Abstract:
The study examined the determinants of effective implementation of Artisan and Craft courses in Catholic sponsored community colleges in Nairobi region. Nine research questions built around the topic guided the study. The study was underpinned in two theoretical orientations and adopted the mixed methods research design. The study sample comprised 18 Artisan and Craft teachers and 172 Artisan and Craft students and four directors of Catholic sponsored community colleges. The study triangulated questionnaires and interview guides which were content-and face-validated and reliability was determined using Cronbach’s alpha. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data were analyzed and presented in form of narratives and direct quotations. The study established that attitude of teachers and students, teaching strategies, adequacy of teaching and learning resources, teacher motivation, teaching workload and attending of in-service courses had a high influence on the implementation of Artisan and Craft curriculum. On the contrary, industrial attachment, field practice and college-community collaborations were found to have a low influence on the implementation of Artisan and Craft curriculum. The study recommends constant monitoring of Artisan and Craft curriculum implementation, provision of adequate facilities, employment of qualified teachers, development of strong networks and collaborations with relevant stakeholders, and sourcing for more funding from the government and or its agencies. Other recommendations include enacting policies that foster good relationships among teachers, students and college management, enriching guidance and counseling programs, and enhancing motivational talks in community colleges. The study also recommends further investigation into the perceptions of students on management of community colleges, a similar study on a wider geographic scope and graduate tracer studies to determine the employment and skills utilization rates among the graduates of community colleges.
