Influence of Early Childhood Development and Education Teachers’ Professional Qualifications on Learner Competencies in an Integrated Public Primary School System in Embu County, Kenya
- February 23, 2020
- Posted by: RSIS
- Categories: Education, IJRISS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue II, February 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186
Khatete Ibrahim and Kamwitha Anastacia
University of Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract: – Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) play a crucial role in setting direction of the children physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively for school life. It lays crucial resilient foundation for children in their life. The programme gives a chance for the child to develop competencies necessary for transition to Grade 1. Teacher professional qualification among many others is a single reliable variable that determines the child’s acquired competencies. At this stage children identify and depend on those close to them virtually on everything. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of ECDE teachers’ professional qualifications on children learning in early childhood development centres integrated in public primary schools in Embu County, Kenya. A total of 381 centres in public primary schools in Embu County were targeted. Stratified random sampling was used to select the schools for the study from the five sub-Counties. The main tools for data collection were a questionnaire, document analysis and observation schedule to yield both qualitative and quantitative data. Descriptive research was used to analyse data with the aid of the computer soft ware package SPSS. The study found that ECDE teachers’ professional qualifications had an effect on learners in early childhood development and education learning. Based on the results, the study recommends that teachers handling ECDE classes should be equipped with relevant competencies and skills for handling learners preparing to transit from ECDE classes to grade one encouraging growth of the child holistically. The relevant departments within the Ministry of Education and the county government of Embu should monitor ECDE centers and ECDE teachers’ training colleges on how they instruct them on how to handle children’s growth especially in the competencies required in the society they live in. This would ensure smooth transition of pupils from ECDE classes to other grades and complete the purpose of mainstreaming of ECDE learning in primary schools.
Keywords: ECDE Learning, ECDE Teacher Professional Qualifications
