The Role of Teaching History and Government in Fostering National Cohesion and Integration in Kenya: Opportunities and Challenges
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Date
2020-10-01
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International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |
Abstract
The teaching of History and Government should serve
to enable a country meet its needs and aspirations. One such
need in Kenya, which has remained largely elusive, is national
cohesion and integration. The objectives of teaching History and
Government are; to demonstrate an understanding of how
people and events of the past have influenced the ways in which
people lived and behaved; appreciate the need for an importance
of mutual responsibility, and to develop a sense of patriotism and
national pride through participation in various development
activities in the country. Research has revealed that the teaching
of History and Government contributes to the development of an
individual by increasing his/her propensity to be tolerant.
Learning has a strong influence on the development of shared
norms and the value placed on tolerance and understanding
within a community. Integration is the process by which
immigrants become accepted into society, both as individuals and
as groups. The study was guided by the following specific
objectives: to establish whether the objectives of teaching History
and Government subject in Secondary school are being met and
to establish the role of History and Government education in
enhancing National Integration in Kenya. The target population
of the study comprised of History and Government teachers,
History and Government students, community leaders, Youth
leaders, and Church leaders in Bomet County. Focus group
discussions, Questionnaires and interview schedules were used to
collect data from the respondents. Qualitative data collected was
analyzed using content analysis while quantitative data analyzed
using descriptive statistics. The results indicated that there is a
need to have History and Government subject compulsory in
secondary school curriculum to allow the subject objectives to be
met. The study also revealed challenges facing the teaching of
History and Government subject fails to meet the needs of the
Country in terms of cohesion and integration.
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Keywords
Cohesion, History and Government, National integration, Teaching, Kenya