A Review of the Growth of Early Childhood Education from a Developing Country’s Context.

Abstract

Kenya, despite being a developing economy has a long tradition of early childhood education. The first early childhood development centres (pre-schools) were started in the 1940s by and for the exclusive use of the European and Asian communities. In 1950, during Mau Mau struggle for independence, the pre-school education programme was set in emergency villages in Central Province. After independence, pre-school education continued to develop countrywide owing to the social-economic development that the country witnessed (Kipkorir & Njenga, 1993). Today, Kenya has witnessed tremendous development in early childhood education. This paper highlights the major factors contributing to the growth of Early Childhood Education including government support through policy formulation and implementation, training of ECD teachers, community’s role and changing roles among men and women.