Implementation Status of Kenya’s Language in Education Policy: A Case Study of Selected Primary Schools in Chuka Division, Meru South District, Kenya.

Abstract

Language-in-education policies in many developing countries are constantly an issue of discussion in scholarly circles. At various times in Kenya’s history commissions have been set to make recommendations on the issue of the language in education policy. The use of mother tongue languages has not been resolved even today thus the need for continuous research in this area. This paper looks at the implementation of the language-in- education policy in lower primary in Chuka Division, Meru South District, Kenya. The paper evaluates the teachers’ awareness of the language policy and actual implementation in the classroom. It also analyses the problems that teachers experience in implementing the policy and gives the teacher’s recommendations in case the language policy were to be restructured. The paper establishes that teachers are aware of the policy but they do not always implement it in the classroom. The findings in this paper are of great benefit to all stakeholders in the ministry of education in Kenya and contribute to scholarly literature in the field of language planning and policy.