The study set out to examine the effects of students’ attitudes towards the teaching and
learning of oral literature n public secondary schools in Nyaribari Chache Constituency, Kisii
County. The objectives of the study were: to identify the key factors influencing students&;
attitudes towards teaching and learning of oral literature in Nyaribari Chache Constituency, Kisii
County;to examine the influence of these factors on the students&; engagement with oral literature
;to explore the strategies that can mitigate against these factors to improve learning and teaching
of oral literature .Self efficacy theory by Albert Bandura (1977) formed the basis of the
theoretical framework. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. The target population
was formed by form two and form three students, and teachers of English language. Stratified
and simple random sampling methods were employed to sample schools and student respondents
consecutively, while purposive and simple random sampled teacher respondents. The study
utilized a questionnaire to collect data. Data collected was tabulated, coded and processed using
statistical package for social science (SPSS Version 21) software. Qualitative data was
thematically analyzed adding strength to the quantitative data. The findings of this study
established that negative attitudes towards oral literature affects the performance of the subject
,factors such as teacher related factors ,school environmental factors and home environmental

16

factors also had an effect on students' attitudes towards oral literature.Minor factors like peer
pressure,inner motivation and rewards also played a role.Majority of the teachers affirmed that
the schools did not have enough reading materials hence finding it difficult to deliver the content
effectively.The study recommends that the ministry of education should provide enough oral
literature materials to schools, ensure that the curriculum incorporates diverse cultural narratives
and structuring narratives in an engaging manner, the school administration should organize for
cultural events in schools to expose learners to oral literature ,the teachers should award the best
learners,arrange for poetry , storytelling and drama competitions and award the winners. If
students realize its importance, this will eventually motivate them. This study will be useful to a
number of entities and individuals such as teachers of English, students, in creating positive
attitudes towards oral literature; the ministry of education, the board of management (BOM), and
to the school principals, in creating awareness of the effects of students' attitudes towards the
teaching and learning of oral literature.