This study examined the salient characteristics of trained ineffective teachers in secondary schools in Kenya. Participants comprised 80 students from eight schools drawn from four provinces in the country. Of the 80 participants, 40 were females and 40 were males. This qualitative research adopted phenomenological design. Two research instruments-a biographical form and a blank sheet of paper-were used in data collection. Content analysis method was used in analyzing the written and nonquantitative data collected. Results of data analysis revealed 20 salient characteristics of trained ineffective teachers in secondary schools. These characteristics are as follows: wastage of students' time, poor mastery of the subject, source of boredom to students, partial treatment of students, lack of respect for students, low level of self-confidence, poor mastery of teaching skills, emotional immaturity, inappropriate dressing, injurious to students, fond of frivolous talk, miscommunicate in class, poor in providing feedback, nondialogical in class, poor in maintaining discipline, immoral in behavior, unapproachable to students, poor in counseling, poor psychological health, and autocratic to students. The findings of this study may be useful to stakeholders in education in developing instruments that may be used to identify ineffective teachers in schools.
While the past decade has seen an improvement in attitudes toward homosexuality, negative attitudes are still prevalent in many parts of the world. In general, increased levels of education tend to be predictive of relatively positive attitudes toward homosexuality. However, in most sub-Saharan countries, it is still believed that people are born heterosexual and that nonheterosexuals are social deviants who should be prosecuted. One such country is Kenya, where homosexuality is illegal and attracts a fine or jail term. The purpose of this study was to examine high school students’ perceptions of homosexuality in Kenya. The participants included 1,250 high school students who completed a questionnaire on perceptions of homosexuality. The results showed that 41% claimed homosexuality is practiced in schools and 61% believed homosexuality is practiced mostly in single-sex boarding schools. Consistently, 52% believed sexual starvation to be the main cause of homosexuality. Also, 95% believed homosexuality is abnormal, 60% believed students who engage in homosexuality will not change to heterosexuality after school, 64% believed prayers can stop homosexuality, and 86% believed counseling can change students’ sexual orientation. The consequences for homosexuality included punishment (66%), suspension from school (61%), and expulsion from school (49%). Significant gender and grade differences were found. The implications of the study findings are discussed.
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