Examine the effect of administrative and learning environment on provision of Early Childhood Education in Narok North.

Abstract

There are real concerns raised by stakeholders regarding the quality of Education in Early Childhood development and Education centers in Kenya. Factors affecting the provision of Early Childhood Education in the Early Childhood Development centers in the Narok county, central division are yet to be established. This trend has fueled a strong public outcry and hence a steady stream of research findings to assists in establishing and documenting the factors affecting the provision of Early Childhood Education in the county. The study reviewed Literature from across the world so as to understand the context, continuities and challenges affecting provision of Early Childhood Education. This study also provided a critical examination of the issues and controversies surrounding Early Childhood Education and practices. The purpose of the study was examining the effect of administrative and learning environment factors on the provision of Early Childhood Education in Narok North. The study adopted the descriptive survey design in order to establish the views and perception of the respondents concerning the study problem. The target population was 267 Early Childhood Development teachers, managers and quality assurance officers in central division of Narok North Sub County, in Narok County, Kenya. The study used a census as the population was manageable and data was collected using questionnaires for the teachers, managers and the Quality assurance and standards officer. A pilot study was conducted and validity and reliability of the instruments established. The reliability coefficient of the instruments was above 0.762 hence accepted as appropriate. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were computed by the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. It was established that provision of Early Childhood Education in central division of Narok North Sub County is affected by various administrative and learning environment factors; the study concluded that to improve performance of ECDE there is need to have the community reconsider most of the social- cultural factors that are a major challenge to education. ECDE centers should be well staffed with qualifies teachers; a program should be designed to build capacities for the development and equipment of ECE centers and funds to be provided for ECDE inspectors to enhance the management of the centers. The study suggested that a similar study should be conducted in the entire county to focus on the implementation of Early Childhood Education curriculum and the leaner’s environment in order to establish how they need to be made effective for the Early Childhood Education centers in Narok.