INFLUENCE OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEACHING ON CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AMONG STUDENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS: A CASE STUDY OF KIRINYAGA COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

The scenario in which irrational behavior has dominated the character of the Kenyan youth has brought to contention whether the moral well-being of the youth is on a downward trend suggesting that either the teaching of moral values through C.R.E is defective or the Kenyan education system as a whole is defective. The moral character of the Kenyan secondary school student in the wider society has become an issue of concern in the recent past. Previous research reported that Kenyan students’ moral standing and general conduct in the wider society reflects lack of acquisition of skills necessary to deal with challenges in the current society. Little attention has been given to the correlation between the teaching-learning of CRE and acquisition of requisite skills. It’s against this background that the researcher investigated the influence of religious education on character development among students. The study was guided by Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning which has strong implication to moral education. Descriptive survey design was used to conduct the research using ten schools, ten CRE teachers and 380 CRE students in the sampled schools. Information was collected by use of questionnaires and interview schedule. Data was analyzed using frequency distribution tables, percentages, and bar graphs. Findings revealed that teachers rarely used the elements of skill acquisition in delivery of the content that could enable the learner make accurate moral decisions. Also, the curriculum and the syllabus guides do not elaborate on the elements of moral values teachers ought to use during C.R.E content delivery. For CRE teaching to be productive, the syllabus must be organized into a logical whole. This calls for systematic instruction in an organized system such as a school where youths are taught to think rationally.