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Psychological Research Eastern Teaching and Psychological Research Eastern Ii Li PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND TEACHING FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Selected Proceedings of the Seminar on The Current Status of Teaching of Psychology and Edited by F.M. Okatcha I.M. Omari P. W. KariuTi Kenyatta University IDRC Nairobi University of Nairobi Supported by Kenyatta University, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), UNESCO National Commission, and the British Council. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the view's of the funding agencies "yIV /q I 1 v ( 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Preface Section I: General and Paradigmic Issues I 1. I.M. Omari. The Growth and Metamorphosis of 2 Psychology in Eastern and Southern Africa. 2. A. Mundy-Castle. The History of Psychology in 14 Africa. Implications for Research, Training and Action. 3. A.A. Olowu. Psychology for Personal Growth: 21 Humanistic Perspectives. 4. B.G. Koech. The Importance of Choice of 29 Paradigms in Psychological Research in Africa. Section II Teaching and Training of Psychologists 41 5. F.M. Okatcha. The Linkage Between undergraduate 42 Studies in Psychology and Graduate Studies in Educational Psychology. 6. P.D. Machungwa. Postgraduate Training in 50 Industrial Psychology: Issues and Problems. 7. I.M. Mwaimbolwa-Sinyangwe. Psychological 57 Teaching and Research at the University of Zambia. 8. R.P. Bundy. Teaching Psychology for 62 Professional Educational Services. 9. R.F. Zamba. The Role of Education Psychology 69 in an Educational System Under Siege: The Case of Zambia. 10. D.S.J. Mkandawire. A Model for Evaluation of 81 Psychological and Educational Selection Tests. Section HI Guidance and Counselling 100 11. D.H. Balmer. Guidance and Counselling in 101 the African Context: Challenge at the Interface. 12. A.M. Sindabi. Psychological Problems and the 115 Counselling of University Students: The Kenya Experience. Section IV Empirical Studies 126 13. J.M. Kivilu. Factors Influencing the Level 127 of Group Cohesiveness in Science Clubs in Kenyan Secondary Schools. 14. D. Wilson. Psychological Research on Aids 137 in Africa. 15. P.W. Kariuki. Children as Domestic Workers: 145 A Clandestine Form of Child Abuse. 16. D.G. Kariuki. The Levels, Trends and Patterns 153 of Drug Addiction Among Students in Selected Secondary Schools in Nairobi. 17. D. Wilson, A. Mundy-Castle, and P. Sibanda. The 157 Contribution of Education Computing to Intellectual Development Among Zimbabwean Primary School Children. 18. J.K. Katigo. Spatial Ability and Performance in 165 Technical Education Courses. Appendices 177 Appendix A: Written and Verbal Presentations 178 Not included in the Proceedings. Appendix B: Future Activities. 180 Appendix C: List of Participants. 183 iii PREFACE This book is b" on the proceedings of the Regional Conference on the current status of the Teaching of Psychology and Psychological Research in Eastern and Southern Africa which was held in Nairobi in September, 1989. Since December 1975, when the Regional Conference on Cross-Cultural Psychology was held in Nairobi, no other psychology conference had been held. Consequently, there was little information about what was happening in psychology within the region. However, in spite of this lack of knowledge, it was evident that psychology had not played a very significant role in national development plans. The study of psychology in universities and other institutions had been marginal and its place in the research enterprise had become rather limited. This was certainly a sad state of affairs. Considering the immense potential of psychology in many development areas such as education, the social services, family life, health, law, government, private organizations and management, it is imperative that every effort should be made to promote the study of psychology as a science. Furthermore, psychological research should be an integral part of the formulation of development policies and psychologists in African universities and other institutions of higher learning should practice their trade like any other profession. Thus, the main purpose of the September 1989 Regional Conference was to find out what was happening in psychology in Eastern and Southern Africa and how the study of psychology and psychological research could be promoted. More specifically, the following topics were addressed: research priorities in various fields of applications; the current status and promotion of teaching of psychology at both undergraduate and graduate levels; current status and promotion of psychological research; certification of psychologists and psychological counsellors; the current status of psychological services in schools and places of work; establishment of a regional centre for postgraduate studies in psychology; formation of a regional association of psychologists; the development of teaching materials. iv Participants in the regional conference comprised individuals teaching psychology in Eastern and Southern African universities, as well as practising psychologists within the private and public sector. Countries represented Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. For each of these countries, there was a state of the art paper on the teaching and role of psychology. There were also some presentations on the application of psychology in everyday life by practising psychologists. Substantive papers, some of which constitute this book, covered the following areas: general and methodological issues, teaching and training of psychologists, guidance and counselling, and some empirical studies. The book is therefore organized along these lines. An examination of these presentations makes it evident that there is still a lot to be done in promoting the teaching of psychology, psychological research, and the provision of psychological services. The idea of forming a regional association received unanimous support, and a committee was formed to prepare a draft constitution to be discussed at the next regional conference scheduled for late 1991 in Harare at the University of Zimbabwe. It was hoped that after forming a regional association of psychologists, it would be possible to form a continental association of psychologists to be known as the Pan-African Psychological Association (PAPA). On the whole, a lot was learnt at the Conference, and it is hoped that some of the suggestions made to improve the status of psychology will be taken seriously. Obviously, without financial support, the regional conference on psychology could not have taken place. It is therefore appropriate that the generous financial support received from the sponsor of the conference, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), be acknowledged with deep thanks. Also special thanks go to the British Council and the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO for their modest but essential support to the conference. Unfortunately, it was not possible to include all the presentations in these proceedings. However, all of them presentations are cited in Appendix 'A' and are available from the authors on request. We greatly regret this inability to include all the papers as they went a long way in making the one week conference the success it was. F.M. Okatcha I.M. Omari P.W. Kariuki v SECTION I: GENERAL AND PARADIGMIC ISSUES 1 1. THE GROWTH AND METAMORPHOSIS OF PSYCHOLOGY IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA I.M. Omari Introduction A cursory glance at the short history of psychology in the region gives a rather mixed picture of the development of the discipline. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the tempo of psychological activity in the universities of the region was quite robust, culminating in the seminal 1975 Cross-Cultural Psychology Conference held in Nairobi. The economic and political crises of the late 1970s and early 1980 seem to have had their toll on the discipline too. The then seemingly blossoming centres of excellence in the University of Zambia, Makerere, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa are currently either depleted of manpower or very thin on material resources for research and teaching. While this situation is not unique to psychology, it is proper that psychologists should ask hard questions regarding the nature and direction of the discipline with a view to rekindling interest in, and drive towards, a regional network of like minds. Indeed for a long time now there has been no collective retrospection so as to arrive at a relative consensus regarding our discipline of evocation and practice. In asking questions about the discipline, one needs to peruse the traditional classical issues, which include: What should be the scope of the discipline and its relationship with other social and related sciences? What theoretical paradigms are the most relevant and resilient to be used for the explication of the developmental problems of the region? Which methodological paradigms are to be used in the study of these developmental problems? There is no doubt that the central concern of this conference is to look at the applied aspects of psychology and how research can contribute to social development. Yet all research is guided by either explicit or implicit theories of the nature of psychological knowledge and the process of inquiry. In this regard, it is important that the Suppes (1962) hierarchy of theories (Leakey, 1987) as reproduced in Figure 1 should be reflected upon. Questions about the nature and direction of the discipline have to relate to all those levels of articulation which have
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