A History of Western Education among the Samburu of North-Central Kenya, 1933-1963

Abstract

The introduction of western education in colonial Kenya did not take a uniform pattern of development. This variation was due to social, economic, political and environmental factors that prevailed at the time. These differences were distinct between predominantly pastoral and agricultural communities. It is evident from the existing literature that there are no historical studies on the development of education among the pastoralists of Northern Kenya in general and the Samburu in particular. The study examined the development of western education among the Samburu during the colonial period by focusing on various players and their roles between l933 and 1963. Specifically, the study examined how the Samburu perceived western education and how those perceptions influenced their attitudes towards it. Further, it examined and how the colonial officials and other education providers influenced education policies among the Samburu. The study was informed by three theoretical perspectives namely; Articulation of modes of production which demonstrates capitalism’s ability to re~shape other modes of production to suit its needs through the process of ‘conservation’, ‘dissolution’ and ‘transformation’ of the pre-capitalist mode of production. The cultural theory was used to explain the behavior ofthe people under study through culture and how they dealt with change. The third theory was structural functionalism which was employed to explain the reasons behind resistance to change on some elements that a community considers alien and disruptive to its own. The study was premised on the basis that the colonial government attempted to develop western education among the Samburu amid challenges. Methodology for this study involved data collection from secondary sources and mostly archives and field research for primary data were extensively utilized. Data analysis was done along the lines of articulation of modes of production theory. The findings of the study will be useful to scholars in diversifying research in related communities and enabling the policy makers to come up with suitable educational strategies for the pastoral communities.