RESEARCH METHODS FOR BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL STUDIES

                             WRITTEN   RESPONSE

                                      By

                             MR SAMSON BASIL MAGARA

                             ID L 2000503293B

                             Degree   Program:

                  

                             Master of Arts Curriculum and Instruction

Course: Research Methods for Biblical and Theological     studies

                             Module four:

                   Task. Using the information presented in the foundational modules for this course and the required reading at the Graduate level, create a 10-12 page proposal for an original thesis research project of your own choosing.

Declining educational standards in schools of Nyamira District in Kenya

(Causes for the falling educational standards in schools in Nyamira District in Kenya)

A proposal for a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements

of the

Degree of

Master in Education curriculum and Instruction

Of

TRINITY COLLEGE

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.                  Introduction

 

 

 

II. Statement of the problem

a) Significance for the study

d) Hypothesis/Theories

e) Delimitations and Limitations of the study

 

f) Defining terms

 

III. Literature Review

a)      Historical overview of the theory and research literature

b)      The theory and research literature specific to the Thesis

     IV. Research methodology

a) Research population or sample

b) Data collection

c) Data analysis

d) Ethical issues

   V. Conclusions

 

VI. Bibliography

I.                  Introduction

Education is a key factor to development of any country. High standards of Education are likely to contribute to the economic and political development of the people. Each country should be prepared to keep its standard of education high and   to   succeed it should be ready to allocate most of its resources to this cause. Kenya is a developing country. The demand for education is high. This has made the government and other stake holders in education to spend more. In the past decade the standard of education of schools in Nyamira District has been falling. This can be seen by the poor examination results of each successful year. As the leading stakeholder in educational development in Kenya, the government has instituted many education Reviews in the last decade with express mandate to study and recommend ways to improve the standards of education in schools Nyamira District. Each of these reviews came out with recommendations, which were adapted by the government. But there has been no any significant change. This has   led to an outcry from other stakeholders like the teachers, pupils and the parents. The main aim of this study is to highlight and reveal the problems, which have led to the declining standards of education in Nyamira District. Also it will give recommendations that will be open to the Ministry of Education, Schools and other stakeholders in Education

II. Statement of the problem

In the past decade, there have been many   commissions of inquiry instituted by the Kenya government to find out the causes of the declining educational standards in Nyamira District in Kenya. This has been shown by the poor performance in national examination by schools both in primary and secondary from these areas. Their findings and recommendations have always been handed over to the Ministry of Education for ratification and implementation. But this has not improved the situation at all. The problem is getting worse each year. This study is aimed at revealing the major causes of the declining educational standards in Nyamira District in Kenya. The outcome of my study can be used in informing Education stakeholders so that they can take action to eradicate these problems.

 

Hypothesis/Theories

1. Lack of basic facilities is the major cause of declining educational standards in schools in Nyamira District in Kenya?

2. Are the teachers to blame for the falling educational standards?

3. Parents and students are to blame

4. The government does not give enough funds to buy learning resources

5. Central government dominance in decision making has a role to play in the declining educational standards in Nyamira District in Kenya.

Delimitations and Limitations of the study

Limitations

1. The school managers may not be free to give all the information.

2. The District Education office may not give details of the inspection reports

3. Government, school bodies/managers may not reveal the problems associated with poor examination performance in schools in Nyamira.

Delimitations

1. The number of institutions involved in the study. Getting information from the ministry of Education.

2. Comparing information from school and what is given by the D.E.O’S (triangulation).

Defining terms

KNEC-a body, which sets, marks and publishes examination results at year eight and year twelve in Kenya.

TSC – A body that employs Teachers in Kenya

KNUT- A Teachers Union in Kenya.

D.E.O- District Education office

D.I.S- District Inspector of Schools

 

III. Literature Review

Information from the following areas will be used in the dissertation;

1. Different authors on the same topic

2. Inspection Reports about Schools

3 KNEC about performance

4 Professor Michieka's report on performance of schools

5. TSC – Teachers Service commission

7. Internet

8. D.E.O’s reports

9. Library

10. Newspaper reports

IV. Research Design

Research methodology

A questionnaire method will be used to collect information during the research.

Research population or sample

The research population will comprise of schools in Nyamira District in Nyanza province Kenya. Thirty (30) schools will be chosen at random. These will comprise primary and secondary schools in the District.

Data collection

a) Information from schools and The District Education Offices will involve the mailing of the questionnaires to Kenya. The following two teachers will assist in the research in Kenya;

 1. Mrs Bathseba Nyaboke Magara

2 .MR.Nyakundi Angwenyi

b). Information about Inspection, and the general running of the schools will be got from the D.E.O’s Office at Nyamira (The District Headquarter.)

c). Information from the Examination Council can be got from Kenya Library Services at Kisii Town by Mrs Nyaboke and sent to me for interpretation and analysis.

  Data analysis

Collected data will be interpreted and analysed by using tables and summary of findings.

Ethical issues

Confidentiality will be ensured as data is collected from the Education Offices and schools.

V. CONLUSIONS

Threads of the research   will be drawn together to arrive at some general conclusion and suggest some way forward.

VI. Bibliography

Bell, J (1987) doing your Research Project, Milton Keynes, Open University Press

Birch, w and March, (1998), Guide to Successful thesis and dissertation, New York, Marcel Dekker

Cohen, Land Manion, (ed) (1989), Research Methods in Education, London, Rutledge

Creswell, J.W. (1984) Research Design, London, Sage.

Coombes, H (2001), Research Using I.T

Walter, R (1985), Doing Research

Fink, A, and Kosecoff (1998), How to conduct Research Surveys

Czaja, R and Blair, T. (1996), Designing Surveys

Zaja, R and Blair, T. (1996), Designing Surveys

The Internet