Availability and Utilization ff Resources in Teaching and Learning of Environmental Activities in Early Childhood Development and Education in Uasin Gishu County Kenya

Abstract

The importance of early childhood education in the lives of learners cannot be overstated, as it serves as a fundamental basis from which subsequent levels of education build upon. The objective of this study was to assess the availability and utilisation of resources for the instruction and acquisition of Environmental activities in Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) Centres located in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. The primary aims of this study were to determine the availability of instructional resources, assess the utilisation of these resources, evaluate the availability of suitable physical facilities, and analyse the utilisation of these facilities for the purpose of teaching and learning environmental activities in Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) Centres located in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. The research employed Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, which examines a child's development in relation to the network of relationships that constitute their environment. The present study employed a descriptive survey research design and utilised a mixed methods research approach. The study utilised a target population consisting of 150 respondents, with a sample size comprising 25 head teachers and 50 teachers. This study employed a multistage sampling approach that integrated stratified, purposive, and simple random sampling methods in order to select the sample. The primary instruments employed for data collection included questionnaires, observation checklists, and lesson observation schedules. The collected data was subsequently subjected to analysis using descriptive statistics, specifically employing frequency distribution tables. The findings indicated that instructional resources availability varied according to the types of the resources. Environmental text books were available in most of the ECDE schools (72.1%), nature trips and human resources were also readily available in the school community (76.3%). Other essential resources for teaching and learning Environmental activities such as seeds/seedlings, animals/insects were the least available in the schools and all at dismal (45.9%) level of availability. The study established that most of the available teaching and learning resources in the schools were underutilized. For example nature walk opportunities were highly available in the schools but were not utilized: (16.4%) level of utilization, devices were also available but reported to be underutilized in majority of the schools: (42.6%) level of utilization. The physical facilities available included cards/card games (mean=1.97), Pupils environmental textbooks (mean=1.60), teachers environmental text books among others (mean=2.23). However the utilization was low. The study recommended that the government in collaboration with the community should provide enough instructional resources to enhance the teaching and learning of Environmental activities. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education in collaboration with ECDE officers should conduct more seminars, workshops and conferences for Environmental activities curriculum for the teachers. All pre-school teachers in public pre-schools should be trained on the new curriculum in order to optimize the utilization of the available resources. It is expected that the findings of this study will make a step towards the improvement of the teaching of environmental activities in ECDEs. Curriculum developers will also find the study findings useful as they reflect over the extent in which the objectives set for the subject are being achieved.