TEACHER TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE ON THE USE OF IMPROVISED LEARNING RESOURCES IN PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN MERU COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Use of improvised learning materials has been found to play a big role in performance of students learning worldwide. Despite this realization, the present scenario in most pre-primary schools in Kenya is that there is deficiency of learning resources. Although this has been attributed to inadequate funding of pre-primary education by the government, it is not clear why teachers who are supposed to improvise teaching materials fail to do so in order to address the shortfall. Therefore, the study aimed to determine how teacher Level of Training and teacher Experience factors influence the use of locally available materials in pre-primary grades in Meru County. The Constructivist Theory by Jerome Bruner was utilized to direct the study using the correlational research method. The South Imenti Sub-county in Meru County, Kenya was the study locale with a target population of 316 pre-primary school teachers. The study employed stratified, purposive and simple random sampling, through which a sample of 95 respondents forming a 30% of the target population was obtained. Pilot study was carried out in two pre-primary schools. The validity of questionnaires was decided through expert judgment who scrutinized the items in the instruments to ensure that they are relevant and adequate. Split half technique method which included frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics that included Pearson Product Moment of Correlation Coefficient was employed to determine how the variables relate to each other while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The study found that teachers’ level of training, teachers’ teaching experience had a positive and significant influence on the use of improvised learning resources in pre-primary grades in South Imenti Sub County. The study concluded that teachers from both public and private pre-primary schools in Meru County, Kenya had not achieved the highest level of training. Majority of the head teachers had Bachelor of education as their highest training certificate. Both public and private pre-primary schools had retained their teachers for a longer period as majority of them had worked for a period ranging from 6 to 10 years. However, the head teacher had less teaching experience in the current school as majority of them had stayed for only one year. The study recommended that the government should ensure that all pre-primary school head teachers and teachers achieves a higher learning certificate through establishing a proper career growth path. Pre-primary schools’ management should retain the head teachers and teachers in their current school for a longer period of time so as to encourage them gain more experience in the use of improvised learning materials in the present environment.