Teachers’ perceptions on the influence of selected factors on provision of pre-school education in public schools in Koibatek Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

Early childhood is a stage of human development between birth and eight years of age. Statistics in Koibatek Sub-County Directors’ Office reveal that less than 30% of school going children accessed pre-school education in the past seven years in the Sub-County. This study examined parental income, parental perceptions and school learning environment influencing provision of pre-school education as perceived by teachers in Koibatek Sub-County. The research was guided by the following objectives:- To establish adequacy of teaching and learning resources, to establish the teachers’ perceptions of influence of parental income, to establish the teachers’ perceptions of influence of parental perception and to determine the teachers’ perception of influence of school learning environment on provision of pre-school education in Koibatek Sub-County. The study was limited to responses obtained from the questionnaires. This study was guided by Systems Theory developed by biologist Ludwig Von Bertalanffy. Descriptive survey design was used. The population of the study constituted the headteachers and pre-school teachers. Stratified proportionate sampling was used to select public pre-schools from all the four divisions. The researcher selected 70 Pre-school teachers using simple random sampling while 35 headteachers were purposively selected. Data was collected using one questionnaire which was responded to by both the headteachers and pre-school teachers. Content, construct and face validity of the instruments were checked by research experts drawn from Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Management Department of Egerton University. Piloting of the instruments was carried out in eight public pre-schools in Koibatek Sub-County who did not participate in the actual study. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used in estimating reliability. Reliability coefficient of 0.77 was obtained and this was considered acceptable for this study. The data collected were organized, edited and analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages. It was calculated with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 20. Major findings were that teaching and learning resources were inadequate, parental income and parental perception on provision of pre-school education. However, school learning environment did not have an influence on the provision of pre-school education in Koibatek. From the findings of this study it is recommended that the Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MOEST), NGOs, County Governments, school administration and teachers should strive to sensitize and empower parents and other stakeholders on their roles in provision of pre-school education.