The Social Environment and Performance of Kiswahili among Primary School Candidates in Uriri District, Migori County, Kenya

Language is the chief means by which human personality expresses itself and fulfills its social interaction with other people. Good language usage, appreciation and development are important for social interaction, functional literacy and in the work place. With the increasing population and rapid development of science and technology, literature on various cultures and nationalities, are the finding that the social environment affects Kiswahili performance. A predominant theme indicates that social, cultural and economic factors influence this performance. Thus, understanding the social environment in which the learners interact with is of critical importance. This study examined the influence of the social environment on Kiswahili performance of candidates in primary schools within Uriri district. Specifically, the study examined the trends of performance of Kiswahili language; determined the influence of social and economic context conditions on Kiswahili performance and examined structural factors that affect Kiswahili performance in primary schools in Uriri district. This study was examined within the context of Albert Bandura's social learning theory. The study was of a cross sectional survey design. The study population was made up of head teachers, teachers and government officials. From a total of 84 schools, the sample size was 52 determined by 30% of randomly selected cases within a defined population. These included purposively sampled key informants including 1 education officer,1 quality assurance officer,25 head teachers from performing schools and from nonperforming schools, 25 Kiswahili teachers were also interviewed. Triangulation of qualitative andquantitative methods of data collection were employed incorporating questionnaires for both head teachers and teachers, in- depth interviews for the education officers and focus group discussions for the teachers. By use of SPSS (Version 16.0), quantitative data was coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in form of tables, and percentages. Qualitative data was transcribed and categorized into emergent themes. Findings showed that more-than half of the population acknowledged the discouraging trends experienced in Kiswahili performance. Structural factors, socio-economic conditions and cultural aspects were identified to have a direct link With language performance in primary schools. This study recommends a clear understanding of the trends in performance to help improve performance. Community members need to be sensitized on the social and economic issues that affect Kiswahili performance so that they employ local strategies to improve on the candidates' performance in the subject. Findings are expected to provide understanding of how the social environment affects the performance of Kiswahili language. This will in turn help the government to develop policies and programs to support and improve the performance ofKiswahili language in Kiswahili performance.