Perceptions of Secondary School Students towards Natural Resources Management: Case Study of Participants in FoF and Non-Participants

Integrating natural resources management in the secondary school curriculum in Kenya has received a lot of talk without adequate practical activities. The Farmers of the Future Programme under the World Agroforestry Centre, formally the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), initiated a practical approach to integration of natural resources management in the secondary school curriculum in Kenya. This paper provides information on significant findings of a study that was carried out to determine the potential of FoF in integrating natural resources management into the secondary school curriculum in Kenya. A comparison between secondary school students who are involved in FoF programme and those not involved was done to determine their perceptions towards natural resources management. Further, comparison of perceptions by gender among learners who are involved in the FoF initiative was done. The study employed an ex-post-facto design in data collection using questionnaires. Questionnaires and were analysed using t-test at alpha=0.05. The findings indicated that the FoF programme had a significant influence on learners’ perceptions towards natural resources management. It was therefore concluded that FoF programme enhanced positive perceptions towards natural resources management among learners. On the basis of the findings, it was recommended that the FoF programme be expanded to cover more schools.