The Use of Block Plays in Enhancing the Acquisition of Mathematical Concepts and Skills in Early Childhood Education: A Study of ECD Centres in Eldoret West Sub-County, Kenya
- January 1, 2020
- Posted by: RSIS
- Category: IJRISS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue XII, December 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186
Busienei Rose Chepketer
Moi University, Kenya
Abstract:-Children have a right to receive education, and Early Childhood Education (ECDE) should be considered part of this right. An interesting challenge in the field of early education is the use of block plays in teaching and learning of children to promote thinking and learning in many areas including mathematics. Block play activities have been identified as to have a significant impact on the acquisition of mathematical concepts and skills in Early Childhood Education. The main purpose of this study was to assess the use of Block play in enhancing the acquisition of Mathematical concepts and skills in ECDE pupils in Eldoret West Sub-county, Kenya. This study was guided by Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in children. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The target population was 181 public ECDE centres with 181 ECDE mathematics teachers and 3620 ECDE pupils. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 54 public ECDE centres and 362 pupils respectively. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 54 top class mathematics teachers. The research instruments for data collection were questionnaires, observation schedule and checklist which were validated and piloted before the use. The study findings established that the variety of shapes and sizes in block play toys enables children through construction and experiment to discover the basic structure of mathematics, under geometry and spatial sense. The study recommends that the government through the Ministry of Education needs to come up with clear policy guidelines regarding play in pre-school centers and clearly define the play activities according to the developmental stages of children. The government should enhance provision of early childhood play materials to enable pre-school children develop holistically.
Key Words: CSO: Curriculum Support Officer, DEO: District Education Officer, ECE: Early Childhood Education, ITERS-R: Infant/Toddler Rating Scale, MOE: Ministry of Education, NAEYC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
