Exploration of Bale Oromo’s Indigenous Value Systems for Bringing up Children: The Case of Robe and Goba Towns

Abstract

The ultimate purpose of this study was to explore the most important assumption and practices of value systems that Bale Oromo have accumulated through years for bringing up their children. In the course of this assessment, issues like what these values themselves primarily are and the ways the value are being practiced. The research design was descriptive research which mainly utilizes an in depth interview. The informants were selected through some gate keepers (old men, old women) from Robe and Goba Towns. 12 informants with ages ranging from 70-100 years were sampled purposely. 100 students of Grade 7 and 8 children were also selected as informants for responses in questionnaire from 5 schools. Furthermore, data analysis was made using both qualitative and quantitative methods. A few data collected with questionnaire and in depth interview were discussed through percentage and qualitatively. Almost all parent informants responded that they agree with the importance of indigenous values and they attempt to teach their children although their children fail to listen to them. The data collected with the help of the two tools were also organized thematically. The discussions in in-depth interviews with parents revealed that in spite of their great ambition and effort they are now in despair to teach our values to our children because the children are already occupied with western culture. The children themselves again showed that although they need their parents’ values they are already controlled with modern culture to the extent it is hard for them to give attention to their indigenous values. The results of the study indicated that the old persons and their children hardly pay due attention in practicing and developing indigenous values. Accordingly, it is recommended that elders, the community leaders, religious institutions teachers and other government bodies should cooperatively create continuous forum for identifying the gap, planning to equip their children with necessary indigenous value systems that can help the children acquire moral standards, ethical norms to play their roles in the efforts of economic, social and political attainment goals of the society.