Factors influencing teachers’ capacity building in peace initiatives in secondary schools: a case of Mathare subcounty, Nairobi, Kenya.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish factors that influence teachers’ capacity building in peace initiatives. The study reviewed related literature from books, journals and reports to get more insight on the influence of teachers’ training on their capacity building, socio-cultural factors influencing teachers’ capacity building, the teaching and learning approaches used during training and the teaching and learning resources available to the teachers to help improve their capacity building in peace initiatives. The study employed a descriptive research survey design and targeted 246 teachers in secondary schools in Mathare SubCounty with a sample size of 74 teachers and 4 Ministry of Education officials. Stratified random sampling technique was used whereas questionnaires were used to collect data from the obtained sample size. Each item in the questionnaire was developed to address a specific objective and research question. The completed questionnaire was edited for completeness and consistency, checked for errors and omissions and then coded. Thereafter, the data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program and presented using tables to give a clear picture of the research findings at a glance. The study established that majority of teachers have not been trained in peace initiatives which contributes to their lack of skills and different approaches to handle peace initiatives and develop positive attitude in learners in secondary schools. Socio-cultural factors also influence teachers’ capacity building and there was need to train them and their students to be tolerant towards people with different cultures due to the nature of diverse culture in Kenya. Majority of teachers don’t use the skills and resources that are at their disposal in schools to improve their capacity building. The study therefore recommends the following: the Ministry of Education should train all teachers in secondary schools in peace initiatives regardless of the subjects they teach, it should also provide schools with the necessary resources so as to equip teachers to be able to teach the learners to acquire the positive attitude for peaceful co-existence. Ministry of Education officials should occasionally carry out an inspection to follow up on the trainings to ensure that the teachers are utilizing the skills and resources as trained and also find out their effectiveness for review.