Integrate indigenous knowledge in curriculum

Although the society is fast changing, we cannot ignore the role that indigenous knowledge systems play in children’s lives. Knowledge is socially constructed and before young children join kindergarten, they already have some knowledge acquired from home — through observation of traditional practices and beliefs, stories, riddles and proverbs, games and play and daily interactions with adults.

As more families lose the traditional set-up to stay in urban and peri-urban areas, the knowledge is still gained second-hand through what parents and guardians learnt, now as implicit cultural assumptions passed orally.

From this indigenous knowledge, children join kindergarten knowing that they should respect their elders and embrace hard work. Obviously, the acquisition of values is not a given and depends on the cultural milieu in which the child is brought up in.

CONVERSELY

Conversely, it is not uncommon to hear parents tell their daughters: “Sit like a girl; girls belong to the kitchen” and to boys, “Don’t cry like a girl; don’t stay in the kitchen. It belongs to the girls.” When such a child goes to school and he is asked to sweep the floor, he is likely to retort, “Mommy says boys don’t sweep.”

In these instances, the knowledge gained culturally may be at logger heads with the values and skills imparted through Western education that speaks of a gender-responsive pedagogy.

Since independence, there has been a need to enhance the teaching of values in Kenyan education curricula. A study commissioned by the Women Educational Researchers of Kenya (WERK) between June 2014 and June 2015 investigated the extent to which the curriculum integrates the constitutional values and principles in teaching ethos. The WERK study argues that the exam-oriented nature of the primary school curriculum and the mechanical way of teaching are key barriers to teaching and learning of positive values by learners. Values are enshrined in any culture.

A lot would be gained by enhancing a balanced approach that would enable pupils appreciate the connections between what they learn in school and at home. Teachers can use traditional forms to teach morals. As such, we must avoid a curriculum that depicts gender-stereotypical roles through photos that show a female secretary and a male boss. I am sure this is not what we want to perpetuate through our education system. Of course, these are the traditional gender roles that girls are assigned and they serve well, but we must teach both girls and boys that they have numerous potential to do much more.

Children spend most of their time in school thus the need to have it as a vehicle to enforce values. This speaks to the need for effective teacher preparation.