Nation versus region: social learning in Kenyan schools

Abstract

The issue of interest is whether schools in Kenya contribute to the growth of a national political culture, as is officially assumed, or intensify variations in regional outlook. The guiding assumption is that the interaction between school and society, in which student values are forged, is conditioned by the dual character of the school as part of both a national and a local socio-economic context. Data are drawn from a survey of 1210 secondary students at a national sample of Kenyan secondary schools. Analysis suggests that two distinct types of social condition are simultaneously reflected in Kenyan classrooms. Side by side with a national set of status expectations and job perceptions, which are immune to variations in local circumstance, are socio-political values stemming from distinctive regional outlooks and opportunities.