A comparative analysis of early childhood education in Kenya and the United States of America : Kenya\u27s social and economic constraints

This study examined Early Childhood Education in Kenya and the United States of America. The development of Early Childhood Education in Kenya was discussed through detailed analysis of social and economic constraints. Conclusions were drawn from the available literature; also, suggestions and relevant recommendations were made to help improve Early Childhood Education in Kenya

AN ANALYSIS OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SCHOOL MANAGER’S PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN NYERI COUNTY, KENYA

School managers in Public primary schools in Kenya are required to implement the human resource policy through enhancement of continuous teachers’ professional development. However, the implementation is shallow due to inadequacy in school management capacity. Profession development for teachers remains a key aspect of the human resource development policy. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between school manager’s professional development capacity and the implementation of the human resource development policy in public primary schools in Nyeri County. Two theories namely, the behavioral theory of management and the policy formulation and implementation theories were adopted to guide the study. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected using the survey and in-depth interviews methods respectively. The concurrent triangulation design was used throughout the data collection period and during the analysis of both the qualitative and quantitative data. The target population of the study consisted of four hundred (400) headteachers, one thousand six hundred (1600) teachers, four hundred (400) chairpersons of public primary schools board of management and eight (8) sub county TSC human resource officers. Stratified Random Sampling was applied to come up with a sample size of fifty (50) head teachers, one hundred and sixty (160) teachers and fifty (50) board of management chairpersons in public primary schools. All the Eight (8) Sub County TSC Human Resource Officers were purposively selected. The independent variable was school manager’s professional development capacity while the dependent variable was the implementation of the human resource development policy in public primary schools. The questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data from head teachers and teachers in the selected public primary schools. Interview schedules were used to collect qualitative data from chairpersons of the schools’ board of management and from the sub county TSC human resource officers. Piloting of instruments was done prior to the final collecting of data to enhance validity. Credibility was enhanced through the adjustments of the tools according to the opinions given by respondents during the piloting phase and the guidance from supervisors. Interactive questioning was used to enhance dependability. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The Chi square was applied for analysis of inferential statistics using SPSS program version 24. Qualitative data was compared with quantitative data at the final analysis. The reporting of the quantitative data included percentages, tables and charts while qualitative data was by the Chi square values, inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed that there is a conducive environment for teachers to work in. However, teachers are not regularly taken for seminars and workshops thereby hindering their professional development. The researcher recommended that headteachers of public primary schools should be properly trained on professional development of teachers. Additionally, the school managers should have a reduced workload and adequate finances to enable them to carry out the teacher’s professional development role effectively.  Article visualizations

AN ANALYSIS OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SCHOOL MANAGERS’S INDUCTION CAPACITY AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT POLICY AT PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN NYERI COUNTY, KENYA

Some of the primary school managers in Kenya lack induction capacity to implement the human resource development policy. Induction of new teachers is a key aspect of the human resource development policy. The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between school manager’s induction capacity and the implementation of the human resource development policy in public primary schools in Nyeri County. The behavioral theory of management and the policy formulation and implementation theories were used to guide this study. The survey and in-depth interviews methods were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The concurrent triangulation design was applied during data collection and analysis of both the qualitative and quantitative data. The target population included head teachers, teachers, chairpersons of the boards of management in public primary schools and the sub county TSC human resource officers. The independent variable was school manager’s induction capacity while the dependent variable was the implementation of the human resource development policy in public primary schools. The target population of the study consisted of four hundred (400) headteachers, one thousand six hundred (1600) teachers, four hundred (400) chairpersons of public primary schools board of management and eight (8) sub county TSC human resource officers. Stratified Random Sampling was applied to select a sample size of fifty (50) head teachers, one hundred and sixty (160) teachers and fifty (50) board of management chairpersons in public primary schools. Eight (8) Sub County TSC Human Resource Officers were purposively selected. The questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data from head teachers and teachers in the selected public primary schools. Additionally, interview schedules were used to collect qualitative data from chairpersons of the schools’ board of management and from the sub county TSC human resource officers. Validity was enhanced by piloting of instruments prior to collecting the final data. To enhance credibility, adjustments of the tools were done according to the opinion obtained from respondents of the piloting and the advice provided by supervisors. Interactive questioning was used to enhance dependability. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The Chi square was applied for analysis of inferential statistics. This was done with the help of SPSS program version 24. Qualitative data was compared with quantitative data at the final analysis. The reporting of the quantitative data included percentages, tables and charts while qualitative data was by the Chi square values, inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed that school managers have positive attitude towards conducting induction in their respective schools and that there exist a policy on induction. However, the school managers were found to have little time to conduct induction owing to other responsibilities assigned. The researcher recommended that headteachers of public primary schools should be properly trained on the induction process to enhance induction of teachers in their schools. Additionally, the school managers should have a reduced workload and adequate finances to enable them to carry out the teacher’s induction role effectively.  Article visualizations

HOW PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN ACTIVITIES AT SCHOOL INFLUENCES CHILDREN’S LEARNING OUTCOMES IN MBOONI EAST SUB COUNTY, MAKUENI COUNTY, KENYA

The study sought to underscore the influence of parental involvement in activities at school on learning outcomes among preschool learners. Its purpose was to determine the influence parental involvement in activities at school on learning outcomes among preschool learners in Mbooni Sub County, Makueni County. The study adopted a descriptive survey design that use structured interviews and questionnaire that intended to verify information, perceptions opinions and views of the respondents and an observation schedule for collecting data on the learning outcomes of the children. The dependent variable of the study was learning outcomes among preschool learners in Makueni County, Kenya, while independent variable was parental involvement in activities at school. The target population was teachers, parents and preschool learners in the County. Purposive sampling was used to select the teachers and parents whereas simple random sampling was used to select learners. A sample of 42 teachers, 33 parents and 72 ECDE learners were involved. Validity of the instruments was tested during piloting. Reliability of the instruments was ascertained through testing and re-testing to a sample that was not sampled for the actual study. Data was collected after acquiring permit from NACOSTI. Instructions and arrangements on how to collect the data was made with regard to dates agreed between the researcher and the respondents on when to deliver the questionnaire and observe the children during live lessons as well as conducting of the interviews. Data was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically along the specific themes and presented in narrative forms whereas the quantitative data was analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages with the help of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 23). The data was presented using tables in order to get the findings. This study may inform teachers, parents and policy makers about the influence of parental involvement in activities at school on children’s learning outcomes in Mbooni East Sub County. The study highlighted the significance of parents- teachers meeting, parent teacher child association, school feeding programmes as well as parents being resource person in passing first-hand information to children as they discuss different roles they undertake in the community. The study thus recommends partnerships of all stakeholders through proper communication and feedback. The National and County Governments should ensure food security in the preschools to enhance school retention, attendance rates, and enrollment for better learning outcomes among other benefits.  Article visualizations

THE EFFECT OF MEDIA USE ON THE QUALITY OF LEARNING OUTCOMES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MBOONI EAST SUB-COUNTY, KENYA

The study sought to accentuate instructional media use and the quality of learning outcomes in English language in public secondary schools. Its purpose was to determine the effect of instructional media use on the quality of learning outcomes in English language in public secondary schools in Mbooni East Sub-County, Makueni County. The study employed a mixed approach with a descriptive survey design. Data was collected from Extra County, County and Sub-county public secondary schools using questionnaires, interview schedules and tests for the students where a 97.33% response rate was achieved. The dependent variable was learning outcomes in English language among students in public secondary schools in Mbooni East Sub-county, Kenya while the independent variable was instructional media use. The target population was teachers of English, heads of languages department and form their students in the Sub-county. Simple random sampling was used to select the students while purposive sampling was used to select the teachers of English and the Heads of Department languages. A sample of 12 teachers, 12 heads of the languages department and 313 students were involved. The instruments’ validity was determined through expert opinion from the school of Education of Machakos University. The reliability of the instruments was ascertained during piloting a sample that was not part of the study. Two approaches were used in analyzing the data, that is, descriptive and thematic approaches for quantitative and qualitative respectively. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics and presented in frequencies, means and percentages with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data which was thematically presented in prose. The study reveals that the quality of learning outcomes in English language in the sub-county is slightly below average, sub-county schools perform poorer and female students outshine their male counterparts. It was concluded that instructional media use enhances learning outcomes in English language. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education should equip public schools with instructional resources. In addition, the Quality Assurance and Standards officers and school principals should emphasize to teachers to use instructional media in teaching English language. Parents and other stakeholders in schools through the Board of Management should also come up with strategies on how to provide instructional media for use by teachers to enhance learners’ quality of learning outcomes.  Article visualizations

Clinical epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in the Pokot endemic area of Uganda and Kenya.

Between 2000 and 2010, Médecins Sans Frontières diagnosed and treated 4,831 patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Pokot region straddling the border between Uganda and Kenya. A retrospective analysis of routinely collected clinical data showed no marked seasonal or annual fluctuations. Males between 5 and 14 years of age were the most affected group. Marked splenomegaly and anemia were striking features. An rK39 antigen-based rapid diagnostic test was evaluated and found sufficiently accurate to replace the direct agglutination test and spleen aspiration as the first-line diagnostic procedure. The case-fatality rate with sodium stibogluconate as first-line treatment was low. The VL relapses were rare and often diagnosed more than 6 months post-treatment. Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis was rare but likely to be underdiagnosed. The epidemiological and clinical features of VL in the Pokot area differed markedly from VL in Sudan, the main endemic focus in Africa

The Congruence between Teaching and Learning! Exploration of the Relationship between Preschool Teaching or Instructional Methods and Mathematics Performance in Lower Primary Schools in Kenya

The obstacles and difficulties hindering good performance in mathematics by Lower Primary school children seem to originate from inconsistence of instructional methods applied by teachers at the level. These methods don’t agree with the ones initially applied by the children’s teachers at preschool level. The effect of that could result in denying children a precious start to their future mathematics performance. There is a persistent indication that a discontinuity exists between pre-school learning methods and those in the lower primary schools. Teaching methods of the lower primary should be amended to make allowance for the stages of children’s development and provide opportunities to encourage children to improve in their ability to understand and apply mathematical concepts. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the pre-school mathematics programme on mathematics performance in the Lower Primary Schools of the Makuyu Zone, Murang’a South District. The objectives of this study were: - to investigate continuity of teaching methods from pre-school to lower primary school; and to compare the relationship between performance in mathematics of children who had had pre-school education with those who had not. This study used a descriptive survey design to achieve the set objectives. Purposive (deliberately) sampling was used to select a sample population of 60 pupils; a lottery (random choice) method of sampling was applied to get 30 teachers, whereas 10 head teachers were chosen through appointment (deliberate) sampling.  Open-ended questionnaires to collect data from the selected teachers and head teachers were applied; and for the children's responses, an interview schedule was employed. Observational checklists were also used where archival records were to apply. To test the construct validity and reliability of the research instruments, the researchers used 'split-half'.  The researchers pilot-tested the research instruments with a small representative group from the population. The data collected was analysed, using frequency counts and percentages and presentations were done in tables, bar graphs, pie charts and histograms as necessary to present a better picture of the findings. This study recommends frequent mathematics methodology seminars, workshops/in-service training for lower primary mathematics’ teachers which will guarantee effective methodological knowledge for teachers to teach mathematics effectively. Children’s learning at play should be very much emphasized. To avoid discontinuity this study recommends that in the lower primary male and female teachers should alternate to make the learners get used to male teachers. More male teachers should also get to teach in the preschool level. Keywords: Preschool; Mathematics Performance; Instructional Method

The Congruence between Teachers and Learners Perceptions! Exploration of Relationship between Teachers and Learners Perceptions and Mathematics Performance in Lower Primary Schools in Kenya

The difficulties and problems hindering good performance in mathematics by Lower Primary school children seem to emanate from teachers and learners perceptions towards mathematics learning and performance. This may be due to the fact that the methods used at lower primary don’t agree with the ones initially applied by the children’s teachers at preschool level. The effect of that could result in creating a negative perception towards math learning and performance hence denying children a precious start to their future mathematics performance. There is a persistent indication that a discontinuity exists between pre-school learning methods and those in the lower primary schools. Teaching methods of the lower primary should be amended to make allowance for the stages of children’s development and provide opportunities to encourage children to improve in their ability to understand and apply mathematical concepts. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between teachers and learners perceptions and mathematics performance in Lower Primary Schools of the Makuyu Zone, Murang’a South District in Kenya. The objectives of this study were: - to evaluate the teachers’ perception on the value of pre-school mathematics; and to evaluate the children’s perception with regard to mathematics learning. This study used a descriptive survey design to achieve the set objectives. Purposive (deliberately) sampling was used to select a sample population of 60 pupils; a lottery (random choice) method of sampling was applied to get 30 teachers, whereas 10 head teachers were chosen through appointment (deliberate) sampling.  Open-ended questionnaires to collect data from the selected teachers and head teachers were applied; and for the children's responses, an interview schedule was employed. Observational checklists were also used where archival records were to apply. To test the construct validity and reliability of the research instruments, the researchers used 'split-half'.  The researchers pilot-tested the research instruments with a small representative group from the population. The data collected was analysed, using frequency counts and percentages.  It was presented in tables, bar graphs, pie charts and histograms as necessary to present a better picture of the findings. This study recommends frequent mathematics methodology seminars, workshops/in-service training for lower primary mathematics’ teachers. Paid study leave/time and promotions to enhance teacher motivation and creation of positive perceptions towards teaching of mathematic which will go along way in improving mathematics performance. Keywords: Preschool; Mathematics Performance; Instructional Method

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEARNING STRATEGIES AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN PHYSICS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAKURU EAST SUB-COUNTY, KENYA

Education is a key pillar to the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDG’s) hence poor academic achievement by students across all levels of education is detrimental to the realization of these noble goals. This study aimed to establish the relationship between learning strategies and student performance in physics. The objective of the study was to establish the relationship between self-regulated strategies and student performance in physics in public secondary schools in Nakuru East Sub-County. The study was based on Structuralist Theory of Learning by Steffe and Gale (1995) and Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation by Bandura (1986). The study adopted correlational design with mixed approaches where both qualitative and quantitative data were concurrently analyzed and triangulated. Target population comprised principals, physics teachers and physics students. Student sample was determined using Krejcie and Morgan (1990) at 95% confidence level and a sampling error of 5%. Purposive sampling was used for the principals and physics teachers. Research instruments comprised questionnaire, interview guide and document analysis guide in the form of performance proforma table. Piloting of instruments was done in 10% of the schools. Validity was assessed through expert judgment and from the results of the pilot study. Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient was computed to assess the internal consistency of the instruments. The test yielded an overall reliability coefficient, ɤ=0.85 based on standardized items. The results of the study were evaluated statistically and inferentially using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study established positive correlations between self-regulated strategies and student performance in physics. The study also established statistically significant differences in the mean performance of learners using different self-regulated strategies. The study further established that the various self-regulated strategies jointly accounted for 77.6% of variance in student academic performance in physics (R2 = 0. 776). The study recommended that students need to effectively apply self-regulated strategies in their learning so as to optimize their academic achievement. Teachers and schools administration should create learning environments that encourage the development of self-regulatory skills among learners.   Article visualizations