Indigenous Education among the Endorois: An Examination of Pre-Colonial Practices up to 1895

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine aspects of the indigenous education among the Endorois in the pre-colonial period to 1895. Education, whether indigenous or modern, plays an important role in society. The Endorois community has not embraced modern education well due to the effects of indigenous education, which is still practised. The Endorois indigenous education still persists despite modernity, but the community has not fully embraced modern education because aspects like school dropout and poor performance are evident. The Endorois community is one of the minority groups of the Kalenjin-speaking ethnic group found in Kenya. They are traditional inhabitants of Baringo, where the study was carried out, and they still practice some aspects of indigenous education. This study utilised structural-functionalism theory and the articulation of modes of production theory. This study also utilised an ex-post facto research design. In order to ensure the validity of the instruments and for reliability, external and internal criticism were used. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to enhance a comprehensive and orderly collection of data by use of an interview schedule and focus group discussion. Data was analysed qualitatively through the deduction of themes based on the objectives of the study. The findings of this study would be useful to policy makers in the field of education, social sciences and other relevant fields in formulating policies that would integrate relevant knowledge, skills, attitudes and values into the current educational system from the indigenous education of the Endorois community.