Factors that Influence the Attitudes of Adolescents Towards Christian Religious Education in Nairobi secondary schools /

Abstract

This research was designed to determine the factors that influence the attitude of students towards Christian religious education. Consequently, the present research faced a dual purpose. In the first place, it sought to identify the type of attitude students in Nairobi secondary schools offering CRE as an examinable subject express towards CRE and secondly to ascertain the demographic and pedagogical variables that may be related to such attitudes. Two hundred and twenty-two (222) Forms 2 and 3 students were randomly selected from six schools operating the local 8.4.4 system of education to make the research sample. The students were requested to rank by preference the subjects they were taking in the present term of the research. From the rank lists, two groups of students were identified: those who ranked CRE high and those who ranked CRE low. These two categories of students formed the bases for the examination of the factors that were considered to influence the attitudes of students towards CRE. The crosssectional design was used and the instrument for data collection was designed after the Likert Method and Scaling. The student version of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used for analyses of data collected. The research revealed that generally, students have a positive attitude towards CRE, but the positive attitude was not related to demographic factors of age, level of education, Church attendance, involvement in Church activities and gender. The attitude of students was related to pedagogical factors. The students' perception of the role of CRE in the curriculum, the content and approach of CRE, and the textbooks used in CRE were found to be related to the attitudes of students towards CRE. Students generally accept the role of CRE in the curriculum as worthwhile. Unlike those with a negative attitude towards CRE, students with a positive attitude towards CRE have a favorable disposition towards the content of CRE, the approach teachers use for CRE and the textbooks used in CRE. Notably, the research revealed that students do not generally perceive their teachers as honest, friendly and dependable, they are, generally further convinced that their teachers do not know them very well.