The Use of Group Work in the Teaching of Writing Skills in Secondary Schools in Keiyo North Sub County, Kenya

Abstract

Writing plays a significant role in the school curriculum. However, studies have pointed out that secondary school students lack basic skills of writing. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to assess the use of group work in the teaching of writing skills in secondary schools in Keiyo North sub county, Kenya. The objectives were to: find out teachers’ knowledge and understanding of group work as a teaching strategy and to determine the nature of learning activities teachers engage learners in when using group work to teach writing skills. The study was guided by the constructivist theory by Jerome Bruner. The study utilized descriptive survey research design and it targeted 43 teachers of English and 3,574 Form 4 students drawn from 19 secondary schools in Keiyo north Sub County. Purposive sampling was used to select 13 teachers of English while stratified, proportionate and simple random sampling procedures using the lottery technique were used to select a sample size of 364 Form 4 students. This study used the questionnaire, interview and observation schedules to collect data. Quantitative data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics including: frequencies and percentage and was presented in tables, figures and descriptions. Qualitative data were categorized and analyzed using content analysis procedures and reported in emergent themes based on study objectives and variables. The study found out that majority of the teachers did not utilize group work in teaching of writing skills.