DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

This thesis is my original work and has not been presented for the award of a degree in any other university or any other institution of higher learning.

Nekesa Catherine Wamokhela_________ Date____________

EDU/PGCM/21/09

This thesis has been submitted for examination with our approval as university supervisors.

Department of Curriculum,

2. Mrs.Bernadette Lwagula. _________________________ Date_______________

Lecturer

Department of curriculum,

Instruction and Educational Media.

Moi University

Eldoret.

This work is dedicated, first, to the Almighty God for bringing me this far. Secondly to my parent who encouraged me to continue with my studies and who helped me through their simple potentials and limited resources. To my beloved and understanding husband Zacheaus. Throughout my studies, he patiently took care of our children and provided for my most urgent needs. To all my friends, who provided me with all kind of encouragement, motivation and help to improve my standard of education and culture. To my brothers and sisters who provided assistance where needed. Lastly, to our two daughters; Carolyne and Melissa and our son Klay. Their understanding, company, encouragement and sacrifice has enabled me reach where I am.

It is benevolent to concede assistance that people make in varied ways to the accomplishment of a significant mission. It is also vital to express ones profound gratitude to the individuals and institutions that whole heartedly assist in accomplishing a splendid achievement. Aiding a candidate to complete writing a thesis is by all criteria no trivial role. Therefore, it is prudent to mention those distinct personalities and establishments and designate their explicit contributions towards the completion of this thesis.

First and foremost, I acknowledge Moi University for granting me a chance to carry out my studies. Secondly, I acknowledge my hardworking, tireless supervisors, Dr. Wanyonyi and Mrs. Lwagula whose assistance, encouragement and sacrifice is immeasurable. I owe thanks too, to lecturers in the department of CIEM for the good advice and direction towards my task. They are Prof. Mukwa, Dr. Kyalo, Dr. Too, Dr. Boit, among others. I feel ethically and duty bound to acquiescently acknowledge their intellectual guidance, steady fortitude and enthusiasm to support me unlimitedly. Without them, it would have been incredible to complete this work. I also acknowledge my colleagues in the department of CIEM and other Master of Philosophy students for their support and encouragement. They did not hesitate to speak strongly with me if there was slow progress.They undoubtedly, acted as my mentors, and for that, my thanks are more than words can tell. I acknowledge my dear parents, brothers and sisters for their vast contribution and value for education. Though not endowed with any wealth, they struggled from scratch to educate their children. I place on record my profound gratitude to my parents, George Khisa and Angela Naliaka. Thanks for laying the foundation, which I am building on. Finally, to my dear husband Zacheaus and our children, Carolyne, Melissa and Klay for their support and understanding.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of group discussion as a method of teaching Kiswahili literature in secondary schools in Kenya. Over years, the mean score for Kiswahili literature has been discouraging. It was with this in mind that this study sought to find out how teachers of Kiswahili exploit group discussion in teaching Kiswahili literature. The study was based on Bruner’s constructivist theory which states that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon current or past knowledge. The researcher adopted a survey design. The study was conducted in selected schools in Wareng District, Uasin Gishu County in Kenya. The researcher used purposive, stratified and simple random sampling to get the study sample. Twelve secondary schools, five hundred and fifty form three students and all the fourteen form three teachers of Kiswahili literature in the selected schools were included in the study sample. Data was collected using questionnaire, observation and document analysis. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze data. A pilot study was conducted in preparation for the main data collection in the field. The study revealed that the use of group discussion enhances positive performance though its use in schools is limited by problems such as insufficient time. It was also revealed that teachers had a positive attitude towards the use of group discussion. However it was rarely used in teaching Kiswahili literature because of inadequate time, work load among other factors. Students also had a positive attitude towards the use of group discussion. However, the attitude was negatively influenced by factors such as lack of cooperation and lack of time among others. The degree of use of group discussion in teaching Kiswahili literature was low and other teaching methods commonly used in teaching Kiswahili literature included, question and answer and lecture. The study therefore recommends the frequent use of group discussion in teaching Kiswahili literature as it enhances performance. The study too recommends teachers of Kiswahili to be trained in Kiswahili language (lugha) and Kiswahili literature (Fasihi). Moreover it recommends more time to be allocated Kiswahili subject since time factor was a setback in the choice and use of group discussion. The researcher hopes that the findings of the study will add to existing body of knowledge that will be useful to both curriculum developers and implementers in policy formulation towards the choice of appropriate teaching methods in teaching Kiswahili literature in secondary schools.

Figure 1: Students by Gender 62

A.U - African Union

B.A - Bachelor of Arts

B.ED - Bachelor of Education

CHE - Commission for Higher Education

C I E - Curriculum instruction and Educational Media

D.C - District Commissioner.

D.E.O - District Education Officer

Dip.Ed. - Diploma in Education

E.A.C - East African Community

HIV - Human Immune Virus

K.C.S.E - Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education

K.I.E - Kenya Institute of Education

KNEC - Kenya National Examination Council

M.Ed. - Masters of Education

M.Phil. - Master of Philosophy

P.G.D.E - Post Graduate Diploma in Education

P.P.P - Pose, Pause and Pounce

SPSS - Statistical Package for Social Sciences.

8.4.4 - Eight Years of Primary Education, Four Years of Secondary

Education and Four Years of University Education.

This chapter deals with issues that form the background of the study. It highlights the development and current status of Kiswahili in Kenya and how Kiswahili Literature features in the school curriculum. Also to be dealt with is statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, and purpose of the study, justification for the study, significance of the study, scope and limitations of the study, assumptions of the study, theoretical framework and definition of key terms.

Kembo-Sure (1996:17) says, the choice of the national language has a political and cultural symbolic importance that could not be realized by either English or any of the community languages. Weighed against English, Kiswahili is seen as an indigenous language through which the national and patriotic ethos can be legitimately expressed; a symbol of political independence and cultural authenticity. English has a history as the language of illegitimate authority which should have gone with the end of the political regime that introduced it.

Mazrui and Mazrui (1995) assert that the ideal role of a language in any society is to serve as many of its speakers as possible. Kiswahili can adequately perform the role because it is a non-ethnic language. This means that as per now, there is no particular community that can claim ownership of this language. Because of this neutrality, Kiswahili has enjoyed the support of the East African governments, non-governmental organizations and is spoken in many countries in the world. For example, the East African region is part of the global village and Kiswahili is the language of cross-border trade within the East African region and plays a significant role in fostering socio-economic relationships within the region. It is the language of the East African community (EAC) and has been adopted to be one of the languages of the African Union (A U), Chimera (2000). This means that it has to be developed to meet the global challenges ahead. Any country that values the development of its people must incorporate them in all the development processes. This can be realized through a common language like Kiswahili. Kiswahili being Kenya’s national language serves as a unifying factor for the diverse people. This is echoed by whitely, (1969:66) saying, ‘‘Kiswahili was offered as a means of unification.”

The Ominde Report (1964) which is the bed rock of education commissions in Kenya recognized the importance of Kiswahili language where it recommended the teaching of Kiswahili in primary schools. At the university level, the commission recommended the establishment of Kiswahili department in the University of Nairobi. The Session Paper No: 10 of 1965 on African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya, formally adopted the Ominde Report as a basis for post-independence educational development.

The Report of the Presidential Working Party on the Second University in Kenya (The Mackay Report, 1981) led to the removal of the advanced (A) level of secondary education, and the expansion of other post-secondary training institutions. In addition to the establishment of Moi University, it also recommended the establishment of the 8:4:4 systems of education and the Commission for Higher Education (CHE). Thirdly it recommended the teaching of the national language at the university level. Fourthly, it recommended that an African Language Division incorporating Kiswahili and other Kenyan languages should be started in the faculty of Social, Cultural and Development Studies of the new university. In 1987, the Department of Kiswahili was started at Moi University, the second public university in Kenya. There was improvement in the handling of Kiswahili since a lot of attention was given to it as a subject with the implementation of 8-4-4 education system.

The other most important recommendation by Mackay was to make Kiswahili a compulsory and examinable subject at the certificate of primary education level and at the secondary certificate level. This was implemented and at the primary level, Kiswahili language and composition (insha) are part of the six examinable subjects. At the secondary school level, Kiswahili is one of the three compulsory subjects. The other compulsory subjects are Mathematics and English. This means that poor performance in Kiswahili literature affects the final grade in Kiswahili. Kembo-Sure (1996) adds some weight by saying Kiswahili has only gained in as far as it is now a compulsory subject both in class and in the examination at both primary and secondary school level ; and it also has the same weighting as English in grading candidates. Mutua (2008) says, ‘‘Kiswahili as a medium of communication should be improved since poor performance in Kiswahili interferes with communication which consequently slows the country’s development.”

Kiswahili is a language widely used in Kenya and its linguistic heterogeneity in Kenya has led to Kiswahili gaining the status of the national language (Mazrui and Mazrui, 1998). Kiswahili brings about integration of masses from different ethnic groups. It is widely used in politics when addressing political rallies especially in regions with multicultural communities. Chimera (2000) says Kiswahili is a politically neutral language. It is the only language in Africa that is free from any associations with an ethnicity-conscious “tribe.” In parliament, the parliamentary standing orders allow members to contribute to debate, ask and answer questions in Kiswahili. When a question is asked in Kiswahili the minister responsible is obliged to answer in Kiswahili: Kembo –Sure (1996:18). In the lower courts of law, magistrates through the help of an interpreter use Kiswahili if the complainant or accused is not competent in English. Therefore Kiswahili is co-official with English language. The constitution of Kenya (2010) recognizes Kiswahili as an official language. This is a move in the right direction for Kiswahili.

According to Chimera (2000), Kiswahili in the education sector is a medium of instruction in Kiswahili classes (lessons) and in the lower levels of primary education (class one to three) in urban areas where there are heterogeneous groups unlike the use of mother tongue in the rural areas. It is also a language of instruction in areas bordering the coastal region, where there is lack of written materials in various mother tongues.

The general objectives of teaching Kiswahili at secondary school level are contained in the revised version of the syllabus (KIE 2002). Among these objectives are: to recognize, investigate, evaluate and develop the different genres of Language and Literature in Kiswahili, to learn and evaluate different concepts of the cultures using Kiswahili, to realize some of the issues affecting the society, for example, HIV/AIDS, gender equality, development in science and technology , to conserve the environment to meet the daily needs and future needs and to be proud and happy in using Kiswahili as a national and international language. These objectives go hand in hand with the general objectives of education in Kenya which include; to enable citizens improve on the religious and society’s moral values, to ensure equality in society and responsibility, to enhance the different cultures of Kenya and to enhance and develop good relations nationally and internationally.

Class discussion or small group discussion can be used to accomplish a variety of learning goals. Discussion is a primary form of active learning and will often help students understand and remember material better than a simple lecture method would. Many courses have a “discussion section”. Some class sizes are small enough for the instructor to conduct class periods as group discussions. In larger classes it might take time to break the class into small groups for discussion. That is to say discussion can take place as a whole class or the class being divided into small groups that is small group discussion. With discussions, the collaborative exploration of concepts and ideas by a diverse group of students in a safe and fair environment can lead to tremendous student learning. A group discussion consists of a leader and a small number of individuals who are intent upon the discussion of some problem. The leader sits with the group and is part of it. He/she executes more or less control over the discussion in accordance with the purpose of the meaning.

The researcher is of the opinion that the use of appropriate methods should enable the learner to perform better. One method that appeals to teaching literature is group discussion. This study is to establish whether it yields better performance in Kiswahili literature.

The KNEC reports of (2000 to 2007) show that many students perform poorly in Kiswahili literature (102/3). The mean score has always been below 50%. Given this scenario, it is evident that there is a hitch that leads to this dismal performance in this paper. Table 1.1 shows the performance in Kiswahili Literature between the year 2000 and 2007.

Table 1.1: Performance in Kiswahili Literature in K C S E National Examinations

Literature Curriculum

Marshad (1993: 61) quoting (Ngugi 1986:96-102) in a conference held in 1974 at Nairobi school says those in attendance recommended among other things that literature in Kiswahili be initiated in all schools and be made compulsory. Therefore, Kiswahili literature traces its roots from this time.

In the 8-4-4 system of education according to K N E C, Kiswahili is among the compulsory subjects which is taught and examined. It has three papers, Insha writing coded 102/1, Comprehension, Grammar, Summary and Social linguistics coded 102/2 and Fasihi 102/3 which is Kiswahili literature. From the K I E syllabus (2002), the components of Kiswahili literature in secondary schools include both written and oral literature. Written literature has short stories (Hadithi fupi), the Novel (Riwaya), play (Tamthilia) and written poetry (Ushairi andishi). Under oral literature, we have narratives (Masimulizi), Songs (Nyimbo), proverbs (Methali) and riddles (vitendawili). However, these two branches have a very strong relationship and rely on each other. For example in the recent past, effort has been to conserve narratives, songs, oral poetry, and proverbs of different communities in books (written literature). Secondly, oral literature has its roots in narratives and poetry.

According to Bennars (1994:33), subject teachers have been accused by the Ministry of Education for employing inappropriate teaching methodology. This is built on the assumption that teachers have apparently abdicated their responsibilities as educators and have been reduced to instructors programmed to dispense knowledge only as required for examination. From the KNEC reports (2000 to 2007), it is clear that there is a problem in Kiswahili literature. The performance in Kiswahili literature has always not been good. Moreover the performance has been experiencing some fluctuations. For example in the year 2000 the mean score was 42.04 and in the year 2001 it dropped to a mean of 34.62. For the year 2006, the mean was 48.48 and in 2007 the mean dropped to 43.49. This performance therefore apart from being average it has been experiencing negative fluctuations. For instance in 2007, it recorded a deviation of -04.99 and in 2001, -07.42 as indicated earlier.

Compared to other components of Kiswahili ; Insha writing, Grammar and Language use, most students exhibit interest in literature, thus they are expected to perform better in the national examinations in this paper. This poor trend has led to questions such as, might it be application of inappropriate teaching methodologies?

Mukwa (2002) asserts that the achievement of comprehensive objectives of teaching different subjects, the method used must expose the learner to knowledge and experiences, critical thinking and practical skills. There is need to investigate the role of group discussion to meet Kiswahili literature objectives in the secondary school curriculum.

Research in Kiswahili Literature has moved beyond the question of whether student’s background is effective in accelerating student achievement to focus on the mode of instruction. Beyond this, it is important to understand in details the role of group discussion in teaching Kiswahili Literature.

One particular important question relates to whether group discussion is beneficial to students achievement. Few studies have looked for possible role of group discussion on teaching Kiswahili literature. Those studies that have been carried out have specifically looked at poetry, writing, reading and comprehension. The problem that was investigated in this study is the role of group discussion as a strategy in teaching Kiswahili literature in secondary schools in Kenya.

The variables key to this study was group discussion and teaching of Kiswahili literature. The researcher was interested in finding out the role of group discussion in teaching Kiswahili literature.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of group discussion as a method of teaching Kiswahili literature in secondary schools, in Wareng District.

The researcher investigated the role of group discussion as a method of teaching literature in Kiswahili in secondary schools. The study specifically sought to:

Establish the role of group discussion on students’ performance in Kiswahili Literature.

Determine the degree of using group discussion in teaching Kiswahili Literature.

Establish the attitude of students towards the use of group discussion in Kiswahili Literature

Find out the attitude of teachers towards the use of group discussion in Kiswahili literature.

Identify other teaching learning methods used with group discussion in teaching Kiswahili literature.

The study was guided by the following questions;

How does the use of group discussion improve student’s performance in Kiswahili literature?

To what degree is group discussion used in teaching Kiswahili Literature?

What is the attitude of the students towards the use of group discussion in Kiswahili Literature?

What is the attitude of the teachers towards the use of group discussion in Kiswahili literature?

What other methods are commonly used in teaching Kiswahili Literature?

The study focused on student’s performance in Kiswahili Literature paper coded (102/3) which is a major segment of Kiswahili subject. The paper carries 80 marks out of the possible two hundred marks. It contributes 40% of the total marks in the entire Kiswahili paper. A student who does not perform well in Kiswahili Literature may not excel in his/her Kiswahili overall performance and these adversely affect the final grade hence poor performance in Kiswahili literature requires investigation. Little has been done on teaching methods (Group Discussion) and performance in Kiswahili Literature. To fill the gap, the researcher investigated the role of group discussion in teaching Kiswahili literature in secondary schools, and its effect on performance.

The researcher used secondary schools only. Primary schools were not involved as literature in Kiswahili is only taught to a limited extent (only Ushairi and oral literature). In primary schools, most of the written literature is neither taught nor examined. The teachers and students included were those in the respective institutions by the time of study. Those students and teachers absent were not included in the sample even though they would have had interesting input. There are several methods used in teaching Kiswahili Literature but this study only focused on the role of group discussion.

Limitations of the study refer to constraints or draw backs both critical and practical that the researcher has little or no control over (Orodho, 2008: 16). The study limited itself to Wareng District. The researcher used twelve secondary schools and five hundred and forty students of the entire student population in the district due to the limited time available. In collecting data, there are several tools to be employed but for this study, the researcher collected data through questionnaire, observation and document analysis.

According to Mugenda (2003) an assumption is any fact that a researcher takes to be true without actually verifying it. The researcher made the following assumptions;

Form three students in Wareng District perform well when certain teaching methods are used.

Form three teachers of Kiswahili Literature are awareof various teaching methods in Literature.

All the teachers of Kiswahili Literature have been trained appropriately in the teaching of Kiswahili literature.

The teachers and students under the study will cooperate and give honest responses.

The students’ performance in Kiswahili Literature is used as a measure of effectiveness in learning the subject.

Kerlinger (1983) says, a theory is a set of interrelated constructs (concepts), definitions, and prepositions that present a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables, with the purpose of explaining and predicting phenomena. Constructivist teaching methods are based on constructivist learning theory. Constructivist learning theory is where knowledge is derived from a base of prior knowledge. Therefore, children are not a blank slate and knowledge cannot be imparted without the child making sense of it according to his/her current conceptions. This means, children learn effectively when they are allowed to construct a personal understanding based on experiences and reflections.

The study will be based on the constructivists’ view of learning as developed by Bruner (1983). This theory is a general framework for instruction based on the study of cognition. Bruner emphasizes on the part played by other people in enabling children learn. Bruner (1966) puts faith in his ideas about the way in which instruction affects the mental models of the world that students construct, elaborate on and transform.

Learning is an active process through which learners construct new ideas or concepts based on their current/past knowledge. Biechler and Snowman (1997) say, learning is the active creation of knowledge structures for instance concepts, rules, hypotheses, and associations from personal experience. This means each learner has to build a personal view of the world using existing knowledge, interests, attitudes, goals and interpret currently available information. But Bruner felt that knowledge is best acquired when students are allowed to discover. Bruner (1966) says, theory of instruction should take into account predispositions towards learning, the ways in which a body of knowledge can be structured to be easily grasped by the learner, the most effective sequences in which to present material, and reinforcement. Good methods for structuring knowledge should result in simplifying, generating new preposition, and increasing the manipulation of information. Constructivists suggest that learning is more effective when a student is actively involved in the learning process rather than receiving knowledge passively. In a constructivist classroom, students work in groups. Learning and knowledge are interactive and dynamic. Emphasis is laid on social and communication skills. Some activities that are encouraged under constructivism include; experimentation, field trips research projects and class discussions. (Bruner 1966).

Bruner saw instruction as human events, not as transmission devices and noted that if materials are presented in an appropriate manner, they can be taught at any age. He observed that interaction between students and their instructors is necessary. This theory when applied to the teaching of Kiswahili Literature implies that the teacher should use techniques to guide and support student’s attention, encoding, and retrieval process. The teacher should also pose good problems that are realistically complex and personally meaningful. The instructor should create group learning activities, model and guide the knowledge construction process. The learner should be given opportunity to participate in the learning process. Furthermore the teacher should choose instructional modes which are learner centered. The learning process should be facilitated within the learners own mind but not emptying the teachers knowledge into the learners mind. Under constructivism the teacher avoids direct instructions but leads learners through activities to discover, discuss and appreciate new knowledge acquired.

Bruner (1966) therefore cites the following characteristics of a constructivist classroom;

Active involvement of learners in the learning process.

A democratic learning environment.

Interactive and student centered learning activities.

In the learning process the teacher is a facilitator while students have to be responsible and autonomous.

The implication is that, when teaching Kiswahili literature, the teaching should be learner centered. This will allow learners to construct interpretations and experiences on their own in the learning process. The learner should be given opportunity to participate in the learning process and the learning experience be facilitated within the learners own mind.

Under constructivism, the necessary conditions mentioned by the constructivists include:-A cognitive apprenticeship between teacher and learner, use of realistic problems or conditions and an emphasis on multiple perspectives (Bednar et al., 1991). The main feature of cognitive apprenticeship is that the teacher models a cognitive process that students are to learn and then gradually turns the responsibility for executing the process to students/learners. The second condition is that students should be given learning tasks in realistic contexts. Under this condition, the student must solve a meaningful problem by using a variety of skills and information.

Bruner (1966) states that;

To instruct someone in a discipline is not a matter of getting him to commit results to mind. Rather, it is to teach him to participate in the process that makes possible the establishment of knowledge.

He adds that we teach so that students take part in the process of acquiring knowledge. He also says knowing is a process not a product. This condition implies that students should be committed to tasks that are relevant to their experiences. Finally, students should view ideas and problems from multiple perspectives. Most of life problems are multifaceted, and the knowledge base of experts is a network of interrelated ideas (Bichler and Snowman 1997).

Kiswahili literature should therefore be taught using methods that are participatory in nature for students to build up ideas to be presented. Themes of what to be dealt with in Literature should be derived from students experience at school and those familiar to them. Here, the constructivist theory is relevant to the use of group discussion in teaching literature because it accommodates other teaching methods such as question and answer and lecture. From this theory, group discussion method is one of the ways to actively involve learners in the learning process through which they share amongst themselves. This theory too will enable the researcher to propose which interactive instructional methods to recommend in teaching Kiswahili literature in secondary school among them is group discussion.

Role: Is the function or importance of something. In this case it refers to the importance of group discussion method in teaching Kiswahili literature.

Group discussion: Is a teaching method where students are organized by the teacher to emphasize high level of teacher student interaction in promotion of student contribution towards generating ideas for the lesson at hand. The teacher manages and facilitates the discussion

Teaching methods: Are strategies and approaches employed by a teacher in the teaching-learning process.

Performance: Is the oral participation and student’s examination scores, particularly those obtained through achievement tests.

K.C.S.E: Is the examination administered by the Kenya National Examinations Council at the end of the secondary school course.

Discussion: Refers to activity in which students under the teachers’ direction exchange views to arrive at a collective decision or conclusion.

Literature- Is a type of art where artists show their competence in using words to communicate information to readers/listeners or the intended community. Literature uses language (words) to describe people’s behavior. Literature can either be oral or written

Attitude: Refers to the way one thinks and feels about somebody or something. In this context, it refers to the way teachers and students feel about group discussion or Kiswahili literature

The chapter has dealt with issues forming the background of the study. It has highlighted the development and the current status of Kiswahili in Kenya and how Literature features in the curriculum. It has also dealt with the statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, purpose of the study, justification for the study, scope and limitation of the study, assumptions of the study, theoretical framework and definition of key terms. In the next chapter, the study deals with literature review.

This chapter discusses some of the literature available that deals with methods of teaching Kiswahili Literature. The study reviews literature from research in education, journals, books, theses and seminar papers. The researcher focuses on a general review of literature on teaching methods and their effects on performance in Kiswahili literature, teaching Kiswahili literature in secondary schools and its importance. There is also a review of specific studies related to the current study.

According to Mtunda, and Safuli (1997), the quality of education depends to a large extent on the quality of teachers involved in its development and delivery. A quality teacher acknowledges the needs and interests of the pupil and permits the pupil to learn at his/her own pace, encourages learning through doing and where necessary provides remedial and enrichment instruction. Learners are different and they learn through different ways. Therefore there is no single method or technique on its own which can satisfy the needs of all learners. In order to cater for the needs of all learners, it is necessary for the teacher to vary the methods of teaching. Teaching becomes more effective when an eclectic approach is used which helps to overcome monotony, boredom the worst enemies of learning. Teachers are encouraged to be resourceful and creative to use the methods and techniques appropriately.

Teaching is either Teacher centered or Learner centered where each has advantages and disadvantages. In order to make an informed choice of teaching method(s) in the teaching and learning process, the teacher must know: The teaching methods available, the strengths and weaknesses of each method, the purpose each serve and how each method is used in practice.

Teaching methodology is fundamental for the success of a learning process. Farrant (2000:136) suggests that child centered methods of teaching for secondary school students attempt to break the formal and conventional (traditional) methods of teaching which are marked by partly lack of keenness in real life. The methods must cater for all the levels of learning like in Blooms Taxonomy of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation (Konchar 1992).

The integrated syllabus provides chance for learners to share their opinions and experiences in the learning process. The learner is actively involved unlike in the traditional approaches to teaching and learning which neglected the learners’ needs and interest. Learners learn from one another and enjoy this experience more because they are encouraged to listen not only to teachers but also to their classmates (Namageyo, 1999) in Gathumbi and Masembe (2005). Darling and Tambaugh (2000) as quoted in Rutto (2009) recognizes that the schools should be places where individuals develop problem solving skills, access information in order to teach them to be respectful to each other and others ideas, acquire emphatic understanding to enable them develop decision making ability to express themselves. Gomteksiz (1993) as quoted in Rutto (2009) observed that, the use of teacher-centered approaches produces an authoritarian atmosphere in the class. Learner centered approaches include:-Drama and role playing, experiment, fieldtrips/educational visits, problem solving and discussion. Teacher centered approaches include: Lectures, demonstration, chalk and talk method.

The rapid change and rise in complexity of today’s present world presents new challenges and puts new demands on education system especially on emerging issues around the world. In conforming to these challenges, it is necessary to consider the complexity of the education system (Bar Yam et al, 2002) in Rutto (2009). Rutto (2009) says that models have been put forward to address this issue in an effort to help the students not to memorize information but to contribute to their mental development which will assist them through their lives, to teach them how to learn. However, teachers do not conform to this and rather use methods which are comfortable to them, especially those that are centered on them. The overuse of such methods is tantamount to learning and it being shortsighted (Brown et al 1982). Gomteksiz (1993) as quoted in Rutto (2009) asserts, most teachers make use of lecture method though not a bad method. However the manner in which this method is used makes it not to be the best method. The approach adopted should develop the issue of cramming and recalling democratic environment where a close relationship between teacher and student develop and be able to express them. Teacher’s notes on foolscaps are irrelevant today thus posing a challenge to teachers of literature (Kiswahili).This calls for the need to adopt modern and newer approaches to evade the above crisis. Newer methods would indeed be necessary to solve this problem in terms of content and methods. This will avoid rising individuals who are learning how to read. Therefore this calls for active involvement of learners in the teaching and learning of Kiswahili Literature. The teacher should avoid ‘emptying’ his/her knowledge into the learners mind.

Kithinji et al., (2007) points out that there are some factors, which determine the choice of the method to use for instruction. He says there are several instructional methods available to a teacher to choose from. There are some methods, which lean heavily on certain disciplines. For example, many language teachers may find themselves using certain methods more often than the Science teachers. He outlines the following as the factors considered in selecting a teaching method.

The natural teaching style of the teacher. There are some teachers who are naturally authoritarian or facilitative and this attitude determines which type of methods they use.

The approach to learning: whether deep or shallow. Teachers who are not confident in their content or those who do not prepare well tend to opt for shallow learning hence lean on expository modes of teaching. On the other hand, those teachers who feel confident and prepare adequately will always opt for deep learning-hence the heuristic modes of instruction.

Influence of constraints- such as time, resources and size of the class may well alter the choice of method to use.

The objectives of the lesson (or activity) are important when selecting an instructional method. For example if you were to teach a practice skill it is likely that you find the heuristic method appropriate.

The level of learners ability (or entry behaviour), and interest of learners. Also consider their social and cultural background.

Learner involvement. Not all methods would work in large classes and neither would all methods be effective in small classes.

Therefore, while teaching Kiswahili literature the teacher should consider the above factors before choosing any teaching method. On the use of group discussion, the teacher should ensure prior and adequate preparations. He/she should consider influence of constraints such as time, resources and class size. The teacher should understand the learners’ ability and interest so as to be able to group the students accordingly. Gathumbi (2005) says, the teacher should use his/her discretion to decide on the choice of appropriate methods to teach. The choice will be dictated by the nature of learners, the resources available, the facilities at the teachers’ disposal and the time allocated to the subject.

Apart from group discussion, there are several other teaching methods that are employed in the teaching of Kiswahili literature in secondary schools in Kenya as outlined in the Kiswahili teachers guide (2006). The lecture method being teacher centered makes the learners passive and leads to poor retention of learned materials. However, the method is adequate when handling large group of learners, (Mukwa and Too 2002). Field trip strategy is essential as it necessitates the learner to expand access to first-hand information. Nevertheless it is expensive (Thungu et al., 2008). While Role playing provides a realistic situation in an interesting manner for exploration of solutions and provides opportunity for practicing speaking skills, it is time consuming. Question and answer method involves clarification of ideas and modification of understanding (Davies and Stratton 1984). This method is not favored given that the talented participants monopolize the learning process hence the untalented ones are over looked., Although retention of material is high in Audio visual, it is only effective when it is followed by a discussion Thungu et al., (2008). The proposed study however is not about the above mentioned methods but on group discussion as a method of teaching Kiswahili literature in secondary schools. It is evident that each method has merits and demerits and is important for the teacher to be aware before employing them.

The current study focuses on the role of group discussion as a teaching strategy of Kiswahili Literature on student’s performance in secondary schools. Among the teaching methods one can employ to foster meaningful learning within a constructivist framework is the classroom discussion (Bichler and Snowman 1997). Discussion involves an exchange of ideas with active learning and participation by all concerned. It is an active process of student-teacher or student interaction in the classroom (Gathumbi, 2005). It is most feasible to use discussions to increase the depth of understanding and grasp the course content (Olmstead, 1970). Discussions involve high degrees of interaction between all participants (Orlich et al., 1985). Classroom discussion is particularly well suited to developing, comparing and understanding different points of view. Classroom discussions allow students to deal with realistic problems and to exercise cognitive skills taught. It is excellent general purpose methods for helping learners construct a meaningful knowledge base.

Discussion may be timed according to the level of the class. The duration may be for just a few minutes for beginners or intermediary. Byrne (1976) as quoted in Gathumbi (2005) identifies two factors that generally determine the success or failure of a discussion.

The stimulus for the discussion should consist of activities that motivate the learners, by making them want to talk. This depends on how the activities are presented to them. Activities that are learner centered and task-based are more effective.

The role of the teacher, either in a class discussion or when he joins a group activity is to facilitate and give guidance when required. The teacher should not impose his or her opinion on the learners but should instead, encourage them to express theirs. Any option offered by the teacher should only serve to stimulate further ideas at the part of the learner. The teacher should also appear to be more interested in the learners ideas rather than in the way they express them and the mistakes they make . This will keep the discussion going. Teachers should also be informal, patient and relaxed during group discussion. They should also work out the guidelines for use of any aid such as visual and audio materials or other stimuli for discussion.

Mukwa and Too (2002:47) assert, discussion helps students to assess their learning. Their attitudes are shaped towards making progress and growing. The method enhances development of social skills. Discussion helps learners in clarifying and sharpening issues as well as crystallizing their thinking and identifying concepts needed for their study. Students come to realize that their differences in opinion need to develop acrimony and that people believe in the same things for different acceptable reasons. Discussion helps the student in discovering what he does not know, what he/she has overlooked and mistaken in facts and their interpretation. The student may find out what he/she knows with certainty as he/she learns to tolerate the ideas of others.

The purpose of this method is to utilize the instinct of curiosity in students and prompt them to adapt a fact finding approach to all aspects of learning. A spirit of adventure and enquiry is awakened through self-observation and experimentation. The pupils are trained to discover facts, principles and laws to synthesize the knowledge learnt and to arrive at generalizations all through self-efforts. Knowledge is gained through experience. Mukwa and Too (2002).

Nasibi (2003) identified elements of a discussion that consists of;

A small number (four-twelve) of students meeting together.

A common topic or problem.

Introduction, exchange and evaluation of information and ideas

Goal or objective (often of the participants’ choosing).

Verbal interaction-both objective and emotional.

She further observed that, discussion is a learning activity where a teacher and learners talk together in order to share opinions, views or information about a topic or problem. It makes an absolutely fundamental contribution to learning. A genuine class discussion must start with attempt to elicit opinions and knowledge from the learners to treat them seriously and to explore their consequences. There are two approaches to discussion: “Expository-oriented” “and inquiry oriented” in the expository oriented the teacher defines the objectives of the lesson, explains learning activities, allows for the discussion and invites questions before concluding the activity. In inquiry discussions, the teacher may not state the objectives, instead he arranges for the discussion to take place and the whole activity is opened. The teacher serves as a leader and students carry out the discussion and arrive at a conclusion. Learning is seen as a product of creative inquiry and active student participation. In inquiry oriented discussions, class sessions are characterized by;

Probing explorations of ideas concepts and issues

Building upon student’s responses in development flow.

Interaction among participants.

Questioning, sharing, differing, and conjecturing on the part of all.

Student participates in decision making.

Hypothesizing and problem solving

Shifting leadership among participant

Examples of participatory activities that fall under discussion are: whole class discussion, panels, symposia, debates, roundtables, forums, committees, small groups, buzz sessions, and brainstorming. In these activities there are techniques which provide opportunities for student to present their ideas, opinions and information and for the expression of differing viewpoints. Examples include roundtables, panel, forum, symposium and debate. In these presentations, students need to be taught how to gather information, take major points organize material, engage in a dialogue and debate with one another (Nasibi 2003).

It is the teacher’s decision to use any teaching method (Orlich et al., 1985). K.I.E (1987) defines teaching as an interaction between the learner and teacher and states that theorization and lecture are not recommended, as they deny learners the opportunity for practical involvement. Education should be leaner centered and all efforts must be made to involve the learner in the learning process. This is also emphasized in the K.I.E syllabus (2002).

The Kenya Education Commission (1964) blamed the drill method of teaching and neglect of activity and pupil participation methods for low achievement in education. They recommend that teachers adjust instruction to the needs of particular learners and use activity methods to make education learning child-centered. Group discussion method allows students under the teachers’ direction, to exchange points of view so as to arrive at a collective decision or conclusion.

Students who work together in groups are likely to learn more quickly with more accuracy than those engaged in other learning methods (Orlich et al., 1985).The researcher’s main interest is to find out the role of group discussion in teaching Kiswahili literature.

Presentation can be either as a whole class or in small groups. This largely depends on the number of students, size of the class/room and its arrangement.

Presentation of Small groups

Gathumbi (2005) says, group work in teaching literature gives learners an opportunity to get involved in the learning. It helps integration of skills as it is during the activities, that learners have a chance to improve their listening speaking, reading and in some cases writing skills. There are certain factors to be considered when organizing the formation of groups.

The size of the group depends on the number of learners in the classroom. Ideally, each group should comprise between 3-6 students. In large classes and where facilities are limited, the groups might be slightly bigger. However, the larger the group, the fewer the opportunities for every member to participate fully. Also to be considered is the language proficiency level of the members in the group. Each group should have members with mixed abilities; high and low. This helps poor learners to learn from the bright ones, while the bright ones get opportunity to exhibit their abilities, thereby gaining confidence.

Where a school is co- educational, it is preferable for groups to have mixed gender. This helps learners to look at issues from both male and female perspectives. There is also a tendency for the different genders to try to outdo each discussions and this helps in creating an active learning environment. Such heated discussions help to improve their verbal skills. Students can also be grouped randomly.

The aim of such is to get students acquainted and to encourage cooperation with other class members. On the other hand grouping can be based on friendship. Here the teacher deals with a clique as a group. Students from the same neighborhood or social class are put together forming a homogenous group. Lastly grouping can be done concerning the interest of the students. Here, students volunteer for various groups on the basis of interest in the activity going on in that group or on topics under discussion

There are three basic types of groups that a teacher can use in the classroom.

The buzz group- It is formed by 2-3 students, doing short tasks. They are formed when the teacher wants learners to consult quickly in pairs as they are seated. It should not take more than five minutes.

The task group- Formed by 2-3 students, all doing the same task. It takes longer than the buzz type that is about fifteen minutes. All learners are expected to discuss same issues or do same tasks but in various groups afterwards, groups present the outcome of their discussion. The teacher could then facilitate a class discussion.

The syndicate group –comprises 3-5 learners just like the task group. Here students do different tasks. The group discussion takes the same time as in the task group. Learners do their different tasks whose outcome they later present to the class. The teachers role is to give his/her input and expected to facilitate a class discussion. Learners are expected to react to presentations from different groups.

The role of the teacher in group work is to prepare tasks beforehand. He/she should make sure that learners understand fully the tasks they are expected to do. Therefore while teaching literature in Kiswahili the teacher can opt to use either buzz- groups, task groups or syndicate groups. This will largely depend on the time available and the lesson objectives.

Organizational process is considered at three levels that is; before, during and after group work (Nasibi 2003).

Before group work, the teacher should ensure there are required resources for discussion. The work to be discussed is written on the chalkboard or on pieces of paper. It must be clear to the learners if the discussion has to be productive. Groups are formed using one of the techniques as already shown. For example basing on friendship, learners move in groups and identify a chairperson/secretary one who will give specific time for discussion approximately 7-10 minutes. During group work, the learners perform with the chairperson leading the discussion and secretary putting down points. The teacher goes round checking/assisting where possible.

After group work, the teacher should open up a discussion, pooling all points from the secretaries, restructuring, rephrasing, using correct terminologies and writing the points on the blackboard. The teacher allows time for questions, clarifications commitments, and additional tasks and asks learners to copy the points down, give concluding remarks and the class follow-up activities if necessary.

According to Gelula (1997) the following are the guidelines for small group teaching.

Keep the learning process moving. The teacher does not omit any phrase where each phrase is taken in an appropriate sequence. The teacher guides students to their own reasoning at every stage of the learning process.

Probe students’ knowledge. The teacher pose questions until students have brought out all they know (recognize when you have reached that point), which often is more, and then they realize why? What do you mean? What does that mean? How do you know that is true?

Avoid giving students information that they can obtain elsewhere.

Make sure that all students contribute to the group discussion. Decisions should be a group processes not just for the self-centered and outspoken ones.

Prevent discussion from being directed towards the group facilitator. Do whatever is necessary to get the students to talk, discuss and argue amongst themselves. What do you think?

Keep the level of the discussion question somewhere between boredom and hopelessly over challenging, starting at the simplest, most widely known and progressing towards the unknown.

Recognize potential interpersonal problems in the group and the more difficult, less widely known. Intervene if necessary to maintain an effective group process in which all members contribute. When the behaviour of the group or an individual in a group begins to adversely affect the group process, the group should address their own problem.

Continually monitor the progress of each student in the group. Watch and obtain assistance for any student with learning difficulties in reasoning, comprehension, verbal expression and information retrieval and organization.

(Hwang and Mohamed 2007) examined the following models employed by secondary school teachers in teaching Literature as presented by (Carter and Long 1991). They exhibit the theory as to how teaching of literature is viewed.

The Cultural Model views literature as a source of facts or information and therefore, reading tends to be based on obtaining information. In this model, the teacher transmits knowledge and information to the students.

The Language Model seeks a closer integration between language and literature. Students can improve their proficiency by using literature as a resource in language learning.

The Personal Growth Model seeks the opportunity for students to relate and respond to the themes and issues by making a connection to their personal lives. Consequently, students’ growth in terms of language, emotions and character development are stimulated. These models suggest that the language and personal growth models complement and are interdependent on each other. In acknowledging the views of (Carter and Long 1991), Rosli (1995) further elaborated that these two models denote approaches that place an emphasis on the student.

Whitehead (1968) says, one factor that goes a long way in determining students’ lifelong learning towards reading is how the teacher approaches the teaching of literature. There are various approaches employed in teaching of Literature. These approaches are: the Information –based Approach, Language –based Approach, Personal –response Approach, Paraphrastic Approach, Moral-philosophical Approach and the Stylistic Approach.

In addition, (Richards and Rodgers 1986) clarify that the different philosophies at the level of approach may be reflected through different types of activities and indifferent uses of activity type. Whitehead (1968) says that one of the principles of a successful literature program is that the teacher must be acquainted with a variety of techniques and activities so as to stimulate and develop students’ interest and knowledge of literature.

Cater (1988) considers the information- based approach as a way of teaching knowledge about literature whereby literature is seen to offer a source of information to students. Thus, teaching methodologies tend to be teacher centered as Lazar (1993) points out that the focus on content would require students to examine the history and characteristics of the literary movements ranging from the cultural, social, political and historical background to a text, thus demanding a large input from the teacher. Activities deriving from this approach could be lectures, explanations, reading of notes and criticism provided in workbooks or by the teacher.

The language model seeks greater unification between language and literature. Carter (1988) asserts that the language based approach helps students to focus attention on the way as to how language is used. Lazar (1993) points out language based approaches see literary texts as sources that cater for language practice through series of language activities rather than study in literature for the purpose of acquiring facts and information. The approach is student centered and therefore activities like prediction, cloze, ranking tasks, role playing, poetry, recital, forum, debate and discussions can be used to create opportunities for language use in the classroom.

The emphasis of the Personal-response Approach is on the elicitation of students’ response to a text. Rosli (1995) asserts that the reason behind it is to motivate and encourage students to read by making a connection between the themes of a text and his /her personal life and experiences. Responses are personal as they are concerned with students’ feelings and opinions about the literary text. This approach focuses on activities like question –discussion activities which are interpretative in nature generating views and opinions on the text and brainstorming, guided fantasy, group discussions revealing students’ reaction in a short paragraph or journal writing.

The paraphrastic Approach deals with the surface meaning of a text. Teachers using this approach may paraphrase or re-word the story in a simpler language or even translate it in other languages. This approach is suitable for beginners of the target language as it acts as a stepping stone for formulating original assumptions of the authors work. Some students may be weak in the target language. Their understanding and comprehension of a particular literary text may be impeded due to low language proficiency. This approach can be employed in assisting students for a better understanding of the text. Activities for this approach could include teacher re-telling a story or a poem using simpler language, use of translation that is using other mother tongues and reading paraphrased versions or notes provided by the teacher.

According to the Moral-philosophical Approach, one of the roles of literature is to inculcate moral values through the teaching of morality. The focus of this approach is to reach for moral values whilst reading a particular text. Students’ awareness of values is seen and this approach assists students to understand themes in future readings. Thus, students will be able to reflect what they have learnt based on their readings of a particular text. According to Rosli (1995), this approach proclaims the worthless of moral and philosophical considerations behind ones reading. Activities for this approach could be the incorporation of moral values at the end of the literature lesson, reflective sessions, getting students to search for values whilst reading and eliciting students’ evaluation on what they should do or not do based on their readings.

The Stylistic approach guide students towards a closer understanding and appreciation of the literary text itself using the combination of linguistic analysis and literary critics (Lazar, 1993). This means that students are taught to see how linguistics forms in a literary text function in conveying messages to the reader. He further claims, there are two objectives of this approach. Firstly, it enables students to make meaningful interpretations of the text. This objective allows students to look beyond the surface meaning of a text. Secondly, it helps to expand students’ knowledge and awareness of the language. He suggests activities such as getting students to scrutinize a literary text by marking certain linguistic features, getting students to look at the language features, extracting possible clues which contribute to the meaning and interpretation of the text.

In Kiswahili literature, these models go a long way in the teaching of written and oral literature for example, when analyzing the set books, poetry, songs, and narratives among others. When analyzing the texts, the teacher should ensure students are acquiring information, are focused on how language is used and also be able to make a connection of the themes in the texts with their personal lives.

From the approaches the teacher can know how to organize students in a literature lesson and the preferred activities to attain lesson objectives. The paraphrastic approach for instance is often used in the teaching of Kiswahili poetry (Ushairi), a section perceived by most students as being difficult. In most cases the language used in poetry is not standard Kiswahili (Kiswahili Sanifu) but when paraphrased into Kiswahili Sanifu students understand better and more quickly. In Kiswahili Literature some students may be weak, their understanding and comprehension of a particular literary text may be impeded due to low language proficiency. The teacher can translate and even provide notes for such learners. From the Moral approach, morality is inculcated in students. Students learn about unity and reconciliation, gender equality, love, HIV/AIDS, conflict resolution avoiding corruption and other evils in society. This has been clearly brought out in the Kiswahili set books and other story books in general, poems, narratives proverbs and riddles.

The Koech Report (1999) recognized the importance of interdisciplinary approach in tackling national challenges. The report stressed the importance of humanities (History and Government, Religious Education and Literature) in promoting national integration. It was due to the above that the Koech Report, (Ibid: 22) recommended that “Those subjects and instructional methods which affect national unity such as Kiswahili, History of Kenya, Music and Drama with attendant informal activities be designed to give due emphasis to Kenyan culture, patriotism and national heritage in the curriculum”. This clearly shows the importance of Literature in consolidating national cohesiveness.

Through the study of Literature, we are able to understand our history. Some songs, narratives and verses have their foundations in history. Ngure, (2003:19) says that Literature (Oral Literature) enables us to illuminate condition of past generations. This is because history of any community is handed down through oral tradition (Miruka 1999: ix) Literature is also used in the transmission of social education. This was more common in the non-literate societies where all forms of education were transmitted through spoken word and dramatization. It is through this media that social values, customs and the society’s sense of justice are transmitted for example through narratives, songs and proverbs.

Literature (Oral Literature) enables to develop the sense of identity. Our rich culture is conserved through the study of Literature as it gives us an inspiration to forge a united country. This is because through Literature, we are able to understand our rich cultural diversity (Miruka 1999). Therefore there is need for us to harness it for national development. Oral Literature creates understanding (Akivaga and Odaga 1982:14). Teaching oral Literature is an important instrument in promoting culture. Besides being part of our culture, it also preserves and transmits culture (Ngure 2003:18), Oral literature encompasses all forms of human interaction (Njogu and Chimera 1999:142). Since Oral literature affects all aspects of human activity, effective teaching can enhance co-operation among the members of the community.

Oral literature is an important link between the past and present generations (Wamitila 2003:21). Kiswahili is Kenya’s national language (Mbaabu, 1978) and its duly through Kiswahili Literature (Oral Literature) that Kenyans can preserve their rich and varied culture. One way of achieving this is through using the appropriate methods in teaching Kiswahili Literature in order to impact positively on the students’ mind and retention rate. Kiswahili Literature is one of the ways that can be used to attain the sixth goal of education that is promoting respect for our varied cultures. The K.I.E syllabus (2002) emphasizes incorporating emerging issues in the teaching of Kiswahili literature. Therefore while teaching literature; emphasis should be laid on issues such as environmental conservation, incurable diseases (HIV/ AIDS, Diabetes, and cancer), new technology, and child labour, domestic violence, gender equality, education for the girl child and so forth. This has been well incorporated in written literature (set books) used in our school and even in written poems. This is in reference to set books approved for examinations, such as “Kifo Kisimani” by Mberia (2001),“Utengano”by Mohamed (2007), Mayai Waziri wa Maradhi na Hadithi Nyingine by Wamitila (2004), Kitumbua Kimeingia Mchanga by Mohamed (2000), Kilio cha Haki by Mazrui (1984) among others.

Roe (1968) in an essay on the teaching of literature in Tanzania schools notes that the study of literature should provide the student with the ability to grasp meaning at a more sophisticated level than that achieved by language course. The learner has also to respond to what he reads and to consider the problems in the light of his own environment and society. Roe (1968) also observes that the pupil must be trained to relate each social or human problem or situation to his /her own and those of his society. He notes that the terminal behaviour expected of a pupil is expressed in terms of “skill” that in what the pupil can do for him/herself. He laments that at worst the teaching of literature has been rote learning of model answers. Roe further proposes that to train the pupil to understand and respond to what he reads, the teacher should organize group discussions. He considers discussion method as the most effective instructional evidence. According to him emphasis is laid on learner centered approaches of teaching. Among them is group discussion.

Mbunda (1976) as quoted in Ambula (1986) points out two major factors that are the main causes of inherent difficulties in teaching and learning of Poetry in Kiswahili. He advances the view that teaching methods currently in use and absence of instructional media in the teaching process are two indices responsible for poor performance in K C S E. He therefore concluded that inappropriate methods of instruction largely affect the teaching and learning of Poetry.

Kathuri (1982) studied teaching methods as influencing factors that affect students’ achievements and established that allowing students to be involved in practical activities, giving assignments and less teacher talk were considered as evidence of modern teaching methods. Badiribo, (1985) also observes that the methods of instruction are the source of poor performance in Kiswahili poetry. It is evident that both teachers and students face various problems during the teaching and learning of poetry in Kiswahili which is an aspect of literature in Kiswahili.

Brown (1986) underscores that instructional media tells a story in its own way. When visual media is integrated with general methods, the latter mode of instruction acquires power to translate experience into new forms. He asserts that instructional methods too affect the effectiveness of teaching. His study aimed at visual media. Ambula (1986) observed that, the poor standards in Kiswahili exams are as a result of the poor methods of instruction used in our secondary schools. Similar sentiments were echoed by Wallah BinWallah (2003). He observed that most teachers of Kiswahili dwell on old training methods of teaching due to their inability to adapt research findings on teaching. He asserts that unless teachers were helped to adopt research findings on teaching trends geared towards academic excellence, exam failures would persist. In his own words: Teachers need to update their skills in accordance with the changing trends to meet students’ demands. Those who wallow in ignorance can therefore not be equal to the job. Wallah bin Wallah (2003).

Maundu (1986) study of Students Achievement in Sciences and Mathematics on Extra-Provincial, provincial and Harambee Secondary schools in Kenya asserts that “… a teacher would have to combine such methods as lecture and demonstration with practical, discussion and field trips.” The choice of the methods would vary from one teaching situation to another depending on teaching facilities and teacher competency in the topic at hand.

The Kenya institute of education (1987) A Handbook for Teachers of English in Secondary Schools in Kenya explains that teaching is an interaction between the learner and the teacher. It is an occupation that teachers in the field are competent, with long teaching experience and who have entrenched effective teaching habits and methods. It is expressed that education should be learner centered and all efforts must be made to involve the learner practically in the learning process. The handbook is against the lecture approach in teaching poetry that may deny learners opportunity for practical involvement. This shows the need to employ the learner centered approaches in teaching Kiswahili Literature.

Research carried out by Omollo (1990) and Muutu (1993) indicate that teacher dominance methods used to teach the Integrated English affect learning. This study shows the inadequacy of teacher centered approaches in teaching and learning. Therefore there is need for the current research to find out the role of group discussion, a student centered approach in teaching literature in Kiswahili.

K N E C (2003) revealed that the general poor performance in Kiswahili paper might have been due to poor instructional methods. Luvisia (2003) in a study of Availability of Instructional Resources in Teaching Kiswahili Grammar in Bungoma found out that the use of appropriate instructional methods help the learners grasp concept.

M’mbone (2007) study on the Effect of Interactive Teaching Methods on Oral Communicative Competence in Learners of English, observed that the use of discussion method was effective in learner instruction.

Wanyama (2007) reported that in addition to the teachers enthusiasm in promoting academic success, the use of the integrated approach in Kiswahili, clarity of the teachers presentation, his/her constructive criticism of the learner and his/her use of various teaching methods is consistently related to the students achievement. He adds that the poor performance in Kiswahili is associated with poor methods of instruction.

Ndavula (2008), study on the Effect of Question and Answer, and Small Group Discussion Methods on Students Performance in Poetry, concluded that both methods enhance students’ performance. He noted that there is student’s active involvement in the learning process through frequent verbalization in both extensive and intensive ways. Koross (2008) study on Factors affecting The Teaching and Learning of Short stories in Kiswahili in secondary schools in Uasin- Gishu district quoted Standa (1980:3) who observes that, the teachers’ role is to gain control of the external environment of the learner in order to produce change in the learners’ condition, in other words to stimulate learning to occur.

To attain this, the teachers need to employ a variety of student centered instructional methods. While such teaching methods as practical (demonstration), discussion and fieldwork are more students centered: Others like the lecture method involve less pupil participation. Bhatnagar and Dahama (1992) quote the Chinese proverb by the educationist, Confucius that gives support to the value of student –centered learning saying;

“When I hear, I forget, when I see, I remember and when I do, I Understand.”

This indicates that what the students see and do is retained for a longer time than what they hear.

Wairimu (2009) study on comparative study of the effects of instructional modes on performance in Kiswahili report writing in Uasin-Gishu district observed that small group work method of teaching is a better tool than the teacher exposition method of teaching in functional writing. The current study seeks to find out the use of group discussion method on teaching Kiswahili Literature. Kimenjo (2009) carried out a study on factors affecting learning of Kiswahili at secondary school level in Keiyo District, Mutua (2008) also carried out the same study but in West Pokot district. They established that instructional Methods are among the factors affecting achievement of secondary school students in Kiswahili. Makena (2009) points out that, Akivaga et al., (1982) too blame the methodology of instructing oral literature. He indicates that oral literature teaching is haphazard in African countries, Kenya included. This sentiment is echoed by Kimenjo (2009), on factors affecting learning of Kiswahili at secondary school level when she acknowledges the teaching methodology as essential in classroom as Farrant (2000) put it. According to him, a child centered method for teaching older primary and secondary school students tries to break from conventional methods of teaching. This method is comparatively a better teaching strategy. Therefore, the teacher must choose a method that caters for all the level of learning as outlined in the Blooms taxonomy.

These studies show the use of learner centered approaches in the teaching and learning process unlike the teacher centered approaches. From the examined literature, it is evident that these studies mainly focused on; short stories, oral literature, functional writing, poetry and Oral communication competence. The current study therefore, tries to examine the role of group discussion on Kiswahili Literature in totality.

This chapter deals with the procedures that were followed in conducting the study. It includes the research design, study area, the population, sample size and sampling techniques, research instruments, validity, reliability and data analysis procedures. The pilot study is also covered in this chapter.

According to Orodho (2008), a research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted. The function of research design is to provide for the relevant evidence with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money. However, how all these can be achieved depends mainly on the research purpose for example exploration, description, diagnosis or experimentation. It should show if it is a survey, case study or an experiment. Kerlinger (1983) says that, the use of survey is useful for educational finding. This study being an educational one, findings of the types of methods teachers of Kiswahili literature use was carried out using survey design. Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) assert survey research is probably the best method available to social scientists and other educators who are interested in collecting original data for the purpose of describing a population which is too large to observe directly. It was carried out in several schools in the research area. Cohen and Manion (1989) observe that the intention of the survey research is to gather data at a particular point in time and use it to describe the nature of existing conditions which suits the aim of this study. Survey has been preferred because according to Koul (1986) the design is sufficient in collecting a large amount of information within a short time. It is used when collecting information about people’s attitudes, opinions, habits, or any of the variety of education or social issues. The researcher employed the survey design since it is useful in determining relationships that exist between specific events. For the purpose of this study, the researcher was to establish the relationship between group discussion as a teaching strategy and performance in Kiswahili literature. The researcher surveyed the use of group discussion in teaching of Kiswahili literature in selected secondary schools in Wareng district. The researcher tried to survey the degree to which this strategy is employed and the attitude of both the teachers and students towards this it. The researcher also used the survey strategy to find out if there are problems associated with the use of this strategy.

The study was conducted in Wareng District of Rift Valley province, Kenya. The study was conducted in public secondary schools within the district. The district has two administrative divisions; Kesses and Kapsaret. It has five education zones; Kesses, Cheptiret, Timboroa, Tulwet and Kapsaret. The district was selected because the researcher is familiar with the schools and it is convenient in terms of accommodation and travelling costs as it neighbours the researcher’s district of residence. Singleton (1993) observed that the ideal setting for any study is one that is directly related to the researchers’ interests. He further argues that the ideal setting for any study should be easily accessible to the researcher and that which allows immediate rapport with the participants. Wareng district was chosen because it is a cosmopolitan district with different communities residing there hence the outcome of the study can be generalized to the entire population unlike when only one community could have been involved. More importantly, the performance in Kiswahili has always been below average as reflected in the K N E C reports for the years between 2000 and 2007. From the reports the mean score for Kiswahili literature has ranged between 34.62 and 48.48. In Wareng district, in 2008 the mean was 5.00 approximately 42% and 2009 was 5.06 approximately 46% (Wareng District Education Day Booklet 2010).

The study targeted all form three students and teachers of Kiswahili literature in secondary schools in Wareng District. Like in other subjects, teachers of Kiswahili were targeted because they are forces that employ different strategies in the teaching of Kiswahili literature. But the sub population of form three students was used because they are at a level where mastery of content in Kiswahili literature is critical to their performance. According to Wareng District Education Day Booklet (2010),there are 41 secondary schools, 1,800 form three students and 50 teachers of Kiswahili in Wareng District.

Orodho (2009) states that, a sample is a small part of the large population which is thought to be representative of the larger population. Any statement made about the sample should be true for the entire population. Kerlinger (1983) recognizes the sample size of between 10% and 30% of the entire population of the subjects. However, in 1986 he recommends a sample size of 30% as adequate in generalization of results. Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) quote Gay recommending 10% of the accessible population for descriptive studies. On the other hand Patton (2002) argues that the sample size depends on what one wants to know, the purpose of the inquiry, what is at stake, what will be useful, what will have credibility and what can be done with available time and resources. For the purpose of this research, the researcher used 30% of the population. Therefore, the researchers` Sample sizes was 12 secondary schools, 540 form three students and 12 form three teachers of Kiswahili in the sampled schools. The researcher hoped to use these samples to generalize the results to the entire population so that policy makers and curriculum developers and implementers can benefit from the findings.

The population of form three students in Wareng district is 1800. However, the researcher required a sample size of 540 across the five education zones (strata). The researcher first computed the sampling fraction. The sample fraction is defined as the required sample size of subjects divided by the population size of the subjects 540/1800 =0.3,Where 540 is the required sample size of students and 1800 is the population size of all the form three students in the five zones. Each category of the population was multiplied by the sampling fraction. For 41 schools, the sample size was 12. For each randomly selected school in each zone, the population of the form three students was multiplied by the sampling fraction (0.3) to get the sample size. To finally select the individual students to be in the sample, the researcher accessed the class registers of form three students and used a simple random method where a raffle was employed. A total of 560 questionnaires were dispatched to students where 550 duly filled student questionnaires were collected and analyzed making the sample size to change from 540 to 550. On the part of the teachers; seventeen questionnaires were dispatched where 14 were returned duly filled. Therefore the researcher analyzed all the returned questionnaires.

The study employed purposive sampling, simple random sampling and stratified sampling. According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), in purposive sampling, a researcher is allowed to use cases that have the required information with respect to the objectives of his or her studies. The subjects are handpicked because they are informative or they possess the required characteristics. Purposive sampling was used to select form three teachers of Kiswahili literature. Simple random sampling is a process of selecting a sample from a population that provides every sample of a given size an equal probability of being selected. It has advantages in that it yields research data that can be generalized to a larger population within margins of error that can be determined statistically and also because it permits the researcher to apply inferential statistics to the data. This enables the researcher to guard against wild samples and ensures that no sub-population is omitted from the sample. Stratified sampling was used to get schools to be involved in the study. The goal of stratified sampling is to achieve desired representation from various sub-groups in the population. Schools were stratified according to the education zone. This ensured that every zone was equally represented in the study.

The study used the following instruments to collect data; Questionnaire, observation and document analysis.

According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), questionnaires are commonly used to obtain important information about the population. Each item in the questionnaire is developed to address specific objectives, research questions or hypotheses of the study. Kothari (1993) says questionnaire gives respondents adequate time to give well thought out answers where they are free from bias of the interviewer, answers are in respondents own words, large samples can be made use of thus results can be made more dependable and reliable. This is echoed by Gay (1992) when he says, a questionnaire is much more efficient in that it requires less time, is less expensive, and permits collection of data from a much larger sample. Therefore, the researcher used questionnaires in the study. To test the attitude of the students and teachers’ attitude towards group discussion, a Likert scale was employed where they were asked to respond to a series of statements by indicating whether he/she strongly agrees, is undecided, disagrees or strongly disagree with the statement (Gay 1992). Questionnaire comprising of closed –ended and 0pen –ended questions were used. Closed –ended questions were regularly employed than 0pen –ended questions because they are easier to code and analyze. Open ended questions were used to get respondents own opinions as they permit self-expression and also permit unlimited number possible answers.

Classroom observation is one of the primary research data collection procedures. Research experts Cohen (1989), Nachmins and Nachmins(1992) state that classroom observation is important because of the range and reliability of information it provides. It produces a broad description of the class teacher’s practices and methods. The researcher used classroom observations on teachers’ use of group discussions and other methods of teaching Kiswahili literature by using specified lesson plans. Observation was carried out to establish the actual techniques employed by teachers and students’ activities in the classroom. Observation provided a conceptually adequate analysis of classroom life based on factual recording and descriptions. This technique was employed to ascertain whether the responses in the questionnaire were actually what appear in real situation.

The document analysis entails content analysis. According to Mbwesa (2006) data is obtained by observing and analyzing the content message, reports and letters. It involves systematic analysis as well as observation to identify the specific information, content and characteristics of the message. The objective is to measure a quantitative description of the manifest content. The researcher analyzed the teaching documents to establish the frequency of group discussion as employed in teaching Kiswahili literature. It goes beyond just counting the items to a system of analysis to secure relevant and meaningful data. The document analyzed included: lesson plans, schemes of work, lesson notes, progress record, records of work, Kiswahili syllabus and student attendance register.

Validity is the accuracy and meaningfulness of inferences, which are based on the research results. In other words, validity is the degree to which results obtained from analysis of data actually represent the phenomenon under study Mugenda and Mugenda, (2003). An instrument is valid if it measures what it claims to measure, Best and Kahn, (1989). Validity should not depend on the subjective judgment of one specialty. It should be based upon careful analysis, by several specialists, of instructional objective and of actual subject matter studied. According to Gay (1992), there are three types of validity;

Content validity

Criterion validity

Construct validity.

Content validity is the extent to which a measuring instrument provides adequate coverage of the topic under study. This study was based on content validity. As Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) put it, the usual procedure in ascertaining the content validity of a measure is to use professionals or experts in a particular field.

Criterion validity-It relates to the researchers` ability to predict some outcome or estimate the existence of some current condition. It must possess the following qualities: relevance, reliability and availability.

Construct validity is the degree to which attest measures an intended hypothetical construct (unobservable tract such as intelligence) which explains behavior (Gay, 1983:88). Therefore, to test the validity of the instruments, the researcher will utilize the knowledge of subject experts who will determine the instruments validity before the actual execution of the research process.

This study was based on content validity. According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), the usual procedure in accessing the content validity of a measure is to use professionals or experts in a particular field. The researcher used questionnaires and observation schedule that were reviewed by two specialists in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Media of Moi University. Their recommendations were incorporated in the final questionnaire and observation schedule.

Reliability according to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003:95) is a measure of the degree to which a research instrument yields consistent results or data for a few repeated trials. It is a degree of consistency that an instrument demonstrates (Best and Kahn 1989). A reliable instrument measures whatever it is measuring consistently. To ascertain reliability of the measuring instruments, the researcher conducted a pilot study which involved one static group and a teacher of Kiswahili literature from a school outside Wareng district. According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), the number of cases in the pretest should not be very large. Normally the pretest sample is between 1% and 10% depending on the sample size.

Pilot study aims at pre-testing the instruments. This is to ensure that the items in the instrument are stated clearly and have the same meaning to all respondents. The respondents to which the instruments are pre-tested should not be part of the selected sample Mugenda and Mugenda (2003).

The feedback is very useful for finalizing the research instruments (Wiersman, 1995). The purpose of the pilot run was to check for ambiguity, confusion and poorly prepared items. Through piloting, deficiencies were uncovered that were not apparent by simply reviewing the item. Additional items were also suggested as tabulating may be identified (Wiersman, 1995). Piloting is one way of checking reliability of research instruments (Bell, 1993). For the purpose of this study; the instruments were presented to a selected group before carrying out the main study.

They were administered to a teacher of Kiswahili literature and form three students in a pilot school which was selected from a neighboring district other than Wareng district. According to Orodho (2008), 1% of the sample size is adequate for the pilot study. In this case, the researcher used one Secondary school in Nandi Central District to pilot the study where form three students and teachers of Kiswahili were used. Using the pilot study it was realized that some of the items were poorly prepared and some repeated. Therefore, pilot study offered an opportunity to refine the study process so as to avoid setbacks in the main study. The same questionnaires were administered to the same respondents after a period of two weeks.

The researcher got an official introductory letter from Moi University to secure a research permit from the National Council for Science and Technology before commencement of the research. Permission from the District Commissioner (D.C), District Education Officer (D .E .O) and Heads of schools was sought so that the researcher could access the targeted respondents from selected secondary schools. The researcher made reconnaissance visits to the schools selected and made appointment with the schools principals and heads of language departments and subject teachers. This allowed for proper arrangements and facilitation of data collection process.

During these visits, the questionnaires for teachers were dispatched. On the prearranged dates, the researcher assisted in organizing the classes in administering of questionnaires to the form three students. The questionnaires were collected immediately on completion to avoid discussions and sharing of information that may lead to dishonest answers. The researcher attended Kiswahili literature lessons to observe how teachers conduct their lessons using group discussion. The researcher also accessed teacher’s lesson plans, schemes of work and records of work to gain deeper understanding of teaching methodology and the scope of content matter in Kiswahili literature. Other documents that the researcher accessed were: mark lists, text books, and examination papers together with their marking schemes.

Orodho (2009) defines data analysis as the process of systematically searching and arranging interview transcripts ,field notes, data and other materials obtained from the field with the aim of increasing one’s own understanding and being able to present them to others. He further says analysis involves working with data, organizing them, breaking them into manageable units, synthesizing them and searching for patterns.

The analysis consists of synthesizing information from research instruments; teacher and student questionnaires, observation and document analysis. Kerlinger (1986) says the purpose of data analysis is to reduce data to intelligible and interpretable form so that the relations of the research problems can be studied and tested.

Data collected from each instrument was analyzed separately. SSPS statistics 17.0 was used in the analysis. After coding the data, the items were analyzed in terms of frequencies and presented in percentages using tables and bar graphs. Qualitative description was given in relation to percentages recorded from the findings. Conclusions were made based on data collected.

The chapter has dealt with the procedures to be followed in conducting the study. This has included the study area, research design, population, sample size and sampling techniques, research instruments, validity, reliability, pilot study and data collection procedures. The next chapter deals with data presentation, analysis, interpretation and discussion.

In this chapter, the presentation, analysis, interpretation and discussion of the collected data is done. Orodho (2009) defines data analysis as the process of systematically searching and arranging interview transcript, field notes, data and other materials obtained from the field with the aims of increasing one’s own understanding and being able to present them to others. He further says analysis involves working with data, organizing them, breaking them into manageable units, synthesizing them and searching for patterns. The analysis consists of synthesizing information from the research instruments; teacher and student questionnaires, class observation and document analysis. Kerlinger (1986) says the purpose of data analysis is to reduce data to intelligible and interpretable form so that the relations of the research problems can be studied and tested.

The objectives and research questions provided a guideline for investigation of the teachers’ strategies of teaching Kiswahili literature. The analysis is based on the following specific objectives. To:

Establish the role of group discussion on students’ performance in Kiswahili literature.

Examine the degree of using group discussion in teaching of Kiswahili literature.

Establish the attitude of students towards the use of group discussion in Kiswahili literature.

Find out the teachers’ attitude towards the use of group discussion in Kiswahili literature.

Identify other teaching methods commonly used in teaching of Kiswahili literature.

The information provided by 550 students and 14 teachers was analyzed and helped in getting a comprehensive account of how teachers utilized group discussion in teaching Kiswahili literature. The findings were presented using descriptive statistics where frequencies and percentages were employed. Tables and Bar graphs were used in illustrating some of the important information.

There were five hundred and fifty students involved in the study. The sample comprised of both male and female students. Their responses revealed that out of the five hundred and fifty, two hundred and eighty three were male representing 51.5% while two hundred and sixty seven were female representing 48.5%. The inclusion of both genders in the study helped to avoid bias that would have emerged if only one gender was used.

4.3 Students views on the Use of Group Discussion on Performance in Kiswahili

The respondents were to indicate if the use of group discussion enhances performance in Kiswahili literature. Five hundred and twenty (94.5%) said Yes while thirty (5.5%) said No. Most of the respondents who said yes attributed it to improvement in scores in examinations when involved in group discussion in class and during their free time. Moreover, the respondents were also asked to give reasons why group discussion doesn’t enhance performance in Kiswahili literature. Seventy one (12.9%) said it was a waste of time. One hundred and thirty three (24.2%) said teachers are not actively involved in knowledge acquisition. Two hundred and twenty six (41.1%) said learners could acquire wrong information. Seventy eight (16.6%) said it was not the best strategy and forty two (8.9%) gave other reasons. This could be some of the factors affecting the students’ attitude towards the use of group discussion. Therefore from the students’ responses, it is clear that the use of group discussion enhances performance. From the constructivist theory according to Bruner (1966), children learn effectively when allowed to construct personal understanding based on experiences and reflections. This could boost students understanding and longer retention of the learned material which is translated into good performance during examinations. However, the reasons given as to why group discussion does not enhance performance could be contributing factors towards negative attitude and low degree in the use of group discussion. Table 4.1 and Table 4.2 illustrate this information.

		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Yes	520	94.5	94.5	94.5
	No	30	5.5	5.5	100.0
	Total	550	100.0	100.0

	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Waste time	71	12.9	12.9	12.9
Teacher no actively involved in knowledge acquisitions	133	24.2	24.2	37.1
Learners can acquire wrong information	226	41.1	41.1	78.2
Not the best strategy	78	14.2	14.2	92.4
other reasons	42	7.6	7.6	100.0
Total	550	100.0	100.0

The respondents were to indicate the main challenge facing Kiswahili Literature. Eighty nine (16.2%) respondents said the main challenge facing Kiswahili literature was inadequate learning materials. Fifty six (10.2%) said poor student background in Kiswahili. Eight (1.5%) said it was the school setting. Twenty two (4.0%) said student attitude. One hundred and sixty one (29.3%) said insufficient time. Forty nine (8.9%) said it was due to lack of Kiswahili teacher while one hundred and sixty two (29.5%) said it was poor content presentation. Two (0.4%) said it was because of other reasons and one (0.2%) said all the above reasons given. It was revealed that the main challenge facing Kiswahili literature was poor content presentation (29.5%). In relation to the objectives, there was need to establish how group discussion was used in the teaching of Kiswahili literature and its effect on students’ performance. Therefore, this could be an indicator that there is poor performance in Kiswahili literature because of poor content presentation. Investigating other teaching methods commonly used, teacher centered approaches were preferred by most of the teachers. However, the constructivist theory according to Bruner (1966) emphasizes need for interactive and student centered learning activities and encouragement of active involvement of learners in the learning process. Group discussion is one of the learner centered approaches. For this reason, there was need to investigate if the use of group discussion could yield better results. Information on main challenge facing Kiswahili literature is summarized in Figure 2.

Frequency