| dc.description.abstract | After the attainment of political independence, it became
necessary for different ethnic groups in Kenya to see
themselves as members of a large family - the nationwithin
which their various ethnic groups would harmoniously
co-exist and work together for the good of all. They were
expected then, as now, to conceive of themselves as one
group of people forming one nation, not as different ethnic
groups constantly hostile to one another. Education was
seen as the best means to achieve this goal. So immediately
after independence, the government of Kenya assigned
educational institutions the role of instilling feelings of
nationhood and promoting national unity. Since then there
is no single government document on education that does
not emphasize this role.
This paper attempts to examine the strengths and weaknesses
of the philosophy behind using education as a means to
instil nationhood and promote national unity. In order to do
this the paper first examines the meaning of the terms
'nation' and 'nationhood'. Then, the paper analyzes the
recommendations of the Ominde Commission Report of 1964
regarding the role of education in instilling feelings of
nationhood. This is because the Ominde Report is the one
that lay the foundation upon which all the subsequent
educational reports and other similar documents in Kenya
are now built.
The analysis reveals inherent difficulties in trying to use
educational institutions as a vehicle for inculcating
nationhood and promoting national unity. This is mainly
because nationhood is an attitude of mind and the. nature of
attitudes is such that their formation and maintenance is
influenced by factors largely found outside the school
system. By way of conclusion the paper suggests that
schools are mere reflections of the society that maintains
them, and that nationhood can be achieved only if every
section of the Kenyan community is involved in its promotion,
with the adult world and the political establishment leading
the way as role models to be emulated by the learners in
schools. | en_US |
