Cultural Perceptions of Wetlands by Primary School Teachers in Kenya

Abstract

Wetlands are unique habitats to which societies have a long history of cultural attachment. In Kenya they play a key influence in the people's livelihoods in terms of the food eaten, art and crafts, recreation, language and other cultural activities. There is a dynamic cultural interaction with wetlands in which communities' perceptions change. Wetlands are imbued with new meanings every day as communities interact within themselves and with wetlands as they devise new approaches to exploit and conserve them. A case study survey was done using 54 teachers from seven provinces in Kenya. Non-probability sampling technique was used to sample the 54 teachers out of 252 teachers who attended an in-service training workshop on wetlands conservation in January 1999. This research intended to establish how they perceived their local wetlands after attending the training programme and to reflect on how this could be harnessed to promote teaching about their sustainable use. Teachers were preferred in this study because the Kenyan formal curriculum directs them to teach about wetlands and there is a high possibility that their perceptions could have an influence in the aspects of wetlands that they emphasise to the pupils and members of the community.

Keywords:

• PERCEPTIONS
• WETLANDS
• VALUE
• THREATS
• TEACHERS
• GENDER