Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing production of educational television programmes by the Kenya institute of curriculum development (KICD). For effective and efficient production of educational television programmes, there must be harmonious interaction of production equipment, finances, target audience, educational policies and skilled production personnel as the basic components of the production process. The study sought to ascertain the influence of technological and economic (financial) factors on production of educational television programmes. It also set out to determine how the audience and market factors influenced production of educational television programmes. The other objective was to establish how educational policies influence production of educational television programmes. It also embarked on determining how the availability of skilled production personnel and transmission channel influence production of educational television programmes. It was also essential to find out the future plans for the production and live broadcasting of educational television programmes by KICD. The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Survey designs are concerned with collecting information by interviewing or administering a questionnaire (Orodho, 2006). The data collected are analyzed and reported for the purpose of describing conditions that currently exist. The target population involved the KICD. The study targeted television section workers within the institute who included non-technical personnel and technical personnel (Zettl, 2012). The study used census survey in an effort to acquire data from the directors and curriculum developers. The study also used purposive sampling to select television section workers. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews as the main instruments. The information obtained was supplemented with analysis of documents. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis techniques. The study found that KICD has modern production equipments which are well- maintained for the production of educational television programmes. The study further established that audience and educational policies are considered in the production of educational television programmes. It was also established that availability of EDU Channel has improved effective production of educational television programmes where most of the broadcasted programmes are locally produced by KICD. Also, the findings seemed to indicate that there were inadequate skilled production personnel and insufficient funding. The study recommends that KICD need to seek out for „Friends of Education‟ (FOE) who will sponsor various educational television programmes without any attached conditions. In addition the Government of Kenya should set aside television frequencies for the EDU Channel throughout the country so as to lower the cost of production of educational television programmes. The government needs to liberalize production of educational television programmes under the supervision of KICD so as to bring on board private investors to support KICD for faster growth of production of educational television programmes. It is also essential for the national broadcaster, Kenya broadcasting co-operation, to offer some airtime to broadcast some of the educational television programmes from KICD.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Education is fundamental to the development of any nation. A nation can develop quickly and benefit her citizens if the education system is efficient, effective and of good quality (Abenga, 2009). Improving the teaching-learning process enhances efficiency and effectiveness of the education system. Teaching-learning process can be improved by the use of media such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines. Therefore, development of educational media programmes is a means to boost the teaching-learning process (Abenga, 2009). Educational television programmes are examples of developed media programmes that can be used to enhance teaching-learning process.
Television is an audio-visual and sophisticated scientific device used as a medium for transmitting and receiving images with accompanying sound over a wire or through space (Gerlach & Ely, 1971). According to Gerlach and Ely (1971), it is a technology in which the system employs equipment that converts light and sound into electrical waves and reconverts them into light and rays and audible sound. Many people like watching television when there is an opportunity since it involves both the sense of sight as well as the sense of hearing. As a result, television has become a common gadget in homes,
businesses and institutions mostly as a medium for advertisement, entertainment, news watching and other educational programmes.
Television programmes that have educational value can be very useful academic tools as they have been used in the classroom since 1970s‟ in most parts of the developed world (Sedycias, 2009, Baggaley, 1982). Some of educational functions of television programmes are: training for citizenship; fostering the sense of national integration and international understanding; environmental awareness; inculcation of socio-political and cultural values and; individual and national development.
In the classroom situation, educational television programmes can be fundamental in the teaching-learning process in a number of ways. They can be used to assist learners in various subject areas alongside other teaching materials to give well-rounded approach to teaching-learning process. First, through repeated viewing of the educational television programmes the learners‟ understanding can be improved. Secondly, these programmes can be used to tackle difficult questions in the areas of morality, ethics as well as expose them to ideas and culture that they can not necessarily experience for themselves. Thirdly, television being a stimulating and interesting to children, its educational programmes can be used to assist reluctant learners by creating interest and removing the stresses that accompany traditional learning techniques.
Production of educational television programmes can be considered to be a system. Its elements include skilled production personnel, finances, education
policies, audience and technological equipment. These parts must interact in a complementary manner to support the whole production process since any change in one of them affects the others. For example, modern technological equipment will require highly skilled production personnel to use them and this will have financial implications. The education level of the audience will determine the programme content as spelt out in the curriculum which is regulated by the education policies.
Katz and Kahn (1966) define a system as an entity (unit) of patterned activities of a number of individuals. These activities are interdependent with respect to some outcome, are repeated, relatively enduring and bound by space and time. For Benathy (1968), a system is a deliberately designed synthetic organism comprised of interrelated and interacting components which are employed to function as an integrated fashion to attain pre-determined purposes. Briggs (1977) observes a system as an integrated plan of operation of all components designed to solve a problem or meet a need.
From these definitions, it can be observed that a system is a whole/entity. The whole has elements/parts within it. These elements in the unit are interrelated. The elements have qualities which allow them to work as parts of the unit. The relationships themselves also have qualities (Abenga, 2009). For instance, the skill of the production personnel will determine the equipment to be acquired for use. For the production process to have adequate resources there must be availability of funds. Mangal and Mangal (2009) agrees with the information above and defines a system as a self-maintaining and self-regulating
device/design consisting of interrelated and interacting elements or self- governing systems operating as a whole to achieve the pre-determined purposes or goals with utmost efficiency, economy and productivity.
It is in this context that production of educational television programmes considered to meet the requirements of a system. Production process is an entity set-up to meet specific needs of society. It has components such as skilled production personnel, materials, equipment, finances, educational policies, and audience. The components are interrelated and they have qualities (such as the producers and actors have qualities and certain attributes that they bring into the system).
