INNOVATIONS FOR SUSTATINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN A CHANGING WORLD

Abstract

The nexus between education and sustainable societies cannot be overemphasized. Scholars have observed that the quest for higher education among school graduates is on the rise. Research has established that acquisition of advanced academic credentials has often been misconstrued as a panacea to better life, individual fulfilment and perhaps sustainable societies. Unemployment, underemployment, desperation among graduates, societal dynamics and the hope for better life could be some of the factors contributing to the rising trends of poverty, fraud, academic dishonesty, poor quality of life and violations in educational policy.  The demand for higher education in Kenya has taken an upward trajectory but trends in attrition and delayed graduation elicit concerns among scholars and researchers. Graduate learners write a dissertation, project or thesis at the end of their training programs for purposes of certification, conferment of academic awards and to some extent inform educational policy to contribute to sustainable societies through research. Instances of inadequacy in academic writing skills among graduate learners seem to push them to hire “experts” to help them out. This Paper reports findings of a study done seeking research-efficacy skills among graduate learners pursuing Education programs in selected Universities in the central region of Kenya. A key finding of this study was that graduate learners had weak research skills required in selecting a viable research topic and developing key components of their theses.