Devolved Governance and Quality of Pre Primary Education in Busia County, Kenya.

Abstract

The study examined the quality of pre-primary education in the era of devolved governance in Busia County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to: investigate the suitability of teaching and learning environment in public pre-primary education in Busia County, establish adequacy of teaching and learning resources in public pre-primary education in Busia County, and, ascertain the competency of pre-primary education teachers in Busia County. The study targeted all public pre-primary education teachers and all head teachers of public primary schools that hosted pre-primary education. Thirty six public primary schools were sampled randomly. Thirty six head teachers and one hundred and forty four pre-primary education teachers participated in the study. Head teachers were purposively sampled while pre-primary education teachers were randomly sampled. The study employed a descriptive survey design. Data was collected using questionnaire, observation schedule and document analysis guide. Data was analyzed using means, percentages and frequencies. Chi-square was used to test hypotheses at p? 0.05. The findings of the study revealed that teaching and learning environment in public pre-primary education was generally un-conducive. The study findings revealed that teaching and learning resources were inadequate and that pre-primary education teachers were fairly competent. The findings of the study revealed that majority of pre-primary education teachers unsatisfactorily used professional documents and that there was a significant relationship between pre-primary education teachers’ training and teacher competence as measured by overall Education Quality Index whose evaluation indicators included use of professional documents, use of teaching and learning resources, teacher professional conduct, quality of teaching and learning, teacher mastery of content, teacher personality and demonstration of skills in feedback. The study specifically revealed that there was no statistically significant relationship between teacher training and use of professional documents. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended urgent measures ought to be taken to improve pre-primary education teaching and learning environment. Stakeholders should mobilize resources to provide adequate teaching and learning resources and sanitation facilities in order to enhance the quality of pre-primary education.