ABSTRACT
Lexington teacher training colleges (TTC) was one of the eighteen governmental TTCs in Kenya at the time of the fieldwork, and is one of Kenya’s oldest teacher colleges, constructed in 1949 by British missionaries in Central Province, the richer and more fertile area of the country. The academic demands were perceived by many students as extremely demanding: After the first year, students sat exams in eighteen subjects ranging from science and languages to social science. In the months before the exam weeks, students studied nearly all the time. The differing structural and cultural environments at private and governmental TTCs caused significant differences in the learning and working conditions. At private TTCs, many students complained about the lack of resources, since these colleges were run as business enterprises. Most of the students and tutors at Lexington demonstrated fear of the principal in their verbal and nonverbal communication. The staff room at Lexington is a large chamber organised as a classroom.
