attaining proficiency in reading: a study of experiential learning in ecd centres in kenya

Abstract

Studies confirm that one of the leading indicators of progress towards academic achievement is proficiency in reading. Studies further prove that effective classroom instruction in the early grades is the solution to creating strong, competent readers. In order for children to develop healthy dispositions toward reading and literacy, experiences in early years must engage children actively in the process of learning. Despite these findings, the majority of instructions in Early Childhood Developemnt and Education (ECDE) is still through conventional teaching where the teacher writes on a board and speaks while learners listen and look and try to absorb facts and also through less purposed experiences. The purpose of this study was to find out if the ineptness in reading in the primary school in Bureti Sub-County originates from the practices employed in teaching early reading. The objectives of the study were to find out the strategies used in teaching early reading in ECDE; to identify environmental, administrative and teacher factors that facilitate and those that hinder the teacher’s choice of experiential strategies for teaching early reading and to examine if the teaching strategies developed by teachers to facilitate children’s early reading conform to the basic tenets of experiential learning. This work was anchored on the paradigm of pragmatism and was based on Kolb’s theory of experiential learning. The survey research design was adapted for the study. It was carried out in 43 ECDE centres and 68 primary schools drawn from the 5 educational zones in Bureti Sub- County. A sample of 95 ECDE and 172 primary school teachers in both private and public schools and five education officers were selected using stratified, purposive and simple random sampling techniques. The data for the study was collected using an observation checklist, questionnaire and interview schedule. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found that the use of the recommended experiential method for ECDE had numerous shortcomings that hindered its effectual implementation in teaching early reading in Bureti Sub-County and therefore concluded that this is the starting place for poor reading at later levels as revealed by the Uwezo report.Teachers’ personal characteristics were largely to blame because these had the leading influence on the teachers choice of experiential strategies. Benefits of the findings will be enhanced understanding of the use of experiential method in teaching in early childhood classrooms which will inform evidence-based policy on provision of ECDE in an integrated learning package that can in turn inform curriculum planning. The study proposes that in order to get the teaching of reading better in ECDE, the county government should step-up In-service training for teachers and provision of learning materials.