Influence of Cultural Practices on Implementation of Development Projects in Shinyalu Sub-county Kakamega, Kenya

Abstract

In the contemporary world, cultural practices have been given a significant chance in various societies. Essentially, societies believe that the social, economic and political aspects of a given society fundamentally depend on their cultural practices. As such, culture is life of people; meaning such things as their art, architecture, music, dance literature and theatre. But the social scientists use the word culture in a larger sense, encompassing man’s ideas, customs, and products (Rodgers, 2000).Culture has become a sensitive issue and has ever remained a burning aspect almost in all developing countries of the world leading to low economic development (Holy, 2002). Essentially, cultural activities play a vital role in influencing people’s lives. As such, the study aimed at investigating the influence of cultural practices on implementation of development projects in Shinyalu sub-county Kakamega Kenya. To achieve this, the study was guided by four objectives: To determining how rites of passage influence implementation of development projects in Shinyalu sub-county, To establish how gender practices influence implementation of development projects in Shinyalu sub-county, To assess how leisure activities influence implementation of development projects in Shinyalu sub-county and lastly, To determine how polygamy influence the implementation of development projects in Shinyalu sub-county. Additionally, the research focused on structural functionalism theory and the conceptual framework which show how various variables interrelate with each other where the independent variable is cultural activities and dependent variable is the implementation of development project. In terms of data collection, the study employed descriptive survey design which describes the state of affairs of the respondents with a target population of the households of Shinyalu sub-county with a population of 159,475 people. The sample size was arrived at using Yamane (1967) simplified formulae to calculate sample sizes. Systematic random sampling was utilized during data collection. Consequently, questionnaire and interview were used. These instruments were chosen because they would give the detailed information of the influence of development in Shinyalu. Qualitative data was analyzed using descriptive design. Quantitative data analysis took the form of frequency tables and percentages The organization of the study: Chapter One presents background of the study, purpose of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, delimitations, assumptions and definition of significant terms. Chapter Two contain literature review, theoretical framework and conceptual framework on which the study was based. Chapter Three involve research design, target population, sampling procedure, data collection procedure, piloting, validity and reliability of instruments, methods of data analysis and operation definition of variables. Chapter four deals with data analysis and interpretation while chapter Five deals with summary of findings, conclusions and recommendations.