stakeholders’ perception of the inclusion of religious and moral education as a teaching subject: survey of three colleges of education in the central region

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to find out stakeholders’ perception of the inclusion of Religious and Moral Education (RME) in the Basic and Colleges of Education curriculum as a teaching subject and the perceptions that show the qualities of a good Religious and Moral Education teacher, The descriptive survey design was used. The simple random sampling technique was employed. In all, the sample for the study comprised 257 respondents and was made up of 245 students, 6 Religious and Moral Education tutors and 6 school Administrators. Questionnaire was used in gathering the relevant data for the study. The questionnaire was pilot-tested in Holy Child College of Education, where reliability co-efficient of .74 was generated using the Cronbach alpha analysis. Data obtained from the administration of the questionnaire was analysed using frequencies and percentages. The results revealed that most of the respondents supported the inclusion of Religious and Moral Education as a teaching subject at all levels of the educational system. The study also found out that the teachers who handled the subject generally showed knowledgeability and competency in teaching and had mastery over their subject matter. The study recommended, among others, that more effective teaching methods and materials need to be developed to facilitate the teaching and learning of Religious and Moral Education.