CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN KENYA: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF STATE-SPONSORED SOCIAL STUDIES INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the principal citizenship issues identified by scholars as significant with regard to the African experience were addressed in state-endorsed Kenyan social studies instructional materials. This study also determined whether or not the treatment of the principal citizenship issues was consistent with the recommendations in the citizenship literature. In addition, this study analyzed and evaluated the pedagogical exercises present in social studies instructional materials. A qualitative content analysis was used for the study. Content in the social studies materials was read iteratively to determine patterns and generate themes. The generated themes were evaluated against the scholars\u27 recommendations. Pedagogical exercises in social studies instructional materials were also identified and classified into two categories, passive and active learning exercises. For the purpose of analysis, data were collected separately from the elementary and secondary textbooks. The analysis of data was done through descriptive and critical analysis. Although the textbooks addressed virtually all the citizenship issues at some level or to some degree, some important trends emerged. For example, the textbooks gave more coverage to democracy and human rights, secondary school textbooks contained more complex content than primary school textbooks, and the textbooks contained descriptive and superficial content on the main citizenship issues. The analysis of data revealed that most of the recommended pedagogical methods such as debates, role play and discussions recommended by scholars were found in learning activities. Although the textbooks contained a higher percentage of learning activities that promoted active learning, most practice questions at the end of each chapter required students to memorize the same content form in the textbooks. The study had a number of implications. Some of these were that the ministry of education needs to include content on diversity in secondary school textbooks, there is need for more elaborate discussions of the citizenship issues, and the ministry of education ought to recommend the inclusion of content on ethnic conflicts and skills in content resolution in the contemporary Kenyan society