Teachers’ Perceptions about the Effects of Staffing on Learning in Early Childhood Education Centres in Meru South Sub County Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya.

Abstract

Due to the importance placed on education by governments around the world, many countries, Kenya included, have invested heavily on Early Childhood Development and Education. The Kenyan government envisages enhanced quality of education especially in Early Childhood Education. While the investments in education have been quite successful at expanding enrollments in education, for any given level of efficiency, increased enrollments require increased resources, in order to maintain quality of learning. If these resources are not forthcoming, the increase in educational quantity may come at the expense of quality. This study examined the perceptions of teachers regarding how staffing affects learning in Early Childhood Education Centres in Meru South Sub County, Tharaka Nithi County. The study employed the descriptive survey research design. The target population for this study was 210 respondents. Stratified sampling and simple random sampling techniques were used to obtain a sample size of 73 respondents. The data collection instruments were questionnaires and interview guides. Validity of the research instruments was ensured through the expertise of University supervisors. Reliability of the instruments was estimated by use of Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and a correlation coefficient of 0.72 was obtained. The data were analyzed using percentages and frequency counts with the aid of SPSS version 20.0. The findings indicated that under staffing negatively affected the learning in Early Childhood Education Centres in Meru South Sub County. It was recommended that more Early Childhood Education teachers be employed to reduce the effects of staffing and improve learning in the Early Childhood Education Centres.