Religious Education Syllabus is too broad and it cannot be

covered in time to make time for revision.
SA A UD SD
3. I approach Reliqlous Education with feelings of hesitation
resulting from fear of my incompetence to teach it.
SA A UD SD
4. The organization of the course content
",
in the Christian Religious
Education textbooks is in a cleah3nd sequential order.
SA A UD SD '
5. I am satisfied with the amount and quality of in-service training
given to teachers of Christian Religious Education.
SA A UD SD

89
6. The recommended Religious Education textbooks and other
teaching and learning materials are well illustrated with maps,
diagrams, and photographs, which make the subjects easy to
teach.
SA A UD SD
7. Christian Religious Education is very popular subject among the
pupils in this school.
SA A UD SD
8. I v:ould like teaching Christian Education more than any other
subject.
SA A UD SD
9. I find it difficult to prepare a test that would accurately measure
the extent to which Christian Religious Education teaching effect
towards life.
SA A UD SD
10.Th.e main aims and objectives of Christian Religious Education
, .
are not clear to me.
SA A UD SD
11. I really like reading Christian Religious Education books during
my free time.
SA A UD' SD
12.The of time allocated for Christian Religious Education is not
enough to enable teachers and pupils to cover activities
suggested in the syllabus effectively.
SA A UD SD
13.The school administration shows keen interest in Christian
Religious Education.'
SA A UD SD
14.The large number of pupils in my class makes difficult for me to
effectively teach Christian Religious Education.

90
 SA A UD SD

Section 3

Kindly answer the following' questions which relate to the teaching

of Christian Religious Education.

1. Rank the following methods of teaching Christian Religious

Education in order of preference. Write

(i)Against the method you fee is most suitable

(ii) Against the second and so on. Thus ending with the method
you feel is least suitable to apply in Christian Religious
Education.
(a) Discussion method ()
(b) Group project method ()
( c) Story telling method ()
(d) Role playing method ()
(e) Tape Recording ( )
(f) Any other _' _

2. (i) how often do you evaluate the pupils teaching and learning
outcome in Christian Religious Education? Indicate a tick in the
appropriate bracket the average number of time of evaluation
per term.
(a) In the first month of the term
None ( )
Once ( )
Twice ( )
Thrice ( )
More than thrice ( )

91
 (b) In the second month of the term
None ( )
Once ( )
Twice ( )
Thrice ( )
( c) In the third month of the term
None ( )
Once ( )
Twice ( )
Thrice ( )
More than thrice ( )
(ii) Please list some of the teaching and learnirig resources that
you use in evaluation process
1 .
2 .
3.
4 .
5 .

2. What factors you think could be affecting the utilization of

teaching and learning resources in the Christian Religious
Education Curriculum.
1 .
2.
3.
3. What factors do you think could be affecting the utilization of
teaching and learning resources in the Christian Religious
Education Curriculum.
1 .
2.

92
 3 .
4. What suggestion would you give for better utilization of
teaching and learning resources in Christian Religious
Education?
1 .
2 .
3 .

93
 APPENDIX C: QUEsnONNAIRE FOR HEADS OF eRE
DEPARTMENT

This section of the questionnaires seek information about the

availability, acquisition, utilization and improvising of CRE
teaching and learning resources. And also the teaching and
evaluation procedures. Please respond to all the questions as
honestly and accurately as possible since the information most
applicable for you or fill in the black spaces. Some questions
may have more than one answer.
General Information
1. Are you a male or female
(a) Male ( )
(b) Female ( )
2. What is your highest academic qualification?
(a) EACE/KCE ( )
(b) EAACE/KACE ( )
©University degree ( )
(d) Others specify

3. What is your highest academic qualification?

(a) Untrained teacher (form six)( )
(b) Pi ( )
(c) Sl ( )
(d) ATS ( )
I

(e) Diploma in Education ( )

(f) Trained Graduate ( )
~
"

4. How long have you taught CRE?

(a)O - 3 years ( )
(b)4 - 6 years ( )

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 ( c)7 - 10 years ( )
(d)l1 - above years ( )
5. For how long have you been?
Number of years
A teacher?
A teacher at the present school

6. How many times have you attended in-service course in CREas

your teaching subject?
(i) Once ( )
(ii)Twice ( )
(iii)Thrice ( )
(iv) More than thrice ()
(v) Never ( )
7. Were you taught during your training how to make use of
teaching and learning resources for teaching CRE?
(a)Yes ( )
(b)No. ( )
8. Approximately at what frequency do you make your: -
(a) Schemes of work? ( )
(i) Once a month ( )
(ii) Once a term ( )
(iii) Once a year ( )
(iv) Not at all ( )

(b) Lesson plan?

(i) Daily ( )
(ii) Once a week ()
(iii) Once a term ()
(iv) Not at all ( )

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 ·'

9. What.other subjects (s) a part from CREdo you teach at

present?

10. What is your total number of periods per week?

Teact~ingand learning Resources

1. Does your school have adequate teaching and learning

resources?
(a) None at all ( )
(b) Adequate ( )
( c) Inadequate, ( )
(d) Who are involved in the selection of resources that you
require for teaching and learning CRE? ( )
(a)Students ( )
(b)CRE - teacher (s) ( )
( c) Head of CRE Deparbnent ()
(d) Principal ( )
(e) Others specify
I

2. What criteria do you use in the selection of teaching and

learning resources?
. '
(a) Lesson 'objectives ( )
(b) Nature of the syllabus topic ()
( c) Time available ( )
(d)class size ( )
(e) Coverage of syllabus topic ( )

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 (f) Age of students ( )
(g.) H:pense of resources ( )
(h) Others (specify)

3. Are eRE audio - visual resources in terms of quality?

(a)More than adequate ( )
(b) Adequate ( )
©Inadequate ( )
(d) None at all ( )
4. Does the school get adequate supply of eRE textbooks?
(a)Yes ( )
(b) No I ( )

5. How are you informed of the existence of new eRE teaching

and learning resources in the market?
(a) Circular from the ministry ( )
(b) Principal ( )
(c) In - service course ( )
(d) School inspectors ( )
(e) Publishers ( )
(f) Newspaper/magazines ( )
6. (i) Do you hold eRE Departmental meetings?
(a) Yes ( )
(b) No ( )
(ii)If the answer to 7(i) is yes, how often do you meet?
(a) Once per month ( )
(b) Once per term ( )
( c) Once per year ( )
(d) More than once per term ()
(e) More than once per year ()
(f) Any other number of time (specify)

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 7. What issue concerning eRE teaching and learning resources
do you discuss?

8. (i) are you given any incentives in this school to activate

teachers in eRE Department?
(a) Yes ( )
(b) No ( )
(ii) If yes, what type of incentive? List here below

, !

10. (i) What is the commitment level of your teachers

in eRE Department?
(a) High ( )
(b) Moderate ( )
( c),Low ( )
(ii) What are the reasons for your answer?

10.When did you inspect your teachers' schemes of work?

,
<
(a)Last month ( )
(b) Last tetrh ( )
~ "

( c) Last year ( )
(d) Last week ( )
(e) Not at all ( )

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 .•...

11. List down some possible solutions that can improve the
implementation of CRECurriculum in secondary schools.

1,\' .

" .

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 APPENDIX D: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR TEACHERS

1. (a) Do you feel that you are getting enough professional

guidance in the teaching of Christian Religious Education?
Please explain.

(b) If "yes" who provides the professional guidance?

1. _
2. _
(c) Through what method is the professional help provided
1. _
2. _
2. (a) Have you been involved in the designing and
developing of the Christian Religious Education Programme
at K.I.E? Please explain
1. _
2. _
(b) If the answer in 2ea) is "yes" how satisfied were you in the
process of designing and developing Christian Religious
Education at K.I.E? Please explain.
1. _
2. _
3. Do you think that Christian Religious Education Programmes or
teaching is
(a)Enjoyable to pupils? (explain)

(b)Popular among entire teaching staff (explain)

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 (c) Popular among entire teaching staff (explain)

(d) Popular among the pupils (explain)

(e) Popular among the community around the school (explain)

4. What suggestions and comments would you offer in connection

with the teaching and learning Christian Religious Education?
5. (i) Briefly list down other difficulties encountered in teaching
and leaming CRE

Suggest solutions to these problems.

6. (i) what teaching and leaming resources do you use for

teaching and learning CRE?

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(ii). Do the students improvise the teaching and learning
resources? (state examples)

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 '-.

APPENDIX E: OBSERVATION SCHEDULE

Lesson observation schedule

FORM TIME _
LESSON _
TOPIC _
OBJEcnYES _

Preparation
1. Schemes of work
(A) does the school have CRE scheme of work?
i. Yes
ii. No

(b) Are the teaching and learning resources been indicated?

i. Yes
ii. No.

2. Lesson plan
(a) Does the teacher have a lesson pian?
i. Yes
ii. No

(b) Are the teaching and learning resources been prepared to

suit the lesson?
i i. Yes
ii. No

( c) Are the teaching and learning resources suitable in quality?

i. Yes
ii. No

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 3. What are teaching and learning resources used in the actual
CRE Lesson?
I RESOURCES lONE BEING I WHO USES TEACHER
USED STUDENTS
I Chaikboard
i
I Notice board I I
I God's people by CCEA i
I I
\ and KCS. I I
I
I CRE Series by i
Groenewegen and I !
, ;

Bib!e

Resource person

I Other textbooks
\ Notebooks

I Newspapers
I Maps
I Globes
I Posters
•.
4. Does the teacher write !egibly on the chalkboard?
i. Yes
ii. No

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