Perceptions of agriculture teachers toward integration of selected climate change topics into secondary school agriculture syllabus in Machakos County, Kenya

Abstract

Secondary school agriculture curriculum was introduced in Kenya to equip learners with knowledge on the basic principles of farming. The intention was to bring out school graduates who would embrace self-employment and even create employment for others in their farms. Agriculture sector contributes significantly to economic development of this country through; provision of food, employment, market for industrial goods, raw materials for industries and foreign exchange. To realize these, agriculture syllabus need to be abreast with the contemporary issues influencing the agricultural production. Successful farming is partly dependant on climatic conditions. Therefore, the escalating climate change and variability occasioned by global warming has added to the numerous risks and uncertainties facing farming practices. The knowledge gap this study sought to bridge, therefore, was the inconsistencies in the existing secondary school agriculture syllabus to address climate change and variability problem. Descriptive opinion survey research design was adopted for the study. The target population was one hundred and thirty five (135) respondents who were purposefully drawn for the study. The target population was used, implying there was no sampling. However, due to natural attrition, the respondents who participated in the study to the end were one hundred (100). A Likert’s score scale rating process was deemed an ideal instrument for data collection. Validation of the instrument was done in close consultation with supervisors and other experts in Agricultural Education and Extension Department of Egerton University. Reliability of the instrument was established through a pilot study in Makueni County and calculated to a Coefficient alpha of 0.72 using Cronbach’s Coefficient formula. Data were analysed and presented using frequencies and percentages. The key finding of the study was that, 79.1% of the respondents held positive perceptions on integrating climate change topics into secondary school agriculture syllabus. The main conclusion drawn from the key finding was that, there is a need to integrate climate change topics into the existing secondary school agriculture syllabus. The finding further validated the conventional agriculture teaching resources and methods as reliable in teaching the climate change concepts.