Abstract:
Good performance in English opens doors to many lucrative careers locally and internationally.
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 determine
the effect of teachers’ competence on 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 and inferential
statistics. The study findings revealed that there are more female pre-school teachers than male. It was also found
that most of the pre-school teachers were inexperienced. Results indicated that the teachers’ competency in
English phonology was below average. The study results indicated that the pre-school children reading ability was
poor. Teacher competency in English phonology was found to have a positive significant effect on reading ability of
pre-school children (β= .307, p<0.05). The study concluded that pre-school teaching is a gendered profession
characterized by low competency in English phonology. It was also concluded that teacher competency in English
phonology has a bearing on the reading ability of pre-school children. The study therefore recommended that preschool teachers be trained to improve their competency in English phonology as to improve the reading ability of
pre-school children.