An assessment of reading ability among Pre-School Children in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya

Abstract

Teaching reading and success in reading ability is therefore important for young learners. However, the ability for teachers to teach reading is not well documented. Little research has been conducted on teachers’ competence and attitudes towards reading ability among learners at preschool level. The objective of this study was to asses reading ability among Pre-School Children in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya. The theory of planned behaviour and education production function theory guided the study. The study employed the mixed methods approach. An explanatory research design was used. The target population was all the 1252 pre-school teachers in Elgeyo Marakwet County Kenya. Multistage random sampling technique was used to select the participating schools and individual teachers. A sample size of 294 schools was used. The instruments utilised were questionnaires, and observation schedules. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The study results indicated that the pre-school children reading ability was poor. The study therefore recommended that pre-school teachers be trained to improve their competency in English phonology as to improve the reading ability of pre- school children.